Posted by
CUBFAN on Friday, July 18, 2008 11:00:00 PM
To prepare for his first "Big Trip" as the president-to-be, Barack "Barry" Obama was hidden away today at a secret location (Camp Barry, perhaps?) to cram for his meetings with the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Israel, Iraq, and Afghanistan. This process may have involved flash cards and role playing, not to mention practice with the ever-present teleprompter on his "For the first time in my lifetime I am proud to be in your country" speeches, and perfecting his compassionate "Can somebody get some water for that person who just fainted over there" pleas in the host country's language (we don't want our president-in-waiting to be just another arrogant American who cannot speak a foreign language, do we?).
This brings to mind a movie about a dimwitted soul who receives a crash course on how Washington, D.C., works.
No, not Mr. Smith Goes to Washington--we're talking about the presidency here. Mr. Obama came to Washington a few years back and had his carrier pigeons bring back a host of campaign advisors in the meantime.
The movie I had in mind is Dave (watch trailer). This Capra-esque movie classic follows the exploits of a temp agency owner who looks just like the president and is asked to take his place when the commander-in-chief falls victim to a stroke. (The manner in which the stroke occurs is more Clinton-esque, but I digress...)
![[Kevin+Kline+in+Dave.jpeg]](http://bp1.blogger.com/__v16ajx69Mw/RpsuXXA76zI/AAAAAAAAAt0/R62R49GKejM/s1600/Kevin%2BKline%2Bin%2BDave.jpeg)
The movie trailer proclaims that "in a country where anybody can become president... anybody just did"! This is the kind of prophetic statement that must send chills up Chris Matthews' leg. But the scene that captures my fancy is the one where Dave is in the Oval Office with his advisors reviewing his powers as president with a giant flow chart (CONGRESS -- YOU -- SUPREME COURT) and later he's in a meeting room practicing on calling on members of his cabinet with name tags placed around the table.
Again, I picture Barry (our very own neophyte-on-the-cusp of power) performing similar mental calisthenics today in preparation for his "World Tour"--he doesn't want to disappoint the traveling troubadours of network television (Katie, Brian, and Charles) who will sing his praises to their dwindling audiences.
Is Will Smith waiting in the wings to portray Barack Obama as Barry or Mr. O Does D.C. or Change You Can Believe In... sometimes it's hard to determine if Life is imitating Art or the other way around. As a reminder, the script calls for a dimwitted soul who receives a crash course on how Washington, D.C., works. But wait! We see our hero taking off on an adventure in the tradition of Hope and Crosby on The Road to Legitimacy... and, ACTION!
Move over, Al Gore, you've got competition for that coveted Oscar/Nobel tandem!