History Main / OurPresidentsAreDifferent

When the President is bedding attractive women -- or men -- that he or she is not married to. Although the trope may overlap with President Corrupt (who, amongst his other sins, is 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 pants.

* President Richter Karst of the Republic of Bastok in FinalFantasyXI is President Jerkass. [[spoiler: At least until you so later missions and find out that he isn't that much of a JerkAss. He has a (very) gruff persona, but did a lot for the citizens of Bastok that few people actually know about.]]

* In one of the worlds visited by the cast of StrangeCandy, Sarah Palin is a bizarre Sailor Moon parody and the US is threatened by [[EverythingIsWorseWithBears Robotic Bears]]. As you would expect, the President is basically StephenColbert as he appears in his TV show, a President Buffoon which is completely incompetent and was, according to Palin, elected because he makes people laugh.
* In FakeNewsRumble, GeorgeWBush is a classic President Buffoon.

* Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, with his frequent spiels about Western civillisation being "The Great Satan", blatant anti-semitism and even attacking the film 300 for its portrayal of Persians, is a bona fide President Lunatic.
* From Canada, of all places: Former prime minister Jean Chretien, in office from 1993 to 2003, was popularly seen as the "little guy from Shawinigan", but some observers called him the "little street fighter from Shawinigan". He could and did get physical on occasion, personally beating up at least one protester who got too close, and [[CrowningMomentofAwesome being ready to use an Inuit sculpture to beat up a radical separatist who broke into the prime minister's official residence in the middle of the night]].
** Even cooler? That was actually his ''[[BadassFamily wife's]]'' CMOA.
*** And, for the guards, a DethroningMomentOfSuck so powerful it [[PlotHole would make Hollywood execs cringe]].
** And let's not forget the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawinigan_Handshake Shawinigan Handshake]] where the Rt. Honourable Prime Minister Chretien put an anti-poverty protester who was harassing him in a choke-hold, shoved the protester down to the ground, ''and'' managed to break one of the protester's teeth. Chretien even managed to achieve this {{Crowning Moment of Awesome}} while wearing some {{Cool Shades}}.
* Irving Layton said it best, I think: "In Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Canada has at last produced a political leader worthy of assassination." Obfuscatingly Buffoonish Prime Minister Jerkass Irons.
** During a press conference he was attending that was stormed with protesters hurling objects at the podium, he refused to have security make him leave.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi]], Italy's Prime Minister, fits several tropes at once.
** President Corrupt: a perfect one. He used his power as Prime Minister to depenalise False in Balance, a crime he was guilty of. He owns or controls politically 5 out of 6 main Italian TV Channels (and two or three widely circulated newspapers, too) and has used them to make himself a VillainWithGoodPublicity. He constantly uses his power to create new laws of which he and his closest associates would be the main beneficiaries.
** President Playboy. He has had several extramarital affairs. Including (we think, anyway) one with 18-year-old model Noemi Letizia. [[{{Squick}} Berlusconi is 73]].
*** Let's not also forget the party he threw on Sardinia that featured the [[SomethingElseAlsoRises visibly erect]], stark-naked sitting prime minister of the Czech Republic. [[NeverLiveItDown He had to resign shortly afterward]].
** President Jerkass. Saying something inflammatory, then replying he was "misquoted", or outright denying he said it, has become a trademark. He has often shown himself as very sexist and self-centered (he proclaimed himself the best prime minister in 150 years of Italian history). Better not count his many failed attempts at humour.
** President Lunatic. More and more often he lashes out at anyone who doesn't say good of him, reaching ridicolous levels. According to him practically everything, from press (even foreign) through the justice system to the opposition parties, is part of a big (possibily communist) conspiracy specifically set to depose him.
** To his credit, he's also a President Personable, which is one reason of his success in Italy.
* Former Russian President and current Russian Prime Minister VladimirPutin is a former [[SecretPolice KGB]] [[ColonelBadass Colonel]] and a advanced Judo expert. The Russian media also likes to portray him like this. He's also widely accused of being a President Corrupt, with the fact that upon giving up the Russian Presidency he all-but arranged for himself to get the job of Prime Minister prompting these accusations (as well as being a real life EvilChancellor and TheManBehindTheMan).
** Punditkitchen.com (Think lolcats, but for politicians) has [[MemeticMutation memetically mutated]] Putin into President ''[[JamesBond Bond Villain]]''. See [[http://punditkitchen.com/2008/12/28/political-pictures-putin-shark-tank/ here]] and [[http://punditkitchen.com/2009/04/15/political-pictures-vladimir-putin-whose-funeral/ here]].
*** [[http://4chanarchive.org/brchive/dspl_thread.php5?thread_id=49230323&x=leave+ bond+ to+ me As does our favourite imageboard]]
** He recently co-piloted a fire relief aircraft during the catastrophic wildfires crisis in Russia. Just some weeks earlier, he appeared at a bikers' gathering riding a Harley. He hopes to boost his currently declining popularity with these President Action exploits.
* Okay, he wasn't a national leader but former New South Wales premier John Fahey once tackled a protester who approached Prince Charles and fired two shots from what turned out to be a starter's pistol. The fact the weapon wasn't lethal didn't alter the fact that Fahey didn't hesitate to [[strike:"save" one of the creepiest people alive]] act on what could have been a more serious threat.
** In that case, let's not forget British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who similarly handled himself quite impressively after a protester got a bit too close and physical with him. He has some experience in boxing and he actually won some boxing tournaments.

