Our Presidents Are Different: Difference between revisions

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'''President Corrupt'''

 

:The diametric opposite of President Personable -- your (stereo)typical scheming, shifty, and corrupt politician who is in it only for what he can get out of it, legally or otherwise. Often seems to take great pleasure in screwing over the people and system he represents for his own personal gain. Bonus points awarded if he's having extramarital affairs (usually with his aides or secretaries) on the side. When a President Corrupt is in office, you can often find him right at the centre of the [[Government Conspiracy]], and is the quintessential [[Villain with Good Publicity]] -- at least, until the heroes get on his case. Sometimes appears to be one of the other types until the conspiracy is uncovered, with the possibility of a [[Have You Told Anyone Else?]] moment. President Corrupt is particularly susceptible to an [[Engineered Public Confession]].

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'''President Iron'''

 

:President Iron [[Determinator|doesn't compromise. Ever.]] Certain and correct in his (or her) every move (even if it's the wrong one -- [[Knight Templar|good luck getting him to admit it]]), he charges ahead relentlessly with every action, every policy initiative, and especially every war he gets involved in. [[Iron Lady|Women leaders tend to get placed in this trope]], perhaps as a consequence of the lasting influence of [[Margaret Thatcher]], the first female British Prime Minister, who was a [[Truth in Television|living ideal of this trope]] -- she was called "[[Trope Namer|The Iron Lady]]", first by the Soviet press in 1976 [http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=102939 after an anti-Soviet speech].

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'''President Focus Group'''

 

:The opposite of President Iron -- this president does nothing ''but'' compromise. No action is taken without consulting the all-powerful Political Advisor (who is usually [[The Man Behind the Man|pulling the strings]]) or any number of focus groups: give this President an either/or choice and he'll be dithering all day, and the possibility of making a choice that might make him unpopular (or, even more importantly, lose him votes) will send him into a panic. So he'll most likely [[Take a Third Option]] by making a compromise. This way, instead of pissing off one side of the debate, he's sure to piss off everybody.

:A specific, thinly veiled parody of a real President (usually, the one in office when the story was made, or, if the story is set in the past, the one in office at the time). This can range from a brief cameo that touches on the President's superficial traits, to a full-fledged political satire, although in the latter case the sitting President is usually named.

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{{examples}}

** An 'Armageddon 2001' issue of DC Comics had an alternate-future ''[[Superman]]'' as President of the United States.

*** This would, of course, require a Constitutional amendment, due to Article II. Not because he's an [[Human Aliens|alien]], but because Article II prohibits anyone not born in the United States from holding the presidency. There actually [[Aint No Rule|ain't no rule]] that says the president must be a ''human being'', just a natural-born citizen.

** The ''ultimate'' President Action has to be [[Ronald Reagan]] in the comic series ''[http://www.toonopedia.com/reagan.htm Reagan's Raiders]''. Best described by Don Markstein:

{{quote|The basic idea was to go the 1960s TV cartoon ''Super President'' one better, putting presidential incumbent Ronald Reagan himself, along with several top members of his administration, in red, white and blue costumes like [[Captain America (comics)|Captain America's]] or The Shield's, and sending them out to do superhero work among the rice paddies and sand dunes of America's most hated enemies. This was accomplished by means of a technological marvel invented by a Professor Cashchaser, that gave the Raiders the bodies of young men (and instantly instilled commando training too, apparently).}}

* Prez Rickard in DC Comics is that rare kind—a President Teenager.

** Also extremely Personable, and possibly a Messiah figure in the context of the story. Something of a Sue, to be honest.

** While President [[Lex Luthor]] was... well, it's Lex flippin' ''Luthor''. What do you ''think'' he was?

** In the core Marvel Universe, Cap was approached to run as a third-party candidate for the presidency in 1980. After considering it, he declined. In a [[What If]] story, however, Cap accepts the nomination and defeats Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter to win the presidency. Rogers is the ultimate President Personable and President Action, as epitomized by both his inspirational inaugural speech ''and'' the fact that he takes off in the middle of it to disarm and capture his would-be assassin! After which:

{{quote|'''Secret Service Agent #1:''' And we're supposed to be guarding ''him''?

'''Secret Service Agent #2:''' Yeah! But just seeing him makes me feel... ''safer'' somehow. }}

* Mad Jim Jaspers of the [[Marvel Universe]] is one of the few non-American President Action-characters (in this, as an Evil Prime Minister Action of the United Kingdom). His [[Reality Warper|Reality Warping]] powers make him one of the most powerful characters in the entire [[The Multiverse|multiverse]], although his Lunacy (as suggested by his name) reduce his effectiveness somewhat.

