1. Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) in The West Wing Party: Democrat With his encyclopedic knowledge, fierce nature, and kindly humor, Josiah Bartlet is the kind of character who makes you look at real life and shake your head. Josiah Bartlet, portrayed by Martin Sheen, knew how to work both sides of the aisle, to get things done that would help everyday Americans. He was tough when he needed to be, magnanimous when he wanted to be, and always available with a witty remark. 2. David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) in 24 Party: Democrat A take-charge kind of guy with a horrible wife and a treacherous staff, David Palmer and Jack Bauer were pretty much the only thing holding the United States together through seasons one, two, and three. But no matter what went wrong or who betrayed, he always stuck to his principles. And he also had a penchant for making the right decisions to keep the country out of trouble, even as he was being second-guessed by his closest advisors. Most importantly, he always, always bet on Jack Bauer. Considering the guy is still alive after chemical weapons attacks, nuclear explosions, kidnappings, torture…that’s a good bet to make. 3. Jack Stanton (John Travolta) in Primary Colors Party: Democrat Ok…so it’s basically Bill Clinton. But the smarmy Southern Democratic candidate is the epitome of the idealism vs. realism battle in politics. In the end, Stanton is a strong leader with a good head on his shoulders when it comes to leadership, but more than a few skeletons in his closet when it comes to how he conducts his personal life. Like him or not, he’s a great character, and as far as politics is concerned, about as accurate as it gets. 4. James Marshall (Harrison Ford) in Air Force One Party: Unknown President James Marshall called in a secret operation that sent commandos into Kazakhstan to depose and capture its tyrannical leader. But just three weeks later, Air Force One is taken hostage by three Kazakh nationalists seeking the release of their leader. With this family and his staff on board, Marshall takes things into his own hands, throwing oh-so-many bad guys out of a moving plane, and overpowering them with his Fightin’-Irish fists (he made mention multiple times of his alma mater, Notre Dame). He gave “tough on terrorism” a decidedly more literal, hands on meaning. 5. Thomas Dobbs (Robin Williams) in Man of the Year Party: Independent Ok, so he never actually becomes president, but he was a great character nonetheless. After a career of lampooning both sides of the aisle, John Stewart-esque Tom Dobbs takes to the trail on a guerilla campaign, edging his way into debates and getting onto the ballot in enough states to be politically viable. The funnyman takes his bid all the way to Election Day. Initial returns show that he wins in a major upset. But further investigation by his love interest reveals that corruption and voting-machine tampering falsified the results. Dobbs turns down the opportunity to ignore the findings take office, and goes public with the news, turning the White House over to the real winner. Integrity and humor…how many of those have you seen? 6. Mackenzie Allen (Geena Davis) in Commander-in-Chief Party: Independent (Republican) You have to respect the shattering of the glass ceiling, even if it is only just on TV. Geena Davis (who won a Golden Globe for her performance) starred as the moderate-Republican who ran as an independent vice-presidential candidate in the 2008 elections, ultimately winning the race. When the president dies in office, she becomes the first female President of the United States, and shows toughness and grit all along. And after 221 years of nothing but men in the position, it’s nice to see a woman doing it just as well as any of them. The show itself, however, was a bit of a letdown, being cancelled after just one season. 7. Tom Beck (Morgan Freeman) in Deep Impact Party: Unknown Everyone at FEMA, get out your notebooks and pop this movie into your DVD players. President Tom Beck managed to deal with a meteorite crashing into the Earth and causing massive damage and incredible loss of life, and still manage to deliver a knockout speech when it was all over. He acted quickly to respond to the meteor, sending a team of physicists into space (though they’re mission is only partially successful) and ordering the construction of underground shelters to keep people safe. Tough decisions, good speech. A+, Morgan. A+. 8. Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman) in Independence Day Party: Unknown Thomas Whitmore, the President of the United States during an alien invasion, sheds the business suit to become the hero in this apocalyptic war-on-earth movie. After his wife is killed, he summons all humans to a remote Air Force base, where he assembles a ramshackle fleet of former airmen and crop-dusters alike to take on the alien bad guys. He delivers a rousing speech (which despite the obvious corniness of the movie is quite good), and unites an international coalition behind the common goal of protecting earth, before jumping into a fighter plane to make a run at the nerve center of the alien ship. When he runs out of missiles and prepares to make the operation a kamikaze mission, nutball Randy Quaid steps in and does it for him…thank God for that. 9. Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglass) in The American President Party: Democrat The smoothest President in the history of the United States- well, on the screen anyway- manages not only to run for reelection, but also to woo some female attention. An incumbent, Shepherd is assured by his staff that if he secures the passage of a token crime bill, he’ll be on his way back to the White House without a problem. But he has a crisis of conscience in deciding between the crime bill and an environmental bill he actually believes in, which he promised his new love interest- an attractive lobbyist portrayed by Annette Bening- that he would pursue. He ultimately chooses to go with his conscience- and his heart- and wins the political battle, along with the girl. 10. Jack Ryan (Ben Affleck, Clint Eastwood, Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford) in Sum of All Fears, Clear and Present Danger, The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games Party: Democrat We moved Ryan down to the bottom because you never actually see him become president on screen, but that might change some day. Jack Ryan is the center of political spy thriller author Tom Clancy’s world. He began as an intelligence officer and took on one impossible task after another in each of Clancy’s books. He was portrayed by a number of different actors in a number of different movies, but was always as deadly and cunning as James Bond or any other fictional spy hero. In the novels that followed (which have yet to be made into movies), Ryan would be appointed to the Vice Presidency after the death of the sitting VP, and the presidency after the commander-in-chief is killed during a terrorist attack. Stepping up to the plate once more, Ryan takes his tough-guy ways to the White House, and is every bit the hero there as he was on submarines, aircraft carriers, etc.
