12. Charles Logan (24)
A lot of people like Charles, and he deserved to win the Emmy for season five, because that was HIS season. Each season basically BELONGS to one character (or at least certain sections of it do), and when I say that, I mean that if you take out the terrorism plot, there's always one character who really shines as having the story revolve around them. Season one was Jack's season. Season two was Jack's for 2/3 and Palmer's for the last third. Season three was Palmer's. Season four was Jack's. Season six was Jack's. Season seven was more of an ensemble effort. And season eight was Hassan's for 2/3 and Jack's for the last third. But season five...that was Logan's and Logan's only. We got to see his family life, his life as president, and his life as a villain, all in the same season, which is what made his turning out to be the biggest villain in the show's history SO shocking.
But let's start with season four. Logan is introduced to us in the wake of Keeler's death (I'm going to refer to it as his death because c'mon...he only survived because FOX had no balls). He's a spineless coward who is in no way fit to lead the nation, he really isn't. And that's why David has to come in to basically run the show for a while, while Logan complains about Palmer's policies behind his back, leading to a heavily choreographed public drubbing of Palmer BY Logan in front of the press corps. And of course, when it comes time to honor Jack for all the f***ing terrorist plots he foiled in season four, Logan has to defer to Cummings because again, he has no balls, and he doesn't want to defy the Chinese embassy, who are out for blood after an attack on their embassy, authorized by Palmer without Logan's knowledge. That's how we're introduced to Logan, and in one season, he's given the kind of character that normally we see in slimy bureaucrats at CTU, where you know they're trying their best to do their job in the confines of the law, but you still hate them for it because they're against Jack.
Season five though, it's like we start off with a brand new Logan. We get to meet his wife, which gives him a more human touch to his character, despite her being bats*** insane, and we get to see him at work in a diplomatic situation rather than being thrust into the middle of a crisis. He's more confident and more on his own terms, and you can definitely see that Logan is more capable than he was in the wake of Keeler's death. But then the first hint of terrorist activity (and Palmer's death) and he starts to crumble. He doesn't want to have blood on his hands. He doesn't want that to be his legacy, and when terrorists are threatening his country, what is he supposed to do? Just let American citizens die? He's not Palmer or Taylor, who stands firmly by the belief that you do not negotiate with terrorists (unless they spare your country if you'll kill some dickhead bureaucrat). In a way, it's actually MORE intriguing and interesting to watch a president who ISN'T all-powerful and HAS flaws trying to run the country, even though he's afraid to do so. When he caves to the terrorists who tell him to give them the route of Suvarov's motorcade, he crumbles when he learns that Martha is in the limo too, and actually has Mike Novick get down on his knees and pray with him for her safety. The guy is a total p****.
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