Prison-Themed Board Game Could Cause Potential Obama Veep Headaches
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius is seen as a strong contender to become presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama's running mate. But as Obama's vice presidential vetters are surely aware, a board game created by Sebelius' son – 23-year-old John – could become a campaign issue if the governor joins the ticket.
The game is called "Don't Drop The Soap," and it is, as The Capital-Journal delicately put it, an "adult-themed board game based on life in prison." The game, which was created by John Sebelius when he was a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, sells for $34.99, and is described this way on its Web site:
Fight your way through 6 different exciting locations in hopes of being granted parole. Escape prison riots in The Yard, slip glass into a mob boss' lasagna in the Cafeteria, steal painkillers from the nurse's desk in the Infirmary, avoid being cornered by the Aryans in the Shower Room, fight off Latin Kings in Gang War, and try not to smoke your entire stash in The Hole.Harper's Magazine (subscription only) recently listed the contents of some of the cards used in the game. Among them: "You set fire to your bunk while your cellmate robs the INFIRMARY. He splits his take with you. Collect five packs." And: "You're an educated black man. You obviously didn't get paroled."
Sebelius spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said in January that the governor and her husband, U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Sebelius, "are very proud of their son John's creativity and talent." But the game has already caused Sebelius problems: A Kansas state senator called for an investigation into the game because he said it was being marketed and stored at the governor's mansion in violation of state law. (Corcoran noted that John Sebelius lived in the mansion at the time.) Republican Sen. Tim Huelskamp also called the game obscene and racist.
Sebelius responded by complaining that Huelskamp had made a decision to "pick on my son."