April 28, 2009
Obama is President Harrison Ford
In my American Presidency class I spend two weeks on what some call the postmodern presidency. I tend to emphasize the inevitable disappointment the American public has because of the inherent disconnect between our expectations of the President as superhero and the realities of any one person's ability to control the economy, foreign relations, and resolving global crises.
The capstone of this portion of the class is watching Air Force One and using Harrison Ford's character as the embodiment of the archetypal superhero President. A guy who personally kills terrorists with his bare hands while delivering one liners and simultaneously saving the country and his family.
I guess Brian Williams was sitting somewhere in the back row because, for the likes of me, I can't recall ever seeing him in class.
