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Obama's Cabinet: Which Characters Would You Nominate?
Stan Lee -- comics legend and quick-wit extraordinaire -- did not miss a beat.
I was talking with Mr. Lee this week about "Spider-Man" (look for the full interview with him in this space tomorrow) and he mentioned his reaction when he recently heard that President-elect Obama was a comics fan -- particularly of Spidey and Conan. (Note: Lee's pleased that Obama will appear on the newest cover of a special edition of "Spider-Man.")
Lee's immediate response to the fandom was to send Obama an autographed poster of Spider-Man. So what would Lee like to receive from Obama in return, should the president-elect decide to reciprocate? "Oh, I'd just like a Cabinet position," Lee joked.
Daddy Warbucks (AP)
Enlarge ComicLee's response immediately got the wheels to turning. If grown men and women can spend countless hours on fantasy sports leagues (confession: I once did), why wouldn't Obama -- the serious comics fan -- entertain his fandom by imagining an all superhero staff? Or more broadly, what about an all-Cartoon Character Cabinet?
With that in mind, Comic Riffs will begin taking your nominations today: Whom would you nominate for the various Cabinet and other White House-level posts?
Scrooge McDuck
Enlarge ComicTo start the bidding: Now that Bill Richardson is out as a candidate for Commerce Secretary, who should replace him.
'Riffs nominates these two (in case the first case gets "Borked"):
DADDY WARBUCKS: Ah, Lt. Gen. Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks, Little Orphan Annie's father figure, came from a seriously hardscrabble background and knows about pulling himself up by his bootstraps (if the boy Warbucks were able to even afford bootstraps) and master international trade. If Warren Buffett's name can be bandied about for the job, then surely the world's alleged "richest fictional character" deserves our serious consideration.
His creator, Harold Gray, opposed FDR's New Deal, but Warbucks is tougher to peg. He's reportedly been called both a Democrat (play) and a Republican (movie) -- which means he seems to perfect guy to work across the ideological aisle for the common good.
SCROOGE McDUCK: The world's most famous Glaswegian waterfowl knows at least nine languages (including Arabic, Spanish and several Chinese dialects) and is one shrewd businessduck (Forbes says he's worth $28 billion as of 2007, topping Warbucks, Montgomery Burns and, apparently, even Richie Rich). Plus, he has potentially the greatest gift any globetrotting diplomat could have: He has experienced time-travel. Economically, take us back to the future, Uncle Scrooge!
By
Michael Cavna
| January 13, 2009; 1:00 PM ET
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Posted by: Mrhode | January 13, 2009 1:24 PM | Report abuse
Sorry that would be EIGHT years, or if you date the 2nd gilded age from Reagan's presidency, the past 28 years.
Posted by: Mrhode | January 13, 2009 2:02 PM | Report abuse
The obvious choice for Defense is Tony Stark. The X-men's Storm to run NOAA. Charles Xavier to head the CIA. Merge Commerce with Homeland Security and give it to Bruce Wayne.
Posted by: ArlingtonGay | January 13, 2009 2:23 PM | Report abuse
For Commerce, I'd nominate Sid Fernwilter.
And of course, for Interior, it would have to be Mark Trail.
Posted by: staxowax | January 13, 2009 3:09 PM | Report abuse
Secretary of Defense: Pam from Brewster Rockit. Don't mess with us - we'll hurt you.
Homeland Security: Guard Duck from Pearls Before Swine. I feel safer
Secretary of State: Jeremy's Mom from Zits. If she can handle a teen she should be able to take on the Israel/Palestinian crisis.
Posted by: JubalHarshaw1 | January 13, 2009 3:31 PM | Report abuse
I would definitely nominate Eric Cartman for Homeland Security. He's intelligent, ruthless, and likes to kick butt.
Lisa Simpson for President, but if she doesn't get the party nomination, let's put her in charge of the State Department.
Posted by: spro | January 14, 2009 3:51 PM | Report abuse
Scrooge McDuck as Secretary of Commerce isn't such a bad idea, since he would hire Gyro Gearloose (for a negligible fee, of course!) to get the economy moving again. The energy crunch would be solved in a snap, as soon as Gyro traps a few lightning bolts. Unfortunately, we shall probably find out that Wall Street has been taken over by Beagle Boys. Oh, wait - that already happened, long ago.
Posted by: seismic-2 | January 15, 2009 10:35 AM | Report abuse
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Scrooge McDuck - no! I love the character, and Rosa and Barks' stories with him, but he's out for number one - and that's been the problem of the past four years. I'm afraid the same is true of Oliver WarBucks - the original WW1 War profiteer.