Herb Jackson & Geena Davis

By GoroOfLoan

If you are an authentic political junkie, the type that can't get enough of politics -- real or fiction -- then you have done two things in the last fifteen hours: watched the premier of Commander-In-Chief on ABC and read Herb Jackson's column this morning in The Record.

The premise of the new White House drama (which was just okay, nothing special, if anyone really cares what this authentic junkie thought) is that a rather conservative President has a stroke and the people around him don't feel comfortable with the Vice President, a woman far to their left who got on the ticket to help them win a general election, moving into the Oval Office. When the President dies, some of his staff, cabinet and the next-in-the-line of succession Speaker of the House, push her to resign.

Jackson writes about the November 2005 referendum to create the Office of Lieutenant Governor, a legislative solution to New Jersey having two unelected Governors (maybe more, but John Bennett doesn't really count) over the past four years. Jackson: "The proposal's biggest departure from the federal model comes when a lieutenant governor steps up to fill a vacancy. Instead of serving the remainder of the governor's term, the lieutenant would serve only until the next November election, when voters would pick another ticket to serve for the remainder of the term. If the vacancy occurs within 60 days of a November election, the special election would not be until the following year, meaning the longest a lieutenant could serve as a replacement governor is 14 months.

"Some see this provision as the old-boy network being willing to support a woman or a minority on the ticket for show, as long as they could not be in power for too long. Architects of the proposal disagree angrily, saying special elections are common for many other public offices in the state," Jackson writes.

What Jackson is saying, likely with much accuracy, is that party leaders -- the guys who control the lines -- would not feel obliged to back the man or woman (the conventional wisdom is that the '09 gubernatorial nominees will want to balance their tickets with a woman or minority, or both) elected as Lieutenant Governor to be a heartbeat away from the nation's most powerful governorship. Unlike the United States Constitution, which provides for the Vice President to finish the term, the proposed amendment to the State Constitution -- arguably better than the current system -- still provides a loophole to the political elite.

And if you aren't a real junie, and don't care about Herb Jackson or Geena Davis, CLICK HERE.

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Related topics: John Bennett, Herb Jackson, The White House

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Comments

Here's where Wally and I do the Ebert & Roeper thing: he seems t

posted by Bill Pascoe

Here's where Wally and I do the Ebert & Roeper thing: he seems to give "Commander in Chief" a general, if weak, thumbs up, while I give it a really UGLY thumbs down.

This so-called "drama" is ridiculous on many levels. The errors were almost so numerous as to inspire a drinking game. To wit:

We are asked to believe that a two-term Member of Congress/President of a small liberal arts college would be picked for VP by a GOP presidential candidate. Never in a million years would that happen.

(And not only wouldn't it happen, but they couldn't even get the college right: We don't know what state she represented in the Congress, but we do know that the University of Richmond is in Virginia -- and if the GOP presidential candidate is picking a VP nominee from VIRGINIA, that ticket is in a world of trouble. It could have been more believable if she were serving as chancellor/president of, say, Kenyon College in Ohio, or the University of Pennyslvania -- something in a key swing state.)

Not only that, but even if the presidential candidate HAD decided to give her the VP slot, she would have had to be vetted thoroughly first -- which means full financials, which means she would have had to assent first. Which means she would have, at the very least, known that the candidate was interested in her for the VP slot. Which would have made her "surprise" at the lunch scene ridiculous -- as it was.

Then there's the whole my-husband-served-as-my-VP-office-Chief of Staff-but-he-can't-now-because-it-would-look-like-he's-running-the-show. Poppycock. First, no VP would have a spouse serving as Chief of Staff. Official DC frowns HEAVILY on such stuff -- there are laws against putting family members on the government payroll, if I remember correctly (and even if I don't, the negative PR aspects would have prevented it) -- and I'd say it would be a pretty safe bet that HAD that scenario occurred (an Independent assuming the Vice Presidency), the President would have stacked that office with his own people, to ensure the VP wasn't going off the reservation.

Time to consider Nigeria. The President of the United States is going to order US armed forces into a foreign land for the purpose of extracting a non-US citizen who's run afoul of that nation's laws? Please.

The President of the United States is going to bring a foreign ambassador into the White House Situation Room for the purpose of showing off and intimidating him? Please.

The National Security Adviser, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff are going to go along with this? Please.

And when the US soldiers DO arrive in Nigeria to extract this Nigerian woman (to take her ... where, exactly?), they're not even wearing helmets! PLEASE!

Next, we must wonder about that last scene, where the new President addresses a joint session of the Congress. Who was the guy sitting behind Geena Davis, to the left of the Speaker? That slot is reserved for the President of the Senate -- the Vice President. But at the time she gave the speech, there IS no Vice President, because the Vice President has just assumed the presidency. The seat should have been left vacant.

Moreover, the TelePrompter goes dark just as she's beginning her speech to the nation. She turns behind her and looks at the evil Speaker of the House, who's grinning wickedly, implying that he's had his people deliberately screw up the TelePrompter. But when a President addresses a joint session, it's White House staff in charge of the TelePrompter, not the Speaker's staff.

I don't know which is more disappointing -- the casting of Geena Davis (she was the third choice, and took the role after both Joan Allen and Sigourney Weaver passed) who seems totally unbelievable in the position, or the writing. Rod Lurie, the series creator, wrote a brilliant political thriller, "The Contender," several years ago. But this effort fails on many levels, and it just goes to show -- Rod Lurie ain't no Aaron Sorkin.

09/28/05 5:20 pm