laceblade | Entries tagged with tv: west wing

I found a nice article this morning reiterating the similarities between the Obama campaign and presidency to the the fictional presidencies portrayed on The West Wing.

Most of the comparisons can be made to a character who appears in the latter part of the series, Matthew Santos. Santos was actually modeled after Obama, after he delivered his speech to the 2004 Democratic Convention.

But the similarities that occurred throughout the campaign and up to the present are almost startling.

In this morning's article, however, the comparison is not between Obama and the Obama-modeled Santos, but between Obama and Jed Bartlet, the man who is president throughout most of the series. The articles note that both men won with a lot of powerful rhetoric and tightly-won campaigns. But once in office, the Bartlet (and Obama) Administrations started out slow, running into roadblocks and an unrelenting media, and seeming afraid to really lay the smack down. The author of the article hopes for an Obama breakthrough that leads to a monumental presidency, and I hope for the same.

His first term in office, after the euphoria of the election win, had seemingly run aground, taking on water from turning the other cheek. They had sought a warmer, gentler path but the conservative forces - unleashing their attack dogs from the lunatic fringe - repeatedly pounded the new president, a sustained attack that cleaved his approval rating.

Then the White House sent out its communications warrior woman to set the media straight. Now, the White House was fighting back: it was going to ''let Bartlet be Bartlet''.

This was the turning point in season one of The West Wing - and it was a defining moment for Josiah Bartlet's presidency.

....

The start for the Obama team hasn't been particularly inspiring, beyond the soaring rhetoric. (Ditto for his fictional counterpart.) But here's hoping the real-life protagonists can be as successful in overcoming their obstacles as team Bartlet, which even managed to pull together a comprehensive Middle East peace plan in its second term - one that had the approval of both the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Now that would be worth imitating.

It is no secret that The West Wing is my favorite TV show of all time. And I could explain it with the brilliant characterization, the pretty men in suits, the setting, and the funny.

But really, what makes The West Wing my favorite show of all time is the superior writing style of Aaron Sorkin. The man makes my heart soar in a way that few writers can.

So you can imagine my excitement with Maureen Dowd's most recent New York Times article. In it, she asked Aaron Sorkin to write a script of what would happen if Obama were to meet with fictional president Jed Bartlet. And the result is nothing short of amazing.

OBAMA The problem is we can’t appear angry. Bush called us the angry left. Did you see anyone in Denver who was angry?

BARTLET Well ... let me think. ...We went to war against the wrong country, Osama bin Laden just celebrated his seventh anniversary of not being caught either dead or alive, my family’s less safe than it was eight years ago, we’ve lost trillions of dollars, millions of jobs, thousands of lives and we lost an entire city due to bad weather. So, you know ... I’m a little angry.

OBAMA What would you do?

BARTLET GET ANGRIER! Call them liars, because that’s what they are. Sarah Palin didn’t say “thanks but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere. She just said “Thanks.” You were raised by a single mother on food stamps — where does a guy with eight houses who was legacied into Annapolis get off calling you an elitist? And by the way, if you do nothing else, take that word back. Elite is a good word, it means well above average. I’d ask them what their problem is with excellence. While you’re at it, I want the word “patriot” back. McCain can say that the transcendent issue of our time is the spread of Islamic fanaticism or he can choose a running mate who doesn’t know the Bush Doctrine from the Monroe Doctrine, but he can’t do both at the same time and call it patriotic. They have to lie — the truth isn’t their friend right now. Get angry. Mock them mercilessly; they’ve earned it. McCain decried agents of intolerance, then chose a running mate who had to ask if she was allowed to ban books from a public library. It’s not bad enough she thinks the planet Earth was created in six days 6,000 years ago complete with a man, a woman and a talking snake, she wants schools to teach the rest of our kids to deny geology, anthropology, archaeology and common sense too? It’s not bad enough she’s forcing her own daughter into a loveless marriage to a teenage hood, she wants the rest of us to guide our daughters in that direction too? It’s not enough that a woman shouldn’t have the right to choose, it should be the law of the land that she has to carry and deliver her rapist’s baby too? I don’t know whether or not Governor Palin has the tenacity of a pit bull, but I know for sure she’s got the qualifications of one. And you’re worried about seeming angry? You could eat their lunch, make them cry and tell their mamas about it and God himself would call it restrained. There are times when you are simply required to be impolite. There are times when condescension is called for!

I want Obama to take the gloves off.

And also? Internet, I can't even tell you how much I am looking forward to watching a debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. The pwnage will be of such epic proportions that I'm afraid of having a hernia from laughing.

( Spoilers through 5.1 )

This is a highly imperfect post, but I really can't organize it any better. It's finals week. Don't hate me.

