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Popular Culture Review
electable (“Vote Lex 2000”). The idea that the American public had been duped
into electing a villain as their President seems to suggest that the election
process is political gamble in which the people could not know for certain
whether or not they had won. Towards the end of the storyline, the writers
appeared to reverse course in order to make their ideas more palatable. The
members of the Justice League speak with Superman and discuss whether
Luthor should be allowed to stay in office. The heroes all agree that they respect
the American people’s wishes too much to forcibly remove the newly elected
President. Although mistakes are made, it is possible that eventually things will
change and the people will see Luthor for the evildoer that he is. Superman
states, “I don’t want to drag Luthor out of the White House. For good or for bad,
1 have to remember, 1 believe in the American system. . . ” {Superman:
President Lex 173). In early issues of the series the writers looked to be breaking
new ground in declaring the occasional faults of the American political system,
but later they blunted their remarks by stating that one cannot trust the President
or even the office but one can always tmst the American public.
The obvious question that surrounds the President Lex storyline is what
statement does electing Superman’s great nemesis make about the office of the
President? If comic books showed the office of the President during the 1930s to
1950s as revered, portrayed the JFK administration as respected and liked,
created Prez as a leader to be wished for, and displayed Dark Knight's Reagan
as a head of state to be feared and shunned, then how did the public perceive a
nation that could elect Lex Luthor as President? Perhaps the answer to these
questions is that the idea of the President had changed from that of great moral
leader to that of great businessman. In many ways, this is an extension of the
post-Watergate idea that the government in general, and the President in
particular, cannot be trusted. It might be said that cynical Americans, during the
years following Watergate, might be looking for a business manager more than a
visionary leader. Although this view of the American people wanting a
Presidential CEO may seem inaccurate given the amount importance that voters
seemingly place on a candidate’s “likeability” quotient; in fact, recent political
campaigns display the desire of the American people to elect a business-like
leader. In the 1980 presidential election, pro-business candidate Ronald Reagan
was successfully elected President using the campaign slogan, “Are you better
off now than you were four years ago?” Businessmen, like Ross Perot and Steve
Forbes who pledged to run the nation more like a corporation, have proven to be
popular candidates for many citizens. Even supposedly liberal candidates like
Bill Clinton ran on business-centered campaigns as evidenced by his 1992
slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Although comic book readers know that Lex
Luthor is a villain, to the voters of the DC Universe he is a successful
businessman with a record of helping others and the ability to make America
succeed. He does not need to be revered, befriended, or loved; he merely needs
do a good job as the nation’s manager. Superman editor Eddie Berganza