A country-western singer is recruited to run for the U.S. Senate, and soon clashes with his unscrupulous campaign manager on the tactics to run his political campaign.
Hank Jackson is a clean-cut Country & Western singer whom is recruited to run for the post of Republican senator of Texas with the assistance of three Washington D.C. 'technical advisers'; cynical movie producer Sid Angelo, image consultant Chet Stoner, and political advisor Ed Varnett whom are under the employment of the shady Governor Baxter whom wants his latest political rival, Senator Birdwell, out of the way. During the cleverly scripted campaign of TV commercials and political speeches, Hank lets the thoughts of fame and popularity go to his head. But it puts a strain on his relationship with his liberal girlfriend Tammy Parker whom is currently leading a strike that Hank opposes. Seeing Tammy as a threat to Hank's campaign, the ruthless Sid Angelo plots to shut her up by unethical and illegal means.—matt-282
When Senator Fred Burwell (Robert Swain), a Democrat who has served his nameless Southwestern state in the U.S. Senate for the last 18 years, seeks re-election on a liberal platform opposing the president, the corrupt "old-boy" political network, headed by Republican Governor Baxter (Jeffrey Allen) and his crony, Art Farnsworth (Tom Lytel), springs into action. Farnsworth arranges for the president's office in Washington DC to help defeat Burwell, and the President tells him over the phone that he will personally send "technical advisers" from Washington to the state to help out. Soon after, a three-man delegation led by Chet Stoner (Robert Jolly), who is known as an "official cabinet member," arrives at Baxter's office. Stoner is accompanied by Sid Angelo (Ray Sager), a slick, cynical television producer, and advertising executive Ed Varnett (Terrel Cass). The three supercilious city men regard the governor and Farnsworth as "hicks," and so overrule the governor's choice for the candidate. Instead, they insist on promoting country singer Hank Jackson (Claude King), a man who sings the promise of "God and Country", which is just the thing for the voters the three regard as "yahoos."
After Hank, who feels he has a patriotic duty to his country, accepts the nomination, Sid decides that he should announce his candidacy on Hank's weekly television show. The dictatorial Sid stages every detail of Hanks announcement, from his completely scripted speech to the way the audience greets the news. When Sid condescends to Hank's audience and treats them like fools, Hanks fiancee, Tammy Parker (Ronna Riddle), who likes Burwell's policies, objects. Varnett then outlines an ad strategy for the campaign, dismissing a discussion of issues to concentrate on marketing Hank as a candidate "wrapped in the flag."
When Tammy and Baxter question their strategy, Sid derides Hank as just a "grinning country cowboy singer" and arrogantly dismisses their concerns. Although Hank writes all his own songs, Sid and the others provide him with a pre-written campaign ditty disparaging welfare cheats and preaching intolerance toward all minorities. Sid titles Hank's campaign with the single-word slogan "Hope". A very unlikable type, Sid continues to throw staged and rigged TV appearances for Hank as well as seducing Carol (Leslie Slater) a script girl and secretary for one night, only to discard her the morning after.
As Burwell pleads for reason and understanding, his ratings begin to fall. A rent strike crystallizes the difference between the two candidates, with Burwell supporting the right of the strikers to withhold their rent in the face of intolerable living conditions, while Hank advocates throwing the bums out if they don't pay.
Becoming more and more disillusioned with Hank's decision to jettison his own liberal beliefs for those of his craven campaign managers, Tammy refuses to appear on his weekly show and finally walks out on him. Later, when Hank complains to his handlers that he is sick of "playing up to rednecks," Sid cruelly brays that Hank will do whatever he tells him to do.
When Hank actually begins to beat Burwell in the polls, Sid decides to hold a purportedly spontaneous question and answer session on television, which unknown to the viewing audience, will be totally scripted. When one of the panelists ignores his cue card and asks Hank a candid question about the substandard housing conditions of the rental apartments, Hank is flummoxed.
Tammy decides to join the strikers on the picket line and one night, after leaving the picketers, is brutally raped in an alley by two men opposing the strikers. Tammy is taken to the hospital, and before Hank goes to visit her, Sid pulls him aside and, blaming the strikers for the rape, urges Sid to capitalize on the issue. However, when Tammy tells Hank that his own supporters raped her and were hired at Sid's behest, Hank, disgusted by Sid's machiavellianism, fires him and decides to finish the campaign his own way.
But as Sid predicts exactly, Hank running the campaign all by himself is a failure. Although Hank begins to speak his mind and gets back together with Tammy, he finds that he is unable to answer complex questions and his supporters, perplexed by his sudden turnabout, lose interest in his campaign. Most of Hank's supporters see him as a honest, but boring candidate.
Election Day comes and goes. Hank loses the election and Burwell is re-elected senator. The next morning, despite being badly beaten, Hank and Tammy celebrate now that Hank's ordeal is over. Meanwhile, as the cynical and unscrupulous campaign committee packs to return to Washington, Sid informs Chet and Varnett that he has been hired for a new job... that of defeating the president in the elections the following year. Evil and cynical to the end, Sid claims that the Hank Jackson campaign is just another episode of his career and doesn't care about any one by explaining "a job's a job".
In the final scene, the nameless and unseen President phones Baxter to offer condolences for the loss of the campaign. With Art Farnsworth looking on, Baxter (who never really supported Hank in the first place) comments that the people have taken their stand in which commercialization is the key to win campaigns. When the President offers to provide Baxter with technical advisers of his own for Baxter's re-election campaign the following year alongside the President's own re-election campaign, the governor chuckles in contempt and tells the President that he will think about it.
