Manchurian Candidate scenario

Overview
The Manchurian Candidate scenario is, generally, any scenario in which an influential public figure is secretly under the control or sway of enemy powers. The scenario is named after the book The Manchurian Candidate, which was popularized in two movies (1962 and 2004); in the book and 1962 movie, the "candidate" is a returned war-hero who has been hypnotically suborned by communists. In the 2004 movie, the "candidate" becomes a congressman and runs for Vice-President in 2008.

George W. Bush
George W. Bush's actions as president fit this theory, since they seem so precisely calculated to destroy America's wealth and international standing to the great benefit of foreign powers such as Saudi Arabia (with whose leaders the Bush family has close ties) and Iran, whose leaders benefited from the US invasion of Iraq and continue to benefit from America's ongoing sabre-rattling.

A simpler and hence more likely explanation is that he simply fell into the sway of neoconservative kleptocrats, being naturally incurious and also having a tendency to accept advice only from a small circle of trusted advisors (possibly basing his trust largely on how much those advisors were able to help his presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2004). On the other hand, this more likely theory does not fit the facts as well.

Barack Obama
Supporters of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign have apparently been spreading a rumor that Obama is a pawn for Saudi Arabian interests. It's not clear what facts (real or imagined) are being used to justify this claim (why people find it so convincing), other than the usual Barack Obama/Muslim smear, or what the flow of information is (who is dispensing these rumors).

If this rumor is being spread by neocons, it may be a further indication that there is some truth to the Bush theory (above) as this would fit the neocon pattern of taking a truth about a neocon cause or figure and pasting it on a liberal cause or figure, thus telling the exact opposite of the truth while still retaining much of the truth's credibility.

Related

 * The Manchurian Candidate scenario is a conspiracy theory.

Reference

 * (The Manchurian Candidate)