I'm starting to worry about Barack Obama. In trying to appear as non-threatening as possible to huge swaths of the American public, he's beginning to come across about as interesting as a packet of non-dairy creamer. For whatever reason, Barack Obama wants to be perceived as less hip than John McCain. And God help us, he's succeeding magnificently.

Exhibit A: Both candidates are interviewed in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly. In "The Other Presidential Debate: The Pop Culture Campaign," Benjamin Svetkey quizzes the presumptive nominees of their parties about such ephemera as favorite TV or movie president and what superhero they would be if they had to suit up in spandex to save the republic.

Though these aren't questions that are likely to be asked at the four debates the candidates have already committed to, they give us a glimpse into their increasingly guarded psyches. While the candidates' answers aren't extensive enough to provide a true Rorschach test, there are worrisome signs for Obama partisans. You can almost feel the Illinois Democrat searching his data bank for the lamest answers possible. He's holding back big time.

For instance, Svetkey asks Obama what shows he was passionate about as a child. Obama answers: "You know, I grew up in the golden age of sitcoms. I think 'M• A• S• H' was probably my favorite. Michelle's favorite is 'The Dick Van Dyke Show,' which she sometimes now watches [in reruns]. I have to say 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' ranks right up there."

'M• A• S• H'? Really? Most folks would agree that the first three seasons were great, but that it became repetitive and preachy once Frank Burns left the show and Hot Lips Houlihan's hair turned white. 'M• A• S• H' was on the air twice as long as the actual Korean War and it felt like it. Everyone was sick of Hawkeye by the end and wished his plane had been the one shot down at the end of season three instead of Colonel Blake's.

Because Obama is only a year and a half younger than I am, I know there were cooler shows than 'M• A• S• H' and 'Dick Van Dyke' on the air. Barack Obama would've come across as more credible if he had admitted that he bust a gut over edgy shows like 'All in the Family,' 'Maude,' 'Barney Miller' and 'Fernwood Tonight' just like the rest of us. Those shows featured messy politics and courted controversy with irreverent takes on America. Even 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' crackled with subversive wit at times.

For his part, McCain kept it contemporary. He was not going to get caught in the trap of talking about 'Rin Tin Tin' or 'Wagon Train.' He confessed to liking reruns of 'Seinfeld' and misanthropic shows like 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' and 'Dexter.' He said his wife was a big fan of the show 'Big Love.' He even gave a shout-out to 'The Wire,' the best urban drama ever broadcast on television. If he weren't the second coming of George Bush, I'd be tempted to vote for him.

I know for a fact that Barack Obama is also a big fan of 'The Wire,' but he never mentioned it to Entertainment Weekly. After he met with our editorial board in the spring, we talked about the show. He said he'd just met Michael Kenneth Williams, the actor who plays Omar, the gay stickup artist, at a rally in Harrisburg. "He was there with his parents. He was shocked that I knew who he was," Obama said. "I had to tell him that he was one of my favorite characters." Obama said he had been too busy fighting Hillary for the nomination to keep up with the fifth and final season, but that he looked forward to watching it on DVD.

When the subject turned to favorite fictional presidents, Obama really blew it. McCain name-dropped President David Palmer from '24.' It didn't matter to him that President Palmer is played by African-American actor Dennis Haysbert. Too bad Svetkey didn't ask whether McCain thought Jack Bauer's casual use of torture in the show was justified, too.

In a counterintuitive move, Obama picked Jeff Bridges' laconic President Jackson Evans from "The Contender," a decent movie hardly anyone saw. That film is mostly notable for Joan Allen as Bridges' scandal-tainted vice presidential running mate, Sen. Laine Hanson.

The candidates' picks for superheroes showed the limitations of their imaginations. Both Obama and McCain picked Batman, though Obama hedged his bets by also coveting Spider-Man's powers. He could have closed the pop culture gap with McCain completely by naming the Green Lantern or the Silver Surfer, two cosmic-powered characters he has a lot in common with. But like Superman passing as Clark Kent, Obama wants the world to believe he's an ordinary guy with nothing exotic about him. How utterly boring.