"You've got your slavery, and little good may it do you! Now vote, damn you!"

Today, being the first Monday in November is traditionally Election Day. And like the quote from 1776 used to title this posting, I'd like to hearken back to a point made in a previous posting about that film. (See "Mr. Secretary, New York abstains-courteously." from 7/4/2006) We used any excuse to exploit a theme when running films on the monitors in our store, be it a holiday or celebrity death or even the start of a war. I remember during the run-up to the second Gulf War, when the country was sharply divided over calls to invade or not to, films like Battleground, Sands of Iwo Jima and even anti-war films like Paths of Glory all made the rounds on our TV screens. I recall one irate customer storming out because I chose to run the latter film starring Kirk Douglas. I meant no disrespect, I just though if we were going to do this we might as well be fair to all sides of the argument. And of course Election Day was no exception. From presidential biopics like, Abe Lincoln in Illinois and political corruption films like All The President's Men to comedic looks at the election process in films like The Candidate and Dick, there was no shortage of films to show on the subject of politics. One of my all-time favorites was the 1964 film version of the Gore Vidal play, The Best Man. Starring Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson, The Best Man is a darkly satiric look at the election process in this country back in the days when national party conventions actually meant something and served a purpose. Henry Fonda plays liberal candidate for President, William Russell, who faces a fight for the party nomination against an opportunistic reactionary politician in the form of Cliff Robertson. The two vie for the endorsement of a former president played brilliantly by Lee Tracy, who earned an Oscar nomination for reviving the role he also played on the Broadway stage. Of course there are skeletons in both men's closets and whether or not each will use the damaging information he has on each other is the basis for the film's plot. Fonda's unique resolution is one that students of politics today should watch just to see how the outcome of political conventions could bring surprises back in those days. I often think of The Best Man every four years when the now two-hour paid political advertisements that disguise themselves as party conventions bore us all to tears. I sit and watch these pre-approved candidates from both parties who are so rarely as interesting as the men who have come before them both on and off screen.