* In ''[[Transmetropolitan]]'', "[[Only Known by Their Nickname|The Beast]]" is a full-blown President Corrupt (who does resemble Nixon quite a bit). He is mild compared to his replacement Gary Callahan, known as "The Smiler", who is a [[President Evil]] and then some (and who, sans [[Slasher Smile]], looks surprisingly like [[Tony Blair]]). The differences can best be summed up by their usage of the quote "If the president of the United States does it, it can't be a crime." (a reworking of "If the President does it it isn't illegal"; an actual Nixon quote) during their final interviews with Spider—The Beast uses it in black humor, while Callahan says it with utter conviction.

* [[Black Panther]], King of Wakanda in the [[Marvel Universe]], was already King Action by benefit of being a superhero in his original appearances. Over the last several years, he's ascended to King [[Canon Sue]], so thoroughly [[Badass]] that by using simple wrestling moves he can have Heralds of Galactus wincing in pain, and defeating Mephisto by willingly ''giving'' him his soul (his soul belongs to the Panther God and he wouldn't let Mephisto take it) .

* ''Zenith'''s Peter St. John is a Government Minister and the secret ruler of the UK, and sits somewhere between President Personable, President Scheming and [[Magnificent Bastard]]. He freely uses [[Mind Control]], [[Telepathy]] and deception to get and stay in power, because he feels only his genius can do a good job of running things. Trouble is, from all appearances, he's ''right''. He's arguably the real "hero" of the story, not [[Super Dickery|Super Dick]] Zenith; He drags Zenith into the [[Superhero]] business and makes him stay despite his whining, he saves the world from Master Man's inner monster, he tricks the Lloigor into {{spoiler|getting trapped in a [[Lotus Eater Machine]] for all eternity}}, etc.

* In [[Marvel Comics|Marvel's]] [[The New Universe]], the [[Villain with Good Publicity]] Philip Voigt becomes POTUS with the help of his mind-control powers. He probably fits the Action, Scheming and Evil subtypes, at least.

* The ''[[Squadron Supreme]]'' limited series started with Kyle Richmond, a [[Captain Ersatz]] of [[Batman]], as the President of the United States. After being mind-controlled by an alien being to conquer the Earth, he steps down from power... then [[It Got Worse|things get worse.]]

* In ''[[Superman]]/[[Batman]] Generations'', Hal Jordan becomes President in the 1980s. While in this version of reality Hal never became [[Green Lantern]], he's still a President Action. {{spoiler|After his term ends, he does end up becoming GL in order to fight Sinestro, who is out to kill anyone who wore or was capable of wearing the ring.}}

* President Bill Mitchell from ''Dave'' is President Corrupt. Dave starts off as President Buffoon before working his way up to President Personable.

* The French President in ''[[Banlieue 13|District 13]]'' is a President Corrupt who {{spoiler|thinks nothing of atom-bombing an entire slum just to get rid of the criminals living there.}}

* The unnamed and (almost) unseen President in ''In The Line of Fire'' is a President Target. The story is about the Secret Service Agents assigned to protect him and the assassin out to kill him.

* In ''[[Idiocracy]]'', President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho, porn superstar and five-time ultimate smackdown wrestling champion is a President Ditz with a side dish of President Buffoon, because he lives in a future where the idiots have outbred intelligent people, thus leaving only the morons to march (and destroy) the planet.

* Let's not forget "Tug" Benson, the President Action of ''[[Hot Shots]] Part Deux'' who does things even James Marshall couldn't do, despite being an extreme President Buffoon at the same time.

* The ''[[Star Trek]]'' films have featured a total of two Federation Presidents:

* The President in ''The Sentinel'' is a President Target. The whole film revolves around the hunt for a mole within the secret service who's out to kidnap and possibly kill him.

* In the film ''[[The American President]]'', President Andrew Shepherd (isn't that such a presidential-sounding name?) is President Personable, with a 63% approval rating. The film is about how the widowed president finds love again, so he's a President Romantic and also President Mary Sue. The film was the spiritual predecessor to ''[[The West Wing]]'', which was created by the screenwriter Aaron Sorkin.

* [[Americathon]]'s Chet Roosevelt is President Personable to an annoying degree. In his speech, he finished saying to the people, "This is the President and I love you." and when he got sworn in, he hugged the Justice of the Peace.

* In a rare instance where President Target is blended with President Iron, ''[[Dreamscape]]'''s president defies his own advisers to pursue nuclear disarmament treaties, spurred on by nightmares about [[World War III]]. Unable to shake his resolve, the [[Big Bad]] resorts to an attempted assassination using the film's dream-penetration technology.

