Feb. 15, 2021
Here's the best conspiracy theory you'll hear all day (among the many coming out of the White House): None of this is happening.
Everything since the 2016 presidential election is just b-roll for a parody movie about the American presidency. Our actual president is dancing with Annette Bening at state dinner. Our president is balancing the federal budget with common sense. Our American president is kicking ass on Air Force One.
<p>Like most people these days, I rely on movies to feel anything close to a real emotion. When it comes to political fervor, most of my passion for democracy comes from watching movies about fictional presidents, preferably with excellent cinematography and unrealistically attractive actors who recite Aaron Sorkin lines in bold pant suits during dramatic "walk-and-talk" tracking shots. Who hasn't closed their eyes and pretended <em>The West Wing's </em>Martin Sheen was running America with his soft, uncular gaze?</p><p>But rather than analyze what that says about my and most Americans' civic values (or the fact that <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/09/few-americans-care-about-democracy/616534/" target="_blank">96.5 percent </a>of us <a href="https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/campuspress.yale.edu/dist/6/1038/files/2020/06/Graham-and-Svolik-2020-APSR.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">don't give a f**k about democracy</a>, according to a recent Yale study), I'm going to keep searching for the next great American president in my Netflix queue. </p><p>These are the best fictional American presidents (and their finest moments).</p><p></p><listicle id="listicle-2648565824"></listicle>
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