The Presidents We Imagine: Two Centuries of White House Fictions on the Page, on the Stage, Onscreen, and Online

American culture scholar and former political reporter Smith argues that the highest political post in the land ""could not exist without first being imagined""; here, he examines how the Presidency has been imagined and re-imagined through fiction and film ever since George Washington took the oath. Smith finds that even the earliest biographers took literary license-today, ""Parson"" Weems's profile of Washington is considered historical fiction-but also that fictional presidents have mirrored their future real-world counterparts (like the protagonist of Irving Wallace's 1964 novel The Man, an African-American campaigning for president). Tom Clancy, The West Wing, The Manchurian Candidate, Tanner '88 and ""President Barbie"" come under the scope, and a number of plots-from the political adventures of Jack Downing (creation of newspaperman Seba Smith) to the animated Web series Hard-Drinkin' Lincoln-get summary treatment. Unfortunately, Smith's scholarly prose limits his work's appeal; readers expecting a colorful examination of cultural politics and political culture will find a thesis-like examination, which often lacks cohesion besides. Still, he presents a fresh angle on a popular topic, suitable for more serious-minded fans of Presidential history. 32 b/w illus.