The Best Man played on TCM last week, a tersely, brilliantly written movie based on Gore Vidal’s 1962 play. In the film Henry Fonda is a man running for president driven by logic, justice and earnestness who also happens to be handsome and charismatic enough to seem a celebrity to the masses. His opponent played by Cliff Robertson is a bootstraps-up man of the people; smart and full of certitude, but a bit devious-sounding under the sheath. TCM has been running the obvious political flicks for the season (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, the Robert Redford headscratcher The Candidate). But they’ve also unearthed some slightly more obscure gems. Not just Best Man (Fonda is top-notch, Cliff Robertson is perfectly weaselly, by the way) but also Advise and Consent later this week, another Fonda-as-stiff-backed-but-contrarian-American-politico flick. Boy, I wonder what TCM is trying to say here?