In 1995, Columbia Pictures released The American President, a film written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Rob Reiner, and starring Michael Douglas and Annette Benning. The film tells the story of a widowed American president who falls for a lobbyist he meets in the course of his work. It intersperses moments of romantic comedy with serious commentary about the political process and the way it intersects with the personal lives of politicians. In the culminating speech of the film, Michael Douglas as the president makes a speech in which he defends Annette Benning's character from his political rivals, and reclaims his own sense of integrity from the quicksand of political compromise his job has pulled him into. Among other memorable lines, this one anchors the speech: "being President of this country is entirely about character".
While Douglas's speech contains liberal policy proposals, it does not suggest that only liberals can have good character. Gerald Ford showed himself a man of character in his short time in the office; George Bush the Elder, despite his flaws, showed himself a man of character and, during his wartime service, considerable courage. George Bush the Younger, despite his serious errors in judgment, left a positive legacy in his PEPFAR program to combat HIV in African and poor countries elsewhere. Listening to the ideals expressed in Aaron Sorkin's words, and considering the genuine achievements of Americans in law, freedom, and government, it is hard not to weep at what the United States has come to.
