Greatest POTUS, Side Pot: Fictional Presidents
View Poll Results: Who is the greatest fictional POTUS?
Merkin Muffley
1
33.33%
James Marshall
1
33.33%
Kang
0
0%
Richard Milhous Nixon
0
0%
Josiah Bartlet
1
33.33%
Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho
0
0%
John Henry Eden
0
0%
07-01-2012
, 10:04 PM
While they did not exist in real life, fictional presidents still embody the values and leadership that make the US great. As the 4th of July approaches, let us take a break from our real-life POTUS poll and honor the greatest fictional US presidents from film, TV, and video games with a sudden-death, winner-takes-all poll.
1. Merkin Muffley
"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the war room!"
* President in: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
* Qualities/attributes: A balding middle-aged man with glasses, President Muffley is perhaps the only character in the movie who seems to have a 'down to earth' attitude towards an escalating nuclear crisis. However, his indecisiveness and desire to hear all sides and options ad nauseam renders him largely ineffective. Modeled after Adlai Stevenson II.
* For his performance as President Merkin Muffley, Sellers flattened his natural English accent to resemble an American Midwesterner. Sellers drew inspiration for the role from Adlai Stevenson, a former Illinois governor who was the Democratic candidate for the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections and the U.N. ambassador during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
* During his administration the Soviet Doomsday Device detonates, destroying most life on planet.
* Party: (most possibly) Democratic
* Played by: Peter Sellers
2. James Marshall
* President in: Air Force One
* Qualities/attributes: Popular president and a family man who loves his wife Grace and daughter Alice. He is also a decorated Vietnam veteran and a Medal of Honor winner, speaks reasonably fluent Russian and possesses a smile that is described (in the novelisation of the film by Max Allen Collins) as "the most valuable weapon in his public relations arsenal" .
* Promotes an interventionist line on foreign policy and a strong stance against terrorism (met with political opposition from the opposition Speaker of the House, Franklin Danforth, in the novel). Described in the novel as "a moderate-Republican version of Bill Clinton, minus the womanizing reputation, and without a hint of personal or professional scandal" .
* Personally responsible for retaking Air Force One after the plane was hijacked by Russian nationalists.
* Played by: Harrison Ford
* Party: Republican
3. Kang
"Abortions for some, miniature American flags for others!"
* President in: The Simpsons – "Treehouse of Horror VII" episode
* Qualities/attributes: In 1996, Kang and Kodos impersonated Bill Clinton and Bob Dole and ran against each other in the 1996 election. At first, the Americans declared to vote for a third party candidate, but Kang convinced them that the option would be a waste of a vote. As a result, Kang was elected president. In their second appearance, they decided to take over the Earth after citizens had declared world peace, but ultimately failed. Kang and Kodos's religion is "Quantum Presbyterians", although Kodos later claims to be Jewish.
* Party: Republican.
* Played by: Harry Shearer (voice)
4. Richard Milhous Nixon
"Nixon's back!"
* Qualities/attributes: Serving 4th term in Back to the Future Part II, after a change in history made by Biff Tannen. He announces he will run for a 5th term in 1984, and vows to end the Vietnam War by 1985.
* Serving 5th consecutive term in Alan Moore's Watchmen comic series. Constitution was changed following victory in Vietnam, which was largely thanks to Dr. Manhattan.
* Elected president of Earth in the 31st century in Futurama, his head is preserved in a jar. While campaigning, his head is mounted to Bender's body, and later to a much larger robot, though subsequent appearances show him without a body.
* Party: Republican.
* Played by: Various
5. Josiah Bartlet
"Just remember these two things: she's nineteen years old, and the 82nd Airborne works for me."
* President in: The West Wing
* Qualities/attributes: In many ways, Bartlet is an "ideal" president. He is handsome and endowed with great personal integrity, a sense of humor, a fierce intellect, and a toughness tempered by compassion. These traits helped boost his popularity in the show to a point where he has been referred to as the "most popular Democratic president in recent memory."
* Bartlet's accomplishments as President include granting amnesty to illegal immigrants from the Americas, appointing the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice and first female Chief Justice, negotiating a peace settlement between Israel and Palestine, creating millions of new jobs, providing strong support for alternative energy, and orchestrating a Social Security reform plan (although it is never made clear whether the plan was passed by the United States Congress, the show indicates that a revolutionary agreement was achieved with bi-partisan support). He does, however, express regret at his inability to balance the budget in his eight years at the White House.
* Party: Democratic.
* Played by: Martin Sheen
6. Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho
"Now I understand everyone's s***'s emotional right now. But I've got a 3 point plan that's going to fix EVERYTHING. "
* Appears in Idiocracy (film, 2006)
* Qualities/attributes: President in the year 2505 — Formerly a professional wrestler and porn star. His presidency is plagued with rampant famine, dust storms, and later, the collapse of the Brawndo company.
* Party: Unknown
* Played by Terry Crews
7. John Henry Eden
"Sweet America, hello again, this is President Eden. I'd like to have a chat. "
* President in: Fallout 3
* Qualities/attributes: John Henry Eden is not a human being, but an Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the form of a pre-War ZAX supercomputer. The ZAX that was located deep within Raven Rock was loaded with data about American history, especially past American presidents. Eden's personality is based on a combination of the personalities of all of the past Presidents of the United States. He speaks with a Virginian accent, as Virginia is the state that has produced the most presidents, even though he states he "[grew] up in rural Kentucky", a reference to Abraham Lincoln. Eden also states that he roamed with his dog Honey, "From Knob Creek to Hodgenville," areas close to Lincoln's birthplace.
