Ten Deep 1.21.10: The Top Ten Best Movie/TV Presidents

Posted by Mike Gorman on 01.21.2010

From Jed Bartlet on The West Wing and James Dale in Mars Attacks! to Andrew Shepard in The American President and Thomas J. Whitmore in Independence Day, 411’s Mike Gorman lists the top 10 fictional presidents that could do the job! Check out the full article to see which presidents made the list and why!

Sometimes fiction is better truth. This definitely applies to the many presidents that have been created on film over the years. All too often we learn that the real life people we send to the oval office are far from perfect but in Hollywood we can live out the fantasy of the perfect Commander in Chief.

"The Top Ten Fictitious Presidents We Wish Were Real"

The ten characters listed below possess qualities that make them perfect for the role of President of the United States. They may also be flawed but if needed they could undergo rewrites. Sadly this is not something available to us in the real world.

I chose to look at the made up presidents instead of the film and television portrayals of true historical figures because in the realm of fiction the limits can be removed and these people can truly become larger than life.



10. Jack Stanton from Primary Colors

Is it a cop out that the first name on this list skirts the realm of fiction? We can call him Jack Stanton if you really want to but let's be honest, this was Bill Clinton being projected via John Travolta. He loved a good cheeseburger, loved his share of women, and could convince anyone to agree with him with just a wink and a grin. Jack Stanton could make you feel calm while the walls went up in flames around you and that is why he's on my list. It is Stanton's charisma and charm that make him someone who could be a fantastic president. I mean, made a good president. I am getting confused now as the boundaries blur so let's move on.




9. James Dale in Mars Attacks!

Picture it, Martians are invading. Are they friends? Are they foes? Who knows? All I know is that if this situation were to really occur I would be more than happy to have Jack Nicholson leading us at the time of first contact. Sure in the film Dale makes some poor choices that lead to many people being disintegrated by lasers, including him but c'mon it is Jack Nicholson. The man has the balls to shake hands with the creepy green monsters. His character may be a little too easily swayed by his advisors. I think that we would be better served by the Jack we saw in films like The Departed or A Few Good Men.




8. The President in Superman II

His role may not be big but character actor EG Marshall stands out as a president to me in one of my favorite films of all time, Superman II. So what makes him worthy of jumping off of the big screen and taking his place in the real oval office? The man stands up to General Zod, the baddest mother to ever escape from the Phantom Zone. Think about, three beings as powerful as Superman fly into your office and demand obedience. With one blast of heat vision or a flip of a wrist and you're dead. Do you roll over and play lap dog or do you raise your voice and try to protect the Man of Steel? This president proved that he had more courage in him than a planet of super beings.




7. Andrew Shepherd from The American President

This movie president was different from the rest and not just because he was single and a widowed father. He was a single widow actively looking for someone to complete his life while leading one of the most powerful nations on the planet. Andrew Shepherd would make a great president because he exhibits humanity and vulnerability that had not been previously seen on film. In his excellent performance, Michael Douglas presents the president simply as a man. By taking the presidency down off of its oft raised pedestal, he created a role model that most could benefit in following. Some may argue that this display of vulnerability would be a weakness in the "Leader of the Free World" but I actually think it would endear the public to a figure that has too often become detached from the people he leads.




6. Dave Kovic from Dave

The premise of the film Dave is a bit farfetched. When the president slips into a coma, his political team seek out his body double and plan to use him as a puppet in order to hide what has occurred and move forward their own agendas. Dave is seen as easy to manipulate but soon the politicos find that they may have bitten off more than they can chew by bringing him on board. Dave is the ideal president because he truly is the "everyman" thrust into the most important job in America. He has not been jaded from years of experience and instead looks at the presidency with fresh, innocent eyes. He is not afraid to question the absurdities he sees around him. Dave is the true outsider many were clamoring to see elected during our last election.




5. Tom Beck from Deep Impact

Two words: Morgan Freeman. This man should be president anyway. His nature and almost hypnotic voice would make him an excellent leader. He could read the side effects of medicines to a group of fighting Democrats and Republicans and have everyone sitting together enraptured by the time he was through. In Deep Impact he stays cool and collected as an asteroid rockets to earth. Look at the things that Beck must do. He convinces Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck to save the world-- wait, I think I am mixing up those two asteroid-world ending movies that came out at the same time. Beck actually had to do some terrible things, like impose martial law and support a lottery that would select who would live and who would die. Yet, he remains a sympathetic character. Tom Beck is the man we need in place now to guide us through the hardships our economic recovery may require.




4. Tom Dobbs from Man of the Year

This is a movie that I skipped over in the theaters as it just seemed like another silly Robin Williams performance. He can be magic at his best but this one just seemed off. I was completely wrong in more ways than one. This was not a slapstick comedy but a pretty serious movie about a man who becomes president due to a voting machine malfunction. He is given that information and must choose whether or not he should reveal it to the public. Tom Dobbs is a down to earth man who makes a moral choice that I am not sure many other people might make. There is an irony to the fact that the man who becomes president through a glitch did really deserve the position. He would bring a level of ethics to the position that many feel has long been absent.




3. James Marshall from Air Force One

James Marshall is a take no prisoners kind of guy with a strong interventionist streak when it comes to his political policies. It earns him some enemies who decide to hijack Air Force One. Oh no they didn't! This president kicks ass and takes names as he protects his family, advisors and crew. When you get to that climatic moment and he yells, "Get off my plane!" you want to stand and cheer. Plus he was played by Indiana Jones and who wouldn't want a president who kept order with a bad ass whip? But seriously, he inspires confidence and would clearly be a strong leader for our civilian and military communities.




2. Jed Bartlet in The West Wing

He is the one television president that made the list but I would be remiss if I discussed fictitious presidents and left him off the list. Martin Sheen's tour de force performance as Jed Bartlet on NBC's The West Wing redefined what it meant to portray the president in any medium. Bartlet is a man that saw the potential in everyone. He was an idealist with strong beliefs that he was not afraid to defend. His strength of character and vision inspired hope in not only the characters on his show but also in its viewers. He could easily make the leap from the small screen to the oval office. I know that I would definitely vote for him.


And lastly…




1. Thomas J. Whitmore from Independence Day

One president on this list took a diplomatic approach to dealing with the problem of an alien invasion, in Independence Day we meet a president who is cut from a different cloth. President Whitmore is not having a good Fourth of July weekend. His wife is dead. He's a single parent. Oh, and the major cities of the world have been destroyed by giant alien warships leading him and some other survivors to take shelter at a army base. Does he give up and cry? No way. He gives a sweet motivational speech and jumps into a fighter jet to lead the battle. You're not sure he has it in him to do all of things when you first meet him but by the time that music builds to a crescendo and his speech is over you want to fight beside him yourself. Who knew that Bill Pullman had it in him to create such a strong performance? There is of course an absurdity to the circumstances but I can think of no better situation that would allow a real hero to rise to the surface. Thomas J. Whitmore stands at the top of this list as a well rounded, impressive candidate for the presidency.



There you have it. The ten fake presidents who I think might actually do a good job in the real world. Let's be honest, I would not envy anyone who had to take on that job especially with the current political climate in our country. Maybe I wouldn't really wish it on some of these men, I like them too much.