Character Analysis
If you remember one thing from Independence Day, you'll remember Will Smith punching an alien and saying "Welcome to earth."
But if you remember two things from Independence Day, you'll also remember Prez Thomas J. Whitmore giving maybe the best presidential speech ever. (We guess maybe the Gettysburg Address is a smidge more inspiring, but only a smidge.)
A Rough Patch
The President seems like a decent enough guy, but things are just not going his way when we meet him. Or, actually, for most of the movie.
He's a good-looking former fighter pilot, a father, and a doting husband, and he was obviously was popular enough with the American people to get elected. However, it seems that public opinions about him had been on a downward trend prior to the whole alien invasion. As one TV pundit (real-life pundit Eleanor Clift) puts it, the American people are peeved because "They elected a warrior and they got a wimp!"
Harsh.
Then, of course, the aliens invade, and he and the rest of the government fail to realize they're hostile in time to prevent massive attacks on American cities. Can't this guy just catch a break?
Nope. Soon after those big attacks, his wife goes missing. Then, when they finally find her, the doctors don't sugarcoat it: she isn't going to recover. Even though the Prez tries to put on a brave face at her bedside, she (as usual) sees right through his white lies:
PRESIDENT: The doctors think that you're going to be just fine.
FIRST LADY: (Smiles) Liar.
Then they cry and hug. It's so awful and devastating, we manage to forget for thirty seconds that there's an alien invasion going on that might kill everyone.
Prez Dispenser
Okay, now for the good news: the whole alien catastrophe ultimately brings out the best in our boy Thomas Whitmore.
He's super-brave, as he reminds everyone when he suits up and hops in a plane to help with the final assault on the alien spaceships—a final assault that a) he organized and authorized as President, and b) which ends up being successful.
Oh, and before all that, he gives an amazing speech. We're going to repeat it so that you can practice it in the mirror to psyche yourself up before your next test/trip to the DMV/hot date:
PRESIDENT: Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July. And you will once again be fighting for our freedom. Not from tyranny, oppression or persecution, but from annihilation. We're fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice, "We will not go quietly into the night. We will not vanish without a fight. We're going to live on! We're going to survive!" Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!
We're basically weeping with a mixture of patriotism and Hollywood magic over here.
Unsurprisingly, this speech is a huge moment for Whitmore, prez-wise. He's not playing politics or losing the thread of his leadership style anymore: he's saving the earth. And the people listening get pumped. Because they're not made of stone.
So, essentially, he loses a lot as a result of the alien attacks, but he also gets a chance to show off his bravery and leadership skills. We get the sense that America is just going to fall in love with him all over again.
President Whitmore's Timeline