< Previous Post | Next Post >

Thursday, May 31. 2007

Jack Bauer for President and John McLane for VP

Posted by Joerg Wolf in US Domestic and Cultural Issues on Thursday, May 31. 2007

Joseph Farah, the editor of World Net Daily, is another right-winger, who believes that what works in a TV series will work in reality as well. A quote from his editorial in WorldNetDaily [via Sadly, No!] criticizing John Edwards:
How about we decide as a nation to win? What if we decided today to kick the butts of our enemies – and then leave? I'm not talking about a little "surge" in military forces in Baghdad, mind you. I'm talking about taking the handcuffs off our troops. I'm talking about Jack Bauer-style interrogations of captured enemy combatants. I'm talking about carpet-bombing the rug makers in Persia who are manufacturing the explosive devices killing out troops. I'm talking about getting our hands dirty to achieve victory.
Bruce Willis' fourth Die Hard movie will be released on June 27th. Let's see whether John McLane will replace some of the Jack Bauer worship. Or the fans have to recruit Jack and John for the 2008 presidential elections.
Related post in the Atlantic Review: Tom Tancredo in Republican Debate on Torture: "I'm looking for Jack Bauer"

Update: I did not mean to say that only right-wingers want to apply TV methods to reality. Of course, there is a lot of wishful thinking on the left as well. In a comment, Don pointed to the TV show West Wing, which used to be very popular.
Still: I don't know of any liberal fan of West Wing, who argued in a newspaper or a popular online-magazine that Josiah Bartlett has a better policy on Iraq, Iran, North Korea or Russia. No left wing presidential candidate has referred to a West Wing character in the way that Tom Tancredo referred to Jack Bauer. Or did I miss something?
By the way: Fred Thompson, this Senator turned "Law & Order" actor, seems to be running for president and is popular according to the Baltimore Sun. How many evil doers did he put behind bars on TV? Enough to be elected president? Sorry about being snarky. One of my favorite lines from Back to the Future was when Marty told the professor that Reagan is president, and the professor responded: Yeah, right, and John Wayne must be Secretary of State.

UPPERDATE: Our reader Don points out that Fred Thompson "has put a few evil-doers behind bars in real life - or helped do so any way." And Pat points out that the comedian Al Franken is running as a Democrate for the Senate. Read the comments.
Comments (10)

Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry

No Trackbacks

Comments
Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)

Don S - #1 - 2007-05-30 11:10 - (Reply)

"Joseph Farah, the editor of World Net Daily, is another right-winger, who believes that what works in a TV series will work in reality as well."

This of course is an exclusively right-wing fantasy. It's universally known.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_West_Wing_(TV_series)

Comments ()

Don S - #2 - 2007-05-30 16:26 - (Reply)

"Still: I don't know of any liberal fan of West Wing, who argued in a newspaper or a popular online-magazine that Josiah Bartlett has a better policy on Iraq, Iran, North Korea or Russia."

Nicely fenceposted, Joerg. I also am unaware of any such thing - fully qualified. I do seem to recall a few op-ed pieces fantacising that Josiah Bartlett were president rather than the incumbent. But nothing specifically comparing George Bush's Iraq policy to that of a fictional character.

Nevertheless I maintain the difference is trifling - if discernable at all......

Comments ()

Don S - #3 - 2007-05-30 16:37 - (Reply)

Thompson has made a career straddling the public arena and acting. He started as an attorney and was co-chief counsel on the Watergate committee. He got his start in acting by playing himself in a movie about the 1977 Ray Blanton-Tennessee Parole Board scandal which he participated in: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_%28film%29

It sounds as though Thompson has put a few evil-doers behind bars in real life - or helped do so any way. I'm not sold on the idea that he's the best choice for President - but there is no doubt that he's had as substantive a public career as (say) Hilary Clinton or Barak Obama. A much more substantive public career than either John Edwards or John Kerry, having actually done something during his few years in the Senate.

The question is whether he's better than Clinton, Guliani, or McCain. Thompson is more or less equally qualified, however.

Comments ()

David - #4 - 2007-05-30 17:17 - (Reply)

What foreign policy qualifications does Rudy Giuliani have?

Comments ()

Don S - #4.1 - 2007-05-30 17:19 - (Reply)

Pretty much the same as John Edwards or Barak Obama, or Hilary Clinton: None.

Comments ()

Don S - #4.2 - 2007-05-30 19:51 - (Reply)

What qualifications does any senator (i.e. Clinton, Edwards, Obama, McCain, Kerry, Thompson) have for running an organisation the size and complecxity of the US government?

Mostly none. Clinton has headed a law partnership, Edwards a small law firm. Obama has never run any organisation that I have heard of.

Comments ()

Pat Patterson - #5 - 2007-05-30 19:43 - (Reply)

On the other side of the aisle we have Warren Beatty toying with a presidential run a few years ago. While currently the comedian, writer and actor Al Franken is running for the US Senate in Minnesota. Maybe the right, when hunting for candidates among Hollywood, has fewer to chose from but are more likely to be elected.

Since we don't have a religious test for public office then why should anyone be concerned about the job a candidate had unless his resume states that he or she is a serial killer or really loved the Bay City Rollers?

Comments ()

Omar - #6 - 2007-05-30 22:36 - (Reply)

I don't know what is worse: the constant summoning of "Jack Bauer" or the "wollt ihr den totalen Krieg"-mentality of that commentator.. For him, it seems the US isn't doing enough damage in the world. So, let's kill some more, maybe the rest will simply shut down.. How pathetic.

Comments ()

JW-Atlantic Review - #7 - 2007-05-31 00:13 - (Reply)

Pat and Don, thanks for your comments. I have written a second update to make my snarky post a little bit more fair.

Comments ()

Pat Patterson - #8 - 2007-05-31 17:09 - (Reply)

I can't believe I forgot to mention Glenda Jackson and Ilona Staller as examples of other actors, though I guess in the latter that is stretching the label somewhat, that parlayed their notoriety into parliamentary positions. Or rather in Staller's case stretching her positions into political office.

Two others of a very left bent would be first the former stage actress and member of the Gang of Four, Jiang Qing. And the second the former president of the Phillipines and jailbird, Joseph Estrada. I see a trend here!

Comments ()


Add Comment

E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications.

To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly.
CAPTCHA
 
 

Contact Us

Email Joerg Wolf and Kyle Atwell at:

ar-team AT atlanticreview.org

We are available for interviews, and appreciate feedback and suggestions.

Subscribe and Follow

Welcome!
You are reading the ATLANTIC REVIEW,
a Press Digest on Transatlantic Relations combined with commentary and analysis.
More about us.

Follow Atlantic Review on
Facebook or on
Twitter.

Subscribe to one of our RSS-Feeds or to our newsletter.

AddThis Feed Button

Sponsor

SUPPORT THIS SITE

Use these links to shop at Amazon USA or Amazon Deutschland:
 

 

Blogroll

Recommended Blogs
 

Hot Topics

Click on one of the following links to see all Atlantic Review posts about this topic in a chronological order with the latest post on top:

















Click here for the full list of all topics.
Follow transatlantic on Twitter