Hillary's fans, foes eye Geena the Prez
By FRAZIER MOORE
Associated Press
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NEW YORK — "Commander in Chief" would seem to be a pretty straightforward drama: The president dies. The vice president (played by Geena Davis) succeeds him in the Oval Office. And, omigosh, she's a woman!
But there's more going on here, suspicious minds are thinking: Could "Commander in Chief" really be a weekly infomercial for Hillary Clinton?
A warmup act for Hillary? Best-selling feminist author Naomi Wolf applauds it. In London's Guardian, she hailed "Commander in Chief" as not only well-timed for Clinton's widely anticipated 2008 run, but also as "truly addictive, political pornography." Granted, Hillary Clinton and Mackenzie Allen (the show's presumed stalking horse for Hillary) do share the same gender. Other parallels, however, seem more of a reach.
Some conservatives are in a lather over Mackenzie Allen's nemesis, the Republican speaker of the House (Donald Sutherland). But show creator Rod Lurie pointed out that President Allen's own chief of staff — a man of solid character — is a Republican.
He added that "Commander in Chief" has its roots not in Hillary's campaign strategy but in "The Contender," a film he wrote and directed in 2000 about a vice presidential aspirant. (It starred Joan Allen ... for whom he named Mackenzie Allen.)
But what about "Commander in Chief" writer Steven Cohen, who worked for Hillary Clinton as the then first lady's deputy communications director?
"I promise that if there was no Hillary Clinton, there would still be a 'Commander in Chief' — I want to have a hit show that people enjoy, and really, that's it," explained Lurie, whose surprising exit from his top-10-ranked series was announced a couple of days later.
Under a two-year deal with Touchstone Television, Lurie has given up his job running "Commander in Chief" to concentrate on developing new series, while TV veteran Steven Bochco ("NYPD Blue" and "L.A. Law") takes the production reins of a show that had fallen dangerously behind schedule.
Just another shakeup in the TV biz? Or is there (hmm) more to the story? Try and stop suspicious minds from hashing over what it might be.
Learn more: www.abc.com
