This Presidents Day, I bring to you the best presidents I’ve seen on screen, whether on the silver screen or the tube. I started thinking about this last year as I followed (but did not watch) coverage of the inauguration of the current occupant of the Oval Office. That day, I watched Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Lincoln and All the President’s Men in search of some semblance of honor and justice, and some heroes of American history and journalism. Since then, we’ve seen politicians, media and the powers that be bend to threats, and we don’t know who we can trust anymore.
So I turned to fiction. Who are the great fictional presidents we’ve seen on the screen? This only includes movies I’ve seen, so I’m probably missing a few that you’re thinking of. I’ll end with my favorite.
Veep
Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays the powerhouse Selina Meyers who starts off as Vice President, obviously, but eventually ascends to the presidency. Louis-Dreyfus won several Emmys and SAGs and was nominated for Golden Globes, she won me over by being unforgiving in her decisions, whether professionally or personally. The series itself was especially enlightening for me, like when I googled terms like “constitutional procedure” and “election law” similar to how I tend to Google historical facts when reading historical fiction novels. Louis-Dreyfus shines in this role, as Vice President, President and other roles she takes as the series progresses. I also loved the chemistry that she has with Anna Chlumsky who plays Amy Brookheimer, Meyer’s campaign manager and later her Chief of Staff.
24
This was probably the last television series that I watched as it aired. I still had cable, and had not yet started MBA school, so my evenings were free. I was living in the D.C. area, so being near the political arena was energetic, frenetic and a little crazy, especially given that the series premiered right after 9-11. But enter Dennis Haysbert as David Palmer, who you meet when he is a senator, and becomes president in the second season. I loved the authority and sincerity that Palmer portrayed in the series, and that he makes decisions swiftly and justly.
Air Force One
“Get off my plane”
Who can forget President James Marshall, played by Harrison Ford, saying this to Egor Kurshonov, played by Gary Oldman, who always plays a great villain, maybe even better than Alan Rickman? This 1997 action thriller was when Ford could probably do his own stunts, and was believable as being able to do them, as opposed to his last two Indiana Jones movie. But his demeanor as President is what you hope for in any president: decisive and morally upright. Ford’s gruffness which has followed him in every role he’s ever had is perfect for this role, and I couldn’t see anyone else playing Marshall, especially not Kevin Costner, who was apparently the first choice for the lead role.
Dave
It’s rare to find a true comedy where there is a president in the lead role, but Kevin Kline is absolutely delightful as both the real President Bill Mitchell, and the replacement chosen to fill in Dave Kovic, so that his evil chief of staff can control the puppet strings. His best decision is bringing in his accountant buddy to help balance the budget. If only we could bring in our own Charles Grodin (R.I.P. Mr. Grodin) to find some loose change between the couch cushions.
Madam Secretary
First of all, Madam Secretary is one of my favorite series of all time. But there’s a reason that this isn’t ranked higher than it is on this list. Like Selina Meyer in Veep, Elizabeth McCord, played by Téa Leoni, doesn’t start her role on this series as president. Rather, she is tapped to serve as the Secretary of State. So essentially, Elizabeth McCord dropped in the ranking because she didn’t start her role on the show as president. However, throughout the series, you see how she rose to the role, and the trials and tribulations she encounters as Secretary of State. She and her on-screen husband, Tim Daly, have amazing chemistry, which isn’t shocking considering they started dating while on the show, and were married last year. But her character seems down-to-earth and realistic, and easy to communicate with, even with the lowliest staffer.
I loved her in every episode, but there is a very brief exchange she has with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, played by Morgan Freeman (who also makes an appearance on this last), seen here in this clip:
The Contender
This was another movie I watched last year the week of the inauguration. I had the DVD in my library, and had just watched another Joan Allen classic, Pleasantville, and have always loved Jeff Bridges in everything he has been in. Allen plays Senator Laine Harrison who is in the process of being nominated for Vice President to serve under President Jackson Evans, played by Bridges. Bridges defies his advisors and opts for the female candidate over a male governor, played brilliantly by William Peterson. This movie came out soon after the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, and centers on sexual rumors from Harrison’s past. While Allen plays a senator and a Vice Presidential hopeful, it is her role that is the most heroic, although Bridges as president also is worthy of consideration. Both make decisions worthy of a president, which is something to consider when looking at vice presidential candidates. They aren’t just placeholders and a ceremonial stand-in. The clincher comes in the final scenes, which I won’t share… just the trailer. Spot Gary Oldman as another villain, this time as a congressman who opposes her nomination. Also, it’s jarring to see Sam Elliott without a mustache.
