A First African-American President

With Election Day over, it's a fine time for exhausted voters to kick back and pop in a movie about elections and the U.S. presidency.

And when you do, what will you find? African-American presidents. Female vice presidents. Heated campaigns, scrappy politics, negative advertising. Barack Obama's victory was one for the history books, but movies got there first. For several decades now, filmmakers have pictured such a twist on the executive branch, filling the screen with charismatic U.S. leaders of assorted shapes and colors.

This list isn't comprehensive, but it suggests a few clear themes. The first reflects a common fear that any African-American who makes it to the White House is in danger of being assassinated. The second is a tendency, pronounced among mega-budget disaster films, to feature a black president in times of global calamity. And a third is the fact that African-Americans and women more frequently assume power in the realm of science fiction, where authors often imagine what humankind has yet to achieve.

"Rufus Jones for President" (1933)

The premise: Small African-American boy runs for president, sparking satire, fabulous music and discomfiting watermelon stereotypes. The politician: Rufus Jones, a toe-tapping tyke in a double-breasted suit, played by 7-year-old Sammy Davis Jr.

"The Man" (1972)

The premise: A freak building collapse kills the president and Speaker of the House. The vice president, who's old and frail, declines the presidency. The politician: Douglass Dilman (James Earl Jones), the Senate president pro tempore who gets bumped into the hot seat.

"Air Force One" (1997)

The premise: A kick-butt U.S. president (Harrison Ford) must fend off neo-Soviet terrorists mid-flight while his lady veep copes back home. The politician: Vice President Kathryn Bennett (Glenn Close), who nobly declines to assume her boss' job.

"The Fifth Element" (1997)

The premise: A flaming ball of death wings toward Earth, boding extinction. The politician: Federation President Lindberg (ex-wrestler Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr.) the odd, bald, large, dumb and squinty leader.

"Deep Impact" (1998)

The premise: Humongous comet wings toward Earth, boding extinction. The politician: African-American President Tom Beck (Morgan Freeman), a terrific orator who levels with the citizenry while establishing martial law.

"The Contender" (2000)

The premise: When his vice president dies, the Democratic president (Jeff Bridges) taps a woman to fill the spot -- unleashing a firestorm of innuendo and accusations. The politician: Sen. Laine Billings Hanson (Joan Allen), Ohio Democrat and purported past orgy participant.

"Head of State" (2003)

The premise: A freak double-plane accident kills the Democratic candidates for president and vice president. With their hopes now aimed four years ahead, party bigwigs select a city alderman to run for prez; smear campaign ensues. The politicians: For president, plain-speaking African-American Mays Gilliam (Chris Rock). For vice president: his bail-bondsman brother, Mitch (Bernie Mac).

"Idiocracy" (2006)

The premise: Five hundred years in the future, two 21st-century guys of average intelligence awake from a cryogenic freeze into a country run by utter boobs. The politician: African-American President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho (Terry Crews), a former wrestler and porn star.

"The Simpsons Movie" (2007)

The premise: Homer dumps pig crap in a lake, polluting all of Springfield and causing the Environmental Protection Agency to seal it in a biodome. The politician: President Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vice President Hillary Clinton.