Political Satire Goes Interactive With Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2

Politics makes strange bedfellows, it's been long said, and now the same is true of technology. The newest marriage is that of video games and political satire, creating a new medium that might be called "interactive" political satire. Long a part of American culture, political satire has, until now, been a one sided affair. But now video game fans and political junkies alike can participate, so to speak, in the process-and the virtual boxing battles make the Beltway look like a bipartisan fantasyland by comparison.

Rumors of late-night White House disagreements can become First Fisticuffs on current video game platforms in Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2, a video game by Midway Games, that includes 23 over-the-top boxing characters, including the President and First Lady as "secret characters."

Its verbal barbs hit even harder. The President taunts the First Lady with comments like these: "I'm gonna roll you tighter than a cigar," "You should be running for cover, not office" and "I feel your pain!" The First Lady has her own set of insults, including: "You'd think a liberal would have a better left," "I'll show you the White House isn't the only house I dominate" and "It'll take a village to save you from this beating."

Recorded highlights from the bout can be found at the link below, for every hit made one pound will be donated to Don King's Hair Foundation.

http://64.14.224.82/java/mystuff/Political_Satire_Goes_Inter.mpg

Neither William Jefferson Clinton nor Hillary Rodham Clinton endorse this game.