What Would Happen If 25 Fictional Presidents Ran The Country?

Change we can believe in?

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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The office of the President of the United States of America is both the most prestigious and thankless job around. At a moment’s notice, you can go from beloved to universally vilified for events that, oftentimes, are out of your control. Just take a look at the last few months for President Obama— between the IRS scandal, the mishandling of the Boston bombing intelligence, and the recent NSA controversy, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone other than Amanda Bynes who has had a worse three months.

Despite the arrows we sling at whoever currently holds the office, there is no denying the allure the POTUS holds, and in no place is this more evident than Hollywood. Over the years we have seen an assortment of cinematic heavyweights—Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Henry Fonda, and Peter Sellers, just to name a fewcast as fictional versions of the commander-in-chief simply because the position calls for an actor strong enough to portray the most powerful office in the land. The president may be the envy of all other politicians, but playing a fictional president can be just as big.

This Friday, Jamie Foxx joins the pantheon of big-screen politicians when he steps into the role of President James Sawyer in director Roland Emmerich’s White House Down. Amidst Obama’s weekly scandals and plummeting approval ratings, we’re sure plenty of people will leave the theaters this weekend wondering whether or not the fictional Sawyer could do a better job in the real world.

Well, we’re not going to stop at that. Instead, we’re breaking down What Would Happen if 25 Fictional Presidents Ran the Country. Let’s see which fictional politicians would bring us some much-needed hope and change, and which would leave us clamoring for our passports.

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The President (Fail-Safe, 1964)

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Merkin Muffley (Dr. Strangelove, 1964)

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Prez (Prez: The First Teen President, 1973)

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President Skroob (Spaceballs, 1987)

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Bill Mitchell (Dave, 1993)

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Andrew Shepherd (The American President, 1995)

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Thomas J. Whitmore (Independence Day, 1996)

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James Dale (Mars Attacks, 1996)

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President Kang (The Simpsons, 1996)

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James Marshall (Air Force One, 1997)

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Gary Callahan (Transmetropolitan, 1997-2002)

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Tom Beck (Deep Impact, 1998)

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Jack Stanton (Primary Colors, 1998)

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Nixon’s Head (Futurama, 1999-Present)

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Jed Bartlet (The West Wing, 1999-2006)

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Lex Luthor (Lex 2000 #1, 2000)

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David Palmer (24, 2001-2010)

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Mike Brady (The Brady Bunch in the White House, 2002)

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Mays Gilliam (Head of State, 2003)

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Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho (Idiocracy, 2006)

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Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Simpsons Movie, 2007)

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John Henry Eden (Fallout 3, 2008)

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President Thomas Wilson (2012, 2009)

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Benjamin Asher (Olympus Has Fallen, 2013)

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James Sawyer (White House Down, 2013)

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