No Easy Answers

I'm currently on an American history kick right now. I guess it is due to the historic primary race between Clinton and Obama and also that it is an election year. I'm reading three different books simultaneously: 1776 by David McCullough, Young Patriots by Charles Cerami, and now a book I got for my birthday - Andrew Jackson by Sean Wilentz. I need to discipline myself and focus on one and get it finished! I'm also listening to a great series of lectures available free as a podcast ("Teaching American History"). The sound quality is bad, but the content is superb.

Anyway, here are some various thoughts that I've had recently:

Who is the first president of the United States?
You'd think that would be an easy one - George Washington, right? Well, actually you would be wrong. Our first president was actually John Hanson. You see, when our nation made its Declaration of Independence and launched into a war with Britain, we needed a national government to coordinate our actions. This national entity was not the constitutional republic we know so well. It was a confederation of the states created by the Articles of Confederation in 1777. John Hanson was unanimously elected to serve as the newborn nation's first president. His actions set precedents for the future presidents as did the other men who served after him. It wasn't until 1789 that the Constitution officially replaced the Articles of Confederation and George Washington, our eighth president but first under the Constitution, began his first term.

How many US presidents have their been (under the US Constitution)?
Okay, here is another trick question. After a little thinking (or research) you would know that George W. Bush is our 43rd president. But if you counted up the list of names of US Presidents, you would only get 42. This is because of Grover Cleveland. He was our 22nd and our 24th president - the only one to serve two non-consecutive terms in office.

Why do I like the Electoral College?
For the past two presidential elections, much has been made about the popular vote versus the electoral college vote. The current thinking among many Americans is that the popular vote is the supposedly true will of the people and that we should do away with the "confusing" and "archaic" system created by the founders of our country. In my view, just because something is simpler does not mean that it is better. The reason why we have the Electoral College is to avoid the tyranny of the majority. To become president, one must win a majority of majorities. I'll write more on this some other time.

"Every nation has the government it deserves"
I just found this quote from the French political philosopher, Joseph de Maistre, and I love it! I am concerned with how our Constitution is being abused and how populism continues to overtake reasoned thought. If we continue to abdicate our sovereignty to foreign entities and allow an activist Supreme Court to twist or disregard the Constitution for sectarian political agendas, we truly will get what we deserve.

My Phenomenon Song

I blame it all on one of the shows I watched as a child. For now and for ever, whenever I read or hear the word phenomenon I can't help but think of this song.

Follow the link to this You Tube video to see what I am talking about...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YevYBsShxNs

Disney's Strategy

I read an interesting interview in Fortune magazine with Disney's CEO, Bob Iger. I like what he had to say and has made me enthusiastic about the future of the Mouse House. Here are my thoughts on the article:

One of my biggest complaints against Disney in the waning months of former CEO Michael Eisner's tenure was the legion of direct to video/DVD sequels. It all started with Return of Jafar and devolved into Cinderella II and III, Pocahontas II, Lion King 1.5, and even the Fox and the Hound II. Not only was the quality a mere shadow of its respective progenitor, but it also tarnished the original by association and cluttered retail shelves with a bunch of filler.

Unfortunately for me, it made a lot of money for Disney and Eisner clearly was not concerned with the impact on the Disney brand and what it represents. When Walt's brother and financial leader Roy decided to re-release Snow White in theaters to make money on the demand to see the movie again, Walt criticized him for getting into the sequel business. Walt was always looking to the future.

In the Fortune article, Iger echoed my own belief by saying that low quality and too much product is a deadly combination. Last year he pulled the plug on the sequel machine, so Cinderella III thankfully marked the end of that!

However, I do think that an occasional sequel is not a bad thing. I think that Toy Story 2 was superior to the original. It should be noted that Toy Story 2 was originally intended to be a direct to video release but after test screenings and positive response, they decided to release it in theaters instead. The domestic box office for Toy Story 2 was $246 million, 28% more than the original. Toy Story 3 is planned for a 2010 release and I can't wait to see it!

Iger's approach is to treat franchises like Toy Story and Cars as their own brands. Cars 2 is also being planned. It was interesting to note that not every animated film is considered a franchise by Iger. He explicitly named Ratatouille as one such film. It is a great movie, but we won't see Remy-themed attractions at the parks or sequels.

I think one of the biggest challenges is how to manage the Mickey Mouse brand. It is obviously nostalgic for the baby boomer generation, but the younger generations don't have much of a connection to Mickey unless you count the toddlers who love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. The other challenge is reviving Disney's own animation unit. In my opinion, the last decent hit was 2002's Lilo & Stitch. Hopefully the fact that a traditionally animated short now precedes major Disney movie releases, such as Ratatouille and National Treasure 2, they can rediscover the magic.