* Party: The Enclave
* Played by: Malcolm McDowell (voice)
1. Merkin Muffley
"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the war room!"
* President in: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
* Qualities/attributes: A balding middle-aged man with glasses, President Muffley is perhaps the only character in the movie who seems to have a 'down to earth' attitude towards an escalating nuclear crisis. However, his indecisiveness and desire to hear all sides and options ad nauseam renders him largely ineffective. Modeled after Adlai Stevenson II.
* For his performance as President Merkin Muffley, Sellers flattened his natural English accent to resemble an American Midwesterner. Sellers drew inspiration for the role from Adlai Stevenson, a former Illinois governor who was the Democratic candidate for the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections and the U.N. ambassador during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
* During his administration the Soviet Doomsday Device detonates, destroying most life on planet.
* Party: (most possibly) Democratic
* Played by: Peter Sellers
2. James Marshall
"GET OFF MY PLANE!"
* President in: Air Force One
* Qualities/attributes: Popular president and a family man who loves his wife Grace and daughter Alice. He is also a decorated Vietnam veteran and a Medal of Honor winner, speaks reasonably fluent Russian and possesses a smile that is described (in the novelisation of the film by Max Allen Collins) as "the most valuable weapon in his public relations arsenal" .
* Promotes an interventionist line on foreign policy and a strong stance against terrorism (met with political opposition from the opposition Speaker of the House, Franklin Danforth, in the novel). Described in the novel as "a moderate-Republican version of Bill Clinton, minus the womanizing reputation, and without a hint of personal or professional scandal" .
* Personally responsible for retaking Air Force One after the plane was hijacked by Russian nationalists.
* Played by: Harrison Ford
* Party: Republican
3. Kang
"Abortions for some, miniature American flags for others!"
* President in: The Simpsons – "Treehouse of Horror VII" episode
* Qualities/attributes: In 1996, Kang and Kodos impersonated Bill Clinton and Bob Dole and ran against each other in the 1996 election. At first, the Americans declared to vote for a third party candidate, but Kang convinced them that the option would be a waste of a vote. As a result, Kang was elected president. In their second appearance, they decided to take over the Earth after citizens had declared world peace, but ultimately failed. Kang and Kodos's religion is "Quantum Presbyterians", although Kodos later claims to be Jewish.
* Party: Republican.
* Played by: Harry Shearer (voice)
4. Richard Milhous Nixon
"Nixon's back!"
* Qualities/attributes: Serving 4th term in Back to the Future Part II, after a change in history made by Biff Tannen. He announces he will run for a 5th term in 1984, and vows to end the Vietnam War by 1985.
* Serving 5th consecutive term in Alan Moore's Watchmen comic series. Constitution was changed following victory in Vietnam, which was largely thanks to Dr. Manhattan.
* Elected president of Earth in the 31st century in Futurama, his head is preserved in a jar. While campaigning, his head is mounted to Bender's body, and later to a much larger robot, though subsequent appearances show him without a body.
* Party: Republican.
* Played by: Various
5. Josiah Bartlet
"Just remember these two things: she's nineteen years old, and the 82nd Airborne works for me."
* President in: The West Wing
* Qualities/attributes: In many ways, Bartlet is an "ideal" president. He is handsome and endowed with great personal integrity, a sense of humor, a fierce intellect, and a toughness tempered by compassion. These traits helped boost his popularity in the show to a point where he has been referred to as the "most popular Democratic president in recent memory."
* Bartlet's accomplishments as President include granting amnesty to illegal immigrants from the Americas, appointing the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice and first female Chief Justice, negotiating a peace settlement between Israel and Palestine, creating millions of new jobs, providing strong support for alternative energy, and orchestrating a Social Security reform plan (although it is never made clear whether the plan was passed by the United States Congress, the show indicates that a revolutionary agreement was achieved with bi-partisan support). He does, however, express regret at his inability to balance the budget in his eight years at the White House.
* Party: Democratic.
* Played by: Martin Sheen
6. Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho
"Now I understand everyone's s***'s emotional right now. But I've got a 3 point plan that's going to fix EVERYTHING. "
* Appears in Idiocracy (film, 2006)
* Qualities/attributes: President in the year 2505 — Formerly a professional wrestler and porn star. His presidency is plagued with rampant famine, dust storms, and later, the collapse of the Brawndo company.
* Party: Unknown
* Played by Terry Crews
7. John Henry Eden
"Sweet America, hello again, this is President Eden. I'd like to have a chat. "
* President in: Fallout 3
* Qualities/attributes: John Henry Eden is not a human being, but an Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the form of a pre-War ZAX supercomputer. The ZAX that was located deep within Raven Rock was loaded with data about American history, especially past American presidents. Eden's personality is based on a combination of the personalities of all of the past Presidents of the United States. He speaks with a Virginian accent, as Virginia is the state that has produced the most presidents, even though he states he "[grew] up in rural Kentucky", a reference to Abraham Lincoln. Eden also states that he roamed with his dog Honey, "From Knob Creek to Hodgenville," areas close to Lincoln's birthplace.
* Party: The Enclave
* Played by: Malcolm McDowell (voice)
07-01-2012
, 10:10 PM
07-01-2012
, 10:13 PM
07-01-2012
, 10:14 PM
07-01-2012
, 10:15 PM
07-01-2012
, 10:23 PM
