Jimmy Stewart, right, feels the crunch of political pressure in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," Frank Capra's 1939 classic.

By John Hayes
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Daily Show's" Jon Stewart's got nothing on Pat Paulsen, the California comedian whose satirical, tongue-in-cheek presidential campaigns in 1968, 1972, 1976, 1992 and 1996 actually resulted in votes.

	Sean Penn in the remake of "All the King's Men" Click photo for larger image.

Paulsen, who died in 1997, scored points in the North Dakota Republican primary and, in 1996 got 1 percent of the Democratic vote in the New Hampshire primary.

What if a comedian's mock campaign won enough votes to win? Robin Williams finds out in Barry Levinson's "Man of the Year," now playing at a theater near you.

Politics -- particularly during candidates' travels on the campaign trail -- has long been a ripe subject for Hollywood to explore, with "Man of the Year" and the Sean Penn remake of "All the King's Men" among the most recent examples.

If on this Election Day you prefer unexpected twists, duplicitous turns and hard-ball political drama, watch the returns on TV. But if you'd rather watch fictional politics, check out the best political theater Hollywood has to offer.

Top 10 political campaign movies

1. "Primary Colors" (1998): New York Times journalist Joe Klein created this barely fictionalized version of what he observed on the Clinton campaign trail in 1992. Klein wrote the book anonymously but was outed when his handwriting was found on an early manuscript.

John Travolta in "Primary Colors," which was a thinly disguised look at the Clintons on the campaign trail. Click photo for larger image.

Tom Hanks turned down the lead in the Mike Nichols film adaptation because of his friendship with Bill Clinton. While in office, President Clinton liked the film so much, he invited star John Travolta to the White House -- but only if he'd dress and act the role of Clinton's barely concealed character. Travolta declined.

Adrian Lester is great as a well-meaning guy who wants to help his party but is disillusioned by the reality of politics. Travolta and Emma Thompson grate against each other in hardly concealed Bill and Hillary roles. Rating: R for strong language and sexual references.

2. "The Candidate" (1972): "What do we do now?" Robert Redford delivers the classic final line moments after his character wins a Senate seat following a bruising campaign against an entrenched incumbent.

Redford plays a naive political newbie, a California liberal installed as a candidate by powers who don't really want him to win. With no chance of success, he does what he thinks is right, with startling results. Groucho Marx makes an uncredited walk-on cameo in what would be his last screen appearance. Rating: PG.

	Tim Robbins played the folk-singing, crypto-fascist presidential candidate "Bob Roberts." Click photo for larger image.

3. "Bob Roberts" (1992): Tim Robbins wrote, directed and stars in a sort of political "This Is Spinal Tap," filmed in Pittsburgh.

In his satirical docudrama, Robbins plays a successful folk singer running a sleazy campaign to unseat fictional Pennsylvania Sen. Brickley Paiste. Despite his crypto-fascist agenda, he's a media darling -- except in the eyes of one independent journalist dead set on stopping him.

Robbins got the idea from a 1975 skit on "Saturday Night Live." In 1988, he wrote a song called "Revape Amerika" for the band Tapeheads and was credited as Bob Roberts. The song reappears, reworked as "Retake America," in the movie. Rating: R for language.

4. "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939): Frank Capra directed the movie that made the filibuster famous.

Jimmy Stewart stars as idealistic Jefferson Smith, a good guy appointed by the governor of his state to fill a senatorial vacancy. In the Capitol, however, Mr. Smith discovers that in order to get the national boys' camp he's been lobbying for, he'll have to jump through hoops held out by his corrupt colleagues. When he won't jump, they try to destroy him. Not rated; PG in nature.

Robert Redford starred in the 1972 movie "The Candidate." Click photo for larger image.

5. "Bulworth" (1998): Warren Beatty wrote, directed and stars as a temporarily delusional senator who, in his diminished capacity, tries to have himself assassinated. And it's a comedy.

He also does or says everything that pops into his mind during a political campaign. It's a fun mix of hip-hop and light political intrigue as Bulworth bonds with the people.

Notable for repeated usage of a certain swear word, "Bulworth" nevertheless instigated talk in Hollywood about Beatty actually running for office. Rating: R for language.

6. "The Best Man" (1964): Film adaptation of a Broadway play based on a Gore Vidal novel.

Five candidates vie for their party's nomination for president of the United States. As the ballots are cast, the front-runners start wondering how badly they really want the job. Starring Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson. Not rated; PG in nature.

7. "Tanner '88" (1988): Dry, satirical and funny, this HBO mockumentary by Robert Altman and "Doonesbury" cartoonist Garry Trudeau pits a fictional Michigan congressman (Michael Murphy) against real-life candidates Gary Hart and Bob Dole, who appear in documentary footage and actually interact with the filmmakers in a few groundbeaking scenes. Not rated; cable TV.

8. "All the King's Men" (1949, 2006): Writer-director Robert Rossen's original story, based on the Pulitzer-winning 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren, is loosely based on the career of Louisiana Gov. Huey Long.

Broderick Crawford stars as a politician who rises from a rural county seat to national prominence, losing his innocence and ideals along the way. Not rated; PG in nature.

In this year's disappointing remake by Steven Zaillian, Sean Penn stars as the corrupt politician. PG-13 for an intense sequence of violence, sexual content and partial nudity.

9. "State of the Union" (1948): When the party machine worries that a nominee is thinking for himself, the politicos conspire to do something about it. When they do, the candidate speaks out even louder. It's classic Frank Capra, starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Not rated, PG in nature.

10. "The Great McGinty" (1940): Written and directed by Preston Sturges, this Depression-era satire stars Brian Donlevy as a homeless man recruited to help a local political boss engage in voting fraud. A natural for the job, he rises through the political ranks. Not rated, PG in nature. Robert Redford in the 1972 movie "The Candidate."