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The issues of race and racism that fueled most of Poitier's films and also informed "The Man" became minor points in the following decades. When Freeman co-starred in 1998's "Deep Impact" as President Tom Beck, no mention of his race was ever made in the film. With a comet on a collision course with Earth threatening all life on the planet, matters of race and politics took a back seat to special effects. In a performance that was calm, cool and compassionate in the face impending doom, Freeman came to embody everything that America looks for in a leader. Film critic Janet Maslin wrote in her New York Times review of "Deep Impact," "Morgan Freeman makes a fine president of the United States, with a thoughtful manner and just the right reassuring television presence."

With "The Man" never having been released on home video, Freeman's President Beck has enjoyed a high approval rating among fictional presidents, making him one of the most beloved and effective leaders of the United States of Cinema. But for all of President Beck's popularity, he is outshined by another fictional leader, President David Palmer.

Named the No. 1 pick for fictional president in an Entertainment Weekly reader's poll earlier this year, President Palmer (Haysbert) from the FOX television series "24" has enjoyed far more favorable ratings than the current leader of the free world. Serving as president for two seasons on "24," Palmer became a crucial pop culture icon that helped make the concept of a black president a bit more realistic. "If anything, my portrayal of David Palmer, I think, may have helped open the eyes of the American people," Haysbert said in an Associated Press article. "And I mean the American people from across the board -- from the poorest to the richest, every color and creed, every religious base -- to prove the possibility there could be an African-American president, a female president, any type of president that puts the people first."

While Haysbert, Freeman and, to a lesser extent, Jones have all helped in creating a public perception of a black president, they have not been the only actors to tackle the role. On "24," actor D.B. Woodside's Wayne Palmer, the brother of David Palmer, would go on to become president, but his character has not proven to be as popular as his sibling.

Other black actors have played the president in more comedic roles, most notably Chris Rock as Mays Gilliam in "Head of State," an uneven comedy that's silly at best and not nearly as funny as Dave Chappelle's performances as the president on his television series "Chappelle's Show." Ernie Hudson, best known for his work in "Ghostbusters," stepped into the role of President Westwood in the unintentionally funny B-movie thriller "Stealth Fighter." Tommy "Tiny" Lister played the futuristic President Lindberg in the science fiction film "The Fifth Element." The pinnacle of the comedic commanders in chief would have to be former professional wrestler and porn star President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho (Terry Crews) in "Idiocracy," the stupidest president -- at least stupidest fictional president -- of all time.

The comedic portrayal of black presidents recalls a time when the most acceptable roles for black Americans were those of jesters and buffoons. As entertaining as Crews' President Camacho may be, he ultimately conjures a negative image of blacks that recalls the performances of actors like Stepin Fetchit, whose entire career was built around comical stereotypes. These performances, amusing though some of them may be, have done little to help Obama's cause.

One thing that is clear is that the image of black Americans in pop culture has changed considerably since D.W. Griffith's racially inflammatory 1915 film "Birth of a Nation." Those changes can be tracked and measured with a line that leads from Paul Robeson to Smith, twisting and turning along the way to include everyone from Robinson to Poitier to Muhammad Ali to Richard Pryor, and now has lead us to the first black president of the United States.

Discuss how film and television paved the way for Obama. Write us at heymsn@microsoft.com

David Walker is the editor and publisher of BadAzz MoFo, and a Sagittarius.  

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