Stupid question about "The American President" which *isn't* about how it inspired The West Wing.
So, Pres. Shepherd is a widower who meets Sydney Wade about a month before the SOTU. His Chief of Staff AJ says "this is an election year" so it's early in his 4th yr in office. 1/
So, Pres. Shepherd is a widower who meets Sydney Wade about a month before the SOTU. His Chief of Staff AJ says "this is an election year" so it's early in his 4th yr in office. 1/
Much is made about whether the President has the right to a private social life. His wife died several years earlier so normally no one would care if he started dating again. Sydney isn't too young for him and doesn't work for him, but of course It's An Election Year, etc. 2/
So my question is...if it's January, why not wait until after the election before they start actually dating? She may not work for him but there's still a pretty clear potential conflict of interest (which also comes up in the plot of the movie). It's just 10 months away. 3/
There's plenty of people in jobs which could prevent them from having a social life for a year or so. Astronauts on the ISS; soldiers on deployment, etc. It kind of sucks but it's not a permanent thing. 4/
If he wins re-election, they can start dating THEN; he'd still have to deal with the political fallout but it would be a lot more muted.
If he loses re-election, even better!: He can start dating Sydney as a private citizen without any worries about impropriety. /END
If he loses re-election, even better!: He can start dating Sydney as a private citizen without any worries about impropriety. /END
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