THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT movie script excerpt RELEVANT TODAY! Part 2 of 2

THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT movie script excerpt  RELEVANT TODAY!

continued . . .  Part 2 of 2

ANGLE -- ROBIN

Who's picked up the receiver from a wall phone and punches in four numbers.

THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT     12/15/94                                                       146.

She turns into the wall to shield her conversation from the rest of the room.

ROBIN

(into the phone)

Lewis . . . call A.J. and come on down here . . .

I don't know, but something's happening.

SHEPHERD

. . . and although I have not been willing to engage 

in his attacks on me, I've been here three years and

three days, and I can tell you without hesitation:  

Being President of this country is entirely about 

character. 

LEWIS enters with A.J. and KODAK.

SHEPHERD

(continuing)

For the record:  Yes, I am a card-carrying member

of the A.C.L.U.  But the more important question

is why aren't you, Bob?  This is an organization 

whose sole purpose is to defend the Bill of Rights,

so it naturally begs the question.

THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT     12/23/94                                                       147.

SHEPHERD

(continuing)

Why would a senator, his party's most powerful

spokesman and a candidate for president, chose

to reject upholding the Constitution?  If you can

answer that question, then, folks, you are smarter

than I am, because I didn't understand until a few

minutes ago.  Everybody knows American isn't 

easy.  America is advanced citizenship.

Xx

SHEPHERD

(continuing)

You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up

a fight.  Its gonna say, "You want free speech?

Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words

make your blood boil, who's standing center stage

and advocating, at the top of his lungs, that which

you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of 

yours.  You want to claim this land as the land of

the free, then the symbol of your country can't 

just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its

citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in 

protest."  Show me that, defend that, celebrate

that in your classrooms.  Then you can stand up 

and sing about the land of the free.  I've known

Bob Rumson for years.  I've been operating under

the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so

much time and energy shouting at the rain was 

that he simply didn't get it.  Well, I was wrong.

Xx

SHEPHERD

(continuing)

Bob's problem isn't that he doesn't get it.  Bob's

problem is that he can't sell it.  Nobody ever wonl

an election by talking about what I was just talking

about.

(more)

THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT    1/12/95                                                          148*.

SHEPHERD (cont'd)

This is a country made up of people with hard

jobs that they're terrified of losing.  The roots 

of freedom are of little or no interest to them at

the moment.  We are a nation afraid to go out

at night.  We're a society that has assigned low

priority to education and has looked the other

way while our public schools have been decimated.

We have serious problems to solve, and we need

serious (women and )men to solve them.  And whatever 

your particular problem is, friends, I promise you, Bob

Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it.

He is interested in two things and two things only:

Making you afraid of it and telling you who's to

blame for it.  That, ladies and gentlemen, is how

you win elections.  You gather a group of middle-

aged, middle class, middle-income voters who 

remember with longing an easier time, and you

talk to them about family and American values

and personal character.  Then you wave an old

photo of the President's girlfriend.  You scream

about patriotism and you tell them she's to blame

for their lot in life, you go on television and you

call her a whore.  Sydney Ellen Wade has done

nothing but put herself through law school, 

prosecute criminals for five years, represent

the interests of public school teachers for two 

years, and lobby for the safety of our natural

resources.

SHEPHERD

(continuing)

You want a character debate?  Fine, but you better

stick to me, 'cause Sydney Ellen Wade is way out 

of your league.  I've loved two women in my life

I lost one to cancer, and I lost the other 'cause I

was so busy keeping my job I forgot to do my job.

Well that ends right now.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
*(women) was added by me

Although the specific situation around SHEPHERD'S speech is not relevant given he's already the President and running for re-election, but his words ring so true regarding the Bob Rumson 'character' as it relates to today's candidate.
Where are the President Shepherds of the world that actually give a damn about We The People instead of those who put their personal agenda based on ego and lies that we see today ahead of the American public?