Obama Likes TV Shows About Gangsters and Terrorists

COMMENTARY | ABC News has revealed that President Obama, in between golf games and blaming the Republicans for all the world's ills, gets in a little TV watching from time to time. Two of his favorite shows are "Boardwalk Empire" and "Homeland."

Both shows exhibit a certain morally ambiguous view of the world. "Boardwalk Empire" is about the beginning years of Prohibition, centered around the 1920s era boss of Atlantic City, Nucky Thompson who engages in a variety of criminal activity to enrich himself. "Homeland" is about the current war on terror and has been criticized for blurring the moral lines between Al Qaida and those fighting to stop its murderous activities.

Of course one's choice of TV viewing should not be definitive proof of one's moral orientation. I like both shows for the drama.

It should not necessarily be suggested that Obama might see himself as a modern version of "Boardwalk Empire's" Chalky White, an early African-American community organizer who employed guns and knives when necessary. Nor should it be suggested that Obama agrees that "Homeland's" Brody might have a point in apparently betraying his country. (Whether the character will or not is unknown as of this writing, pending any twist ending for the season finale.)

Of course both propositions could be so argued considering that Obama grew up in the hothouse political culture of Chicago and has practiced appeasement of Islamic terrorists and tyrants. The exception to the latter, as the president is pleased to point out, is in the whacking of enemies of the United States like Bin Laden.

Obama once stated that he was a fan of "Star Trek." He has even been compared to Mr. Spock, sometimes in an unflattering way. That did not stop him from trying to ruin the U.S. civil space program by ending space exploration and instituting a Solyndra-style commercial space initiative.

Now, if we can only find out what Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney like to watch in between sniping at each other, we could have a full picture of how television interacts with politics. One suspects Gingrich likes science fiction. But what about Romney? I would not be surprised if he didn't turn out to like "Mad Men." He is sort of like Don Draper in some ways -- though thankfully not in others. If the reader has seen the show as I have, he or she will know what I mean.

Source: The President's Must-See TV: 'Modern Family,' 'Homeland' and 'Boardwalk Empire', Mary Bruce, ABC News, Dec 15, 2011