Talk:The Best Man (1964 film)

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Plot[edit]

The last sentence in the Plot section reads: "It puts an end to both their chances, but unites the party around an electable candidate." This is true but misses the point. The title of the film is pointedly ironic, and this is characterized by the text at the top of the film's poster. The candidate that finally gets the nomination is weak - clearly not the best man. Gore Vidal's point is that our electoral system makes it impossible, or at least improbably, to select the best man and we end up with "an electable candidate" instead. The poisons that Vidal identifies are character assassination (personal attacks, ad hominem, etc.) and the unfortunate publicly accepted notion that a candidate cannot have any flaws. Every great man has flaws. Our system filters them out.

Perhaps a better wording of the last line might be: "It puts an end to both their chances, but unites the party around an electable candidate, but most certainly not "The Best Man." Menomena 9 (talk) 23:22, 16 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]