So, what would you say to a presidential nominee with a "dare-to-be-great" platform? He's smart, clever, handsome, funny, romantic, and wears a trenchcoat like nobody else. Oh yeah--and he bench presses boom boxes cranking Peter Gabriel really well, too. Yes, folks, the push is on to elect John Cusack for President of the United States. It's recently been reported that the movement to elect that cool guy Gen X-ers hold near and dear to their hearts now has more than 140 chapters on college campuses across the country. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm in. Where's my campaign button?

The Cult Of Cusack
by Jayne Denker

Yes, folks, the push is on to elect John Cusack for President of the United States. It's recently been reported that the movement to elect that cool guy Gen X-ers hold near and dear to their hearts now has more than 140 chapters on college campuses across the country. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm in. Where's my campaign button?

The news that thousands of other people hold John Cusack in such high regard, as I do, got me thinking. When was the first time we saw our '80s poster boy on the big screen? Maybe you tweaked to him in 1983's Class, but let's face it, that was Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy's movie, with Cusack in a small role.

No, it was most likely Sixteen Candles, with Cusack as a geek that outgeeked Anthony Michael Hall's Geek, but heck, big sister Joan stole the movie as she tried to drink from a water fountain while wearing a back brace.

When we were deep in the '80s, despite the fact that Cusack appeared in some all-time great flicks of the decade--to us, anyway--including The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, and Better Off Dead, he wasn't a true member of the Brat Pack. Admit it--in 1986, if you had to choose the movie actor who would forever be known as the Hunk-O-Rama of the '80s, you would have picked Rob Lowe, Judd Nelson, or Emilio Estevez, not Cusack.

Sure, his star-making moment had to be 1989's Say Anything..., as all women turned to mush while he stood there all lovelorn with In Your Eyes blaring, but by then we were all moving on into the '90s, not paying attention to who was Brat Pack material anymore. In the '90s, Cusack was still making movies, but he was trying grownup fare, like The Grifters (did ANYone make it all the way through that movie without falling asleep? I still haven't managed it), The Road To Wellville, and Bob Roberts. Where had our little geeklet gone? It was almost as though he were a--horrors!--B-list actor.

Then came Grosse Pointe Blank in 1997, and we discovered John Cusack all over again. Hey, we had always thought he was the coolest guy in the '80s, right? Of course we did, and we'll kickbox anybody who says otherwise. In the late '90s and into the 21st century, John Cusack suddenly became THE person who represented everything cool about our generation, PLUS he was STILL cool in 2000.

Check out his latter-day filmography: Pushing Tin, 1999; Cradle Will Rock, 1999; Being John Malkovich, 1999; High Fidelity, 2000; America's Sweethearts, 2001--good grief, he starred opposite Julia Roberts! How much more successful can you get? (Er, we'll politely overlook that stinkbomb Serendipity...because Cusack's COOL, darn it!)

The great thing about Cusack is not only that he has dared to be great in his thirties, but also that he appeals to both men and women--women for the obvious reasons, men because they want to be him. Therefore, if he appeals to both halves of the population, plus appeals to our age group, and, judging from his popularity on college campuses, Gen Y and younger, I think he really could win the presidency.

If you agree, check out Cusack For President , and sign up. He may not want to be President, but that doesn't mean we can't write him in. I can just picture it...Ione Skye as first lady...the Myers as first family...Jack Black as vice president...I'd give my "two dollars" to the campaign...

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Jayne Denker is a thirty something writer who will work on just about any writing assignment, anyplace, anytime as long as it's something nifty associated with pop culture--especially GenX, of course--and/or entertainment. She is actually employed full time as a web content manager but also fills any free time she may happen to find on her hands with freelance writing assignments to offset the "manager" nonsense. Jayne lives with her husband and three psycho kitties (qu'est que c'est) in quite a small lakeside cottage in western New York state. When she's not writing or "managing," she enjoys loafing/watching movies, cleaning up after the psycho kitties, designing web sites, reading, and making magic. E-mail

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