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The Candidate

Ponca Dan

MegaPoke is insane
Gold Member
Dec 7, 2003
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Almost 50 years ago Robert Redford starred in a movie titled The Candidate, in which he played a young and idealistic left-wing “community organizer” who was recruited by a Democrat “handler/advisor,” played by Peter Boyle, to run for Senate against a popular incumbent Republican. The smart money said Redford would get crushed in the election because of his extremist idealistic views. Views in which he had strong belief.

The movie was a fascinating examination of how Boyle slowly persuaded Redford to abandon the things he believed in and publicly support more centrist policies that would attract more voters. Redford was gradually transformed into an establishment politician. He still believed his leftist ideology, but was willing to do whatever it took to get elected, forego long held beliefs if they might damage his chances for victory. He leaned more and more on Boyle’s advice to the point it was clear Boyle would actually be the Senator, Redford was just the handsome mouthpiece.

It is a fantastic movie. Unfortunately it has been mostly forgotten, the message (which has never been more timely) completely ignored.

In the end Redford was elected, at which time he realized he was completely unprepared to be a Senator, and was beseeching Boyle asking “what do I do now?”

I recall this movie because it seems to me it was prescient about the times we live in today. While the character played by Redford was intelligent and idealistic, the true power player, Boyle, was hidden behind the scenes, pulling the puppet strings.

By contrast today we have two candidates, Biden and Harris, who are not intelligent (they both strike me as being dumb as a rock) who are not idealistic, in fact have no ironclad principles whatsoever, and willingly have been seduced into positions of power for which they lack competence.

The difference between them and Redford’s candidate is they don’t know how stupid they are, how they are not capable of performing the job, that they are puppets being handled/advised by the real power brokers who have remained hidden and unknown by the public, just as Boyle was in the movie. Like Boyle, we the American people are clueless as to who the real President and Vice President will be.
 
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