(July 25, 1997) -- The power, the danger, the prestige, the intrigue. It's all wrapped up in the President of the United States. No wonder he's been a major character in so many movies.

Actor Ronald Reagan was commander in chief in real life; scores of other actors have played the role on celluloid.

Harrison Ford's performance as the resourceful, take-charge President Marshall in Air Force One is just the latest in dozens of films that have spotlighted America's chief executive.

The tradition goes back more than 80 years to portraits of Lincoln in silent films by D.W. Griffith. "Honest" Abe leads the pack among the presidents portrayed -- performances by Walter Huston, Henry Fonda, Sam Waterston, Raymond Massey and Royal Dano come quickly to mind.

If the high-tech editing of the real Bill Clinton into Contact is any indicator, we're going to see more and more of the U.S. presidents on screen, and they won't always be played by actors.

Usually, though, the presidency has been grist for the actors' mill. In some cases, they've contributed Hollywood portraits of historic figures -- from Fonda as Young Mr. Lincoln to Charleton Heston as Andrew Jackson (in The President's Lady) to Ralph Bellamy as Franklin D. Roosevelt (in Sunrise at Campobello).

At other times, actors have created fictional U.S. presidents, from Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove to Jack Nicholson in Mars Attacks to Michael Douglas in The American President.

The Book of Video Lists by Tom Wiener lists 48 titles under the topic of "presidency," and that includes none of the films of this decade. Since that book was published in 1990, we've seen Absolute Power, Nixon, The American President, In the Line of Fire, Dave, Independence Day, Mars Attacks, Contact and Air Force One, among others.

The recent movies have come so fast after one another that production companies are even leasing sets from each other (The American President used the same Oval Office set constructed for Dave.)

And though presidents are often portrayed as good guys, some have been spotlighted as corrupt slimeballs or sleazy politicos. With that variety in mind, here are a few highlights -- the cinematic presidents I'd vote for, and the ones I'd push for impeachment.

The ones that seem most worthy of our trust and ballot include:

• Michael Douglas in The American President. He's concerned, passionate, caring and smart, and eventually does the right thing for the electorate. (He's also charmingly human, especially as he pursues his new love life.)

• Harrison Ford in Air Force One. He's as honest as the day is long and committed to international peace and harmony. He's also tough in the clinch and able to fight his own battles. Think of the money we would save -- he could be his own secret service.

• Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove. A calm, resourceful president, he deals brilliantly with the drunken Soviet leader Chairman Kissoff on the red phone, and keeps his cool in the war room, even as we're blasting ourselves into oblivion with hydrogen bombs. Unfortunately, none of us would be alive to vote in a second-term election.

• Gene Hackman in Absolute Power. He's a conniving, oversexed creep who sleeps with the wife of a longtime friend, kills her when the sex turns rough and then covers up the crime with other attempts at violence.

• Donald Moffat in Clear and Present Danger. This corrupt president becomes entangled with the Columbia drug cartel, until special agent Jack Ryan solves the case and clears the air. Just say no, my foot.

  

• Donald Pleasence in Escape from New York and Jack Nicholson in Mars Attacks. These two guys seem too weird and unstable and neurotic ever to be effective, trustworthy presidents. Both are examples of an actor's "baggage" getting in the way. Of course, in Nicholson's case, the movie was a campy comedy -- the pres was SUPPOSED to be weird.

  

• Anthony Hopkins as the title character in Nixon. Though a surprisingly sympathetic portrait, Oliver Stone's film clearly demonstrates the deep-seated emotional problems, paranoia and lack of integrity that was rampant in the Nixon presidency. He was nearly impeached in real life -- and this film doesn't change my opinion.