Since we already looked at 8 fictional presidents who were terrible at their job, here are 5 fictional presidents who were surprisingly good at their job.
1) President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho (Terry Crews) in Idiocracy (2006)
Sure, it’s easy to be critical of President Comacho. During his presidency, there was famine, pestilence, death, and a total economic collapse. His decision to irrigate the nation’s crops with sports drink called Brawndo did not help. When Secretary of Interior Not Sure (Luke Wilson) decided to use water on the crops, instead of Brawndo, President Comacho sentenced him to die in a monster truck rally. President Comacho did many things that we might disagree with but he was just giving the people what they want. During the Comacho administration the people were happy. Stupid but happy. To his credit, when shown filmed proof that the water making crops grow better than Brawndo, President Comacho pardoned Not Sure and appointed him Vice President. A good President always surrounds himself with the best and the brightest people available.
2) President Thomas “Tug” Benson (Lloyd Bridges) in Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
What can we say about President Thomas “Tug” Benson that hasn’t already been said? The former admiral did many controversial things as President. He complained that his ambassadors always left the country right after he appointed them. He nearly invaded Minnesota. He mistook the first lady for a spy. He hit every other living President with a shovel (except for Gerald Ford, who just fell down on his own). But what other President could swim to Iraq and personally engage Saddam Hussein in a light saber duel? To quote President Benson, “We’ll do this the old Navy way. First man to die, loses!”
3) President Chet Roosevelt (John Ritter) in Americathon (1979)
When Chet Roosevelt is elected president, the former governor of California brings a sunny disposition, an optimistic outlook, and an encyclopedic knowledge of affirmative sayings to the White House. America needs it because all of the oil has dried up, many of its citizens are living out of their cars, and a cartel of wealthy Native Americans are threatening to repossess the entire country unless their money is paid back. How does President Roosevelt save the country? First, he smokes a joint. After that, he puts together a telethon — an Americathon — to raise the money to save the country! Teddy and FDR would be proud!
4) President Taffy Dale (Natalie Portman) in Mars Attacks! (1996)
At the end of Mars Attacks!, 15 year-old Taffy Dale succeeds to the presidency after her father, President James Dale, is killed the Martians. That may not be constitutional and Taffy is legally too young to serve but since there are only 10 people left alive at the movie and Tom Jones doesn’t want the job, an exception to the rules can be made. By awarding the medal of honor to Richie Norris and his grandmother, President Taffy Dale lets those 10 people know that America will rebuild.
5) President John “Bluto” Blutarsky (John Belushi) in National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978) and Where Are They Now?: A Delta Alumni Update (2003)
We should only be so lucky.
You’re the leader of the free world and a masked terrorist has just launched a deadly attack on a major U.S. city. He has blown up a major sporting event on national television. He has killed the mayor. He is allowing a crazy sociopath to preside over show trials. The terrorist demands that you neither send troops into the city nor do you aid anyone who is trying to leave. What do you? If you are the President played by William Devane in The Dark Knight Rises, you say, “Okay,” and then breathe a sigh of relief when Batman turns out not to be dead after all. William Devane also played JFK in The Missiles of October and President James Heller on 24. Neither of them would have backed down to Bane as quickly as the President in The Dark Knight Rises.
Hey, Mr. President, when Snake Plisskin nearly gets killed trying to save your life, you might want to try showing a little gratitude. Escape From New York ends with Snake asking The President who he feels about all the people who died rescuing him from New York. When the President can only mutter a few words of regret, Snake responds by destroying the tape that would have presumably prevented World War IV. Way to go, Mr. President! Would it have killed you to shed a few crocodile tears, at least over the fate of Cabbie?
In a word, overrated. Yes, President Whitmore did lead the army that repealed the alien invaders but he would not have had to do that in the first place if he had prevented the Earth from being invaded in the first place. How many warning signs did the Whitmore administration ignore until it was too late? And how much funding did his administration cut from the military that the Air Force was left in such poor shape that they could get shown up by Randy Quaid in a crop duster? As for Whitmore’s famous speech and the battle that followed, a sequel to Independence Day is coming in June so he must not have done that good of a job of scaring the aliens off.
Through the Shattered Lens 