The President’s popularity soars. His ambitious legislative agenda seems inevitable. His party is united behind him while his opposition is disorganized and ineffectual.

Then things change.

The opposition gets its act together, rallying around issues that have little to do with the legislation in question.  Those attacks and a sense of inaction drive the President’s approval ratings way down. It’s an election year, so members of his own party start pulling away, refusing to support the President’s agenda for fear of riding a sinking ship into election day.

Sound familiar? It’s the plot of both 2010’s cable news channels and of the 1995 film The American President.

Here at Overthinking It, we’ve been talking about a disturbing trend in advertising for several years. We saw several (nine, to be exact) instances of this in last Saturday’s Super Bowl. Here’s an example:

Advertiser: Doritos

Message: “Eating Doritos will get you shocked by a dog.”

Huh? Why is this a good thing? How is this supposed to sell Doritos? Well, we’re not really sure, but we’ve coined a phrase that aptly describes this perplexing phenomenon:

“Bad Things Happen To You When You Use Our Product.”

Let’s explore this trend further with some more examples.

There will be spoilers. However, if you wanted to watch this season of 24, you probably already have. If you haven’t seen it, have no fear — read on.

In a world of excellent television, it may be neither as shiny nor as mysterious as today’s cutting-edge, DVR-demanding serialized hits (Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Gossip Girl, Man Versus Food). Its season wrap-up wasn’t in the running for “best TV I’ve ever seen” (The Shield, The Wire, Ninja Warrior), but Jack Bauer and 24 still stand astride TV like a colossus — a hoarse, belligerent colossus that clasps men by the lapels and thrusts them floorward, but a colossus nonetheless.

If you missed this season, you missed Jack and what remains of the CTU crew confronting their most daunting enemy yet. No, not a ruthless African dictator with crack commando squats sloshing through the DC sewers — no, not John Voight or Methos from Highlander: The Series. In season seven of 24, Jack Bauer confronted the biggest threat to his existence yet:

President Barack Obama.

The Overthinkers (well, some of them) gather in New York’s East Village. Matthew Wrather hosts a panel including Matthew Belinkie, Mark Lee, Jordan Stokes, and Ryan Sheely (live), and Peter Fenzel and Dave Shechner (remotely) to Overthink listner questions, the inauguration, Barack Obama’s cult of personality, and the Oscars.

As always, call 20-EAT-LOG-01 (that’s (203) 285-6401) to leave a voicemail. (Email is still down.)

Download Episode 30 (MP3)

It’s official: the ascendancy of Barack Obama to the presidency and the departure of George W. Bush have brought about the End of Irony. The Daily Show is running out of jokes. Snark is at an all time low. Even Pabst Blue Ribbon is reporting its first quarterly loss since 2002.

However, we still have to deal with the untold amounts of irony-laden pop culture produced during eight years of Bush-induced cynicism and fear.  Chief among these is the seminal 2004 film, Team America: World Police. Though the exact intent of the film is open to debate, it is abundantly clear that the Bush Administration and its errant foreign policy were key targets of its savage satire.

So in this New Golden Age of Pragmatism, Diplomacy, and Understanding, is Team America: World Police still relevant? The short answer is absolutely, yes: even though Bush is gone, Obama will soon be faced with many of the same problems that the World Police once confronted. Fortunately, though, the World Police also have the answers.

What’s our team up against?

WASHINGTON – Illinois Senator Barrack Obama accepted the Presidential Matrix of Leadership on Tuesday, bringing light to America’s darkest hour and vowing to transform the nation and the world.

The Matrix had previously belonged to human tractor trailer William Jefferson Clinton, who, after prevailing in battle against independent prosecutor Kenneth Star, slowly darkened and passed away, devastating America’s children.

At his bedside were Clinton’s long-time compatriot, then-Vice President Al Gore; his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton; Obama, then a young State Senator on a school field trip; and car-carrying super-robot Ultra Magnus, voiced by the late Robert Stack.

(Continued in politics section)

Look out, evil-doers: Spider-man swings to President Obama’s rescue in an upcoming Marvel comic book issue.

It’s not the first time an American President has appeared in a comic book (the article lists a few notable ones), but it’s definitely the first for Barack Obama, who may get his own comic book series if he can keep his cultish popularity up over the next 4-8 years.

Presumably, Spider-Man gives Obama some words of wisdom: “With great power, comes great responsibility to fix the enormous clusterf$@!k that America has gotten itself into,” followed by, of course:

“THWIPP“