 

== Literature ==

** He's also a President Iron and President [[Jesus]], which isn't surprising since he is a [[Marty Stu]]. To be fair, he's a [[Wish Fulfillment]] character, and Clancy did subvert many of his ideals by the next book (not everything he attempted came to pass). Ryan himself lampshades in a rather [[Genre Savvy]] fashion how odd it is that he is so loved (which actually creeps him out a little), and why most of the time his idealism and reality don't mix. This is probably Ryan being Clancy's [[Meta Guy]] realizing what [[Marty Stu]] Ryan looks like and reminding the audience that his [[Author Avatar]] isn't perfect, either.

** Ed Kealty, in ''Debt of Honor'', is Vice President Playboy and Vice President Strawman. In ''The Teeth of the Tiger'', he's President Invisible, losing the "Vice" and "Playboy" parts, but not "Strawman".

** To be fair, the author himself has admitted it's not that good a work, even for being his first one.

* Greg Stillson in ''[[The Dead Zone]]'', in the future that the main character witnesses, becomes a religious fundamentalist President Lunatic who ends up starting [[World War III]] ("The missiles are flying! Hallelujah, Hallelujah!")

** {{spoiler|Voldemort's puppet Pius Thicknesse}} was a Definite Minister Focus Group, since, {{spoiler|being Imperiused, he wasn't even in control of himself}}.

** {{spoiler|Kingsley Shacklebolt, former Auror and member of the Order of the Phoenix}}, became the first true Minister Action after the war, and is also a [[Bald Black Leader Guy|Minister Minority]].

* In the [[Posleen War Series]], there's a couple of them. The president at the start of the series is somewhat of a minor President Strawman, but becomes President Action towards the end of ''When the Devil Dances''. In his [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|CMoA]], he engages (along with his Secret Service and Marine guardians) [[Horde of Alien Locusts|Posleen]] emerging from a lander that came down near a human refugee camp he was visiting. His successor falls into the President Minority (woman) category, with more than a touch of President Strawman, with a strong aversion to using nuclear weapons (not entirely unjustified, given that nukes used by the Chinese didn't do more than delay the PRC's ultimate destruction, while poisoning the land for hundreds of years).

* [[Dave Barry]] promised in ''[[Dave Barry]] Turns 40'' that he would be a President Buffoon if elected:

* ''[[Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter]]''. One guess as to what kind of president this is.

* The unnamed President in the ''[[Illuminatus]]''-trilogy believes himself to be the President Iron, but in actuality he's straddling the line between President Buffoon and President Lunatic in his incessant drug addiction and willingness to start a nuclear war over a tiny Pacific island possibly going Communist.

** Manticore during the series run have had one Queen and three Prime Ministers:

*** Elizabeth III is Queen Iron, due to being [[The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask]] since her teens,

** And this list may go [[Loads and Loads of Characters|on, and on, and on]]...

* Johnny Gentle, the President of the United States in [[David Foster Wallace]]'s ''[[Infinite Jest]]'', is a former lounge singer and rabid germophobe who campaigns on making for a "neater, tighter America," and founds the [[Fun with Acronyms|Clean US Party]] to get elected. His solution to the supposed dirtiness of America is to blast all the country's waste off the planet; when that proves to be too expensive, he sections off much of New England and Upstate New York as a gigantic toxic waste dump (with gigantic Lucite walls), hands it all over Canada, and forms the [[Fun with Acronyms|Organization of North American Nations]] to make the whole thing work. Definitely a combination of President Buffoon and President Lunatic.

* In a variant not listed above, the president from ''[[Snow Crash]]'', while technically a President Corrupt, probably ought to rate as a President ''Loser'': he holds office at a time when federal authority has diminished so catastrophically that nearly all of the current United States has been sold off to extraterritorial corporations. Upon meeting him, Y.T. doesn't even have a clue who he is, or care once he tells her.

* Zaphod Beeblebrox was chosen as President of the [[Douglas Adams|Hitchhiker's Guide]] galaxy, specifically ''because'' he's a natural for President Buffoon (with a side order of Playboy, Scheming and Personable), so would distract attention away from anyone holding genuine authority.

* Although a senator rather than a president, Evangel McDowell of the web-novel ''[[Domina]]'' is a President Action. He helps fight off a horde of zombies and organize the survivors.

 

* The [[Too Good to Last|woefully short]] show ''[[Commander in Chief]]'' starred Geena Davis as a Minority President (with a side order of President Iron and President Personable), and a very competent one at that. Noteworthy that while her status as the first female President got plenty of mention, in practice her status as the first independent President (i.e. no party affiliation) since George Washington proved more important.