** In an interesting twist, GeorgeWBush [[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/nov/20/20041120-113709-8651r/?page=2 waded into the fray]] to rescue ''a member of the Secret Service''.

* Let us not forget the [[MargaretThatcher Iron Lady]] herself.
* WarrenHarding was a President Buffoon, chosen by party bosses to run for office mostly just because he "looked presidential." He is often cited as the worst president in American history.

** Also President Playboy--he had multiple mistresses, one of whom bore his child.
* Kim Jong Il is quite likely President Lunatic.
** So much so that Kim Il Sung is the actual "eternal President". Sung is also President Dead.
* Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir, aside from being a unique "President Little Old Lady", preceded Thatcher by almost a decade with the President Iron attitude. She waved off considerable minority outrage in the early 1970s (famously saying that the dissidents were "not nice"), and ended up ignoring military build-up by Egypt and Syria (despite ample warnings from King Hussein of Jordan himself), which led to being completely surprised in the 1973 Yom-Kippur war.
** What's not mentioned is that she won the war, now supplied by the US due to threatening to go nuclear. Thus proving that [[BewareTheNiceOnes little old ladies are terrifying]].

* Several of the nations with Westminster-style parliaments (Germany, Ireland, Italy, etc.) give us President Figurehead; appointed by a democratic process (or representatives thereof), but without any power except to sign laws (and they rarely do not).
* WinstonChurchill, who could be described as President Action (the King had to execute a BatmanGambit to keep Churchill from reactivating his own commission as a Major in the British Army and then using his Prime Ministerial authority to order himself to the front). He was also GenreSavvy, as he knew that Hitler would stop at nothing to control the world, even after the leaders of France and Britain gave in to his demands.
** Considering he was thrown out of office almost immediately after the war ended and his reputation for verbal repartee, he was a Prime Minister Jerkass, too.
* Other US Presidents Something:
** BillClinton: President Playboy, natch. Ditto for [[JohnFKennedy JFK]].
** GeorgeWBush: President Buffoon (yeah, yeah, YourMileageMayVary, but you gotta admit a '''large''' swath of the [[strike:American]] world population sees him as this. See DavidLetterman's "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches" if you don't believe me.
*** Even though he was quite a bit smarter than his reputation, he still belongs to the category without doubt by his demeanour alone, along with his cavalcade of creative misstatements that sometimes seemed to verge on deliberate.

** Many of the more popular American presidents seem to become President Mary Sues in retrospect. Abraham Lincoln springs to mind, as well as Reagan, and most of the founding fathers come presidents. But especially Lincoln. Sweet baby Jesus Lincoln.

* Current US Vice President Joe Biden is an example of President Buffoon, he can't even complement Obama without attacking him.

*** He starts a [[spolier:civil war between the Dakotas]] to obtain emergency powers and access to the War Room and its missiles. He then blows up Antarctica and Krypton (if the missile ever gets there)

* [[AbrahamLincolnVampireHunter Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter]]. One guess as to what kind of president this is.

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* ''KillroyAndTina'' has Jesse Ventura as a President Action who doesn't need Secret Service protection, he kicks down walls and takes his cabinet to strip clubs. A one-off joke that later became a plot point, especially when Dubya seemingly declares himself president and challenges him to a fight for the title.
* In one of the worlds visited by the cast of StrangeCandy, Sarah Palin is a bizarre Sailor Moon parody and the US is threatened by [[EverythingIsWorseWithBears Robotic Bears]]. As you would expect, the President is basically StephenColbert as he appears in his TV show, a President Buffoon which is completely incompetent and was, according to Palin, elected because he makes people laugh.
* In FakeNewsRumble, GeorgeWBush is a classic President Buffoon.