Independence Day
No alien is going to take over this planet when President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman) is in charge! If Whitmore’s speech before the great alien space battle isn’t enough, he then climbs into his flight gear and takes off to battle said aliens!
There was some drama surrounding the title of the movie because Warner Brothers had released a movie called “Independence Day” in the 1980s, and the movie was being called ID4 in production while Fox sought to get the rights to the name. Their alternative was “Doomsday”. The addition of the line “Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!” to the end of the speech was what clinched the battle for Fox to use the name in the end.
I watched the movie recently, and was amazed at how well the movie has stood up, especially given that the movie was done before CGI was a major part of special effects, and how much of the special effects involved models. Yes, I always watch the special features on DVDs, which is one of the major selling points of watching movies on DVDs for me. If you aren’t ready to go fight the aliens after this speech, your patriotism and sense of humanity is missing.
By the way, when he says “We will not go quietly into the night” I immediately think of Dylan Thomas’ poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”
Deep Impact
Morgan Freeman makes another appearance, this time as President Tom Beck, and Téa Leoni plays an up-and-coming broadcast journalist. While Freeman is front-and-center on the movie poster seen here, it should be Leoni in that lead spot. Both Freeman and Leoni’s characters are brave, stoic and composed. They both have to make meaningful decisions while considering the lives of not just Americans, but everyone on the planet, much like in Independence Day. Recently deceased Robert Duvall plays a role as one of the astronauts tasked with eliminating the comet coming to destroy the planet. Elijah Wood and Leelee Sobieski play the teenagers in part of the storyline, with Wood’s character being the one who originally discovered the comet. Deep Impact came out the same year as Armageddon, but it is definitely the better movie, and considered more scientifically accurate than the latter.
The American President
Michael Douglas plays Andrew Shepherd, a widowed president who falls in love with a political consultant, Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Benning). The president is in danger of losing acceptance of the public’s trust based on several policy decisions, and his dating life isn’t helping!
I watched this classic the day that its director, Rob Reiner, was killed, and was amazed at how well this movie reflects current events. Perhaps because its writer, Aaron Sorkin, understands the American psyche so well. Some of my favorite quotes from movies come from this movie, and they weren’t even delivered by the President Shepherd character, but by one of his policy advisors, Lewis Rothschild, played brilliantly by Michael J. Fox:
Lewis: “I’m a citizen, this is my President. And in this country it is not only permissible to question our leaders, it’s our responsibility!”
The other exchange with Lewis and Shepherd is also classic:
Lewis: People want leadership, Mr. President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they’ll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership. They’re so thirsty for it they’ll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there’s no water, they’ll drink the sand.
Shepherd: Lewis, we’ve had presidents who were beloved, who couldn’t find a coherent sentence with two hands and a flashlight. People don’t drink the sand because they’re thirsty. They drink the sand because they don’t know the difference.
But the clincher comes near the climax of the movie, and is delivered by Shepherd during a press conference:
You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can’t just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the “land of the free”.
I mean, if this was a real person, he’d have my vote. Watch his whole speech here:
West Wing
Ahh… Josiah “Jed” Bartlett. The name itself invokes a stalwart president… one who cannot be moved or swayed in his decisions or opinions. Martin Sheen won Golden Globe and SAG awards for his portrayal of The West Wing president. Yes, he was surrounded by a wonderful cast who are equally worthy of recognition, much like a good president who surrounds himself with a great staff. Most of all, Sheen plays a great leader in Bartlett, and makes you think about what your role is as a citizen.
The West Wing was written and created by Aaron Sorkin, who also wrote The American President. He had such good material for The American President that Reiner couldn’t use it all, and Sorkin had enough material for the first season of The West Wing in the end. Sorkin didn’t intend to make the president as a regular character, instead wanting to focus on how the staff functions in a presidency. Sheen’s performance in the episodes he was cast in was so powerful though, and the show producers were forced to reconsider.
Bartlett’s president is human. His flaws are what some of our own real-life presidents have had. Sheen even said he based his portrayal of Bartlett on Clinton. There are many episodes and scenes from The West Wing I love, so it was hard to pick just one. I have the entire show on DVD bcause I don’t trust streaming services to air the episodes as is or keep them on the streaming platforms I use (or used to use) forever. I picked this episode because Leo McGarry (played by John Spencer) makes Bartlett look at himself in the mirror and think about why he is president.
“This is more important than reelection”
Who’s on your Mount Rushmore of fictional presidents?
Sravanthi Meka 