* President Jed Bartlet in ''[[The West Wing]]'' is a President Personable. He's also been accused from some quarters (particularly right-wing) of being a liberal President Strawman, and his staff occasionally view him as a President Sue, but he presents arguably enough well-rounded [[Character Development]], deep-seated character flaws and contrary opinions to avoid falling into this trap.

** He is also President Target, being wounded in one assassination attempt and having his youngest daughter kidnapped on another occasion.

** President Matt Santos is a President Minority. Probably the first of what will presumably be a long list of that character type to be intentionally based off of [[Barack Obama]]. The writers actually talked to David Axelrod for characterization help.

** British Prime Minister Maureen Graty of the same series is firmly an Iron Prime Minister, launching a full-scale war over the terrorist shooting of a British plane.

*** Hmm...now [[Margaret Thatcher|whom does that sound like]]?

** Bartlet's first VP, John Hoynes, was a Vice President Scheming who eventually had to resign when it was revealed that he was a Vice President Playboy as well. His replacement, Robert Russell, was a mild Vice President Buffoon.

* U.S. President Arthur Winters in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story ''The Sound of Drums'' is something of a President Buffoon—although technically, he's only a President-''Elect''. ([[Fridge Logic|Which is rather odd considering it was broadcast in spring of 2008. Even odder: it was first broadcast in the UK, the series' home country, in the summer of 2007. This troper is unaware if the previous troper was referring to its first US broadcast or was just mistaken.]] Since there was only a single reference to Winters as President-Elect, and in all other respects he appears to be the actual President—the President-Elect does not travel on Air Force One, for instance—it was probably a continuity error.)

** Mr. Saxon in the same episode is a Lunatic [[President Evil|Prime Minister Evil]] hiding behind a facade of Buffoonery. He's also {{spoiler|the Master, and thus an Alien Prime Minster Evil}} too.

* Reginald J. Priest in Season Four of ''[[Lexx]]'' is a viciously presented Corrupt President Buffoon.

** He borders on [[President Evil]] at times (such as nuking countries that piss him off and letting the plant aliens eat Japan), but that is to be expected when you remember that he's [[Satan|Prince's]] puppet.

** President Laura Roslin of the same series is mostly President Iron. Except for brief forays into religious zeal that arguably make her President Lunatic.

** There is also a President Minority

* ''[[Babylon 5]]'' had almost all of these variants during its run, including:

** President Jesus: {{spoiler|First almost played straight, but then averted with Sheridan during the fifth season}}

** President Mary Sue: {{spoiler|Definitely Sheridan.}}

* ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'' segment of ''Shakespeare Retold'' had Katherine as a [[Margaret Thatcher]]-esque Conservative politician who at the end of the show becomes Prime Minister. Presumably, she would be a Prime Minister Iron, although oddly, she also seemed to be slightly Prime Minister Personal.

* In the spinoff of ''[[That's So Raven]]'', ''[[Cory in The House]]'', the eponymous Cory is living in the White House because his father got a job as head chef. The president is President Buffoon and President Minority, as he is Latino.

* President Johnny Cyclops in ''Whoops Apocalypse'' is a President Buffoon; a former film star who has actually been lobotomised. The British PM, Kevin Pork, is a Prime Minister Lunatic who believes he's [[Superman]] (probably a dig at [[Harold Macmillan]]'s "Supermac" nickname).

** Cyclops does sometimes seem to show some good sense, in contrast to everybody elses insanity, in which case he slides more towards President Focus Group.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* Dunkelzahn of ''Shadowrun'' fame is this trope crossed with [[Our Dragons Are Different]]. Let that sink in a bit. As a great dragon, he was powerful enough to change reality through force of will, but he was keenly interested in humanity, running charities, humanitarian organizations and even a talk show. He eventually ran for ''president'' and got in before dying ten hours later, breaking numerous records including largest president, oldest president, only president born before the Christian era, and shortest presidential term.

 

* John P. Wintergreen, main character of the musical ''[[Of Thee I Sing]]'', presents himself to his party bosses as "nominated by the people, absolutely my own master, and ready to do any dirty work the committee suggests." He becomes something of a President Buffoon once he's elected (with the backing of corrupt political operatives and a campaign based on [[The Power of Love]]). His Vice-President, Throttlebottom, is a non-entity acknowledged by nobody until he reminds them who he is (which he has to do quite often).

* Franklin D. Roosevelt in ''I'd Rather Be Right'' was predominantly a President Personable, trying to think up a way to balance the budget that the Supreme Court wouldn't disallow. He could also dance, unlike the [[Real Life]] FDR but like George M. Cohan (who played him).

