TV

You compete in this animated contest as Barack Obama, facing off against a series of political opponents as you march toward the White House. The game play is fun -- a timer dictates when to choose your next move, too slow or too fast and you lose. And the trash-talk from your opponents is tailored to each one.

First up is President George W. Bush, and in a case of art imitating life, he goes with rock every time, and even as he loses round after round (if you pick paper) he just keeps bringing the rock, saying "i'm going to stay the course." Whoever the site got to do Barack's voice does a pretty good impression as he declares "It's time to move on" each time you win. You can expect Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to be a crafty opponent as he taunts you, and Bill Clinton is right there behind Hillary, offering his two cents. It's a nice touch when she refuses to accept that she's lost the contest.

Finally you are facing down John McCain in a free-for-all round in which the clock keeps running and you keep playing until one of you has won 10 rounds. I don't know what happens after that because I haven't been able to beat McCain ten times yet, but I will, no matter how much otherwise productive-workday time I have to burn doing it.

Does this virtual RSP contest provide any more insight into the candidates or the presidential race than the actual debates or the incessant media cov erage? Maybe no more, but at this point certainly no less. If you question the usefulness of rock-paper-scissors as a tool of political analysis, check out this recent report on the subject.