The Best Man (1964)

President Art Hockstader: Major Bascomb... do I understand, by the way you are slowly beating around the bush, that Joe Cantwell is what we used to call a dee-generate?
Sheldon Bascomb: Yes, sir. That's just what I'm saying.
William Russell: I don't believe it. No man with that awful wife and those ugly children could be anything but normal.

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President Art Hockstader: There have been moments when I have questioned your methods.
Joe Cantwell: Well, you have to fight fire with fire, Mr. President.
President Art Hockstader: And the end justifies the means?
Joe Cantwell: Well, yes, sir. Yes. That is what I believe.
President Art Hockstader: Well, son, I have news for you about both politics and life... and may I say the two are exactly the same thing? There are no ends, Joe, only means...

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President Art Hockstader: Power is not a toy we give to good children. It is a weapon. And the strong man takes it and uses it. If you don't go down there and beat Joe Cantwell to the floor with this very dirty stick, then you've got no business in the big league. Because if you don't fight, the job is not for you. And it never will be.

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Ronald Reagan was rejected for a role in this film because a studio executive didn't think he had "that presidential look."
One of the filming locations is the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. In 1968, Robert Kennedy was assassinated here during his campaign to win the Democratic Party's nomination for president.
George Furth's first movie.
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