Picard for President: Why the (Other) Bald Captain of the Enterprise is a Better Leader than Bush

This week marks the 20th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation, which charted the adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise a century after Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. The Emmy-winning TV series, created under the supervision of Trek mastermind Gene Roddenberry and syndicated on numerous cable channels today, lasted from 1987 to 1994 and served as the launching pad for four feature films. In addition to vastly improved special effects, TNG surpassed the original series' hokey '60s politics (such as the episode in which a race of half-white/half-black aliens loathe a race of half-black/half-white aliens -- get it?) with a nuanced political worldview that often explored the tactical necessity of choosing the lesser of two evils, the proper time for diplomacy to devolve into warfare, and other unpleasant shades of gray. (Does sex with an android count as emotional lovemaking or futuristic masturbation?)

At the moral center of these realist quandaries was Captain Jean-Luc Picard, whom Patrick Stewart played with Shakespearean gravitas (and without the use of William Shatner's signature toupee). The French-born, tea-drinking Picard, who popularized the catch phrase "make it so," was far more of a refined interstellar emissary than a testosterone-oozing brawler -- the Tony Blair to George W. Bush's Kirk, or more fittingly his Zapp Brannigan -- but was hardly a pacifist in an emergency. Indeed, Picard was a literate, contemplative and judicious leader, the exact opposite of what America has had so far in the Twenty-First Century.

A handful of satirical Facebook groups nominate Picard for the highest office in the land. One such group declares, "In these trying times, the resolute leadership of Jean-Luc Picard and the masculine facial hair of [first officer] William T. Riker are just what this country needs." While these groups are farcical in nature, they raise a valid point: the fictional Picard is a greater captain -- and better man -- than the president of the United States of America for a number of reasons:

Diplomacy: Bush invaded Iraq as soon as the reactionary political atmosphere proved conducive; he did not take the time to plan strategies for occupation or exit. However, Picard has a far more cautious approach to foreign policy and greater skepticism of nation-building. "History has proved again and again that whenever mankind interferes with a less developed civilization, no matter how well-intentioned that interference may be, the results are invariably disastrous," Picard says in the TNG episode "Symbiosis." Picard criticized "cowboy diplomacy" by name in "Unification," supposedly the first modern usage of this disparaging phrase. Instead of losing his temper and acting brashly, Picard follows the United Federation of Planets' Prime Directive of nonintervention unless a hostile situation has no possible peaceful outcome, in which case he would respond swiftly and ruthlessly, emulating Colin Powell far more than any neoconservative. According to Lieutenant Commander Data, a human-like android, Picard has an 83 percent likelihood of action when faced with such emergencies. He might not qualify as a battle-hungry Klingon but he certainly isn't a Kucinich voter either.

Freedom and the Rule of Law: In the wake of 9/11 the Bush Administration detained U.S. citizens indefinitely without charges, eavesdropped on citizens' conversations without warrants, spied on domestic antiwar groups and otherwise subverted the most hallowed tents of the U.S. Constitution. Picard has infinitely more respect for the pillars of Western Civilization. In the TNG episode "The Drumhead," an alien security breach on the Enterprise unleashes a wave of xenophobia and demands for security crackdowns but Picard has none of it, cautioning that "the path between legitimate suspicion and rampant paranoia is very much shorter than we think." He proclaims, "The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." In the episode "Chain of Command," a sadistic Cardassian captures and tortures Picard, stripping and beating him for hours of interrogations; after being driven to the brink of sanity by such barbarism, it's unlikely that Picard would ever allow the same treatment of prisoners in his custody. (Stewart watched recovered interrogation tapes from Amnesty International before performing the disturbing nude scene -- disturbing for its content as well as the mental image of a nude Patrick Stewart.) It's a sad statement that a fictional space-faring atheistic Frenchman in the Twenty-Fourth Century defends the Bill of Rights more vigorously than the man who has sworn upon the Bible to do so.

Equality: While Bush tried to insert a federal anti-gay marriage amendment into the Constitution and has identified homosexuals as threats to American families, Picard is far more open-minded when it comes to changing definitions of identity. In the episode "A Measure of a Man," a Starfleet cyberneticist orders the dismantling of Data for scientific study; Picard protests this decision but the cyberneticist claims that Data is the property of Starfleet, not a sentient autonomous being. However, in a legal showdown Picard dismantles the cyberneticist's arguments for Data's inferiority one by one. "Are we prepared to condemn him, and all who come after him, to servitude and slavery?" Picard asks. "Your Honor, Starfleet was founded to seek out new life... there it sits." There is no way to know exactly how Bush would feel about human-android marriage, of course, but it's not difficult to guess. (On the other hand, it would allow closeted self-hating homosexual Republican congressmen to experience lifelike anal sex without technically going to hell.)

