Hud (Martin Ritt, 1963): When confronted with the incomprehensible, the mind gropes for metaphors. That's the way it is with George Bush getting sworn in to the presidency this week. I've been trying to find an analogy to help me understand what our country is about to be saddled with.

Before the election I decided that George Bush, Jr. reminded me of Ralph Wiggum from "The Simpsons". But now that his election has forced me to put more thought into it than I'd like to have to, I've decided that George Bush reminds me most of all of Hud Bannon, from the great black and white film from the 60's, Hud.

Let's look at the parallels: Hud is from Texas. Hud is a drunk, and irresponsible, as Dubya was at Hud's age of 30. Hud is a charmer--those who don't know him well like him. Hud dislikes and distrusts the Federal government. Hud has a successful father who has given him everything that's his. Hud thinks he is entitled to his father's legacy, and will do anything, no matter how unprincipled, to get it.

I don't know if Dubya is as aggressively mean as Hud is. I'm not sure Dubya, even drunk, would have had the gumption to sexually assault his housekeeper. So if the parallel isn't dead on, consider Dubya to be Hud minus the personality. Those who have seen the film: come on, tell me it doesn't fit.

But more than just being a route to understanding our new president, Hud is a terrific drama. Last week I went on and on about what a great guy Atticus Finch is in To Kill a Mockingbird, so it's refreshing to cover a movie about a real weasel. There are so few guy movies about weasels. For some reason bad men--not remarkably evil, just venal and selfish--aren't often the subject of films. Or if they are, the film is about how they find redemption.

But it's a mark of a powerful piece of cinema to present a real bastard and make us care about him, sort of. It helps when he's played by Paul Newman. Newman's Hud Bannon is a drinker, and a bar brawler, and in his small Texas town isn't shy about parking his pink Cadillac in front of other men's houses while he sleeps with their wives.

Hud comes from a ranching family . . . his father, Homer (Melvyn Douglas), is a man of principle who owns many head of cattle and a vast plot of land. At the start of the film, Hud is called in to look at a dead calf . . . no one can discern the cause of death, so Hud's father calls in the government vet. The vet suspects Hoof and Mouth disease, and the cattle are put under quarantine. Most of the film is a waiting game. Will Homer's cattle have to be destroyed? If they are, will it destroy him too?

The possibility makes Hud desperate to collect his share of the ranch; he hopes to sell out to oil interests. Meanwhile he does his best to corrupt his nephew Lon (Brandon De Wilde--the kid from Shane) and get in the panties of their housekeeper Alma (Patricia Neal). He's a heartless prick, but at the same time you sort of feel for him . . . his father has been convinced for so long that he's unsalvageable, did the dude ever really have a chance?

The end doesn't leave much chance that Hud is going to change his shallow, selfish ways . . . but that's fine--after all, dude isn't going to be president or anything. But if Hollywood doesn't leave any chance for redemption, will Washington?

Frankly, I found it much more comforting to think of George Bush as Ralph Wiggum. Better an amiable fool than a dangerous asshole. But at least Paul Newman is good to look at. Shit, for that only I'd take Hud over Dubya any day.