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Our Presidents Are Different
World leaders have provided much dramatic inspiration for creators over the years — the prestige and power these people are afforded and the intrigue, dangers, and tensions that surround them can make for great stories. However, including the real world leader in your story can have several ramifications, not all of them good; if the depiction isn't particularly flattering (or even if it is — just not to some people), this can see your work receive unwanted controversy, attention and (if the person in question happens to be alive and litigious) legal action. Or maybe your story takes place Twenty Minutes Into The Future. As such, many creators choose to create an entirely new and fictional leader out of whole cloth to include in their stories, and depending on the story these depictions can fall into several types, which are discussed below.

President Action
I'm going in there to save my men. And the reason is: because I'm the President of the great United States of America!
—President Michael Wilson, Metal Wolf Chaos
A common character in the 1990s, this President kicks ass consistently and thoroughly. Oftentimes, he's far more a badass than his entire Secret Service detail combined; this particular detail is often handwaved by declaring that, before elected to office, he was a decorated military hero — there are several real-world cases (see below), but in fiction few leaders outside of the United States have been placed into this role; it is difficult (although not impossible, given the few examples below) to imagine a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom kicking ass in such a fashion, as much as we'd like to see it.

President Target
The President has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the President?
Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja
The direct opposite of President Action; this President is just the hapless target of whatever assassination attempt, kidnap attempt, kidnapped-by-ninjas attempt, blackmail attempt, or otherwise evil conspiracy the bad guys have planned. Often has an evil deputy or members of his own government gunning for him / her. Can have elements of the other Presidents attached to him, but President Targets are often ciphers, with little information provided about them other than their status as President — which means they might as well have a big target sign on their backs. This President basically exists for countless action heroes to answer this question: Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the president? Sometimes, it's The President's Daughter who gets kidnapped.

President Personable
If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion love actually is all around.
—Prime Minister David, Love Actually
The "Nice Guy" President. This President isn't nearly the badass that President Action is, and is often a bit older, but is often a decent, honourable, and kindly man who treats his position, aides, and country with great respect and dignity. Often takes the role of the Reasonable Authority Figure. A President Personable needs to watch out, however, since the Evil Chancellor is usually waiting in the wings (often as a scheming Vice President or deputy), the Government Conspiracy is often gunning straight at them, and they can easily end up as President Target.

President Corrupt
If the president of the United States does it, it can't be a crime.
—President Richard Nixon
The diametric opposite of President Personable — your (stereo)typical scheming, shifty, and corrupt politician who is only in it for what he can get out of it (legally or otherwise). Often seems to take great pleasure in screwing over the people and system he represents for his own personal gain. Bonus points awarded if he's having extramarital affairs (usually with his aides or secretaries) on the side. When a President Corrupt is in office, you can often find them right at the centre of the Government Conspiracy, and is the quintessential Villain With Good Publicity — at least, until the heroes get on his case. Sometimes appears to be one of the other types until the conspiracy is uncovered, with the possibility of a Have You Told Anyone Else moment. President Corrupt is particularly susceptible to an Engineered Public Confession.

President Scheming
I said things. I said I'd seen proof of life on Mars. I said I'd intervened at the Justice Department to put 100,000 computers in the classrooms, which I thought made me sound like a good guy.
—Vice President Hoynes, The West Wing
A milder version of President Corrupt, President Scheming might not actually be involved in anything illegal, but (s)he's certainly a devious and shifty political operative who tends to play dirty tricks and has very loose ethics at best. They're usually in it not so much for the cash benefits as the political power; make this guy the second banana and they'll almost immediately be trying very hard to make sure that they get themselves into the top job as soon as possible, by whatever underhanded methods necessary.

President Jerkass
In contrast to the likeable President Personable, President Jerkass isn't a nice person at all. He's not necessarily corrupt or shifty; he's just a complete douchebag. He bullies his underlings, he's rude and thoughtless to his colleagues, he's arrogant, condescending and dismissive of the public he supposedly represents, and all in all is not a very nice guy at all. He's usually got very good P.R skills, though, which explains how he manages to get elected; he's all huge smiles and smarmy charm in public, but behind closed doors he's a bit of a nasty piece of work. This President may be a less sympathetic President Target, or the story may require him to be taken down a peg or two in order to become more of a President Personable.

President Buffoon
I was elected to lead, not to read.
—President Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Simpsons Movie
The Ditz President. It's not immediately clear how this guy (or, rarely, girl) ever got elected, because he can barely seem to stand up on his own at times, but nevertheless he's the boss, and everyone's got to put up with it until his term of office is, thankfully, over. (Although sometimes he wasn't elected; President Buffoon often gets the job after a President dies.) President Buffoon typically shows his discomfort with the job of leading the country by taking lots of vacations. Often appears in kids movies and TV shows and/or very broad satires. Depending on how savage the parody is, he may be either a lovable doofus or a hateful incompetent. President Buffoon lends himself very nicely to The Man Behind The Man. See also Stupid Boss, Pointy Haired Boss.

