Our Presidents Are Different: Difference between revisions

:A common character in [[The Nineties]], this President [[Authority Equals Asskicking|kicks ass consistently and thoroughly]]. Oftentimes, he's far more a [[Badass]] than his entire Secret Service detail combined. This particular detail is often [[Justified Trope]] by [[Hand Wave|declaring]] that, before elected to office, he [[Retired Badass|was a decorated military hero]], as there are several real-world cases (see below). In fiction few leaders outside of the United States have been placed into this role. It is difficult (although not impossible, given the few examples below) to imagine a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom kicking ass in such a fashion, as much as we'd like to see it. [[Royals Who Actually Do Something|King Action]], however, is fairly common. Note connections with [[Eagle Land]].

'''[[Dude in Distress|President Target]]'''

:The direct opposite of President Action; this President is just the hapless target of whatever assassination attempt, kidnap attempt, assaulted-by-ninjas attempt, blackmail attempt, or otherwise evil conspiracy the bad guys have planned. Often has [[Evil Chancellor|an evil deputy]] or [[Government Conspiracy|members of his own government]] gunning for him/her. Can have elements of the other Presidents attached to him (for example, [[Let's Get Dangerous|becoming President Action out of necessity at the last minute]]), but President Targets are often [[Flat Character|ciphers]], with little information provided about them other than their status as President -- which means they might as well have a ''big'' target sign on their backs. This President basically exists for countless [[Action Hero|action heroes]] to answer this question: Are ''you'' [[Badass|a bad enough dude]] to rescue the president? Sometimes, it's [[The President's Daughter]] who [[Distressed Damsel|gets kidnapped]].

:The "[[Nice Guy]]" President. This President isn't nearly the [[Badass]] that President Action is, and is often a bit older, but is often a decent, honourable, and kind man who treats his position, aides, and country with great respect and dignity. Often takes the role of the [[Reasonable Authority Figure]]. A President Personable needs to watch out, however, since the [[Evil Chancellor]] is usually waiting in the wings (often as a scheming Vice President or deputy), the [[Government Conspiracy]] is often gunning straight at them, and they can easily end up as President Target.

: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]].

:A milder version of President Corrupt, President Scheming might not actually be involved in anything ''illegal'', but he's certainly a devious and shifty political operative who tends to play dirty tricks and has very loose ethics at best. He's usually in it not so much for the cash benefits as the political power. Make this guy the second banana and he'll almost immediately be [[The Starscream|trying very hard]] to make sure that he gets himself into the top job as soon as possible, by whatever underhanded methods necessary.

:In contrast to the likeable President Personable, President [[Jerkass]] isn't a nice person at all. He's not necessarily corrupt or shifty: he's just a complete douchebag. He bullies his underlings, he's rude and thoughtless to his colleagues, he's arrogant, condescending and dismissive of the public he supposedly represents, and all in all is not a very nice guy at all. He's usually got very good P.R. skills, though, which explains how he manages to get elected: he's all huge smiles and smarmy charm in public, but behind closed doors he's a bit of a nasty piece of work. This President may be a less sympathetic President Target, or the story may require him to be taken down a peg or two in order to become more of a President Personable.

:[[The Ditz]] President. It's not immediately clear how this guy (or, rarely, girl) ever got elected, because he can barely seem to stand up on his own at times, but nevertheless he's the boss, and everyone's got to put up with it until his term of office is, thankfully, over. (Although sometimes he wasn't elected: President Buffoon simply got the job by being next in line after a standing President dies.) President Buffoon typically shows his discomfort with the job of leading the country by taking lots of vacations. Often appears in kids' movies and TV shows and/or very broad satires. Depending on how savage the parody is, he may be either a lovable doofus or a hateful incompetent. President Buffoon lends himself very nicely to [[The Man Behind the Man]]. See also [[Stupid Boss]], [[Pointy-Haired Boss]], and [[Stephen Colbert]].

:This President may be President Buffoon turned up to eleven, may be a [[Holier Than Thou|bit too eagerly into religion]], or may [[The Schizophrenia Conspiracy|see enemies behind every curtain and hear ominous whispering behind every pot-plant]]. Whatever the deal, if this President gets into office, it's a genuine cause to panic, as he is ''[[The Caligula|completely and genuinely insane]]''. And he now has far-reaching governmental authority and a runaway military budget (often involving [[Nuke'Em|nuclear missiles]]) to back up his particular brand of delusion. This kind of President often just needs a few little nudges to send him right into becoming a full-blown [[President Evil]].

: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].

: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.

:President Corrupt or President Lunatic taken up to full-blown supervillainy levels. President Corrupt is often just a scheming jerk with few serious ambitions beyond lining his own pocket, and President Lunatic may have several screws loose but be otherwise harmless, but a President Evil genuinely wants to rule or destroy the entire world and has his own country as a power base with which to do so. For examples, see the linked trope.

:When the President is female and/or from a minority background. How much his or her ethnicity is mentioned depends on the plot and whether anyone feels like invoking ''[[Othello]]''. Resemblance to [[Barack Obama]] (in works made in 2009 or later) is somewhat common. Resemblance to [[Margaret Thatcher]] is surprisingly rare. Any resemblance to [[Benjamin Disraeli]] is even rarer. Sometimes used to depict a setting [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future]] in Zeerust-y sci-fi works. Now that it's actually happening, it should be interesting to see how it'll turn out.

:When the President is bedding attractive women -- or men -- that he or she is not married to. Although the trope may overlap with President Corrupt (who, amongst his other sins, is usually getting some on the side as well), a President Playboy might be an otherwise perfectly decent, honorable and satisfactory leader who [[Mr. Vice Guy|just has trouble keeping it in his pants]].

:Politics being what it is, many not-that-great writers (and, to be fair, many great ones as well) can't resist beefing up their own views by [[Strawman Political|constructing an easily torn-down version of their opponents or an overly wonderful version of their own]] and putting him in high office. President Strawman is, essentially, any President who exists ''solely'' as either an easily lampooned caricature of an opposing point of view or [[Canon Sue|an overly idealistic and wonderful wish-fulfillment version of the writer's own beliefs]] (and who usually bears a not-entirely-coincidental resemblance to a current or former holder of office), and if he does possess any characteristics of any of the other presidents, it's usually a thin veneer at best -- savage versions often become President Buffoon. Note that a fictional President who happens to hold opposing viewpoints to yours isn't automatically President Strawman: it's only if the sole purpose of the character is to tear down or worship a particular point of view that he becomes a Strawman. It can, however, be [[Subjective Trope|a matter of opinion]] as to when this occurs, and theoretically from a certain perspective ''all'' of these characters could be Strawmen to an extent. Basically, it's when any resemblance of the above to a real-life President or Prime Minister ''isn't'' coincidental.

:A sort of extreme version (on the friendly side) of President Strawman, President [[Mary Sue]] is perfection itself: the sort of President that, say, [[To Kill a Mockingbird|Atticus Finch]] would make. Every decision is correct and impeccably moral. Every action is noble and heroic. Every belief is valid and correct and, not coincidentally, conforms to the beliefs of the person who created him. Count on President Sue to single-handedly save the whales, stop global warming, defeat the enemy, uplift the downtrodden, personally read aloud to all school-aged children, and have twelve national holidays in his or her honor.

:When, for various reasons, the President simply doesn't appear in the story, but is merely mentioned. For a complete and extensive list, see the link provided.

: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.