History Main / PenPushingPresident

* In his ''Manga/FoodWars'' debut, Eishi Tsukasa, current First Seat of [[AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil the Elite Ten]], starts complaining about the massive amount of paperwork he had to deal with when Soma, Subaru and Takumi decided to hold two Shokugekis during the Fall Classic tournament. He briefly mopes about how stressful the responsibilities of a first seat can be. Later, [[spoiler:when Azami replaces Senzaemon as the new director of Tootsuki]], the bureaucratic changes that are taking place in the school increase the amount of paperwork that needs to be done, and most of this paperwork is given to Tsukasa.

* ''LightNovel/AscendanceOfABookworm'': Being an archduke is shown to entail a lot of paperwork, and the story keeps mentioning things that the duchy's archduke has to sign off on personally, such as authorizing adoptions involving nobles. This comes on top of a lot of paperwork that is best dealt with by the the archduke simply because he's one of the few people with the right skills to take care of it. It's implied that the duchy in which the protagonist lives is able to run smoothly, despite having a BrilliantButLazy archduke who doesn't like doing paperwork, because his main HypercompetentSidekick is a {{Workaholic}}.

Who didn't dream of one day becoming President of a country, executive of a big company, or leader of a big organisation? You can give orders, have a pretty life, and have the most important and spotlight-earning jobs! You can be a hero and a model!

And now that you have won the election, here is a pen and a stamp: warm up your arm, 'cause from now on you will use them ''a lot''. Apparently, the main activity of people in charge is to spend their days with a desk and giant piles of paper as their only company. Of course it ''is'' TruthInTelevision to some extent (notably in law-related responsibilities), but naturally, in fiction it tends to be exaggerated to the point of torture. Expect some secretary to occasionally show up in the office with an additional pile, to the dismay of their boss. Usually PlayedForLaughs to show a less glamorous side of leadership. May be PlayedForDrama if the effect is to make the character [[WantingIsBetterThanHaving wish they'd never sought or accepted the job]] in the first place.

And now that you have won the election, here is a pen and a stamp: warm up your arm, 'cause from now on you will use them ''a lot''. Apparently, the main activity of people in charge is to spend their days with a desk and giant piles of paper as their only company. Of course it ''is'' TruthInTelevision to some extent (notably in law-related responsibilities), but naturally, in fiction it tends to be [[UpToEleven exaggerated to the point of torture.]] Expect some secretary to occasionally show up in the office with an additional pile, to the dismay of their boss. Usually PlayedForLaughs to show a less glamorous side of leadership. May be PlayedForDrama if the effect is to make the character [[WantingIsBetterThanHaving wish they'd never sought or accepted the job]] in the first place.

* In his ''Manga/FoodWars'' debut, Eishi Tsukasa, current First Seat of [[AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil the Elite Ten]], starts complaining about the massive amount of paperwork he has to deal with when Soma, Subaru and Takumi decided to hold, not one, but two Shokugekis during the Fall Classic tournament and briefly mopes about how stressful the responsibilities of a first seat can be. Later, [[spoiler:when Azami deposes Sanzaemon as the new director of Tootsuki]], the bureaucratic changes that are taking place in the school increases the amount of paperwork that needs to be done, and most of them were given to Tsukasa.

* The guild master of Manga/FairyTail is usually stuck having to deal with the vast paperwork sent by the Magic Council because of [[DestructiveSaviour the property damage a Fairy Tail wizard causes whenever they go on jobs]], something that both Makarov and [[spoiler:Mavis]] share in equal distress.

* On ''ComicStrip/WhatsNewWithPhilAndDixie'': It is shown a bit of a subversion the [[http://www.airshipentertainment.com/growfcomic.php?date=20080309 Dragon King]] actually burns all the paperwork (therefore a bit of an inversion).

* In ''Film/{{Caligula}}'' or Tinto Brass, the eponymous emperor is shown signing papers 'in the name of the senate and the people of Rome' without even reading them or asking anything about them, until he rapidly gets tired.

* TabletopGame/Warhammer40000: Becoming an inquisitorial representative is usually less clamoured for than other positions at the high lords of terra. The Inquisitor in question is now not only locked away from actively fighting the emperors enemies, but now has too somehow act as a spokesperson for the entire incredible factionalized inquisition, all while also navigating the complex politics of the high lords. The role is therefore usually filled by members whose mandate is close to terra anyway.