* In ''[[Evita]]'' Juan Perón shows certain elements of President Buffoon. In the musical number [[Crowd Song|"A New Argentina"]], he expresses a desire to retire from politics and live the easy life in Paraguay. He is quickly shut down by his scheming wife, Eva, who convinces him to run for president.

 

** '''[[Say My Name|MICHAELLLLL!!!]]'''

*** '''[[Say My Name|RICHAAAAAARD!!!]]'''

* ''[[Sam and Max Freelance Police|Sam & Max]]: Abe Lincoln Must Die!'' had a President Buffoon who turned out to be {{spoiler|literally a puppet}}. He's replaced by ''Max'', of all <s>people</s> living things, who is the definition of President Lunatic.

** Max mixes in a lot of President Action since he still rides around town with Sam and solves crimes

* ''[[Call of Duty: Black Ops|Call of Duty Black Ops]]'''s zombie level that takes place in the Pentagon ("Five") makes [[John F. Kennedy|President Kennedy]] a President Action via the player. As the level can be 4-player co-op, it also allows for a Cuban President Action (Fidel Castro), a Secretary of Defense Action (Robert McNamara), and a Presidential Candidate/Future President Action ([[Richard Nixon]]).

* President Baelheit in [[Baten Kaitos Origins]] is a blatant President Evil despite being a President Personable as well. Despite being the villain for the entirety of the game, {{spoiler|you still can't stop him from being fairly elected because the people of his home continent love him so much.}}

 

== Web Comics ==

* ''[[Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]]'' has a standard figure for the president of the United States (sometimes in practice representing all humanity). He's an older black guy with glasses, but his personality isn't really set between comics, since they all tell a variety of different stories/jokes, so he can fit various other types aside from President Minority.

 

* At one point in ''[[The Spoony Experiment]]'', Dr. Insano is elected president. Three guess as to which one he is. He even lampshades this in his inaugural address:

{{quote|"I even used my real name! You voted for guy named ''Dr. Insano''!!! What the hell is wrong with you people?"}}

* [[Transformers|"Optimus Prime]] for President" returns 145,000 hits on [[Google]]. Like the aforementioned [[Superman]], he's disqualified, having been born on Cybertron, not in the US. Would be counted as President Action (with the [[BFG]] to back it up).

 

* Curiously, ''[[The Simpsons Movie]]'' casts [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] in the role of a US President Buffoon—curiously, because they already ''have'' an Arnie parody (Rainer Wolfcastle) who could just as easily have been put in the role to make the same joke and point (and possibly make it in a less-obvious fashion as well).

** It was also odd because while it fits the parody, it doesn't exactly fit the governor we all know and love. A [[Take That]], perhaps? Matt Groening is supposedly a friend of Phil Angelides (who ran against Arnie in 2006).

{{quote|'''Nixon:''' Computers may be twice as fast as they were in 1973, but your average voter is still as drunk and stupid as ever. The only thing that's changed is me. I've become bitter and, lets face it, crazy over the years, and once I'm swept into office I'll sell our children's organs to zoos for meat, and I'll break into people's houses at night and wreck up the place! Mwahahahahahaha!!}}

* In ''[[Monsters vs. Aliens]]'', you have [[The Colbert Report|Stephen Colbert]] [[Ink Suit Actor|playing]] "[[Alter Ego Acting|himself]]" as a president buffoon, who attempts to make contact with a robotic probe by playing a kickass keyboard solo, puts [[Big Red Button]]s for launching nukes and making coffee next to each other, and tries to take out a 50-story alien robot with [[Shooting Superman|a handgun.]]

** In the ''[[Justice League]]'' episode "A Better World", the [[Alternate Universe]] where Luthor became [[President Evil]] briefly showed his replacement: an incredibly meager President Focus Group that bends to the Justice Lord's every order (his only objection to keeping elections from being held was that they were a tradition ''like football and Macey's parade''), who Justice Lord Superman likely personally appointed.

* President Man from ''[[Invader Zim]]'' is [[Cloudcuckoolander|a mix of President Buffoon and President Lunatic]].

** Considering the [[Crapsack World|setting]] of the series, this is probably the best they could hope for.

* We never see a presidential figure in the [[Danger Mouse]] episode "The Statue Of Liberty Caper" because he is surrounded by Secret Service agents at his Oval Office desk. We can only hear him mumbling which his Service charges translate in government-ese.

{{quote|'''D.M.:''' Thank you, Mr. President...uh, nice to have almost met you!}}

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Characters As Device]]

[[Category:Politics Tropes]]

[[Category:Our Tropes Are Different]]

[[Category:Badass in Charge]]