I've Found The West Wing

[Harvey]

I didn't think Richie was that unbelievable of a candidate. He represents the anti-intellectual, good old boy wing of the Republican Party. It's Bartlet that is more of a fantasy--charismatic and highly intelligent. I'm glad Sam's story was developed, because it gives the audience a stake in the election even when the Presidential race is a landslide.

 

[Christopher]

I didn't think Richie was that unbelievable of a candidate. He represents the anti-intellectual, good old boy wing of the Republican Party.

Oh, I never said there was anything unbelievable about Ritchie. After the past eight years, and after Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber, it's impossible to deny the existence of that wing of the GOP and the influence it's held. And I understand and approve of Sorkin's choice to take a stand against that kind of anti-intellectualism. I just find it more dramatically satisfying to see fictional heroes take on worthy adversaries. It would've been nice to see Bartlet go up against a rival who was an intellectual match for him.

It's Bartlet that is more of a fantasy--charismatic and highly intelligent.

So Barack Obama is fictional? Well, he does keep showing up in comic books...

 

[bigdaddy]

Odd question..

Has anyone had issues with their West Wing discs cracking? I noticed cracks in the inter circle of several of my discs, a few of them are really bad and I'm afraid if they crack anymore they will not play.

 

[unimatrix7]

I'd die if my West Wing discs cracked.

 

[Angel4576]

None of mine have cracked as such, although when I picked up the series boxset a few months ago, I noticed when rewatching that one of the discs was just bad. It kept skipping or freezing on one particular episode.

Fortunately, I'd bought the series boxset to replace the individual sets that I already had, so I just switched the discs from the two sets before I sold the others.....

 

[Harvey]

It's Bartlet that is more of a fantasy--charismatic and highly intelligent.

So Barack Obama is fictional? Well, he does keep showing up in comic books...

True to a point, although Bartlet's intelligence was depicted far beyond Obama's. As smart as the man is, Obama is no Nobel Laurette in economics. I don't know about you, but the last time I saw Paul Krugman on television he didn't strike me as able to move a crowd like Obama or Clinton do.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

True, I think Sorkin went a bit too far in creating the Bartlet character... oh, he's a former governor and a former U.S. congressman. And a Nobel prize winner in economics. And a direct descendant of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Perhaps he did land on the moon too? Bartlet's background reminded me of Buckaroo Banzai... physicist, neurosurgeon, rock star, and race car driver.

Despite Bartlet's far-fetched curriculum vitae it's still a great character though. However, he would have worked just as well by making him a "normal" economist who hasn't won the Nobel prize and by dropping the signer of the Declaration of Independence thing.

But maybe Sorkin wanted to have a total fantasy president.

 

[Jax]

Just met what looks to be the new sam dude since I know Rob left after season 4 and am glad he joined the credits because I really enjoyed his character during the Flordia senate race...Also he's got a host sister

 

[Christopher]

Well, for what it's worth, our new Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, is a Nobel laureate for physics. And it's not uncommon for presidents to be related to earlier figures in history, including previous presidents. President Obama, for instance, is indirectly descended from James Madison, who was related by marriage to George Washington. Obama is also a very distant cousin of George W. Bush.

 

[Mr Light]

I bought S5-7 new and I've had no problems with the discs, but I'm only watching them once.

 

[bigdaddy]

Well I all of them new, however I noticed some disc have very small things in the middle, but two of my season 3 sets are so bad I think if I play them again it will crack to the part of the DVD that is important.

 

[ST-One]

True, I think Sorkin went a bit too far in creating the Bartlet character... oh, he's a former governor and a former U.S. congressman. And a Nobel prize winner in economics. And a direct descendant of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Perhaps he did land on the moon too? Bartlet's background reminded me of Buckaroo Banzai... physicist, neurosurgeon, rock star, and race car driver.

Despite Bartlet's far-fetched curriculum vitae it's still a great character though. However, he would have worked just as well by making him a "normal" economist who hasn't won the Nobel prize and by dropping the signer of the Declaration of Independence thing.

But maybe Sorkin wanted to have a total fantasy president.

To be fair... Bartlet had to share his Nobel and his father was an asshole...

 

[TheGodBen]

True, I think Sorkin went a bit too far in creating the Bartlet character... oh, he's a former governor and a former U.S. congressman. And a Nobel prize winner in economics. And a direct descendant of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Perhaps he did land on the moon too? Bartlet's background reminded me of Buckaroo Banzai... physicist, neurosurgeon, rock star, and race car driver.

But he doesn't have a history in the military, and I think that was the point. He's an experienced politician with a focus on economics, but he hasn't a clue when it comes to military matters.

