Casting the 2008 Presidential Election Movie

It may never come, but I want to be prepared when it does - the movie based on the 2008 presidential election. Via extensive research (mostly studying pictures and using my vast, encyclopedic knowledge of every actor working today), I present you with the stars of the film, focusing on the current and former candidates; first, let's look at the Republicans:

Ron Paul may be having a hard time on the campaign trail, but this was a relatively quick and easy one to come up with. Besides there being a strong physical resemblance, it doesn't hurt that Josef Sommer has played a president in the recent past (X-Men: The Last Stand).

Following that same trend, Jurgen Prochnow has some experience playing a political candidate, having portrayed California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is the 2005 made-for-TV movie See Arnold Run. I happen to think he's also a strong candidate to play Mitt Romney.

Ok, so this one doesn't count. Who else to play actor turned congressman Fred Thompson than actor turned congressman turned actor Fred Thompson?

Rudy Giuliani's a tough nut to crack, casting wise. He almost has Jay Leno's chin, but Leno's not really an actor, and outside of that, he really looks nothing like him. Well, Alan Alda kind of does - a little work with the hair and he's really close. As a bonus, Alda has played political figures in the past as well (a senator in The Aviator, the president in Canadian Bacon).

I found Mike Huckabee to be one of the hardest casting decisions. Off the top of my head, he doesn't really resemble any actors of note, but damned if he doesn't look like he should. He's just so...normal looking. At first, I was going to go with Philip Baker Hall (Boogie Nights, "Bookman" from Seinfeld) since he's such a great character actor, but he's a bit too old and, outside of the forehead wrinkles, doesn't much look like Huck. So it's given to another quality character actor (and yet another that has played a president in the past) - Clueless and Dick co-star Dan Hedaya.

Finally, the future Republican nominee - John McCain. You'd think 72-year old actors with young-looking faces (albeit with growths on them) and white hair would be growing off trees, but that's simply not the case. As such, I got a bit creative, using the look and shape of his face as the launching pad, and ignoring much else. Who I came up with may be unorthodox, but with a wig and some aging makeup, I think Larry Miller could certainly be the man for the job.

And over on the Democrat's side of the aisle...

There's plenty of potential actors for the casting of John Edwards. He looks pretty young and is good looking (for a politician). Who better than a resurgent Dennis Quaid to fill his shoes?

Hillary Clinton seemed like a hard casting decision, but lucky for me, I was just flipping channels last night and came across Blue Chips, the college basketball drama starring Nick Nolte and Mary McDonnell. Perhaps that's what subconsciously sparked the idea for this post, as I think with some blond hair and a frumpier look, she'd be a dead ringer for Hillary.

Now, the thorn in my side - Barack Obama. We know there aren't a ton of famous black actors out there; well, guess what? There are even fewer mixed-race (black and white) ones, or at least ones that appear to be. An older Tiger Woods might have done the job, but...not really. Who then? I came up with a few potentials (The Young and the Restless's Kristoff St. John, CSI's Gary Dourdan), only to be disappointed at how little they resembled Obama. Finally, one name and face popped into my head that works pretty well. He hasn't been heard from much as of late, but Mario Van Peebles is my strongest contender to play the strongest contender for the White House. If you can think of a better candidate, I'm all ears.

I'm Fletch, and I approve this message.