What position does the man Mays Gilliam's party believes will win the election currently hold?
Mays Gilliam is the alderman for the 9th Ward in Washington, D.C.. After learning he is likely to lose his job and getting dumped by his girlfriend, Kim, Gilliam is surprisingly chosen as the party candidate for the presidency after his party's original presidential and vice-presidential nominees die in a plane crash and he is lauded as a hero for saving a woman from an explosion. Assuming the election was already lost to sitting vice-president Brian Lewis, the party decided to pick a likable but unwinnable minority candidate to improve their chances in the next presidential election.
At first, Gilliam feels he will not be able to succeed as President because he would be representing the entire African-American populace, and does not want to do anything to mess it up. However, Gilliam begins to rise in the polls after his brother persuades him to speak out for what he believes. He begins to talk about issues such as welfare, money, society, etc.
After Lewis runs a series of attack ads including one saying Gilliam supports cancer, Gilliam begins to fight back using what he claimed was "kissing" his opponent (taken from Bugs Bunny–Elmer Fudd cartoons). A part of this strategy includes dubbing a videotape of Osama bin Laden saying he hates America but loves Brian Lewis. This strategy gains Gilliam even more points in the polls.
As voting day draws closer, Gilliam eventually learns the reason why he was chosen as the party candidate, fires some disloyal campaign operatives (although they reconciled with him afterwards), and chooses his brother as his running mate. He later has a debate with his opponent in which he manages to win the crowd over by speaking truth about the American life. Finally, Gilliam ends up winning the election and the presidency. The film ends with a shot of Mount Rushmore with Mays Gilliam's head added, complete with bling.
vice-president