I can't say enough about The West Wing

[womzilla]

But I can say this one thing.

When nellorat and I were working our way through back-issues of West Wing*, she would occasionally cry out, amused, "This is such a liberal wank-off!" And she was right, but not in the way that one might immediately think. Even in the happier portions of the early years, the Bartlett presidency was a lot like the Clinton presidency--incremental progress interrupted by scandals, political failures, institutional inertia, and occasional lack of daring. But what it gave viewers was a presidency run by people--not just the president, but the entire senior staff--who were intelligent, knowledgeable, engaged, and, most importantly, deeply concerned with the future of America. Even after Sorkin left and the show subtly and bluntly transformed, it retained that core; in the fantasy world of The West Wing, even the Republican leadership are honest, hard-working, intelligent people who want to make the world a better place.

And for the last five years, America has needed that idea more than pretty much anything.

*Courtesy of Bravo's reruns, before the DVDs came out. We didn't start watching until the summer rerun of the last episode of the second season, which was admittedly a strange place to start, but it worked for us.

Update: This seems like as good a place to put this as any:

If you were outraged by the State of the Union address, post this sentence in your journal:

You, Mr. President, are a mendacious, smirking, gravy-sucking pig.

From supergee

Comments

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

That's why I've liked West Wing, what I've seen of it so far (first four seasons on DVD). It's such a pleasant fantasy, yet almost painful in the degree I wish it were true: Democrats with spines and Republicans with ethics. Sigh.