The Unscratchable Itch

The elections are over, but I’m still in presidential mode. I’ve always carried somewhat of a fondness of the history of the highest governmental office in the United States. Every four years I get so dialed into the election process, I feel more inclined to digest books and movies about American politics.

During the waning days of the 2008 race for the White House:
• I tore through Manhunt – The 12 Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson (an absolutely wonderful, accurate and suspenseful read… I recommend it to ANYONE!).
• For the second time, I paged through Garfield by Allan Peskin (James Garfield is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated presidents ever studied, due mostly to his untimely assassination by the nutjob Charles Guiteau and, subsequently, the poor medical care he received).
• I’m currently tackling FDR by Jean Edward Smith (so far, so good).
• Next up is President-elect Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope.

Even my Christmas list reflects the current mode I’m in. I’m asking Santy Claus for more presidential bios, and my DVD requests include Oliver Stone’s Nixon and JFK.

Looking over the movies I slapped on my Xmas list I started thinking about other movie moments involving the presidency and politics, and in doing so I developed my own list of favorite political movies (do keep in mind that I’ve yet to see the movies W. or Frost/Nixon, the latter of which I’m anxiously awaiting):

• The American President: In answering the apparent disarray of his personal life President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) confronts the jabs of his election opponent Senator Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfus) in a press conference. All of Rumson’s previous televised diatribes end with him saying “My name is Bob Rumson, and I’m running for President of the United States,” and Shepherd puts the exclamation point on the end of his pushback when he states, “My name is Andy Shepherd and I AM the President of the United States.” Man, that’s cool.

• X2: X-Men United: This movie really shouldn’t count, but it does, at least in my book. That opening scene with Nightcrawler BAMFing all over the White House just to deliver an evil message to the president is effing BAD ASS!! Yeah, the prez is simply a victim, but holy crap is that a rad scene! And that scene at the end when the X-Men confront the president in the oval office made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Mutants have rights too, y’know.

• Independence Day: TOTAL CHEESE. Bill Pullman as President Thomas Whitmore is so non-believable it actually works (well… for the movie, perhaps). When he stands out in the middle of the airfield and gives his “We will not go quietly into the night” speech and then dons a jumpsuit and goes up to fight the aliens himself – my god, how ridiculously ridiculous. Not really a political movie, per se, but it’s got the president shooting down aliens!

• The Candidate: Here you’ve got Robert Redford as Bill McKay, the unlikely Democratic candidate battling for one of the California seats in the U.S. Senate. He knows he’s not going to win, so he campaigns on the basis of bringing to the forefront new ideas and issues that have been swept aside. Pretty soon momentum starts moving in his favor and he finds himself running for an office he’s not sure he really wants. The entire movie is a gem and even though it takes place in the early 70s, its themes and emotions ring true today (I wonder if this flick is on Barack Obama’s fave list).

• Dave: The scene toward the end, when presidential interloper Dave Kovic, preserving the presidency of the dying Bill Mitchell, feigns a fainting spell and sets things right again is brilliant. At the hospital, as they wheel the real Bill Mitchell into the hospital, Dave, dressed in paramedic duds, strolls off into the nighttime and goes back to his old life. The ruse works, Bill Mitchell dies and Dave goes back home, runs for local office and makes out with the former first lady while Ving Rhames stands guard. Just a cool movie through and through.

• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: Two words: Filibuster scene.

You got any faves? List ‘em!