Mimi Leder Beat Us To It

Happy Inauguration Day, kids. Here's hoping that from this day forward, we can actually travel abroad - or even just to work - with some patriotic pride. In my reaction to this historic election/event, I've put very little emphasis on Obama's race, if only because it's the most obvious thing that makes this occasion so momentous. But let's face it -- the reality of America's first black president is enormous.



However, it's not the first time we've seen such a person on our TV screens, sitting dignified in the White House as he addresses the world. In 1998, director Mimi Leder ("Pay it Forward") cast Morgan Freeman as the Commander in Chief in her doomsday-by-comet blockbuster, "Deep Impact." I always remember this flick as the rather silly actioner that made me cry (which is fitting, because my eyes have welled up repeatedly throughout Obama's road to victory). Here's a clip of Freeman as Prez, which I'd imagine even Leder herself thought was just a stylistic choice, not a prophetic one that would see itself realized in only 10 years' time.