Humility: For all of his bravado and back-patting, Bush lacks the self-analysis to alter his decisions when they clash with reality. His stubbornness makes him doctrinaire, insulated and unable to change course. Unlike Bush, Picard shed his delusions of infallibility when he was a young man; after graduating from Starfleet Academy Picard started a brawl that ended with him getting stabbed through the heart and subsequently realizing that he "was no hero, but an undisciplined, opinionated, loud-mouthed young man who was far out of his league; that was a great and painful lesson, and I learned it well." Over time Picard discovered that despite his best hopes and efforts, sometimes a quagmire is a quagmire and there is no reason to die for a hopeless cause: "It is possible to commit no error and still lose, Data. That is not a flaw, just life." In the blockbuster film First Contact, Picard becomes obsessed with revenge after his abduction at the hands of the Borg ("I will make them pay for what they have done!"), but recalls the fate of Captain Ahab and decides on a more rational, tactical approach -- as opposed to a suicidal frenzy of blind rage -- which ultimately ends with the death of the Borg Queen, surely a greater threat to humanity than the pissant Osama bin Laden.

Picard even has the wisdom to perceive that "[v]illains who twirl their mustaches are easy to spot; those who clothe themselves in good deeds are well camouflaged." According to StarTrek.com, Picard is also obsessed with science -- anathema to modern Republicans -- and "has no interest in politics." Indeed, Picard is a superior leader to Bush in every conceivable way aside from being imaginary. Unfortunately the future looks bleak for Picard and the rest of the TNG crew: their last movie, Nemesis, fizzled at the box office; major cast members have refused to reprise their roles; and Lost creator J.J. Abrams is signed to direct a film that returns Trek to the Kirk and Spock era. (Leonard Nimoy will once again play the iconic Vulcan; Shatner is reportedly holding out for more cash, as if this should surprise anyone.)

But perhaps in some alternate dimension -- some transmutation of the time-space continuum, some faraway corner past the Gate of Forever, someplace that isn't Facebook -- Captain Jean-Luc Picard could be elected to lead the free world. If this mirror universe exists, its inhabitants should not hesitate to make it so.

Comments

[drblack]

Picard or gandalf...You know we are in trouble when fictional characters would make better President then what we have now. I mean it...we could use their actions from the stories as abasis for real political decisions and have a much better government.

[commonsenselives]

Great post.

I have often wished I was part of the crew of the Enterprise-D. Picard was almost always level-headed and strong. He was smart, books were his friends.

Its amazing how a fictional character shows us how we should be in real life.

[metal2000]

Shatner is reportedly holding out for more cash, as if this should surprise anyone.

Not to turn a clearly political (as well as thoughtful, interesting, and well-researched -- "Trek"-researched, anyway) into an entertainment one. But I just have to say, that's just not factual right there. Shatner wants in, Abrams wants Shatner in, but they have to find a way within the plot to actually fit him in properly and realistically (an "old Kirk" couldn't exactly talk with an "old Spock" about their pasts, seeing as Kirk died in the "Generations" movie). Money isn't even an issue on this one at all.

Great blog, though!

[anfractuous]

I reluctantly must admit I believe you are right. I'd much rather watch Kirk, BE Kirk, than Picard, but Kirk after all, with stunning regularity, would wreck an entire civilization, and then extoll his violation of the Prime Directive, IN THAT PARTICULAR CASE. Remind you of anyone?

In contrast, Picard would retreat with his senior officers to a conference room and dispassionately prune the tree of options. This always reminded me too much of a wretched corporate existence, with which I am way too familiar, and no gas giant in the background could convince me otherwise. TNG's universe was a soulless spreadsheet, and their need to resort to the holodeck, in order to get their blood flowing, only proved it. But, if it's cold-blooded technocrats we need right now - make it so!

[SouthJerseySteve]

Hmmm...talking about fictional characters as if they were really alive--in the famous words of Bill Shatner... "get a life". [hope you all got the sarcasm]
Actually, this was an excellent piece of writing, just keep in mind, the characters were all created by Gene Roddenberry, who probably based the characters on actual people and events.

[dryfactoidobotanoid]

Kirk had strong principles, like Picard. I watched those 70s episodes on iTunes.

William Shatner also has principles. like being funny as hell.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1744084049066286748
William Shatner's Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds Animation

[rektruax]

What 70's episodes? Sorry...

[Quaoar]

I agree that Picard would make a better president, but you seem to be selling Kirk short.

Kirk might be better at taking on the more difficult job of bringing respectability, responsibility, and honor back to the Republican Party. Having a real second party that reasonable people could actually consider voting for could revitalize our democracy.

[whillice]

Why all the Kirk hate? Clinton is most obviously like Kirk (despite the comments of Al Franken playing Paul Tsongas in a brilliant 1991-92 SNL sketch where the Democratic candidates campaign at a Star Trek convention)

Ok, Ok-- here's one: Sisko = Obama, Janeway = Hillary, and Archer = Edwards

Better retreat back to my nerd cave in my parents' basement after that one. . .

[animatedAlan1113]

When Deep Space Nine first premiered, TVGuide did an article about how Sisko was the first captain of the "Clinton-era 90's". It gave a great comparison between DS9 and the US at that time. Not as "shoot 'em up macho" as the 60's and 70's, not as "touchy-feely" as the 80's, DS9 struck a balance between the two. Maybe it's because I am such a huge supporter of DS9 (usually considered the "rented mule" of the franchise, never getting the respect that it deserved) that I write this. if you haven't checked out the series, please do. It's truly a masterpiece of character development and storytelling...at least seasons 3 through 7.

