[edit] Plot

Homer leaves work, and when he's reminded that his diet is starting, he decides to have one last binge at Springfield's Fast-Food Boulevard. After filling up, he decides to throw away his wrappers and the contents of his car in a trash can outside of a Krusty Burger, tossing away a leaky battery and a lit match. They start a fire which soon causes nearby gas pipes to explode, destroying Fast-Food Boulevard completely.

At a town hall meeting, the enraged residents of Springfield demand that Fast-Food Boulevard be rebuilt immediately. To fund the reconstruction, a bond measure is proposed. As the next election is too far in the future, Mayor Quimby moves it to the upcoming weekend, making Springfield's presidential primary the first in the nation. Candidates and reporters head to Springfield when they hear the news. Lisa soon discovers that none of the candidates in the election are compelling.

The candidates flock to the Simpsons, who are undecided. Their home is filled with people and their yard is covered with reporters; helicopters and news vans surround the lot. When voting day arrives, an angry Homer and other citizens hold a meeting in Moe's Tavern. Homer suggests the people vote for the most ridiculous candidate, whom they choose after Chief Wiggum suggests himself. The same night, Kent Brockman announces an unexpected turn of events: Springfield has rejected all the leading candidates and voted for 8-year-old Ralph Wiggum, who wins the primary, much to the shock of Lisa Simpson.

Ralph is immediately spurred as the leading candidate, and Homer and Bart embrace him by becoming his fans. Lisa, however, is miserable, as she knows how slow Ralph is. A news report shows Ralph has no idea of which party's nomination he is seeking. The Springfield Republican Party decides to fight for Ralph, knowing certain victory will come during the election. The Springfield Democratic Party also knows that greatness will come once they win Ralph over. The leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties break into Ralph's home, wanting to fight for him. Lisa confronts Ralph amongst the media frenzy, attempting to convince him to not run. Ralph tells Lisa he wishes to stop war and create peace. He is proven to be a formidable candidate, and both the Republicans and the Democrats support Ralph for president. The episode ends with a commercial for Ralph, sponsored by both parties.^[1]

[edit] Cultural references

The title is a reference to e pluribus unum, the Latin phrase that appears on United States coins and currency.^[2] Cheesy McMayor is a parody of McDonald's Mayor McCheese.^[2] Bill Clinton is seen putting up campaign signs for his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton.^[2] Springfield's Democratic Party headquarters is in Trader Earth's, which is a parody of Trader Joe's^[2] This episode's couch gag is a reference to the Bayeux Tapestry. Ralph is misinterpreted as saying that he likes Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., while he was presumably referring to the Muppet, Elmo. Real-life presidential candidate Fred Thompson is thrown out of the Simpson home by Homer. The accented Democratic strategist parodies Arianna Huffington, and at the Democratic Party meeting, she refers to her "ex-husband," on the show as a homosexual man. This is a veiled reference to Michael Huffington. Carl mentions president Juan Perón and Lenny claims he was married to Madonna, who plays Perón's wife in Evita.^[3] At the end of the episode, Ralph is seen sitting on the lap of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial and listing off presents he wants in a reference to Santa Claus, including a brighter future for America.

[edit] Reception

An estimated 8.2 million people tuned into the episode.^[4] Richard Keller of TV Squad said that it was an episode with many jokes and sight gags, his favorite being the episode's guest stars and the many references.^[2] His only disagreement was the abrupt ending.^[2] Robert Canning of IGN said the episode had all the ingredients that seem to make it a classic episode.^[5] He enjoyed the theme of Homer and Fast-Food Boulevard, the political mocking, and the centering of Ralph, and like Keller, he felt the show seemed to shun Ralph until the end; he gives the episode a rating of 6/10.^[5] Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly reveals (five days after the episode aired) that it received positive reviews from the site, and had Ralph Wiggum's vote.^[6]

[edit] Controversy

Although the episode has not yet aired there, the episode caused controversy in Argentina. The controversy is over an exchange between Lenny and Carl. Carl says "I could really go for some kind of military dictator, like Juan Perón. When he 'disappeared' you, you stayed 'disappeared!'" Juan Perón, who was elected three times, was not considered a dictator. Carl's comment is a reference to the Dirty War in Argentina, a period of military dictatorship during which as many as 30,000 political dissidents disappeared, and is largely regarded as having begun at least two years after the death of Perón. The clip has been viewed on YouTube over ten thousand times in Argentina and some politicians in the country have called for the episode to be censored or banned.^[7] Lorenzo Pepe, former Argentinian congressman and president of the Juan Domingo Perón Institute said "this type of program causes great harm, because the disappearances are still an open wound here."^[8]

Some also reacted negatively to Lenny's response to Carl's comment: "Plus, his wife was Madonna" which is a reference to the film Evita where Madonna played Eva Perón. Pepe added "the part about Madonna—that was too much."^[8]