McCain vs. Dungeons & Dragons II

John McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb seems to have a weird problem with Dungeons & Dragons.

Regular JeffRubinJeffRubin readers already know that Goldfarb compared the New York Times editors to a blogger, “sitting at home in his mother’s basement and ranting into the ether between games of Dungeons & Dragons.” It was an unusual quote for sure, but if you want to paint bloggers as antisocial it at least sorta makes sense to invoke one of the nerdiest things of all-time.

So, even giving Goldfarb that one, it’s hard to explain this quote from a Goldfarb essay on McCain’s official website:

It may be typical of the pro-Obama Dungeons & Dragons crowd to disparage a fellow countryman’s memory of war from the comfort of mom’s basement, but most Americans have the humility and gratitude to respect and learn from the memories of men who suffered on behalf of others.

It’s not just that he’s insulting nerds because he has nothing meaningful to say, it’s that he’s out of touch in a totally old person way. Ars Technica put it well:

Dumb people say dumb things about games on a daily basis, but what’s funny is how out of place and out of time the comment feels. This isn’t 1978. Large groups of people aren’t talking politics from the safety of a basement D&D campaign. [Goldfarb] couldn’t have said World of Warcraft? I would have also accepted Grand Theft Auto if he was going for extra points for controversy.

Even though I regularly read a site called Ars Technica, I’ve never actually played Dungeons and Dragons. I do know what a Mind Flayer is, so I probably hate our troops.