President Bush plays video games with injured soldiers

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 10th 2007 at 1:35PM }

President Bush, during a recent visit to a rehabilitation center for injured veterans, found time to sit with the soldiers and play some video games. This begs the question - when you play some games with the president, do you have to let him win?

While the idea of wounded soldiers playing war games as part of their recovery process might seem a little strange, the use of simulated battlefields to treat sufferers of wartime Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder has become more popular over the past few years.

According to a White House spokeswoman, one game allowed our Head of State to "shoot the bad guys" in a virtually rendered Baghdad neighborhood. The veterans were reportedly confused when President Bush made his character run away from the battlefield to hide in his father's ranch house for a year.

[Thanks, Steve]

Tags: George W. Bush, GeorgeWBush, President Bush, PresidentBush, Soldiers, Veterans, War

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

frrs @ Nov 10th 2007 1:41PM

I bet n00blet Bush was camping the whole time.

ephraim @ Nov 10th 2007 1:42PM

Wow, really funny McElroy. Maybe keep those comments to yourself.

GunForHire @ Nov 10th 2007 1:45PM

I found it pretty funny. What, bloggers aren't allowed to make the odd political jibe or too?

hvnlysoldr @ Nov 10th 2007 1:56PM

Maybe one or TWO

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Nov 10th 2007 2:08PM

meh. This is the problem with most bush jokes, most of them aren't really funny. Unless you're Colbert or Lewis Black, just stick with calling Bush a Nazi.

UltimateQ @ Nov 10th 2007 2:24PM

That works too Vegeta. Seriously. He is a Nazi.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Nov 10th 2007 2:49PM

blargh.

I know alot of people are going to disagree with me, but I don't feel Bush is the exact representation of a Nazi. Is he a bad president? Yeah. A nazi? Well I don't think so.

Dan @ Nov 10th 2007 3:03PM

Yeah McElroy... how dare you exercise your right to free speech, the shame!!

/sarcasm (just in case ephraim didn't get it...

MrBlank @ Nov 10th 2007 3:04PM

Your mom's a Nazi.

Ethan @ Nov 10th 2007 3:08PM

Isn't ignoring the President's history far more biased than pointing it out?

hvnlysoldr @ Nov 10th 2007 3:13PM

Ignoring parts of his past like solving the North Korean nuclear issue is biased.

Raginfox @ Nov 10th 2007 3:30PM

It's video game news, not a fricken editorial page. Just stick to news guys.

ghandi the impaler @ Nov 10th 2007 3:59PM

he didn't solve it NK got the nuke and then bush backed the fuck off

hvnlysoldr @ Nov 10th 2007 8:20PM

Where'd you get the information that Bush backed off? Do you know any Korean, both North and South, leader who told you that? It's off the news but NK has allowed the inspectors and are dismantling everything.

Steve @ Nov 11th 2007 8:05AM

I wonder if he's playing the same game with the soldiers and veterans with post traumatic syndrome disorder. Quarter of U.S. war veterans who are homeless would also really love to play the game as well.

Negativecool @ Nov 10th 2007 1:45PM

Ugh...
If you're terribly wounded in a war HE started with no provocation...Then you own his f***ing ass up and down the amputee unit.
Then after your media "friendly" game session with the prez, you beat him physically with your prosthetic that used to be your leg before he decided to go into Iraq...

Sorry...does that answer it?...I think I gotta go lay down now.

Negativecool @ Nov 10th 2007 1:49PM

Side note--

If Dick Cheney were playing, he would teamkill everyone and keep "accidentally" shooting his teammates with the shotty.

Anticrawl @ Nov 10th 2007 3:07PM

Dude, people seem to forget these guys went in this War of their own free will. There was no draft, the joined our armed forces with the idea that they very well could die so I'm pretty sure they have no right to be pissed about anything. If they were drafted though it'd be another story.

Synner @ Nov 10th 2007 3:39PM

not to mention all your democrat heores in conress voted to go to war too, it's not like he woke up and started sending tanks in.

Negativecool @ Nov 10th 2007 4:13PM

I hate democrats dillhole.

Read a book once in a while.
http://www.ospreydesign.com/foreword/archives/denial-woodward.jpg

yoface @ Nov 10th 2007 4:46PM

"Dude, people seem to forget these guys went in this War of their own free will. There was no draft, the joined our armed forces with the idea that they very well could die so I'm pretty sure they have no right to be pissed about anything."

Well they do actually. They lied, or was wrong about UMDs.. so yeah.. even longer story to that.. but that's enough right to get pissed that more are dying due to.. well.. lies.. or maybe they just had bad info.. call it what you want but they messed up.. and you seem to believe it's their fault, so they don't have any right for well.. anything that is justifiable.

Oh... lol other note..

We all voted for the war when we thought it was for something it was not. Then after we found out it was wrong WE CHANGED OUR MINDS!!(OH NOES!!)