The sweeping orchestral score remains stuck in my head, and probably will for days. For the most part, Buffy music (aside from when the characters sing) has faded into the background for me, and hasn't been particularly notable. The exception to this was the background music in the final episode.

( Anyway, spoilers through the last episode of Buffy. )

I don't really understand the people who hate seasons 5-7 and pretend they don't exist, or say they're terrible. They were different from the first four, but they definitely didn't suck. Can someone explain this to me? Maybe I've just been desensitized by The West Wing. You want to talk about a huge break in quality between seasons 1-4 and 5-7, and you need look no further.

Is there good online criticism of Buffy somewhere? Or any books that I should check out? I'm not huge on fanfiction (unless it's Final Fantasy VII), but I am an English major, and greedily consume academic criticism on the things I adore.

I wish that I had watched Buffy earlier in my life than my last year of college. I wish especially that I had watched Buffy in high school.

I love the show Buffy more than words can express - the characters, the themes, the humor, the drama, all of it. But I think that The West Wing is and always will be my favorite TV show. Buffy is a very close second, though. I guess Buffy is more notable in that while both series had 7 seasons, I liked all seven seasons of Buffy, whereas in West Wing it was only the first four.

Also, I'm kind of spoiled for things that happen in the comics (I know, I suck! I can't help myself from looking at things on the Internet!), but try not to discuss spoilers for them in the comics. If there's anything I don't already know, I'd prefer to keep it that way.

I'm lucky that I don't have to wait years for the comic books to come out.

( Spoilers through episode 6.5 of Buffy )

Fail
I think that last semester ruined me for responsible project habits. Last semester, papers and exams and projects were scheduled in such a way that everything was always one right after the other, and it was nigh on impossible for me to start anything more than 2 days before it was due. My grades turned out fine, but I'm just used to starting a paper more in advance.

The habits seem to have carried over to this semester, even though I have more time, and things are more spaced out (except for this week, WTF!). Last night I fell asleep around midnight and woke up at 2am, wrote a 4-page paper, and went to bed again at 3:30. Woke up at 6:45 for the day. Over breakfast, I decided it would be a good idea to cite the text, as it was an English paper (BWAHAHA).

Anyway, the paper is done and will be handed in during my next class. After that, I have a ballroom dance practical on Monday (on the Waltz) and my Constitutional Law midterm due Tuesday. After that, I just have one exam before Spring Break, so I guess that's good.

Win
Yes, this means that I only have one episode before the Buffy musical, so hopefully I can watch both of those this weekend. SO EXCITED, omg. Then I can finally download the songs without fear of minor spoilers, and listen to them repeatedly forever.

I have decided what my Buffy icon needs to be. Buffy, looking feisty, preferably shaking a finger in a scolding way. Text: "You are a neutered vampire who cheats at kitten poker!"

Latest Addition to my car woes
$20 parking ticket because I didn't move my car to the other side of the street last night. I thought I only had to do that during a snow emergency, but APPARENTLY I WAS WRONG. At least it's only $20 and I can pay it online (I hope).

Links
By way of

yhlee, I read this article on Slate.com explaining how Digg and Wikipedia are websites in which a small minority of Internet-users are deciding the content and popularity of the Internet as a whole. It's an interesting read. I use Wikipedia all the time because it's much more useful for things like Final Fantasy VII or the latest anime series than, say, Encyclopedia Britannica would be. I fail to understand the use of websites like Digg, StumbleUpon, and Del.icio.us. I really don't give a shit how many other people have read and liked a page on the Internet. All I care about is whether or not I will like it. If I want to find something random, I'll go to Fark.com (Best news site EVER).

I am in love with this blog post by Ann Althouse: Obama, Farrakhan, and how Hillary Clinton took the opening and then squandered it. In the post, she dissects the rhetoric behind Tim Russert's question to Obama about Farrakhan in Tuesday night's debate, and how Hillary almost totally owned him, and then didn't. I feel like this is going to be a defining moment if she loses to Obama. Obama gives the wrong answer to a serious question, Hillary watches him shoot himself in the foot and makes herself look much stronger....until she backs off, Obama turns her point into a joke, and instead of arguing further, everyone has a good laugh, including the audience, the candidates, and the moderators. And Obama scores hugely.

SlateV had a video up on its main page last night pointing out the similarities between Barack Obama and this year's presidential campaign, and the one shown on The West Wing in its final seasons. Apparently, fictional character Matthew Santos was based on Barack Obama to begin with, although other similarities (fighting an entrenched Democrat; a moderate Republican, etc.) are obviously coincidental.

I have so many things I want to blog about - so many open tabs in windows of Firefox, so many stories to tell. But I guess I'll start with the Obama rally, as it's most immediate.

