The Prime-Time Presidency: The West Wing and U.S. Nationalism

1. The West Wing as a Political Romance

1 The West Wing as a Political Romance Say they’re smug and superior. Say their approach to public policy makes you want to tear your hair out. Say they like high taxes and spending your money. Say they want to take your guns and open your borders. But don’t call them worthless . . . the people that I have met have been extraordinarily qualified— their intent is good. Their commitment is true. They are righteous and they are patriots. —Ainsley Hayes, “In This White House” in 2001 the Council for Excellence in Government conducted a survey that asked Americans for their perceptions about government employees. The study discovered that elected officials had the “second most improved image” among all occupations, moving them ahead of business leaders and teachers in public esteem. The council attributed this rise in esteem to the positive portrayals of government officials on The West Wing. Because of the “depth of its [TWW’s] characters,” the council concluded, and because of its focus on “real issues and sincere commitments” that reject the “cynical” vision of politics, TWW has done much to rehabilitate the image of government officials and political leaders.1 Such is the power of popular culture for public impressions of government, institutions, and individuals. Given this power, and given its role as a significant source of narratives about the presidency for vast audiences in the United States and abroad,popular culture ideologically shapes our understanding of this institution. Moreover, given the presidency’s pivotal place in the government and as a representation of U.S. national identity, the narratives can function as significant rhetorics of nationalism. They construct a fusion be02 .ch1.21-53_Parry-Giles 12/12/05 4:43 PM Page 21 tween the fictional U.S. presidency and the values, the rhetorical markers, of U.S. nationalism. Emergent public nationalisms are frequently defined via presidents who act as romantic heroes,protecting the nation,serving their country,and doing what is right. Even the most cursory examination of Hollywood presidents from the 1990s reveals a range of romantic heroes questing for justice and fighting for the American way.2 Harrison Ford’s President James Marshall in Air Force One, before saving his airplane, family, and staff from evil Russian terrorists, heroically proclaims before a ballroom of diplomats in Moscow, “Terror is not a legitimate system of government. And to those who commit the atrocities I say,we will no longer tolerate,we will no longer negotiate,and we will no longer be afraid.It’s your turn to be afraid.”3 As aliens invade earth and threaten to destroy the planet in Independence Day, Bill Pullam’s President ThomasWhitmore triumphantly declares,“From this day on,the fourth day of July will no longer be remembered as an American holiday but as the day that all of mankind declared we will not go quietly into the night. We will not vanish without a fight. We will live on. We will survive.” He then boards his fighter jet to lead the human crusade against the invading aliens.4 Morgan Freeman’s President Tom Beck offers a final sense of closure after an asteroid hits earth and kills millions in Deep Impact, vowing to preserve the United States and its way of life. Michael Douglas’s President Andrew Shepherd is the ultimate romantic hero in The American President, who not only chooses love before politics but also idealistically waxes eloquent about the genius of the American government.5 Even a fake president,Kevin Kline’s Dave, manages to engage the cabinet in a budget-cutting exercise to find enough money to save a homeless shelter. Indeed, with predictable regularity in films and television programs, presidents are often heroic figures, men (and they are always men) who do what is right and are noble,true,and committed to good causes and pure ends. Romantic depictions of U.S. presidents, though, are not limited to popular culture.Michael Nelson remarks that one of the dominant modes for understanding effective or strong presidencies is a “savior model” of presidential leadership, where the president functions as the “chief guardian of the national interest, not only in foreign policy . . . but also in domestic affairs because of the pluralistic structure of government and society.”6 This romantic vision of the U.S. presidency exerts considerable influence on presidential behavior, contends Philip Abbott, because presidents seek to emulate their successful and strong predecessors. His theory of...