I support Barack Obama. Officially. Passionately, even. I saw him speak at a rally and was captivated from start to finish. I will vote for him in November.

This is why it hurts all that much more when I hear him sneak into his speeches occasional jibes at video games. I have to wonder how he can call John McCain “out of touch" when he probably doesn't even know that people on his own community blogs are posting instructions on how to make an Obama Mii.

For a moment, I thought my sentiments may have been those of a single voice. After a little research (read: googling), I discovered that I was actually part of a chorus of millions (okay, maybe a few less) of disenchanted video game players who also feel unsettled by Senator Obama's comments. And, why shouldn't we be insulted? Does he mean to imply that he truly thinks playing violent video games directly leads to acts of violence? I've taken issue with that since it was movies instead of video games, and I'm certainly not going to stop being affronted now.

But then I started thinking about what I really heard Obama say. Parents need to turn off video games and spend time with their kids. Kids need to turn off video games and work harder on achieving in school. To be a better country internally, we need strong families who support and love their children, encouraging them to become upstanding members of society. To be a great country on the global stage, we need individuals to work at becoming self-motivated and highly-educated, propelling our country ahead on the science and technology front. Gee, I can't argue with him there.

I agree particularly with Obama's assertion that "the government can't do everything." I do think that parents need to spend time with their children, control their children (in a positive way), and encourage their children toward success. As a teacher, the blame is always put on me when my students do not achieve. I happily accept that burden, but I see too many kids that could really shine with just a little more support from home.

But why make video games the scapegoat? I'm sure some kids probably do drugs instead of playing video games. Why not tell parents, "Make your kids put down the drugs and pick up the school books." At least then you don't offend anyone. Even people who do drugs generally agree that they are "bad." Or better yet, tell parents that if they let their kids play a video game, they should sit down and try it out, also. Father and son could play Grand Theft Auto together...then discuss the game, talk about the differences between the fictional world of the game and the real world around them. If it's a matter of making our kids smarter, there's certainly a path to intellectualism through video games. Destructoid is a perfect example of that.

I certainly don't think video games are the only activity families should do together, but I don't think they have to be completely excluded either. And I really wish Barack Obama would sit down (or stand up if he prefer) and try out Wii Bowling. I can almost guarantee he would enjoy it.

What game do you think would make Barack Obama change his mind? Maybe we should each send him a message to make a suggestion.