Obama via Wii

Until this past Christmas, I'd never owned a game console (I don't count the used PS2 I bought on eBay for $30 last year, 'cause I only played with it maybe twice). I didn't have an Atari when I was a kid, I didn't get an Xbox when I was a bigger kid. It's just not something I ever got into.

So, when the Wii first came out, I remember being a little bit surprised by just how much I wanted one. It was an odd feeling. I'm not the type to lust after technology, but there was something about the Wii that really grabbed me. 

Long story short - we got one for Christmas last month. My lovely and amazing wife consistently trounces me in Mario Kart... and probably every other game we'll ever play (she's a way better gamer than I am).

But I mention all this to say that we also downloaded the Internet Channel for our Wii. The resolution for reading text is awful, but it works pretty well for videos (except for videos where we have to download Flash 8 or 9 - 'cause apparently the Wii can't do that). And the point of this whole thing is this: one of the first videos we watched was President Obama's first Weekly Address, via YouTube (you can also get it here).

I think it's fantastic that the President has made the jump from radio to YouTube. An educated electorate is such an important part of a healthy democracy, and anything that allows leaders to speak directly to citizens is a good thing in my book. The videos are worth watching, regardless of one's political persuasion.

And it cracks me up that I can watch the video in my living room, using my Wii. What a cool new world we live in.