'Obama Basher' an antidote to smart political debate
RageGage anger-relief device now comes in a presidential theme so angry Americans can virtually bash the president without the risk of being tackled by the Secret Service.
- Third place film critic, 2021 LA Press Club National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards
The RageGage smash pad, originally created as an anger outlet for enraged drivers across the political spectrum, just went partisan with the Obama Basher.
The $19.99 gadget is an extension of the original RageGage, which, as my colleague Amanda Kooser notes, "looks like a mutant hockey puck with a squishy center." Just turn up the volume on the device and smack away until you feel relieved of your fury. It's like a high-tech version of a stress ball.
As the name implies, the Obama Basher lets users virtually bash the president in what its creators call a modern twist on the classic "Whac-A-Mole" game.
When swatted, the Obama Basher responds with one of more than two dozen messages, including "Whoa! Can't blame Bush for that one!" and "Somebody, bail me out! Please!" It should be noted that the voice delivering these commander-in-chief snippets sounds less like Fred Armisen and more like a character out of "My Name is Earl."
The RageGage plugs into a computer via USB and doubles as a video game controller for games, such as Robot Zombie Apocalypse (insert zombie-politicians joke here), that involve smashing things. The RageGage Facebook app RageGage Connect lets social networkers virtually smack their online buddies and automatically update their RageLevel on Facebook.
"Obama Basher will be a 'hit' at Tea Parties," says inventor Ian Campbell, who calls himself a small-government independent. "With today's rancorous political climate, we felt like it was our duty to promote a spirit of bipartisanship and compromise through effective rage release."
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OK, but if they're going for bipartisanship, don't those on the left deserve a silly little rage release device of their own? RageGage does already offer a free downloadable Rush Limbaugh voice ("I've been hit worse by a tax hike" "Pesky environmental wacko"), and says it's planning a bi-partisan line of "Political Punchers," including a Bush Bopper, in time for the 2012 election season.
That's all well and good. But in the wake of the debt ceiling debate, wouldn't it take a Boehner Bopper to really even things out?