Firstly, I did take pictures, but I will not have time to upload them until tomorrow.

Barack Obama spoke at the Kohl Center on campus today, and I went with Steph to see him speak. Antoine also went with some co-workers, but I didn't get to see him until afterward because there were so many people. When set up for a basketball game, the Kohl Center seats 17,000 people, and 2,000 were on the floor. There was also an overflow room.

There was no clear direction outside as to what door to enter through. We joined a line in which people assured us that we would get let in first. Most people went down two large paths that led to a long row of doors along the front of the building, while our line wound around the TV cameras. People going straight for the doors kept streaming in, and eventually, we switched over to the front doors. Unfortunately, we ended up in the very top of the third tier of seating, behind the stage. The four-faced TV hanging above the middle of the floor allowed us to see Obama (and the irritating elementary school-girl making faces at the camera behind him) just fine.

Obama was introduced first by Bryon Eagon, the leader of Obama's campaign on the UW campus. I don't think I've ever actually spoken with him, but I'm about 90% certain that he and his brother went to the same LeadAmerica program that Chad and I went to the summer after we graduated from high school, in Washington, D.C. Apparently, he took it to heart when Bush's Deputy Chief of Staff recommended that we get involved in campaigns, :)

Following him was the field director for the Madison area, and then Governor Jim Doyle.

Links
Obama's speech was inspiring, but also didn't contain much new information. I think that the "Yes We Can" video going around is based entirely on his stump speech, because just about everything he said was basically the same. Obama's general point is that he's fully aware of the talk surrounding him, that he is too idealistic. He understands how much it would take to make his ideas work, and he's prepared to do it. He truly believes that America is in a place where it's prepared to be right there with him.

An article here about how Obama is eroding Clinton's base in Wisconsin by claiming college students and upper-class independents. Wisconsin Democratic Chairman Joe Weineke says, "Obama's got the momentum in this state, but I never rule out a Clinton."

Chelsea Clinton was on campus yesterday too, although I couldn't make it for that speech.

And lastly, continuing from my last post, there's yet another way why this campaign is similar to the one in West Wing. A government official has leaked government secrets about a space shuttle! But this time, I can't complain about how it's inconsistent with the character in question.

College is hard.
Anyway. Seeing Obama was tonight, so I didn't get home until 10pm, and last night was the Career Fair. Most of the paper that I handed in today was written between 2:30 and 3:30am last night. I have to get up at the ass-crack of dawn tomorrow, so you can pretty much tell where I'm at right now. I look forward to tomorrow, when I will spend more than 2 conscious hours in my damn bedroom.

I need a more serious West Wing icon. Really, I need more icons in general. I would like a paid LiveJournal account. One day, this will happen! But I think I'm going to wait to do stuff like that until I have a job. Or something.

Anyway, a co-worker and I were talking on Friday about the similarities between the current presidential election and the election that took place during seasons 6 and 7 on The West Wing. The West Wing is my favorite TV show of all time, but it's the first four seasons, when Aaron Sorkin was on board, that are my favorite. While I watched season 7, I found parts of it making me roll my eyes because the issues on the show were ripped right from current headlines about politics and international situations. I find this to be lazy storytelling.

How ironic now, that "life imitates art," as they would say on the show. I wanted to make my own list, but after I posted in

west_wing_fans, someone directed me to this article, so I can just post the similarities someone else has written out! Bwaha.

West Wing: The battle for the Democratic nomination for the President was very close
Real Life: The battle for the Democratic nomination for the President is very close

West Wing: The Democrats were considering whether to choose their first Hispanic candidate Matt Santos
Real Life: The Democrats are considering whether to choose their first Black candidate Barack Obama

West Wing: Matt Santos started out as a rank outsider before gradually overhauling the “establishment” candidates
Real Life: Barack Obama started out as a rank outsider before gradually overhauling the “establishment” candidates

West Wing: Matt Santos has two young children Peter and Miranda.
Real Life: Barack Obama has two young children Malia and Sasha.

West Wing: Matt Santos was billed as the “change” candidate, offering a new politics.
Real Life: Barack Obama is billed as the “change” candidate, offering a new politics.

West Wing: No one knew who would win the Democrat nomination until the National Convention.
Real Life: It looks like no one will know who will win the Democrat nomination until the National Convention.

West Wing: The Republicans chose an old bloke to be their candidate - Senator Arnold Vinick
Real Life: The Republicans are likely to choose an old bloke to be their candidate - Senator John McCain

West Wing: Republicans chose a centre-right candidate who the religious South deem to be dangerously liberal.
Real Life: Republicans are set to choose a centre-right candidate who the religious South deem to be dangerously liberal.

