One of my favorite characters on 24 in Season 1 was President David Palmer. Some people may recognize the actor who plays David Palmer as the same guy who is in the All-State commercials for insurance. David Palmer is a Senator from California who is trying to become the first black president in U.S. history. He is one of my favorite characters besides Jack Baur on the show and I am glad that as the season of 24 progressed, he was given a larger role.
David Palmer is a strong and courageous man. He is running for President of the U.S. and when he finds out about a scandal that threatens to destroy him, he doesn’t run from in. Instead he faces up to it and tells the truth to the public. His son Keith killed a man in self defense in protecting his sister from the man who raped her.
The story was covered up and Palmer was going to be blackmailed for it and his son would’ve faced charges and could possibly be sent to jail. Palmer’s wife Sherry covered the story up from her husband for 7 years and now that Palmer has found out, he tells the public about it and stands behind his son. In the process he develops a strong bond with his son and earns his trust while he finds out that his wife cannot be trusted.
Palmer’s wife Sherry is power crazed and is willing to do whatever it takes to get to be first lady of the U.S. In the second incident facing DAvid Palmer, his son’s pyschiatrisy is murdered and when his son Jeith gets proof that murder has taken place, Sherry tries to destroy the tape. Instead, Palmer created a fake tape and wanted to see if his wife could be trusted. Sherry still seems to think that he will stand by her side even as their relationship that was once filled with love deteriorates.
In the third clash between Sherry and her husband, Sherry tells one of Palmer’s aids to have an affair with him. When Palmer discovers this, he fires his aid immediately and yells at his wife for being a sick and degrading woman.
The final straw that breaks the camels back is when a cell phone device blows up in Palmer’s campaign office and his life is saved by Jack Baur. Baur has saved Palmer’s life twice and he wants Palmer to be thought of as dead so that he can save hi daughter who is kidnapped from the terrorists. David Palmer obliges with Baur’s request.
However Palmer’s wife Sherry leaks to the press that he is still alive. She is only concerned with Palmer’s image and becoming president and doesn’t care about a teenage girl while David Palmer does. David Palmer goes irate when he finds out that the story has gone to the media that he is still alive. He almost harms his wife but is able to restrain himself. In the final scenes of Season 1, he tells Sherry that he no longer wants to see her and has Secret Servce escort her away.
I loved this move by David Palmer and when he sent his wife away I said to myself, “Finally this b – – is gone.” He is a great man, a family man, and would make a great presidential candidate. I wish he could be a president in real life.
