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Chris Higgins
Our First Nerd President?
by Chris Higgins - June 22, 2009 - 3:15 PM

An important moment in nerd history took place three days ago. John Hodgman, nerd icon of stage and screen (if by stage you mean…uh…books), gave a speech at the 2009 Radio and TV Correspondents’ Dinner. Sitting on the dais with him was President Obama. Hodgman suggested that Obama is American’s first nerd president in the modern era, after a succession of jock presidents. Obama seemed to agree. Watch the video below for a cultural moment that’s sure to resonate for decades to come.

Discussed: the culture war between jocks and nerds; the three kinds of Hobbits; God as a distant, uncaring Dungeon Master; Obama’s victory as a Revenge of the Nerds; asking the hard questions about the president’s nerd credentials; a series of stunning Dune references; some nice Star Trek references.

Read more about Hodgman’s appearance from the man himself.

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Comments (5)

  1. That was great and all, but can anyone tell me who the woman seated next to Barack is? She looks so familiar.

    posted by Johnny Cat on 6-22-2009 at 3:58 pm

  2. That was awesome – thanks for posting!

    posted by swss on 6-22-2009 at 4:46 pm

  3. Back up for a second, nerds. Everybody wants to claim Obama for themselves, but there is no question this man is a jock. Favorite leisure activity? Basketball. Period. BTW, if we’re casting recent Presidents into high school cliques, Clinton was a band dork and Reagan was a drama-club geek.

    posted by David on 6-22-2009 at 6:41 pm

  4. Dude the President’s a Trekkie! I knew I liked him.

    posted by Tricia on 6-22-2009 at 7:54 pm

  5. Believe the woman you write about is Heather Dahl. C-SPAN listed her as the dinner chairman.

    posted by Henry on 6-24-2009 at 8:04 pm

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