[DonRoberto]

Amen, AnimatedAlan1113!
DS9 brilliantly deconstructed the clean, happy, suburbanesque (is that even a word?) Federation future, making important points the Next Generation --- by its very nature --- could not. For example, Sisko's traumatic backstory (the death of his wife in the Borg attack at Wolf 359) was the flip side of an episode which, on the Next Generation, had a decidedly happy ending.
DS9 also --- thru the device of the season-long "story arc" --- was able to more deeply develop character and situation than the other Treks could. The subject matter, while remaining largely true to Roddenberry's vision of a better future, was not afraid to explore the inherent contradictions in such a world, or the magnitude of the difficulties to be faced along the way.
Picard may be an especially strong and moral character, but if he has a flaw, it is probably his own certitude. One gets the idea that Picard, once he has decided on a course of action, probably loses no further sleep over it; Sisko, on the other hand, makes the same hard decisions, but finds nothing to ease his own conscience in doing so. In that regard, Sisko is most like many of us.
Star Trek in all its incarnations has entertained a lot of people (and occasionally even made some think!) but to my mind, at least, DS9 is the only one of the shows that still has something to say. Unfortunately, as the bastard stepchild of the franchise, it is probably the one least likely to be revisited in a movie or miniseries anytime soon.

[chinohillster]

Ah, yes!

Jean-Luc Picard for President

William Riker for Vice President

Worf for (what else?) Secretary of Defense

Deanna Troi for Secretary of State

Beverly Crusher for Surgeon General

Data (who displays a great deal more humanity than the majority of the Bush Administration) for Secretary of Health and Human Services

Geordi LaForge and Lt. Barclay as heads of NASA/JPL

One can dream....

[rektruax]

... and Aretha Franklin, the first lady...

[dryfactoidobotanoid]

as Picard's archaeology professor tells him,

"What are you doing at this very moment? A study mission!

"You're like some Roman centurion out patrolling the provinces, maintaining a dull and bloated Empire."

[peterg76]

*All* of them are better leaders than Bush, except for Zapp Brannigan, who is Bush's equal. (Maybe that's where Little George got the idea to get so many of his own soldiers killed that the enemy is forced to surrender to stop the bloodshed.)

[TJTelecaster]

Jon Luc's got my vote.."Make it so..!"

As matter of fact I have been working on something very similar to this idea..

How can a generation that was raised on Star Trek and the absolute simplicity and and functionality of the federation and it's near structural perfection as a governmental body it's logical design..

Be led by these troglodytes that we repeatedly have inflicted upon us..?

I have been advocating that we Nationalize The American Oil Industry and all Energy, now I get the bullshit that's socialism or how Communism didn't work but I have actually been thinking of this from a Trekian perspective that energy and technology is an infrastructure critical element and that we would move forward into the 20th century by doing this, and also having a Single Payer Universal Health Care system..

I could go into these in detail but for now just think we could cut costs of say just Oil for now by 30-33% and then also have around $60 billion for alternate energy development and technological advances perhaps even fusion but also Compressed air cars and engines as the Indians have developed already..

So much would be solved by this and we would also reduce the huge corruption of our system and society that Oil companies are responsible for such as G.W. Bush and Cheney et al Blackwater imagine our own private Oil thief, army that is already deploying in America..

We must rise above our stupid ignorant backward thinking leaders and move in the future they are 19th century robber baron scum bags...QED..!

Simple as that..

[CriminallySane]

Sadly, Bush is far more out of W. Olaf Stapleton's somewhat more misanthropic science fiction model - incapable of critical self-examination.

That aside, kudos, albeit belated, to Patrick Stewart for creating perhaps the single most complex and "human" character in the history of episodic television.

I also had the pleasure of seeing him, along with the equally memorable Mercedes Ruehl, in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" at the Guthrie. Without a doubt the single best live theater experience of my life.

[jvarga]

Apparently Captain Picard failed ogranic chemistry at star fleet academy. I know this because my organic chemistry professor made a point of it several times over the course of both semesters (OChem I and II), to keep people like me who got 3/150 on tests from shooting ourselves.

Nice post, couldn't resist the urge to share the odd way Picard showed up in my college career :P

[RickO]

I don't know too many people who didn't fail Organic at least once. I audited twice and finally squeaked it with a C. What a miserable class. I guess I'll never be able to run for office unless I run as a Republican.

[jvarga]

I think it could be my presidential qualifier as well, as I got the gentlemen's C in lecture both semesters. I did ok in the lab, which given my current lab abilities, is what truly amazes my coworkers.

[Aramingo]

Yup, Morrison & Boyd made an electrical engineer out of me!

[SevereTireDamage]

Sadly, being French-born, Picard is not eligible to be President.

[Doofus]

But... he's not 'French-born' *yet*, so let's suppose that neither
the minimum-age or country-of-origin rules need apply in his case.

[SevereTireDamage]

OK, if we're going to play that game, how do we know the USA still exists as a political entity by then?