Cherry Jones will be playing the president of the United States when Fox's "24" returns next winter for "Day 7."

"Applause to Joel [Surnow] and Bob [Cochran] and Howard [Gordon} for consistently reaching," says Fox entertainment chairman Peter Liguori, who doesn't want to say much about how "24's" going to use Jones, or what it might mean politically given that, as one reporter put it, Surnow has described himself as "a right-wing nut."

(Actually, I believe he said "right-wing nut job," and that he was joking.)

Women presidents are all the rage in Hollywood right now -- from the ABC-canceled "Commander in Chief" to Sci Fi's "Battlestar Galactica" -- but considering the way "24's" handled past presidents, Hillary Clinton shouldn't necessarily see Jones' casting as a good sign.

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