`A Woman Will Serve in the Highest Level of the Executive!'

I won't begin to indulge my own political musings here; they're mostly infused by thoughts from friends like Mr. Golis, and regurgitation's never seemed very attractive. Buuuuut I'd been anticipating last night's VP debate intensely, so it deserves a reference.

Consider Sen. Laine Hanson (Joan Allen) in "The Contender." She's being appointed VP after the death of the former second-in-charge; lots of hullabaloo surrounds her nomination, as would be expected. She's a LADY, for god's sake. (Difference between real-life and movie-life, however, is that she's respectable. Oops.)

Cue Gary Oldman as Shelly Runyon, the nasty and below-the-belt confirmation committee chairman who wants to see to it that Hanson never makes it to office. He unleashes the political hounds on her, videos of her "sexual deviancy" spread and the movie quickly becomes a modern classic for its genre.

I secretly hope we have a Shelly Runyon on old Joe Six Pack right now. (Oops, again! Contain yourself, Grice.)

(For some reason I can't embed it, but "The Contender" trailer is here.)