One was an actor playing a fictional American President in a 1995 movie. The other is running for President for real in 2008. But something that Barack Obama said in that abominable excuse for a debate Wednesday reminded me of the climactic speech in that movie, called The American President--one of my favorite movie moments.Michael Douglas plays a President towards the end of his first term, looking towards re-election but being attacked by his opponent, Bob Rumson, on the right wing "character" issues familiar in the late 1990s: flag-burning, membership in the American Civil Liberties Union, as well as the main plot point, his girl friend. (He's widowed.) If you substitute wearing a flag-pin, knowing a former 60s radical and a former pastor who made inflammatory statements, you'll see the relevance to Wednesday's debate. Michael Douglas as that fictional President makes his statement towards the end of the movie, when he shows up unexpectedly at a press briefing. I've edited what he said for relevance, and matched it with something Obama said during the debate, both in the post below. You can see the movie speech in full here.
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