 

[ST-One]

True, I think Sorkin went a bit too far in creating the Bartlet character... oh, he's a former governor and a former U.S. congressman. And a Nobel prize winner in economics. And a direct descendant of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Perhaps he did land on the moon too? Bartlet's background reminded me of Buckaroo Banzai... physicist, neurosurgeon, rock star, and race car driver.

But he doesn't have a history in the military, and I think that was the point. He's an experienced politician with a focus on economics, but he hasn't a clue when it comes to military matters.

That's why Leo McGarry was so important to him, even though he was a bit... trigger-happy at times...

 

[The Doctor]

I'm going to insert here the obligatory mention of Sorkin leaving after season 4 and the quality allegedly declining. It simply wouldn't be a West Wing thread without that point being laboured, so this time I'm first (even though I think it's rubbish).

You're wrong.

Christopher nailed it for me. The later seasons of The West Wing were indeed interesting, but it wasn't a continuation of the show and characters that I watched for the first four years.

 

[Yassim]

POST FULL OF SPOILERS FOR FINAL PLOT THREAD OF WEST WING...

Not only was Santos based on Obama, but Vinick was partly inspired by McCain. Also, Josh Lyman, who was based on Rahm Emanuel, ended up being Santos's chief of staff. And Santos appointed his former rival Vinick as Secretary of State, just as Obama appointed his former rival Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. (Okay, that one's not a perfect analogy.)

Not to mention the similar primaries: the Republican nominee getting chosen early, beating out competitors including an ordained minister, and the Democratic fight extending for months, to the point that pundits and advisors were insisting that it would hurt the Democrats and cost them the election. Except the real primaries didn't extend to a convention floor fight as they did in the show.

I ended up watching the final season just recently on DVD, so I didn't have much perspective on how far in front/behind the US election the story was told, but as far as I could tell, the West Wing was a pale imitation of the actual events.

Was it clear two years ago that Rahm Emanuel would be Obama's chief of staff if Obama were elected?

Obama showed up on national radar in '04, so I know that Vinick's youth, ethnicity and "charm" were meant to be based on Obama (though I never heard Santos say anything that merited the response people gave it).

How long after the fictional conventions did the real conventions happen? Because the similarity was scary - Reps have a coronation, Dems have a long nasty fight...

The nuclear meltdown felt just like the economic crisis. Rep nominee dragged down in the polls by a crisis not of his doing, but left with lots to apologize for.

I guess any Republican is liable to name a VP pick who appeals to the ... more extreme side of the party, so that's not too prescient.

What other details did West Wing predict? Which ones were good writing, and which ones were co-incidence?

 

[Sci]

It's Bartlet that is more of a fantasy--charismatic and highly intelligent.

So Barack Obama is fictional? Well, he does keep showing up in comic books...

True to a point, although Bartlet's intelligence was depicted far beyond Obama's. As smart as the man is, Obama is no Nobel Laurette in economics.

No, but he is, let's not forget, a former editor of the Harvard Law Review. He's extremely academically accomplished. He may not have won a Nobel prize, but that doesn't mean he's not highly intelligent, nor does it mean he's not on part with Bartlet.

 

[Sci]

I ended up watching the final season just recently on DVD, so I didn't have much perspective on how far in front/behind the US election the story was told, but as far as I could tell, the West Wing was a pale imitation of the actual events.

Hardly. The West Wing's election spanned its sixth and seventh seasons. Season Six was aired during the 2004-2005 season, and its seventh season aired during the 2005-2006 season. The West Wing was literally two years ahead of the real election.

Was it clear two years ago that Rahm Emanuel would be Obama's chief of staff if Obama were elected?

I'd never heard any such speculation from 2004-2005. There was no speculation that Obama would be running for President until late 2006, more than six months after West Wing's series finale aired, and no formal announcement until early 2007.

How long after the fictional conventions did the real conventions happen?

TWW's primaries were depicted in episodes during the 2004-2005 season. So we're talking episodes that aired three years before the real primaries in 2008.

The nuclear meltdown felt just like the economic crisis. Rep nominee dragged down in the polls by a crisis not of his doing, but left with lots to apologize for.

Episodes dealing with the general election began airing in 2005, so, again, we're looking at stuff that's about three to two years ahead of the real election.

What other details did West Wing predict? Which ones were good writing, and which ones were co-incidence?

I'm not sure I understand your distinction here...

 

[bigdaddy]

The nuclear meltdown felt just like the economic crisis. Rep nominee dragged down in the polls by a crisis not of his doing, but left with lots to apologize for.

McCain never was really that close in polls, he only lead Obama once in the polls in several months, and that was after the Rep Convention.

 

[Harvey]

http://www.slatev.com/player.html?id=1434027921

Here's the link to the bit that discusses parallels between the last two seasons of The West Wing and the 2008 election, intended or accidental. Can't seem to get audio to work right now on my end, though. Weird.