Could Obama be a Manchurian Candidate?
If you’ve never read the book, I highly recommend it. The movie is just as good. For those that don’t know it, here is a brief synopsis of the movie:
The movie follows Maj. Ben Marco (Denzel Washington), a war veteran who begins to doubt what is commonly known about his famous army unit. During Operation Desert Storm, Sergeant First Class Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber) supposedly rescued all but two members in his unit, of which Marco was the commanding officer. While this made Shaw a war hero, gained him the Medal of Honor, and launched him into a career in politics, Marco and other members of the troop feel that while they remember that Shaw did rescue them, they do not actually remember him doing it.
Shaw is nominated to run for president in his party. However, as the Marco searches for the truth, he discovers that his army unit was not ambushed but captured and brainwashed by the Manchurian Global, a global conglomerate with major political ambitions.
Because of Shaw’s heroic service, he wins the election. But he realizes that his mother orchestrated the capture to put a sleeper agent into the White House that can manipulate politics to Manchurian Global’s advantage. The film ends with Marco assassinating Marco and his mother on stage.
When I first suspected this, I initially thought I was crazy. But as I began to see the general election come closer and closer, the pieces started falling into place. And I realized, I wasn’t alone in my thoughts.