* This is the basic concept of ''Series/YesMinister'' and sequels. One episode has Sir Humphrey remonstrating Bernard for not keeping the Minister busy with such paperwork, because otherwise he might start getting busy reforming the public service.

** ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'': Sergeant Colon becomes Acting Captain in Vimes' absence, and his reaction to the paperwork is to just throw it all in the fire. Including the pay dockets. The Watch goes on strike as a result, which actually ''lowers'' crime- criminals know that Mr Vimes will not be happy when he returns, and the last thing they need is draw his attention to them.

** Lord Vetinari, the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, is usually seen at his desk, looking at some kind of paperwork, especially when he wants to put visitors on edge. Sometimes, it's just the newspaper, but once it was "the report from last night's secret meeting of the Thieves' Guild inner ''inner'' council. Another, he had a certain number of files with just the names sticking out. The names of the citizens he was talking to.

* In the Creator/RobertSilverberg series ''Majipoor'', the Coronal lives in a splendid palace at the top of a mountain and enjoys all the perks of a King- until he becomes the Pontifex and has to live in a vast underground labyrinth overseeing the planet's bureaucracy.

* ''LightNovel/AscendanceOfABookworm'': Being an archduke is shown to entail a lot of paperwork, and the story keeps mentioning things that the duchy's arckduke has to sign off on personally, such as authorizing adoptions involving nobles. This comes on top of a lot of paperwork that is best dealt with by the the archduke simply because he's one of the few people with the right skills to take care of it. It's implied that the duchy in which the protagonist lives is able to run smoothly despite having a BrilliantButLazy archduke who doesn't like doing paperwork because his main HypercompetentSidekick is a {{Workaholic}}.

And now that you have won the election, here is a pen and a stamp: warm up your arm, 'cause from now on you will use them ''a lot''. Apparently, the main activity of people in charge is to spend their days with a desk and giant piles of paper as their only company. Of course it ''is'' TruthInTelevision to some extent (notably in law-related responsibilities), but naturally, in fiction it tends to be [[UpToEleven exaggerated to the point of torture.]] Expect some secretary to occasionally show up in the office with an additional pile, to the dismay of their boss. Usually PlayedForLaughs to show a less glamourous side of leadership. May be PlayedForDrama if the effect is to make the character [[WantingIsBetterThanHaving wish they'd never sought or accepted the job]] in the first place.

* ''LightNovel/AscendanceOfABookworm'': Being an archduke is shown to entail a lot of paperwork, and the story keeps mentioning things that the duchy's arckduke has to sign off on personally, such as authorizing the entry of visiting nobles from other duchies into the capital city and adoptions involving nobles. This comes on top of a lot of paperwork that is best dealt with by the the archduke simply because he's one of the few people with the right skills to take care of it. It's implied that the duchy in which the protagonist lives is able to run smoothly despite having a BrilliantButLazy archduke who doesn't like doing paperwork because his main HypercompetentSidekick is a {{Workaholic}}.

* ''LightNovel/AscendanceOfABookworm'': Being an archduke is shown to entail a lot of paperwork, and the story keeps mentioning things that the duchy's arckduke has to sign off on personally, such as authorizing the entry of visiting nobles from other duchies into the capital city and adoptions involving nobles. This comes on top of a lot of paperwork that is best dealt with by the the archduke simply because he's one of the few people with the right skills to take care of it. It's implied that the duchy in which the protagonist lives is able to run smoothly because despite having a BrilliantButLazy archduke because his main HypercompetentSidekick is a {{Workaholic}}.

* ''LightNovel/AscendanceOfABookworm'': Being an archduke is shown to entail a lot of paperwork, and the story keeps mentioning things that the duchy's arckduke has to sign off on personally, such as authorizing the entry of visiting nobles from other duchies into the capital city and adoptions involving nobles. This comes on top of a lot of paperwork that is best dealt with by the the archduke simply because he's one of the few people with the right skills to take care of it. It's implied that the duchy in which the protagonist lives is able to run smoothly because despite having BrilliantButLazy archduke because his main HypercompetentSidekick is a {{Workaholic}}.

* ''Anime/HanaukyoMaidTai''. In one episode Taro finds that one of his daily duties as head of the family is going through a huge pile of paperwork and signing documents.

* Hades himself in ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}''; as ruler of the Underworld, his job essentially boils down to this. Since his Titan-slaying days are long over, he now has to deal with massive amounts of paperwork in order to keep the CelestialBureaucracy running.

