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Comment by a3n | Hacker News Reader

I'm always curious who plays the role, or the messenger for that role, who tells someone in this kind of situation that "no, you actually will resign. Today."

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Episode one of the BBC series "the thick of it" begins with exactly this situation. Perhaps the best comedy programme of the last ten years.

Best programme of the last ten years, I reckon. About the most honest, too.

I hope that it is not the most honest, but I do agree that it is the best.

If you like The Thick Of It, you may also like the film 'In The Loop' and 'Veep' (both also 'created' by Armando Iannucci) as well as the Australian 'The Hollowmen'. 'Utopia', the sort-of follow on to The Hollowmen (which is excellent), is quite good too. There is also the 'Armando Iannucci show', which is very good, but also very different.

There is also supposed to be the Afghan version of the 'Thick Of It' too, although I have not found a source for that with translation.

"Afghan version of the 'Thick Of It'"

It is mentioned in the excellent "Bitter Lake" by Adam Curtis.

Indeed it is! An exceptional film maker.

In The Loop is a fantastic movie. Really funny. Highly recommended.

After watching House Of Cards, I always imagine the Frank Underwood character coming in to deliver the bad news.

For me, I hope the someone who is supposed to resign is smart enough to already see the writing on the wall and one of the closer advisors or aides quietly says "it is time".

From experience, I find this to never be the case, whether in government or the private sector.

For these kind of executive positions, I don't see how it could not be the case. For example, Nixon. There is no one who could have told Nixon "You will resign today". On the other hand, I imagine he did have advisers telling him, "It's time." I figure it's the same for the Icelandic Prime Minister.

I've always thought that Nixon was old fashioned enough to believe, despite his flaws, that it was the proprietary thing to do, and that it would have been shameful to have to go through a certain trial in the Senate.

Somewhat agreed - but I also think a lot of it was Nixon knew he was checkmated, and it was less propriety, and more just plain ol' shame and knowing he had no recourse. I imagine he was not alone in his deliberations, though, and that his advisers - particularly his legal advisers - agreed.

I recently read "The Brethren" by Bob Woodward and and Scott Armstrong (http://www.amazon.com/The-Brethren-Inside-Supreme-Court/dp/0...), about the Supreme Court from 1969 to 1975. Watergate is a major episode, and it shows that Nixon knew that if they lost their Supreme Court appeal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Nixon), there was little recourse left.

I don't think proprietary is the word I was looking for. Maybe proper or decent.

You were most likely looking for the word propriety, which is also the word I was looking for. I noticed you made a typo, thought about it, then made the same typo! But there is a difference, I think, between propriety and shame. One does something "for propriety" because they value their actions' impact on others. Rather, I think he was more embarrassed and ashamed, and he left office because it was best for himself. It's a subtle distinction, one which we can never know who is right because we're trying to infer the motivations of another person.

According to his son's biography of him, George H W Bush played a pivotal role in the Nixon resignation, in that Nixon resigned the day after receiving a letter from Bush, then chairman of the Republican National Committee, urging him to do so. See: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1...

This is never the case. I was working in congress when the Anthony Weiner scandal hit. Behind the scenes it was absolute chaos and he almost had to be frog marched out of the capitol by the Democratic leadership. True, there was no legal requirement he resign. He could've easily said screw you, impeach me like Trafficant, but the pressure to go is immense. Mark Foley locked himself in his office sobbing, and was so inconsolable that his Chief of Staff had to hold his hand (literally) while he singed the resignation letter.

It would probably be a Malcolm Tucker-esque figure (from The Thick Of It, recommended if you enjoyed House of Cards).

For me, a character like Lord Vetinari springs to mind.

I would imagine, when it happens, it's usually either an attorney or the military.

It's in the averted eyes of trusted political advisors.

Usually it's the guys in the room smoking cigars, guys you've never seen before. Bill Hicks explains it perfectly:

http://billhicks.tumblr.com/post/24578142318/livinglikebill-...

Voldemort.

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