Did Asimov Influence Obama?

We’ve had the New Deal and the New Frontier. Steve Benen speculates that Obama’s slogan might be the New Foundation. This led me (along with some of those commenting on his blog) to immediately think of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy. (While Steve didn’t mention this in his post, I also know Steve well enough to know he is a huge science fiction fan and I can’t believe he wasn’t also thinking of this.)

Last week, with the release of Star Trek, there were articles comparing Obama to Spock and discussing comparisons between Gene Roddenberry’s vision and Obama’s campaign for hope and change. Are political writers now going to have to look beyond Star Trek and also consider Asimov’s work? If the Bush years were a great time for authoritarians, theocrats, and lovers of torture, will we look back at the Obama years as a great time for those who follow science fiction for its vision?

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