"Gore, even without the presidency, used all the modern tools of communication, the Internet, video and globalization to reach out and galvanize a global movement," Mr. Rothkopf said.
The effort to impeach Mr. Basescu this summer came after Mr. Ponta and his allies accused him of abusing the presidency, including using the secret services against his enemies.
But Ayatollah Khamenei possesses weaker religious credentials, so he has to outflank his rivals in the presidency by using his control over the security services, the military and the media.
On the other hand, "Die Hard" resists, conspicuously, the cinematic stereotype of violent black villains (1988 was the year when George H. W. Bush won the Presidency by using a repellent attack ad linking his opponent, Michael Dukakis, to a black convict named Willie Horton).
On Tuesday, on the eve of Mr. Estrada's appearance today at a convention of his party, Mrs. Arroyo made her first televised address, insisting on the legality of her presidency and using harsh language to warn opponents not to move against her.
(What an irony that Erdoğan, who has imprisoned so many journalists, and gone to great lengths to censor Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, may have saved his Presidency by using FaceTime to make an early Saturday appearance on a Turkish television news channel).
Tom Perez, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said Trump continued to "debase the office of the presidency" by using the racial slur during the ceremony.