West Wing: Matt Santos triumphs in the 2006 election, winning Nevada by 30,000 votes, with an electoral margin of 272–266
Real Life: It remains to be seen!

And on a related note, blogger Ann Althouse started an interesting conversation about the fact that Democratic superdelegates are totally capable of thwarting Democratic voters and caucus goers by voting however they want. The post is here. These are the rules we play by. Are they the rules we should play by?

I should blog, in order to prove to the Internet that I do other things than just watch anime.

However, by the time I have enough spare moment to get a blog entry together in the evening, I have reached the point in the day when my bitterness threatens to poison my words and thoughts, and convince me that things are much worses than they truly are. My time is consumed by work, class, homework, and barely having time for life-things like groceries and shopping. Although I am still afraid of graduation, I can feel my insecurities slipping away as my resolve hardens and I realize that this isn't going to be bad at all. What the hell am I so afraid of? Life? I can totally do this. I am hopeful that this will force me to kick myself into higher gear.

Ash Wednesday
Speaking of having a full life, though, tomorrow I'm going to be gone from 6:30am until after 9pm. The only time I'm going to have to go to an Ash Wednesday service will be at 8:00am, which means that I have to walk around with ashes on my forehead all day. I never understand why the Ash Wednesday reading always has Jesus telling people not to make a big deal about it publicly when they pray, etc. And then we all get marked and leave it on all day. I might wash it off when I go to work, but I'm not sure yet. I'm not a fan of mixing government and state, but this is more like....practicing my own religion and not pressing it on others, right?

Speaking of Ash Wednesday....I have no idea what to give up for Lent. Did I even do anything last year? I suck at being Catholic.

Politics and the Ideal
I spent my evening watching the election results with Antoine and Chad. My favorite TV show of all time is The West Wing, although I haven't watched it in quite some time (I really should). Chad sent me a link to a clip of the show tonight, and I find it pretty fitting after watching Mike Huckabee talk to ABC's Charlie Gibson about his good fortune tonight. Gibson asked Huckabee why he had invoked references to the Bible in his campaign thank-you speech. Huckabee told Gibson that "Bible" was not a second language to him, but a mother tongue. Blah, blah, your mom.

It's no secret that I consider myself a religious person. But I've never understood people tendency to mix religion with government. We either live in a free nation, or we do not. Separation of church and state aside, it's always bothered me that by layering on all kinds of archaic rules, people tend to miss the whole point of Christianity.

OMG BUFFY/ANGEL
WHY DOES NO ONE TELL ME THESE THINGS!? The actress who played Willow on Buffy is married to the actor who played Wesley. OMGWTF.

AND, Christian Kane (Lindsey in Angel) is best friends with David Boreanaz (Angel) in real life. THAT IS SO CUTE. OMG!!

( SPOILERS )

Perhaps this will the purpose of this LJ when I don't have time to write things: fandom musings. I guess you can ignore this post if you're not into The West Wing....I have no idea how many of my LJ friends are. It's basically the only TV show I watch (aside from Days of our Lives, which doesn't count, and The Daily Show, which isn't a drama).

There are more reports coming out about the circumstances of John Spencer's death, and what's going to happen on The West Wing. Apparently the episode that was going to air next was centering on the Vice Presidents....I don't know if they're going to edit him out, or what. Reading the quotes of the other actors is so sad, though....
"He was my brother; that is the most I can say," said Martin Sheen, who plays the president, when reached at home yesterday. "I just adored him. It's too big a hole." (Okay, but seriously 'when reached at home yesterday'? These people have a lot of grace to be able to deal with the press at a time like this....)

Bradley Whitford, who plays Josh Lyman, a colleague of Leo's, said yesterday he considered Mr. Spencer "this dear, big brother."

"Acting saved his life, I think, a couple of times," Mr. Whitford said. "He came from a tough background, and it liberated him early on. It saved him again when he had his struggles with sobriety." Mr. Spencer openly discussed his battle with alcoholism.

Apparently Stockard Channing (who plays Abbey Bartlet, the first lady, and also was Rizzo in 'Grease') was with him when he died.

For the moment, there are no plans for the rest of the season.

Watching the rest of this season is going to be sad, :/

It would just be nice to know whether or not they're going to cancel the thing. It's far below what it was under Sorkin, but this show is by far better than at least 90% of the complete and utter crap that clogs the airwaves.

It's so strange, how one person's life can affect other's in so many ways. This is a man I have never exchanged words with, never met, never even seen in person. And yet, by doing what he loves, he was able to use his talents and inspire countless people. Wouldn't the world be wonderful if we could all do the same?

Anyway, I should study. I feel really confident about tomorrow's final. The two after that, not so much....

Current Mood: sad
Current Music: Falling - Afro Celts