Robert McCallister (Jack & Bobby)

Robert Browning "Bobby" McCallister is a fictional character played by Logan Lerman in the American television series "Jack & Bobby". McCallister was a 13-year-old boy growing up in rural Missouri who, according to the show's narrative, was destined to become the 51st President of the United States.

Early life

Bobby McCallister was born and raised in the fictional college town of Hart, Missouri, where he graduated from Truman High School and was the founder of the school's Space Club. His mother, Grace McCallister, was a history professor at the local college and an outspoken Democrat. Bobby's father, Juan Roberto Del Alba, was a Mexican national who was convicted, possibly falsely, of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Throughout his childhood Bobby was very close to his older brother, Jack. According to a documentary filmed in the wake of Bobby's presidency, their mother once said that "Jack and Bobby were like two different sides of the same coin. Without Bobby, Jack never would have learned compassion, and without Jack, Bobby never would have learned strength." Later in life, Bobby would consider Jack to have had the greatest influence on his life.

Political career

Before ascending to the presidency, McCallister served as governor of Missouri and before that, as a U.S. Congressman. Despite being raised by his atheist mother as a secular humanist, McCallister converted to the Episcopal Church and eventually became a priest. He first went to Congress as a Democrat to serve out the remainder of his brother's term after Jack was killed in a convenience store robbery. He later decided to run on his own, as a Republican. It was during this campaign that McCallister fell in love with Courtney Benedict, whom he later married.

When he began his campaign for the position of president, he chose Adam Chasen as his Chief Strategist. At first Chasen was somewhat reticent, however after realizing just how dedicated McCallister was, he signed on.

A Republican governor, McCallister ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2040, but decided to run as an Independent after losing the California primary to Dennis Morgenthal, a Senator from Missouri. McCallister's "moderate" stance on various social issues was reportedly a factor in his loss during the primaries.

Six months into the 2040 campaign McCallister was caught in a lie. He told a story about his father being an esteemed professor of archaeology from Chile who was executed for his political beliefs. The media didn't buy it, and the story was later proven to be false. That lie nearly cost McCallister the election. Another close call was during the presidential debates, when, during the fourth round of questioning, McCallister "froze" for eight seconds after being asked, "Governor, you are of half-Mexican descent, yet at no point in your personal or public career have you ever identified yourself as even part Latino. Is that because you consider yourself white?" He nearly lost because of these two incidents.

Fortunately, then sitting Democratic president Eugene Lorio "saved" his opponent, jumping in after eight seconds with the question, "Isn't it enough that a man considers himself an American?" and then proceeding to talk about the dangers of racial division. As a result, McCallister's lapse was quickly forgotten.

McCallister later asked Karen Carmichael to be his running mate, although it was well known she had virtually no interest in the position of Vice President since the post had all but vanished under the previous two administrations. She initially turned down the Governor's offer, but was later won over by McCallister's great powers of persuasion.

The image most associated by the public with President Robert McCallister is that taken just before his election in 2040, a black-and-white still photo of him from the back, poised backstage at a political rally, leaning his hand against the wall. The public associates the picture with the president’s determination as he steels himself for battle in the crucial hours to come. In truth, McCallister is asthmatic, he has been since childhood. He was simply pausing to catch his breath as he often does before a speech.

Childhood friend Marcus Ride served as Senior Counsel to President McCallister. Ride was best friends with the president’s deceased brother since the age of thirteen. When McCallister saw some dark hours during his presidency, he would often say to his wife Courtney, "The wrong brother became president."

McCallister has always been known to relate to women better than men. Most friends say it probably has something to do with his mother. He is well known for his relationships with women, however not in the sense of being a ladies-man. His charisma is of a different sort. People close to President McCallister say it was less overt than the media would have people to believe, and less calculated.

Although President McCallister was often approached by religious organizations for favors, he is remembered by many as the president who took a stand against religious interest...as well having the least amount of religiously motivated strife in the last thirty years during his presidency. He had a saying about those who would use God's name to achieve their own political ends: "We may have our faith in common, but I certainly hope that's all."

McCallister converted the old bowling alley in the White House basement into a chapel where every week they would have non-denominational services and he would always preach a highly inspirational sermon. Because of this, everyone who served in the McCallister Administration would often say Sunday was their favorite day at the White House.

The events during his presidency indicate clearly just how unique his character is.

One time when President McCallister almost certainly relied on his faith was during a time of scandal. The press latched onto rumors that McCallister had sexually harassed a young girl working on the 2040 campaign. Before long, the White House realized it was beginning to lose the PR battle. White House Chief of Staff Miriam Chen-Pew (who served from 2041 into the beginning of McCallister's second term, at least) decided to ask the vice president to go before the media and defend the president. Yet, oddly it was Carmichael who offered to do so. This eventually led one of the president's advisors to suspect that the president and vice president might be having an affair.

Courtney McCallister suspected the vice president's defense of the President and other events were odd, to say the least. Mrs. McCallister had, in her mind, other evidence consistent with that. The time came when President McCallister, Mrs. McCallister, Grace Benedict, and Vice President Carmichael confronted the realization that Carmichael and the President had been having an extramarital affair. As a result, eventually, Mrs. McCallister moved out of the White House and divorced the President. Also a consequence was the resignation of Vice President Carmichael, an unexpected move to the nation, early in the second presidential term.

In his first term as president, McCallister was faced with a national emergency that would come to be a truly defining event in his presidency. A massive terrorist attack occurred, wiping out downtown Chicago with a single nuclear bomb on September 12, 2041 (a day after the 40th anniversary of 9/11). Suspect detentions and plutonium-related evidence led the authorities to believe Saudi Arabian terrorists had conspired to execute the attack. The media, public, and agencies of the government were convinced and the National Security Council presented targets to the president for retaliatory strikes. McCallister was not quite convinced that the evidence was strong enough, prompting him to wait days, agonizing days for the victims' families, without green-lighting the strikes. As a result, public protests broke out, Congress demanded action, and the Cabinet threatened resignation.

Suddenly, a lucky break in the case, an unrelated raid on an everyday building, led to a drastic change in the conclusion of the authorities. As it turned out, a domestic militant group, the Revolutionary Fundamentalist Nation was solely responsible for the attack. Everybody realized that if the strong military strike had been authorized, the consequences would have been disastrous. The President was effectively vindicated. The military strike plan was tossed out and McCallister spoke afterwards of waiting for overwhelming evidence before launching any kind of decisive action, in this case military action. National Security Advisor Cyrus Miller (in service of the president from 2041-2044), was exceedingly proud of him, as were others.

President McCallister is often referred to as "The Great Believer"." ("The Great Believer" was the name of a poem written by a homeless Vietnam war veteran who was a friend of Bobby's mother. Bobby always looked at it for inspiration. The poem was gibberish, but he liked the title.)

McCallister, who was victimized at one point by a physical attack as president (not an assassination attempt), is the father of four boys, the oldest of whom he and his wife named after his late brother. Another son, Henry, died in a drunk driving accident in 2042, while the McCallister administration was in its infancy.