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The Half Dozen of the Other Party (H-DOOP)
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Click here to see the profiles of the losers and analysis of the primary.
ANALYSIS:
When it comes the Half Dozen of the Other Party (H-DOOP), the big question is: what happened? The race was Ford's to lose, and lose it he did. His stiff, awkward acting style and inability to project genuine-seeming emotion cut Ford's lead and may have cost him the race. On paper, Ford seemed set for an easy victory: Big time major Hollywood star versus has been cult sitcom lead. Ford got cocky. He trimmed back on his appearances while Alda relentlessly out-campaigned him at every turn, whistle-stop style.
Bitter H-DOOP officials blamed the Robbins candidacy for drawing voters away from their party. "A vote for Robbins was a vote for Alda, " one high-ranking party official went so far as to say.
But never to be underestimated in American movies is the love of the underdog. If the underdog doesn't win, the audience doesn't go home happy, and if the audience doesn't go home happy, your movie doesn't get made. At least not in America. Alan Alda's victory story is such pure American underdog hokum, in retrospect, he could not lose. Ford found his own celebrity weight used against him, jiu-jitsu style, as Alda campaigned as the Hollywood outsider. Ford met the enemy, and it was himself. Americans love winners, but we love winners who used to be losers best of all.
In the end, a combination of all the factors above led to Ford's defeat, like being stabbed to death by a hundred very tiny serial killers.
photo from the Internet Movie Database
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Harrison Ford
Born on July 13, 1942, Chicago, Illinois
Presidential Qualifications: Portrayed President James Marshall in "Air Force One."
Military Experience
Strength: As Lieutenant Colonel, led a commando unit into enemy territory to destroy a dam in WWII (Force 10 from Navarone)
Strength: Fought against the unpopular Empire as a freebooter; received several medals from the Rebellion (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi)
Weakness: As a Colonel in Vietnam, was a flunky to the officer who sent Martin Sheen on the morally repellent task to assassinate a fellow officer. (Apocalypse Now)
Academia
Strength: As archaelogy professor "Indiana" Jones, he kept the Nazis from acquiring several valuable artifacts including the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)
Family Values
Weakness: Dragged his family to the primitive jungles of South America and went insane. (Mosquito Coast)
Weakness: Had an adulterous affair with a woman who came back to haunt him from beyond the grave. (What Lies Beneath)
Crime
and Justice
Strength: A dedicated police officer who went undercover in Amish country to protect a child witness from killers. (Witness)
Weakness: As Los Angeles cop and "blade runner," he failed to kill the last of six renegade replicants, ran off with another, experimental replicant. (Blade Runner)
Personal
Weakness: Teenage bully and drag racer. (American Graffitti)
Weakness: Public has negative connotation with phrase "President Ford."
photo from www.gocinci.com
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Morgan Freeman
Born June 1, 1937, Memphis, Tennessee
Presidential Qualifications: Served as U.S. President Tom Beck (Deep Impact)
Governance
Strength: President Tom Beck was willing to "take one" for the team and did not take a place in the underground "ark" designed to save the lives of a select few when a meteor hits the earth (Deep Impact).
Weakness: His attempt to save the world fell just a little short and the entire east coast of the United States was destroyed. Oops. This is a policy nightmare. Voters may not forgive his involvement in the worldwide cover-up, that hid the fact that the earth might be destroyed by meteor.
Crime and Justice
Strength: Helped solve a series of crimes which lead to the arrest of serial killer Kevin Spacey (Se7en)
Weakness: Served time in prison, released on parole for good behavior, then broke parole (Shawshank Redemption).
Strength: Because of his involvement as a member of Robin Hood's band of merry men, many liberal voters may like his "steal from the rich and give to the poor" taxation plan (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves).
Weakness: His ideas on the redistribution of wealth will be considered communist by some. He did once have the nickname "Red". (Shawshank Redemption) As radical black leader, Malcom X (Death of a Prophet), he may scare and alienate whitey.
Military Experience
Strength: Served during the American Civil War as a soldier in the Union Army (Glory)
Weakness: As General Billy Ford, was involved with massive cover up, putting the population at risk when a monkey that was sick with a deadly virus found its way to a US suburb (Outbreak).
Personal
Strength: As Hoke Colburn he worked as a chauffer for many years. (Driving Miss Daisy)
Weakness: He worked in a brothel and hung out with prostitutes (Moll Flanders) and he was a pimp and he beat prostitutes. (Street Smart).
Education
Strength: Taught a generation to read as Easy Reader. (Electric Company) Principal Joe Clark turned around student/teacher attitudes at a struggling, dangerous inner city high school. (Lean on Me). This is exactly what America wants.
Weakness: He chained fire exits closed in order to keep drug dealers and bad kids out, but that also traps good kids in. In case of a fire who does society lose? The good kids. This is exactly what America doesn't want.
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