Selina Meyer, 2020?
Former Vice President Joe Biden jumped into a crowded presidential primary field Thursday morning, and he’s not the first vice president to have his eye on the Oval Office.
From Meyer’s “Veep” to “House of Cards,” plenty of fictional vice presidents have made it to the Resolute desk, and television is full of iconic leaders in the West Wing. Some are devilishly handsome (“Scandal”), diabolically evil (“House of Cards”), or hilariously inept (“Veep”). In some ways, they’re not too different from some of the candidates currently campaigning.
If you’ve already got election fatigue, or if you wish the Democratic field had more Jed Bartlets than Joe Bidens, take a break from the political news cycle and turn to a TV show. They have a lot to tell us about what a president should, or shouldn’t, be. And, let’s be honest: They’re just so much fun to watch. If you don’t know where to start, here are the seven most iconic TV presidents, ranked.
7. Tom Kirkland (Kiefer Sutherland), “Designated Survivor”
Season three of “Designated Survivor” is coming out in June, so President Kirkland is sticking around. “The common theme through seasons one, two, and three is: Can a good man stay a good man, surrounded by the world of politics?” Sutherland says in a promo for the upcoming season. When the Capitol blows up during the State of the Union address, the secretary of housing and urban development becomes president of the United States. Kirkland is the designated survivor, and the show follows his struggles to protect the nation and his own family. It rivals “24” for action, and Kirkland gives viewers a leader to root for.
6. Lisa Simpson (Yeardley Smith), “The Simpsons”
It’s hard to follow Donald Trump as president. Lisa Simpson predicted it back in 2000, telling her cabinet, “We’ve inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump.” Sure, she only spent one episode as president during Bart’s vision of the future, but “The Simpsons” deserves credit for calling an unlikely presidency 16 years early.
5. Fitzgerald Thomas “Fitz” Grant III (Tony Goldwyn), “Scandal”
The show wouldn’t be called “Scandal” if the president wasn’t having an affair with its lead character. Grant is perhaps the most attractive of presidents, but certainly not the most successful. Throughout the show, he is plagued by personal problems, waffling between divorcing his wife for lead Olivia Pope and staying with her to maintain his image. Linda Holmes at NPR called him “the most dumpable man on television.” Entitled, ineffective, and unscrupulous, Grant is a thoroughly frustrating leader, but no less iconic for it.
4. David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert), “24”
Palmer deserves recognition for keeping his cool under pressure and speaking, majestically, at the lowest octave possible. In that sense, he’s exceptionally presidential. From dealing with family scandals to national emergencies, Palmer remains articulate, deliberate, and conscientious. Of course, he’s also supportive of the show’s lead, Jack Bauer.
3. Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), “Veep”
There’s a reason Louis-Dreyfus won six Emmys for her role in the show. Meyer deserves another accolade, though: most realistic presidential representation. As Washingtonians say the Hill is more like “Veep” than any other TV show, Meyer nails the day-to-day inanity of holding public office. Whether she’s thrown off by a pair of squeaky heels or worrying that a Hurricane Selina in the headlines could ruin her reputation, Meyer is a power-hungry egoist whose efforts at gaining popularity are hilariously absurd.
2. Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), “House of Cards”
Frank Underwood has got to be one of the seediest characters on TV. Frank only gets a mention here instead of Claire because he spends more seasons as president, but if we were ranking rulers on a sliding scale of evil, the diabolical couple would both win. Frank kills a congressman and a journalist before aiding the deaths of others and plotting — spoiler alert — to kill his wife. Claire has her time in the spotlight, though, thanks to sexual assault allegations against Spacey, which got the actor dropped from the show. Before his untimely demise, Frank repeatedly breaks the fourth wall by telling audiences aphorisms such as, “The road to power is paved with hypocrisy, and casualties. Never regret.” He’s a Machievellian ruler, and the audience’s enjoyment of his corruption makes them wonder if they’re complicit in it.
1. Josiah Edward “Jed” Bartlet (Martin Sheen), “The West Wing”
If they could pick any TV president to leap through the screen and assume authority over the Oval Office, most people would pick Bartlet. The authors of A Novel Approach to Politics: Introducing Political Science Through Books, Movies, and Popular Culture put it this way: “Who is the most popular Democratic president in recent memory? lf you guessed Bill Clinton, you are wrong. The simple truth is that there has been no more popular president than the extremely fictional Josiah ‘Jed’ Bartlet from The West Wing.” Known for his witticisms and integrity, Bartlet has the temperament of the kind of president we’d like to see in the White House.
