Obama Buys Ads In Online Video Games

Video game maker Electronic Arts confirmed Monday that the Obama campaign has purchased ads that appear on virtual billboards in the online version of the popular racing game "Burnout Paradise."

This is deliciously fitting given the junior senator from Illinois' rise to capture the White House being nothing but a high-priced media fabrication.

Tastier still, in another glaring hypocrisy that will go totally unnoticed by Obama-loving media members, the Democrat presidential candidate during the primaries came down on video games as a culprit for underachievement, and even requested parents stop kids from playing them.

But before we get there, FoxNews.com reported the following moments ago:

Drivers of high-performance racing cars were a bit surprised over the weekend to spot roadside billboards with the Illinois senator's familiar face on them and the message "Early Voting Has Begun. VoteForChange.com."

Not unusual, you say? Well, these were virtual billboards, on imaginary roads, driven by Xbox 360 players in an online version of the popular racing video game "Burnout Paradise."

Game maker Electronic Arts confirmed Monday that the Obama campaign ads were the real deal.

I guess Obama forgot the negative opinion he's expressed of video games in the past. As reported by the Washington Post, the junior senator from Illinois said the following on February 19 after his victory in the Wisconsin primary (h/t GigaOm):

I know how hard it will be to alleviate poverty that has built up over centuries, how hard it will be to fix schools, because changing our schools will require not just money, but a change in attitudes.

We're going to have to parent better, and turn off the television set, and put the video games away, and instill a sense of excellence in our children, and that's going to take some time.

The day before, during a campaign speech in Youngstown, Ohio, according to Vindy.com (h/t GamePolitics.com):

Obama admonished parents to do their part by turning off the television, putting away the video games, and instilling in their children a desire to get a good education.

Assuming mainstream media outlets report these new video game ads, I'm sure they'll point out this hypocrisy...or maybe not.