On the occasion of this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the New York Times wondered, “How would a Hollywood president tackle the challenges facing Mr. Obama?†getting Aaron Sorkin, Doug Liman, Fred Thompson, and Rod Lurie to weigh in. (Liman proposed a good cinematic interpretation of the financial crisis might be to strand a fictitious president played by Harrison Ford on a desert island with Henry Paulson, and ultimately have Ford throw Paulson into the ocean shouting, “Get off my island!â€) Also chiming in, Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, who we really hope was tossed this Wiffle ball after answering questions about something important. “The script is written and rewritten for you every day — the oil spill, for example,†he said. “And there are many more characters to contend with, working off their own scripts.†Now you know: Real presidents have to contend with real life.
How Hollywood Presidents Would Solve America’s Problems. [NYT]