The Perils of Polling

Infobox Television episode
Title = The Perils of Polling
Series = King of the Hill


Caption =
Season = 5
Episode = 1
Airdate = October 1, 2000
Production = 5ABE02
Writer =
Director =
Guests =
Episode list = List of King of the Hill episodes
Prev = Peggy's Fan Fair
Next = The Buck Stops Here (King of the Hill)

The Perils of Polling is the 85^th episode in the Fox animated
situation comedy series King of the Hill and was the fifth season premiere.

Plot

Hank, Peggy, Bobby and Luanne attend a county fair, which also features a number of "fringe" candidates for the upcoming 2000 presidential election. Hank is approached by an eccentric independent, and uses Bobby's enthusiasm over a diving pig to get away. Mitch The Diving Pig performs some impressive stunts, but after diving through three burning hoops (set to Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire"), he becomes entangled in a hose and fails to surface. Bobby jumps in, pulls Mitch to safety and revives him. He gets the nickname of "The Amazing Pig-Saving Boy" and has his picture taken by a staffer for then-governor of Texas, George W. Bush.

Meanwhile, Luanne proudly announces that she has selected a Communist candidate, on the basis of his nice smile and tie, and that her vote will cancel out Hank's in her very first election. Hank takes her to a Bush campaign speech to teach her about the issues, and after convincing her to vote for him, he meets the Governor, as the father of "Pig-Saving Boy". Hank is initially excited to meet his candidate, but is horrified to discover that Bush has a limp handshake.

Hank's confidence in Bush is shaken by the revelation, and he questions his need to vote at all. On election day, he skips voting to go shopping with Dale, while Peggy runs the polling station. Dale drives into Mexico, as part of an elaborate conspiracy plan to wait out the results of the election in case "society collapses". Luanne, disturbed that Hank has lost his heart to vote, calls him to explain that he has inspired her to look beyond the physical appearance of the candidate and to look at the issues. A reinvigorated Hank tricks Dale out of his keys, and rushes back to Arlen, receiving a police escort when the officer finds out he didn't vote. Hank and Luanne walk into the booth side by side just at the deadline and cast their votes.

During the closing credits, Hank and Bobby deliver a speech about the rewards of voting.

Quotes

*Staffer: (whispering) "This is the pig boy.":Bush: "Pig-heart-transplant boy or pig-saving boy?":Staffer: "...I forget."

*Dale: "That makes a lot of sense... a lot of "non"-sense! Why don't we choose the president by lottery, like they choose the Pope?"

*Ted Ganaway: "Governor Bush and Vice-President Al Gore want you to focus on my hit-and-run conviction, and not my 16-point plan for America!"