Tonight, President Obama’s State of the Union address is supposed to inspire progress and federal stimulation. But often, our focus tends to drift to the hapless sea of baggy, demure suiting filling the audience. It’s a sad sight, really—save for our one beacon of sartorial hope, Vice President Joe Biden. (We’re also giving Obama a pass here, since he’s never given us reason to fret in the past.)

If we were less civic-minded, we’d skip the whole thing and fire up a few episodes of House of Cards—if only to be reminded how a well-put-together politician actually looks (a lot like Kevin Spacey, incidentally). In fact, Hollywood seems to be the only place turning out politicians we’d actually want representing us. So, in hopes of moving a few congressmen to up their style game, we present:

The five most stylish fictional politicians of all time.

 
George Clooney in The Ides of March

 
Sean Penn in All the King’s Men

 
Robert Redford in The Candidate

 
Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

 
Kevin Spacey in House of Cards

—N.B.