His campaign bus isn't just a headquarters, it's a trading hub; he's got brokers buying and selling day and night. His connections are seedy and do not lend to his credibility as a friend of the public. There are rumors about arms deals and savings and loans scandals. His campaign manager, portrayed by Alan Rickman, is a study in current politics: Anything is justified if it will win votes. He attacks his opponent falsely and unscrupulously. His opponent protests vehemently, yet it doesn't matter. Nobody listens and nobody cares.
Bob Roberts is the type of politician with which the 60-80's generations are familiar. He is slick as a snake and has the money to back up his shortcomings. He attempts to show us that money and a political machine can get us anywhere. Even though he underwent scandal, he was still able to get the votes by manipulation of the public's perception of the truth. This was not the case in the other films. They show that the political machine does not win out in the end. They portray the bravery of individuals as the cornerstone of our political system. .
Meet John Doe, premiering in 1940, ended a decade that had been dominated by despair, disillusionment, dislocation and desperation. It was a time characterized by a reliance on often-inept government officials or duplicitous would-be leaders. This film employs its main character as an innocent man forced into a life of dishonesty. A journalist portrayed by Barbara Stanwyck on the verge of getting fired decides to write an anonymous letter about a John Doe who's fed up with world and wants to kill himself by jumping off the roof of the capitol building. To make the story a series, the newspaper finds a wandering hobo named John Willoughby portrayed by Gary Cooper and creates "John Doe". "John Doe" becomes a public figure, preaching goodwill and neighborliness over the radio as the cure for all the world's ills.