President Lunatic
The missiles are flying! Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
—President Greg Stillson, The Dead Zone
This President may be President Buffoon turned up to eleven, may be a bit too eagerly into religion, or may see enemies behind every curtain and hear ominous whispering behind every pot-plant. Whatever the deal, if this President gets into office, it's a genuine cause to panic, as they are completely and genuinely insane. And they now have far-reaching governmental authority and a runaway military budget (often involving nuclear missiles) to back up their particular brand of delusion. This kind of President often just needs a few little nudges to send them right into becoming a full-blown President Evil.

President Iron
To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only one thing to say: You turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning.
Margaret Thatcher
President Iron doesn't compromise. Ever. Certain and correct in their every move (even if it's the wrong one — good luck getting them to admit it), they charge ahead relentlessly with every action, every policy initiative, and especially every war they get involved in. Women leaders tend to get placed in this trope, perhaps as a consequence of the lasting influence of Margaret Thatcher, the first female British Prime Minister, who was a living ideal of this trope — she was called "The Iron Lady", first by the Soviet press in 1976 after an anti-Soviet speech.

President Focus Group
Sir Humphrey: So we trust you to make sure that your Minister does nothing incisive or divisive over the next few weeks.
Bernard: Yes, well, I think that is probably what he was planning to do anyway.
Yes, Prime Minister
The opposite of President Iron — this president does nothing but compromise. No action is taken without consulting the all-powerful Political Advisor (who is usually pulling the strings) or any number of focus groups; give this President an either/or choice and he'll be dithering all day, and the possibility of making a choice that might make them unpopular (or, even more importantly, lose them votes) will send him into a panic. So he'll most likely Take A Third Option by making a compromise. This way, instead of pissing off one side of the debate, he's sure to piss off everybody.

And after I'm swept into office, I'll sell our children's organs to zoos for meat, and I'll go into people's houses at night and wreck up the place!
—President Richard Nixon, Futurama
President Corrupt or President Lunatic taken up to full-blown supervillainy levels. President Corrupt is often just a scheming jerk with few serious ambitions beyond lining his / her own pocket, and President Lunatic may be several screws lacking but otherwise harmless — a President Evil genuinely wants to rule or destroy the entire world, and has their own country as a power base for which to do so. For examples, see the linked trope.

President Minority
I am proud to be America's first straight female President.
—President Lisa Simpson, The Simpsons
When the President is female and/or from a minority background. How much their ethnicity is mentioned depends on the plot and whether anyone feels like invoking Othello. Any resemblance to Barack Obama... probably actually is coincidental, as this trope has been around for a while. Resemblance to Margaret Thatcher is surprisingly rare.

President Playboy
Well, I gotta go, but... look, if you're ever near the White House, there's a tool shed out back. I'm in there most of the day.
—President Bill Clinton, The Simpsons
When the President is bedding attractive women — or men — that they're not married to. Although the trope may overlap with President Corrupt (who, amongst their other sins, are usually getting some on the side as well), a President Playboy might be an otherwise perfectly decent, honourable and satisfactory leader who just has trouble keeping it in his / her pants.

And finally, on three less, and one more, specific forms of President:

President Strawman
Politics being what it is, many not-that-great writers (and, to be fair, many great ones as well) can't resist beefing up their own views by constructing an easily torn-down version of their opponents or an overly wonderful version of their own and putting them in high office. President Strawman is, essentially, any President who exists solely as either an easily lampooned caricature of an opposing point of view or an overly idealistic and wonderful wish-fulfillment version of the writer's own beliefs (and who usually bears a not-entirely-coincidental resemblance to a current or former holder of office), and if they do possess any characteristics of any of the other presidents, it's usually a thin veneer at best — savage versions often become President Buffoon. Note that a fictional President who happens to hold opposing viewpoints to yours isn't automatically President Strawman; it's only if the sole purpose of the character is to tear down or worship a particular point of view that they become a Strawman. It can, however, be a matter of opinion as to when this occurs, and theoretically from a certain perspective all of these characters could be Strawmen to an extent. Basically, it's when any resemblance of the above to a real-life President or Prime Minister isn't coincidental.

President Mary Sue
A sort of extreme version (on the friendly side) of President Strawman, President Mary Sue is perfection itself: the sort of President that, say, Atticus Finch would make. Every decision is correct and impeccably moral. Every action is noble and heroic. Every belief is valid and correct - and, not coincidentally, conforms to the beliefs of the person who created him. Count on President Sue to single-handedly save the whales, stop global warming, defeat the enemy, uplift the downtrodden, personally read aloud to all school-aged children, and have twelve national holidays in his or her honor.

When, for various reasons, the President simply doesn't appear in the story, but is merely mentioned. For a complete and extensive list, see the link provided.

A specific, thinly veiled parody of a real President (usually, the one in office when the story was made). This can range from a brief cameo that touches on the President's superficial traits, to a full-fledged political satire, although in the latter case the sitting President is usually named.

It goes without saying that the above President types are not all-encompassing; depending on how they're written, each character can be composed of elements of more than one type of President. The following categories are also not limited to the President of the United States, and can be applied to any fictional world leader; however, given the sheer volume of fiction produced by the United States and the unparalleled influence and stature that its political leaders hold both at home and internationally, many creators choose to focus on the office of the President of the United States for inspiration. The presence of a fictional President is often explained by setting the story either in an Alternate Universe or Twenty Minutes Into The Future.

Examples

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