|
|
|
|
|
Robert MccallisterRobert McCallister, the 51st President of the United States, is a fictional character played in his youth by Logan Lerman on the television drama Jack & Bobby. Bobby McCallister was born and raised in the fictional college town of Hart, Missouri, graduating from Truman High School where he was the founder of the school's Space Club. He is the son of Grace McCallister and Juan Roberto Del Alba, a Mexican national. Throughout his childhood he was very close to his older brother, Jack. Grace McCallister used to say that Jack and Bobby were two different sides of the same coin. Without Bobby, Jack would never have learned compassion and without Jack, Bobby would never have gained strength. Later in life, Bobby would consider his brother Jack, to have had the greatest influence on his life. Before ascending to the presidency, McCallister had been the governor of Missouri and before that, a Congressman. Despite being raised by his atheist mother to be a secular humanist for most of his childhood, McCallister was originally a minister. He first came up with the idea of running for Congress a while after his brother's death. It was during this campaign that McCallister fell in love with the former Courtney Benedict, whom he later married. When he began his campaign for the position of president, he chose Adam Chasen as his Chief Strategist. At first Chasen was somewhat reticent, however after realizing just how dedicated to his goal McCallister was, he signed on. A Republican Governor, McCallister was running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2040, however he decided to run as an independent after he lost the California primary to Dennis Morgenthal, Senator from Missouri. The senator offered McCallister the position of running mate, something which the governor said he'd think on before getting back to him. How did he get back to Morgenthal? He announced live on national TV that he was running for the presidency as an independent. Six months into the 2040 campaign McCallister lied. He told a story about his father being an esteemed professor of archaeology from Chile who went back to his country and was executed for his political beliefs. The media didn't buy it, and later proved it false. That lie nearly cost McCallister the election. Another time during the campaign that nearly cost him the race was during a presidential debate. During the fourth round of questions, McCallister froze for eight seconds after being asked a question about his half-hispanic heritage, with the whole world watching. He nearly lost because of these two incidents. In the second incident, sitting Democratic president Eugene Lorio was his only saving grace, jumping in at the end of eight seconds with McCallister still frozen solid and covering for him, thus being the only thing that would keep his campaign alive. During the campaign McCallister asked Karen Carmichael to be his running mate, but it was well known she had virtually no interest in the position of Vice President. The post had but vanished under the last two administrations. So when the then Governor McCallister approached her about it, she at first turned down the offer and just assumed he’d move along, however McCallister’s great power of persuasion eventually managed to convince her to become his running-mate. If there is one defining image associated with President Robert McCallister, it would be the photograph taken just before his election in 2040. It tells the story of a fiercely determined man on the cusp of arresting victory away from the jaws of near certain defeat. This black-and-white still photo of the back of McCallister poised backstage at a political rally, leaning his hand against the wall is a difficult picture to interpret. People associate the picture with the president’s determination as he steels himself for battle in the crucial hours to come. For, the night before the presidential election, the race was still tight, the outcome uncertain. If McCallister did win it would be by a negligible margin. They say the image tells the story of a man who sensed his destiny and chased it. In truth, it was none of these things. McCallister is asthmatic, he has been since childhood. He was simply pausing to catch his breath as he often does before a speech. Childhood friend, Marcus Ride served as Senior Counsel to President McCallister. Ride had been best friends with the president’s deceased brother Jack since the age of thirteen. When McCallister saw some dark hours during his presidency he would often say to his wife Courtney, "the wrong brother became president." McCallister has always been known to relate to women better than men. Most friends say it probably has something to do with his mother. He is well known for his relationships with women, however not in the sense of being a ladies-man. His charisma is of a different sort. People close to President McCallister say it was less overt than the media would have people to believe... and less calculated. Although President McCallister was often approached by religious organizations for favors, he is remembered by many as the president who took a stand against religious interest...as well having the least amount of religiously motivated strife in the last thirty years during his presidency. He had a saying about those who would use God's name to achieve their own political ends: "We may have our faith in common, but I certainly hope that's all." McCallister converted the old bowling alley in the White House basement into a chapel where every week they would have non-denominational services and he would always preach a highly inspirational sermon. Because of this, everyone who served in the McCallister Administration would often say Sunday was their favorite day at the White House. The events during his presidency indicate clearly just how unique his character is. One time when President McCallister almost certainly relied on his faith was during a time of scandal. The press latched onto rumors that McCallister had sexually harassed a young girl working on the 2040 campaign. Before long, the White House realized it was beginning to lose the PR battle. White House Chief of Staff Miriam Chen-Pew (who served from 2041 into the beginning of McCallister's second term, at least) decided to ask the vice president to go before the media and defend the president. Yet, oddly it was Carmichael who offered to do so. This eventually led Chief of Staff Chen-Pew to suspect something odd... In his first term as president, McCallister was faced with a national emergency that would come to be a truly defining event in his presidency. A massive terrorist attack occurred, wiping out downtown Chicago with a single nuclear bomb. Suspect detentions and plutonium-related evidence led the authorities to believe Saudi Arabian terrorists had conspired to execute the attack. The media, public, and agencies of the government were convinced and the national security council presented targets to the president for retaliatory strikes. McCallister was not quite convinced that the evidence was strong enough, prompting him to wait days, agonizing days for the victims' families, without green-lighting the strikes. As a result, public protests broke out, Congress demanded action, and the cabinet threatened resignation. Suddenly, a lucky break in the case, an unrelated raid on an everyday building, led to a drastic change in the conclusion of the authorities. As it turned out, a domestic militant group, the FNP was solely responsible for the attack. Everybody realized that if the strong military strike had been authorized, the consequences would have been disastrous. The President was effectively vindicated. The military strike plan was tossed out and McCallister spoke afterwards of waiting for overwhelming evidence before launching any kind of decisive action, in this case military action. National Security Advisor Cyrus Miller (in service of the president from 2041-2044), was exceedingly proud of him, as were others. Chen-Pew and Courtney McCallister suspected the vice president's defense of the President and other events were odd, to say the least. Mrs. McCallister had, in her mind, other evidence consistent with that. The time came when President McCallister, Mrs. McCallister, Grace Benedict, and Vice President Carmichael confronted the realization that Carmichael and the President had been having an extramarital affair. As a result, eventually, Mrs. McCallister moved out of the White House and divorced the President. Also a consequence was the resignation of Vice President Carmichael, an unexpected move to the nation, early in the second presidential term. President McCallister is often referred to as "The Great Believer." ("The Great Believer" was the name of a poem written by a homeless Vietnam war veteran who was a friend of Bobby's mother. Bobby always looked at it for inspiration. The poem was gibberish, but he liked the title.) McCallister, who was victimized at one point by a physical attack as president (not an assasination attempt), is the father of four boys, the oldest of whom he and his wife named after his late brother.
|
 |
|
| Copyright 2005-2009 OnPedia.com. All Rights Reserved |
|
|