1. President Josiah Bartlett - The West Wing
NBCCould it be anyone else? Martin Sheen is an immensely talented actor and social activist. These passions collided in his absolutely phenomenal depiction of the fictional Democratic President in Aaron Sorkin's West Wing. The show itself focused on the lives of the backroom staff, but the President played an important role in demonstrating quite how the leader of the United States should act, and how reliant he is upon his staff. Bartlett was a Catholic, and we saw him struggle with deciding whether it should be the job of the President too enforce his opposition to the death penalty on states who supported the punishment. Legislation was constantly passed through little deals with politicians, showing the realities of politics. Laws are not passed simply due to the President's wishes, they are the result of a long and tumultuous process. President Bartlett was often infuriated by this, but it is what ultimately made him such a great President. Rather than concentrating on the President's powerful personality and skill, the show illustrated the importance of the staff who wrote speeches and made decisions, as well as giving us an idea of the concerning power that is held by the Press Office. By placing the President in the context of those that make him so powerful, we saw what real politicians must cope with. Few would argue that Bartlett was anything less than the perfect President; he had the charisma, the skill and the beliefs that would make him the perfect politician. What did you think of our list? Who would you have included? What criteria should we judge a President on? Let us know in the comments section!