I like when people attack flip flopping. I rather have a president that can change his mind, direction, point of view, tactics once he makes a bad decision, not stick to it like glue. And then people go marching behind bad decisions. Not open minded enough and then foxnews goes bashing open mindedness. Enjoy your bubbles and enjoy your foxnews.

Steve @ Nov 11th 2007 8:40AM

Anticrawl, so if you were in German military in WWII assigned to concentration camp, would you knowingly and willingly serve your country with pride just because you joined willingly and not drafted before you found out about the camp?

I'm not sure if I have enough courage to go awol after witnessing what Nazis are capable of, but in this country, we'd like to think we are a just and righteous nation.

gonk @ Nov 10th 2007 1:48PM

great pic

copa @ Nov 10th 2007 1:51PM

Worst.

President.

Ever.

hvnlysoldr @ Nov 10th 2007 1:54PM

Andrew Johnson?

Negativecool @ Nov 10th 2007 2:04PM

Garfield...Definitely Garfield...

Damn lazy prez...always wanted lasagna.

Zeus the God @ Nov 10th 2007 4:44PM

Herber Hoover, definitely. Fucking economically retarded.

Autopsy15 @ Nov 11th 2007 12:12AM

Are you kidding? Herbert Hoover created Section 7. Without him Megatron would be blowing up the earth and the Autobots would be like "No! Save teh humanz!". And then the story would totally focus on the two humans and the world would be like "This sucks." and blow its self up.

jimy @ Nov 11th 2007 11:44AM

Far from it. Still the best out of all the candidates in the past 8 years...and the eight terrible years before him.

DVersion @ Nov 10th 2007 1:52PM

Nah, bush is 1337 haxxors when it comes to 'brush cutting simulator' he even has all the achievments for "bomb developing counties 2: extreme unaccountability"

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Nov 10th 2007 1:53PM

lol.

I always figured President Bush was a gamer. Probably pretty beast at Halo.

hvnlysoldr @ Nov 10th 2007 1:55PM

Still needs to brush up on his Brain Age Nintendo sent him.

Preston Parrish @ Nov 10th 2007 1:58PM

I'll bet Bush has the eavesdropping perk in Call of Duty 4 enabled.

ryanh @ Nov 10th 2007 1:57PM

Interesting story, but the completely wrong use of the term "begs the question."

Anticrawl @ Nov 10th 2007 3:23PM

While you are correct in a sense, it is common and acceptable to use "begs the question" to mean "raises the question" in the English language.

In reality it’s the conclusion of an argument, not the starting point so for a logic major it seems the use is thoroughly wrong. If you really wanna get technical you could say it's describing a logical fallacy.

Ghen @ Nov 11th 2007 8:04AM

Your mom's a logical fallacy. (just wanted to bring this down to my level)

makesevenupyours @ Nov 10th 2007 1:57PM

republican commando? hahahahahahaha!

ogvor @ Nov 10th 2007 6:12PM

Politcal video game Photoshopping FTW!

sam @ Nov 10th 2007 1:59PM

I wonder if he actually plays games normally.

Steve @ Nov 10th 2007 1:59PM

Hey, I didn't think my tip would actually make it into a post, much less one that made me laugh out loud. Nice one, guys.

chispito @ Nov 10th 2007 2:12PM

Just as long as Joystiq realizes that Rummy is no longer the SecDef. And the comment about running away from the battlefield is a little baffling.

gonk @ Nov 10th 2007 2:22PM

learn ur history

teenagertc @ Nov 10th 2007 2:30PM

Texas National Guard much?

Steve @ Nov 10th 2007 2:57PM

Bush was accused of going AWOL for a year during his National Guard commitment; no records for 1972 exist. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030411.html

Synner @ Nov 10th 2007 3:41PM

isn't this the stuff dan rather got disgraced over?

Steve @ Nov 10th 2007 4:16PM

Rather thought he had documents saying that Bush was disciplined for being AWOL, but many people believe those documents were not genuine. Regardless, the underlying story (that Bush did not show up for service that year) is true and has never been disputed by anything in the public record.

James @ Nov 10th 2007 7:16PM

"Rather thought he had documents saying that Bush was disciplined for being AWOL, but *it has been proven beyond doubt that* those documents were not genuine"

--fixed.

Seriously, you can even check the WP page about the situation; you can basically type up the memo in Word with all the default settings, fax it once, and you have the exact document Rather got.

Jeff @ Nov 10th 2007 2:14PM

I'm always surprised by how many idiot Republicans are gamers. It reminds me that we aren't some kind of elite group like I start to imagine we are.

Stink Snake @ Nov 10th 2007 2:36PM

Everyone is born a Democrat but after you get your first big pay check you start to become a Rebublican. After a while the Rebublicans will dissapoint you to no end so you'll claim to be a Libertarian or a fiscal conservative that votes for the less of two evils.