At its best, Swing Vote satirizes the absurdity of our electoral process—a referendum that completely disregards the wishes of individual voters, a competition ruled by media suasion. Bud doesn’t undergo an awakening like that memorable Simpsons episode where Homer witnesses Congress’ clandestine bill-passing procedure (“My illusions have been restored!”), rather Swing Vote shows his distance from the candidates who live by the polls.
Bud’s lesson in civic responsibility personalizes Red State thinking. When a colleague at the egg factory where Bud works complains about Mexican employees “insourcing” the jobs away from Americans, Bud counters, “Maybe he needs the work.” Then he adds, “I don’t take sides; just stating the obvious.” Swing Vote’s middle-of-the-road stance supplies what’s obviously been missing from liberal media’s condescension to fly-over-states America. The respect Borat withheld is apparent in Costner’s careful characterization.
In Swing Vote, Costner means to explicate civic responsibility during this absurd, media-dominated election season. Our dislocation is apparent in Bud’s awkward talks with candidates and media people. And it is perfectly symbolized by Bud watching his own hand waving outside a limousine window while simultaneously on TV. This is a more resonant image than all the gunplay and suicidal mayhem with which stars like Angelina Jolie placate the public’s sense of political futility. At a screening of Wanted, I noticed a paraplegic viewer applauding Jolie’s most outlandish assassin’s stunt. Rather than exploit movie-going voters’ sense of crippling frustration, Costner tries to purge it.