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Mike McGarnicle
Below the Beltway |
President Chance
 In the 1979 movie "Being There," Peter Sellers plays a
mentally-challenged man named Chance who, by dint of being completely tabula rasa and
having an accidental meeting with a rich, well-connected old man, is catapulted into
national prominence as a sage and leader. His vague, interpretable utterances happen to
perfectly reflect the wishes that others project onto him, and thus he becomes anything
that people want him to be. By the end of the film, the kingmakers have resolved to make
him president of the United States.
"Being There" can be interpreted in many fascinating ways,
but on one level it's an allegory about how far a completely meritless individual can rise
in the American meritocracy, given perfect luck. In one delicious scene, the
African-American housekeeper who took care of Chance as a child sees him being fawned over
on a television talk show and says, "See? All you need to be is white in America to
get whatever you want."
A variation on this story happens every time America elects a
president, but the pattern has never been quite so perfectly fulfulled than with the
election of George W. Bush. Dubya may be the most amazing example in history of someone
rising far on little but dumb luck (from fortunate parentage through butterfly ballots),
money (from everyone with a country club membership), and the hopes that others project
onto him (to, um, restore dignity to the office of president -- as if it had any to begin
with).
"Being There" also makes wonderful fun of the modern TV
culture -- Chance learned everything he knows about the world from television. This might
seem more applicable to Ronald Reagan than Dubya, but Bush has also reportedly boasted
that he "doesn't read books."
A sequel to "Being There" was never made, but it might have
been very amusing to see how President Chance would have done. Now we'll get our chance.
Mike McGarnicle is a syndicated columnist. He served as
Peggy Noonan's speechwriter in the Bush administration.
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