Reagan, Nixon, JFK, Dubya, Clinton - we check out the Commanders-In-Chief's favourite pictures, and run the rule over Obama and McCain's movies-of-choice
Reagan, Nixon, JFK, Dubya, Clinton - we check out the Commanders-In-Chief's favourite pictures, and run the rule over Obama and McCain's movies-of-choice
When it comes to casting your vote in the US, there are those who are drawn to a particular candidate's policies, there are some who're swayed by a politician's personal charisma, and then there are people who place plenty of stock in what a political figure's favourite movie is.
Okay, so perhaps it isn't as important as one's take on the War On Terror or the current financial catastrophe, but a politician's picture-of-choice at least enables the movie critic to make a few - perhaps not terribly accurate - assumptions. Barack Obama's favourite picture is The Candidate. "I can't get enough [of it]," explains the Democrat du jour. "Robert Redford's idealism harkens back to a better day. That said, my team won't let me watch the end for some reason!"
By contrast, John 'Methusulah' McCain loves Elia Kazan's Viva Zapata! Yes, that's right, the face of American conservatism adores a picture about a celebrated Mexican revolutionary. In a move seemingly designed to keep his avuncular image intact, McCain has also professed a fondness for Walt Disney's Bambi.
But what of the men who've sat in the big chair? What did they enjoy of an evening? In the case of John F Kennedy it was Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus. Warmongering Richard Milhous Nixon liked the Francis Ford Coppola-scripted WW2 biopic Patton. Erstwhile movie star Ronald Reagan preferred classic westerns such as High Noon - a surprisingly tasteful choice for the man who saw nothing wrong in making Bedtime For Bonzo. George W Bush - soon to be the 'star' of Oliver Stone's W. - likes Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Black Hawk Down and/or Saving Private Ryan depending upon who you talk to. And Bill Clinton? In between cigars, he enjoyed Phil Alden Robinson's Field of Dreams. "If you build it, they will come," indeed.
But what are we to glean from this? Well, it's intriguing that guys like Nixon and Bush Jr profess a passion for war films given their aggressive approaches to foreign policy. And it's funny that a guy with a decidedly adult personal life should be a fan of family film. Whatever you might infer from the above, one thing is for sure - those who fear American politics is too much in thrall of the cult of personality need worry no longer. Al Gore came within a whisker of winning the White House, and his favourite movie is Tron.
Want to join the debate? Keen to let us know what Warren G Harding's favourite silent classic was? Why not put a cross - not a tick - in the comments box below.
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