In an earlier article, we presented a Democrat’s analysis of the Lord of the Rings. But as some of our readers pointed out, that analysis didn’t make much sense (Bush destroys Ashcroft?). So we here at MJ decided to send Barmy, our staff Democratic apologist, to watch the movie and report back with a more cogent analysis. Thanks for doubling as our movie reviewer, and take it away, Barmy.

I really enjoyed the series of movies. As movies, and as a story, they really stand on their own. However, I believe the screenwriter, J.R.R. Tolkien, clearly was writing an allegory. Please beware, I will give away some of the plot in the final movie in this analysis.

To really understand what he was saying, we need to understand the rules Tolkien followed in coming up with the story line for this movie.

1. First of all, just like any allegory, it will fall apart if you try to analyze it too much. So just go with the general impressions without thinking too much. If you try thinking too much, this analysis will no longer make sense.
2. Secondly, the characters do not necessarily represent one and only one thing throughout the movie. The representations clearly change from scene to scene in the movie. One character might represent one real life person in one scene, and someone else in another scene. A real life person might be represented by different characters in different scenes. You must pay close attention and be always thinking through out the movie.
3. Finally, Tolkien is not a seer. He is not foretelling the future. So, I am sorry to say, but my Democratic friend is wrong to suggest that this is about 2004 election. Rather he is commenting on events in the past, mainly the 2000 election.

With those ground rules, lets get to some of the details.

The one ring of power is clearly the office of the Presidency. Thus we can see that Gollum represents both George Bush the father and the son. George H.W. Bush was the president and had the ring for a period of time. But through his own incompetence, he lost it to the kind and loveable Bilbo (Bill Clinton). As George W. Bush, Gollum seeks to regain what his father lost.

After holding the ring for a long period of time (8 years), Bilbo seeks to hand it over to his chosen successor, Frodo, who obviously represents Al Gore. Bilbo struggles with his desire to hold on to the ring, but voluntarily gives it up. If you recall, there were many people calling for a change in the Constitution to allow Clinton to run for a third term. Had that change been made, Clinton most certainly would have been able to keep the "ring". Also, note how in the movies, everyone else is corrupted by the power of the ring except for Bilbo and Frodo (Clinton and Gore). The rest all fall to the allure of the power of the Presidency and will use the Presidency for their own personal gain.

Gandalf, the wise and powerful, who councils Frodo in his flight from the Nazgul, is Bill Clinton. His fight with the evil Balrog in which he falls to his supposed death is his battle with the Republican Congress in which he is impeached. But just as Gandalf returned from the dead to be more powerful, Clinton was not convicted by the Senate and rose from the impeachment even more powerful than he previously was.

Sauron is the evil power behind all the trouble. Notice that he does not have a body. That is because he does not represent a person. At least not a single person. Sauron represents the right wing, conservative media, sometimes correctly referred to as a vast right wing conspiracy. His Nazgul are the Republican appointed Supreme Court Justices who stick a dagger into Frodo, representing their selection of Bush as President over the majority vote of the nation, almost fatally wounding Gore.

The Two Towers are a clear allusion to the World Trade Center. The powers of evil use the two towers to conquer the world, just as Bush uses the destruction of the World Trade Center as an excuse to launch his world wide war of conquest.

The Steward of Gondor, Denethor, makes a brief appearance as George W. Bush, ordering the troops into a hopeless battle while he sits at home feasting, careless of their deaths. This obviously was a last minute addition that Tolkien made to the film in reaction to what is currently going on in Iraq. The Bush administration obviously got wind of it and sent Bush to Iraq for two hours on Thanksgiving to try to make the more gullible of the public miss the obvious intent of the scene.

In the climactic scene of the movie, Gollum attacks Frodo, biting off his finger to gain the ring of power. But it ultimately proves to be his undoing as he is destroyed while reveling in his victory. Gore clearly won the election as a majority of the American people voted for him to be the President. But Bush, in his unconstitutional grab for power, attacked him with lawsuits and ripped the Presidency away from Gore. But what he did not realize is that in gaining the Presidency, he ultimately caused his own undoing. He is the President select who has no right to the office he holds. Everywhere he goes, he is opposed by the right thinking people of the world. Just recall his recent visit to England and the hundreds of thousands who showed up to protest his illegitimate leadership of the United States, and his imperial conquests of foreign nations. That is the picture Tolkien intended with his picture of Gollum sinking into the molten rock to be finally and completely swallowed and forgotten. In 2004, Bush will be voted out of office to be forgotten in history, remembered only for his brazen act of taking the ring that was not his. Gore, not Bush, is the true Lord of the Ring.

So folks, there is our MJ Democratic analysis of LOTR. We hope you have enjoyed it. See the movie. Make your own decisions. And thanks, Barmy.