The American President(1995)

Plot Summary

• Michael Douglas is President Andrew Shepherd, a widower and father who begins to get uncomfortable with the perception surrounding his being a single father. He drops in on a meeting with environmental lobbyists and meets hard-charging Sydney Wade (Annette Bening). After Sydney escorts President Shepherd to a State dinner, the two strike up a relationship, much to the chagrin of Sydney's boss, played by John Mahoney, and much to the delight of President Shepherd's political rival, the scheming Senator Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss). Rumson's attacks on Sydney and the President's character send President Shepherd's approval ratings tumbling and eventually forces Shepherd to choose between one of his priority bills and the bill Sydney was hired to get passed.

Storyline

• Andrew Shepherd is approaching the end of his first term as President of the United States. He's a widower with a young daughter and has proved to be popular with the public. His election seems assured. That is until he meets Sydney Ellen Wade, a paid political activist working for an environmental lobby group. He's immediately smitten with her and after several amusing attempts, they finally manage to go on a date (which happens to be a State dinner for the visiting President of France). His relationship with Wade opens the door for his prime political opponent, Senator Bob Rumson, to launch an attack on the President's character, something he could not do in the previous election as Shepherd's wife had only recently died. — garykmcd US President Andrew Shepherd, a Democrat, is two and a half years into his first term. With a sixty-three percent approval rating, he is well on his way to a second term, especially as the Republicans have nothing and no one to fight those things that make him popular. Regardless, Andy is hesitant at this time to introduce any groundbreaking legislation, a crime bill which he has watered down to make it more palatable to the general populace, despite it doing nothing effectively to prevent crime. Andy's wife Mary Shepherd passed away one year before the election from cancer, leaving him to raise his now preteen daughter Lucy Shepherd on his own. Mary's passing also placed Andy's character off the table as an election issue for the Republicans. Andy meets Sydney Ellen Wade at a White House meeting, she, an effective political strategist known for being a "closer", hired on contract by Leo Solomon of the Global Defense Council, an environmental lobby group, her tenure despite she having no knowledge of environmental issues. Despite her being a bit tongue-tied during the President's surprise appearance at the meeting, she does make a positive impression on him in all aspects, he asking her on a date, to which she positively responds. Their courtship is a quick one as they are attracted to each other. Despite their attraction, they have to decide if they should or could pursue a serious relationship as they do both acknowledge that such a relationship could hurt them both professionally, the Senate Minority Leader, Bob Rumson, who is looking for such a character issue against Andy for his own run to the Oval Office. On the flip side, inadvertent "pillow talk" between Andy and Sydney about professional issues may also lead to personal problems if those items are used for their own political/professional gain. — Huggo As President, Andrew Shepherd is immensely popular (he has a 63% approval rating). As a man, he's a lonely father struggling to raise a daughter. His struggles multiply when his romance with lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade becomes fodder for both the press and a rival Senator -- precipitating a rapid drop in the polls. — spidarman