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* At one point in ''TheSpoonyExperiment'', Dr. Insano is elected president. Three guess as to which one he is. He even lampshades this in his inaugural address:
-->"I even used my real name! You voted for guy named ''Dr. Insano''!!! What the hell is wrong with you people?"
** His platform includes: building a giant sawblade to cut Canada off at the top and then attach it to Australia, forcing the zombified corpses of political dissidents to fight to the death for his amusement, replacing the entire US population with robots, and turning [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuicideGirls the Suicide Girls]] into his own personal harem. Also, Fu Manchu was his running mate. He won by a landslide.
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* Dunkelzahn of ''Shadowrun'' fame is this trope crossed with OurDragonsAreDifferent. Let that sink in a bit. As a great dragon, he was powerful enough to change reality through force of will, but he was keenly interested in humanity, running charities, humanitarian organizations and even a talk show. He eventually ran for ''president'' and got in before dying ten hours later, breaking numerous records including largest president.

* President Man from ''InvaderZim'' is a mix of President Buffoon and President Lunatic.

* U.S. President Arthur Winters in the ''DoctorWho'' story ''The Sound of Drums'' is something of a President Buffoon -- although technically, he's only a President-''Elect''. ([[FridgeLogic Which is rather odd considering it was broadcast in 2007.]])

* President Arthur Winters in the ''DoctorWho'' story ''The Sound of Drums'' is something of a President Buffoon -- although technically, he's only a President-''Elect''.

* Black Panther, King of Wakanda in the MarvelUniverse, was already King Action by benefit of being a superhero in his original appearances. Over the last several years, he's ascended to King CanonSue, so thoroughly BadAss that by using simple wrestling moves he can have Heralds of Galactus wincing in pain, and defeating Mephisto (basically TheDevil) by willingly ''giving'' him his soul. (Not to mention randomly getting hitched to one of comics' premier Strong Confident Females but still getting to keep his royal harem.)
** Not to mention his OmniscientMoralityLicense. The guy withholds technology that could cure diseases like cancer from the rest of the world because people allegedly don't respect Wakanda enough.

A common character in the 1990s, this President [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking kicks ass consistently and thoroughly]]. Oftentimes, he's far more a {{badass}} than his entire Secret Service detail combined. This particular detail is often {{handwave}}d by declaring that, before elected to office, he was a decorated military hero, as there are several real-world cases (see below). 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. [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething King Action]], however, is fairly common.

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 [[EvilChancellor an evil deputy]] or [[GovernmentConspiracy 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 hero}}es to answer this question: Are ''you'' [[{{Badass}} a bad enough dude]] to rescue the president? Sometimes, it's [[{{ptitle348j0es8wpxt}} The President's Daughter]] who gets kidnapped.

->''The President has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the President?''

->''If the president of the United States does it, it can't be illegal.''

* Former Russian President and current Russian Prime Minister VladimirPutin is a former [[SecretPolice KGB]] [[ColonelBadass Colonel]] and a advanced Judo expert. SoYeah. The Russian media also likes to portray him like this. He's also widely accused of being a President Corrupt, with the fact that upon giving up the Russian Presidency he all-but arranged for himself to get the job of Prime Minister prompting these accusations (as well as being a real life EvilChancellor and TheManBehindTheMan).

** President Corrupt: a perfect one. He used his power as Prime Minister to depenalise False in Balance, a crime he was guilty of. He owns or controls politically 5 out of 6 main Italian TV Channels and has used them to make himself a VillainWithGoodPublicity. He constantly uses his power to create new laws of which he would be the main beneficiary.

** President Lunatic. Are you someone who doesn't say good of Berlusconi, even in foreign press? Then you are part of some (usually communist) conspiracy specifically set against him.

* In {{Salt}}, both the American President Lewis and the Russian President Matveyev are President Targets.

--> '''President Marshall''': Get.Off.My.Plane.

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.

** Many of the more popular American presidents seem to become President Mary Sues in retrospect. Abraham Lincoln springs to mind, as well as Reagan, and most of the founding fathers cum presidents. But especially Lincoln. Sweet baby Jesus Lincoln.

* President [[{{Irony}} Funny Valentine]] from [[JoJosBizarreAdventure ''Steel Ball Run'']] is a President Evil, who uses his power as a means to obtain the series' MacGuffins to become a god.

* The President in The Sentinel is a President Target. The whole film revolves around the hunt for a mole within the secret service who's out to kidnap the president.

* WinstonChurchill, who could be described as President Action. He was also GenreSavvy, as he knew that Hitler would stop at nothing to control the world, even after the leaders of France and England gave in to his demands.

** BillClinton: President Playboy, nacht. Ditto for [[JohnFKennedy JFK]].