Surprise Simpsons Presidential Contender
The Simpsons and politics always goes together, partly because politics, as subject matter, is ripe for satire. Whether it’s Tony Blair appearing on the Simpsons, or Kang and Kodos subverting the Clinton/Dole election of 1996, there’s always fun to be had.
Currently, the race for the presidency is about to heat up, as Iowa will kick off the primary voting season. For anybody watching the news, it would be interesting to watch the field narrow a bit. After all, there are many, many democrats and republicans vying for their party’s nomination. So much so, there’s already, for some, a sense of fatigue setting in. It’s going to be interesting, though, to see this reflected on The Simpsons.
There’s an upcoming episode that tackles the subject matter head on. Basically, Springfield will cast their ballots, and the result is bound to be hilarious. Instead of endorsing a candidate – which the show has never done, and will likely never do – The Simpsons will feature the rise of an independent, dark horse candidate. His name is … wait for it … Ralph Wiggum! Via TVsquad.com:
Ralph will announce his candidacy on the January 6th episode of The Simpsons. Actually, he isn’t the one who announces it; rather, the voters of Springfield, who reject all of the other candidates in their first primary, write the young Wiggum in as a candidate. He quickly becomes an independent presidential front-runner that party leaders for both the Republicans and the Democrats want to have in their court.
As usual, The Simpsons will air this Sunday at 8:00 pm. Guest voices include Jon Stewart (hopefully utilized a bit better than pal Stephen Colbert) and Dan Rather, who descend upon Springfield to cover the primary debates.
Wiggum seems like a apt choice, in many respects. In a current culture of 24 hour news cycles, as well as Gotcha! Journalism, it’s easy to mistake a number of candidates as a bunch of inept boobs, sometimes. Ralph just fits that to a tee, and much more. Plus, it should be funny to watch Ralph debate. After all, he’s the type of kid who has given the TV watching public such memorable lines as “My Cat’s mouth smells like cat food!” And, as the above block quote states, it would be nice to see Jon Stewart appear as himself, and not as a “character” – which is what happened to Stephen Colbert.
Ralph’s platform can be seen, once it’s up, here.
The Simpsons, Ralph Wiggum, Politics, Elections
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