John Keeler

John Keeler was elected as the 45th President of the United States after David Palmer dropped out of the election. He was succeeded by his Vice President, Charles Logan, when an assassination attempt left him incapacitated on Day 4. He had one son, Kevin Keeler, who died from the attack on Air Force One.

Day 3
Senator John Keeler stood against incumbent President David Palmer during Palmer's bid for a second term in office. Keeler had early success in the campaign, closing the gap between Palmer and himself in the time up to the Presidential debates. Keeler attempted to use information regarding Palmer's partner, Anne Packard, to discredit the President, but Palmer, having had prior information about this tactic, was not fazed by it. However, when Palmer was forced to cancel the debate at a crucial moment, Keeler seized this opportunity and tried to show the President as unable to cope. When Palmer raised the nation's terror alert level, proving there was a national emergency, Keeler's campaign appeared to be in tatters before a timely visit from Sherry Palmer, who gave Keeler information regarding Palmer's role in the death of Alan Milliken. Keeler went to Palmer with this information, demanding the President's withdrawal from the race, which would guarantee Keeler a win in the election. Palmer stood his ground, but after learning of the death of Sherry, he withdrew from the race anyway.

Day 4
Keeler was onboard Air Force One while Secretary of Defense James Heller and his daughter, Audrey Raines, were abducted by terrorists working for Habib Marwan. In order to save the country embarrasment from having its Secretary of Defense killed on a live broadcast, Keeler ordered an air strike that would presumably result in Secretary Heller's death, but at the same time kill the terrorists and stop the broadcast. However, when Jack Bauer managed to stop the broadcast himself, Keeler called off the air strike. He remained onboard when Marwan's people subsequently sabotaged several nuclear reactors in order to create a meltdown.

Though control of the reactors was restored, the incident had the added effect of keeping Air Force One in the air much longer than intended for the President's safety. During the incident, Mitch Anderson, a disgraced former Air Force captain working for Marwan, managed to steal a stealth fighter and fire on Air Force One. A nearby escort fighter exploded, damaging Air Force One. The craft crashed and most of its passengers died, including the President's son Kevin Keeler. Keeler himself survived, however he was revealed to be in critical condition. Another was a Secret Service Agent, Patterson, with whom Jack Bauer made contact.

During President Keeler's incapacitation, the cabinet unanimously voted to invoke the 25th Amendment and Vice President Charles Logan was sworn in as President.

After Day 4
Charles Logan permanently assumed the office of the Presidency after Day 4, with Hal Gardner as Vice President. Keeler either died from his injuries or was unable or unwilling to resume his duties as President.

Staff and family

 * Walt Cummings - chief aide to Logan
 * Robert Franklin - high-level official
 * James Heller - Secretary of Defense
 * Jennie - Cabinet member
 * Mark Kanar - Campaign manager, then staffer
 * Kevin Keeler - son
 * Charles Logan - Vice President
 * Melissa - high-level official
 * Agent Patterson - Secret Service bodyguard
 * Aaron Pierce - Secret Service bodyguard
 * Taylor - Secretary of State
 * (name unspecified) - Attorney General

Memorable quotes

 * John Keeler: Once this crisis you're dealing with is over, you can resign with whatever face-saving reason you wanna give.
 * President Palmer: Get out of here!
 * John Keeler: I'm offering you the chance to leave office with honor, to control how your legacy is written. It's a good deal, David. You should take it. (Day 3 10:00am-11:00am)

Background information and notes

 * In an interview with the 24 Inside, writer Howard Gordon mentioned that John Keeler was not dead, but "convalescing in a home in Maryland." According to Gordon, the decision to leave Keeler's fate unclear was a result of a mandate from Fox forbidding the writers from outright killing a sitting President on screen.
 * Originally actor Powers Boothe was considered for the role of John Keeler. Powers Boothe was unavailable at the time, but later was cast as Vice President Noah Daniels in the sixth season of the series.
 * Keeler was one of two presidents to only serve for one season on screen, the other being Wayne Palmer.
 * Seeing as Keeler ran against David Palmer, who was a Democrat, for presidency, it is likely that Keeler and his VP Charles Logan were Republicans.