I’m in the midst of watching tonight’s episode of The West Wing (which, as Rich notes in the comments on another item, is gone at the end of the season, but at least is not going out at its low quality point). President Bartlett is struggling to understand a nuclear disaster problem and figure out how to handle it. All I can think is “now this is the time when (nuclear engineer) Jimmy Carter would be the right guy to have in office.”
West Wing '76
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Actually, Jimmy Carter would have had no more involvement than any President, which is very little when it comes down to making decisions on how to operate the plant. If you would like to see how a nuclear accident would really be handled (the WW version was rather silly) see http://RadDecision.blogspot.com for a novel on the topic by a longtime nuclear engineer. There’s no cost to readers.
Well, yes it was silly. And no, even a trained president would not be expected to be deciding how to repair it.
I have since recalled that SNL actually did a skit back in the day with a call-in show on which Carter gave instructions to divert a meltdown, as well as talking someone through a bad trip. Really, probably the most positive SNL portrayal of a sitting president.