Note: This is something I originally wrote for another (now defunct) site after the ’08 election, but I figured now is as good a time as any to repost it. You know, so people could actually read it.

The 2012 election might be upon us, but there’s still one aspect of the ’08 election that’s bugging me.  A LOT has been said about how Obama won that election — the Palin factor, the ’08 economic collapse, McCain’s mysteriously missing balls — but not much has been said about HOW Obama got in the position to win in the first place.  Like how, you know,  the Borg helped elect him.

No, I’m not talking about the collective of singularly-minded young people who stormed across the nation, assimilating the masses in the name of hope & change.   I’m talking about the actual Borg from Star Trek.  Specifically, I’m talking about this Borg…

That’s “Seven of Nine” on the Star Trek series Voyager.

Jeri Ryan is the actress who played her.  Before Voyager, Ryan’s biggest claim to fame was finishing as the third runner up in the 1990 Miss America pageant (she was Miss Illinois) — an honor that quickly got her a plum job dealing blackjack at casino-themed charity events.  After landing the “sexy cyborg” role, she immediately became a fan favorite and the subject of much tabloid fodder.

When Voyager ended in 2001, super-successful TV writer/producer (and I’ll presume Trekkie) David E. Kelley created a part just for her on Boston Public.

People who follow Illinois state politics already know where this going.  So here it is for the rest of you:

Continue reading “How the Borg Helped Elect Obama. Literally.” →