History Film / HeadOfState

* PsychoExGirlfriend: Mays gets brutally dumped by his bitchy fianceé Kim (Creator/RobinGivens). When he announces his campaign, she desperately [[GoldDigger tries to get him back]]. Kim never apologizes--she just [[EntitledBitch waltzes]] into several scenes and starts yapping about wedding plans. See RunningGag below for how that works out for her.

The party's (which party? [[NoPartyGiven who knows]]) candidates for President and Vice-President were killed when [[ContrivedCoincidence their planes crashed into each other]]. Senator Bill Arnot (James Rebhorn)--believing they have no chance of winning since the other party's candidate is unbeatable, having been Vice-President for eight years, a veteran of UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, ''and'' [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Sharon Stone's cousin]]--decides to set his party up as next election's favorite by putting Mays Gilliam (Rock), a black alderman of the 9th Ward in Washington D.C., on the ticket.

* ChekhovsGun: One of May's first scenes is his working as an Alderman promising a constituent if the local bus system strikes, Mays will personally drive the man to his job. [[spoiler:On the days before the election when the powerful Teamsters Union wants to meet Mays, it coincides with the start of that bus strike the constituent fears was coming. Mays has his brother go to the meeting and drives the campaign bus around the strike area to help all the residence. It turns out to be a great public relations result]].

* NoPartyGiven: Neither party is ever identified; the entire movie passes without it being specified if Gilliam is running as a Democrat or Republican, and Lewis's political credentials are a mix of both Democrat and Republican traits. However, one of the members of Arnot's party is explicitly for "Big Business", which tends to be a GOP thing.
** "Big Business" has been fairly entrenched in ''both'' parties for some time now. That's arguably the joke towards the end when he says "I'm voting for Big Business!" He's on neither side but his own. The fact that Mays works in a poor Urban neighborhood gives you a big hint what party he's in.

** The constant need to specify that Mays is indeed running for President (Of what?). Of the United States (Of what?). Of America (''Which'' "America"?) ''North''!

* AttackOfThePoliticalAd: Gilliam refuses to run attack ads on Lewis. Not because he has a moral compunction against them (although he does), but because he just does not think they do any good because ''everybody'' runs attack ads. He points out that, in WesternAnimation/BugsBunny cartoons, what hurt Elmer Fudd the most was not when Bugs would attack him directly, but when he would ''kiss'' him. So, Gilliam runs an [[DamnedByAFoolsPraise ad campaign of people professing their support for Lewis: people like members of the KKK,]] UsefulNotes/OsamaBinLaden and others.

** Lewis's attack ads are so ridiculous, it's a wonder people believe them. Such as claiming that Mays supports cancer because he didn't attend an anti-cancer rally (which Lewis probably didn't attend either).

* FatalFlaw: "God bless America, and no place else" proves to be Lewis's undoing in the end. Mays is able to fire back and declare "God bless America, and ''everybody'' else!"