* In his ''Manga/ShokugekiNoSoma'' debut, Eishi Tsukasa, current First Seat of [[AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil the Elite Ten]], starts complaining about the massive amount of paperwork he has to deal with when Soma, Subaru and Takumi decided to hold, not one, but two Shokugekis during the Fall Classic tournament and briefly mopes about how stressful the responsibilities of a first seat can be. Later, [[spoiler:when Azami deposes Sanzaemon as the new director of Tootsuki]], the bureaucratic changes that are taking place in the school increases the amount of paperwork that needs to be done, and most of them were given to Tsukasa.

And now that you have won the election, here is a pen and a stamp: warm up your arm, 'cause from now on you will use them ''a lot''. Apparently, the main activity of people in charge is to spend their days with a desk and giant piles of papers as their only company. Of course it ''is'' TruthInTelevision to some extent (notably in law-related responsibilities), but naturally, in fiction it tends to be [[UpToEleven exaggerated to the point of torture.]] Expect some secretary to occasionally show up in the office with an additional pile, to the dismay of their boss. Usually PlayedForLaughs to show a less glamourous side of leadership. May be PlayedForDrama if the effect is to make the character [[WantingIsBetterThanHaving wish they'd never sought or accepted the job]] in the first place.

* Sam Vimes spends a few Literature/{{Discworld}} City Watch books lamenting the piles of paperwork he's obliged to deal with as its Commander. Eventually averted when he recruits some secretarial help, first from the Gooseberry-imp and then from [[BadassBureaucrat A.E. Pessimal.]]
** When Sergeant Colon becomes Acting Captain in Vimes' absence he just throws it all in the fire. Including the pay dockets. The Watch goes on strike as a result, which actually ''lowers'' crime- criminals know that Mr. Vimes will not be happy when he returns, and the last thing they need is draw his attention to them.
** Averted by Archchancellor Ridcully, who just lets the paperwork pile up on his desk, periodically bins it, and assumes that if anything is ''really'' important someone will start shouting soon enough. Lampshaded in ''Literature/GoingPostal'': "Haven't I always said I wanted a paperless office, Stibbons?" "Yes sir, that's why you throw it out of the window."
** Lord Vetinari himself is usually seen at his desk, looking at some kind of paperwork, especially when he wants to put visitors on edge. Sometimes, it's just the newspaper, but once it was "the report from last night's secret meeting of the Thieves' Guild inner ''inner'' council. Another, he had a certain number of files with just the names sticking out. The names of the citizens he was talking to.
* The one dictator in ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'' who inherited the post from his grandfather (who was brutal but able) and father (who was brutal and nothing else) and is essentially a born pencil-pusher who happened to inherit absolute power.
%%* Emperor Gregor in Literature/VorkosiganSaga.
* In ''[[Literature/TheBelgariad The Malloreon]]'', Emperor Kal Zakath runs up a tremendous sleep deficit trying to oversee the bureaucracy of an empire larger than the world's other kingdoms combined. He works out how to delegate the duties once Garion points out that they were inherited from the first emperor: an insane PhysicalGod with the divine power to do it all himself.
* In ''Strange Kingdom Chronicles'' by Oksana Pankeeva, that is King Shellar's primary occupation. According to flashbacks, it used to be borderline torture, even with him only needing two-three hours of sleep a day. When we first meet him, he is actually doing better, having figured out for most part how things work, so that he can have some social life as well.
* In the ''Creator/RobertSilverberg'' series 'Majipoor' the Coronal lives in a splendid palace at the top of a mountain and enjoys all the perks of a King- until he becomes the Pontifex and has to live in a vast underground labyrinth overseeing the planet's bureaucracy.[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': In Operation I.T, it is revealed that the job of Supreme Leader is this. When she isn't trying to keep everyone under control, Numbuh 362 is stuck signing paper work, preventing her from going on missions. It's one of the big reasons she wanted to give up the job.

* The Hokage is sometimes portrayed like this in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', including Tsunade after she assumed the role. They are by definition one of the strongest fighters in their village, but their job is mostly to assign missions rather than go on them.

** While there are quite a few military personnel whose primary duties involve office work, anyone who stays in long enough will eventually get KickedUpstairs and find more and more of their time spend doing administrative work. Even the grunts in the field.