The Left Wing
I recently started watching The West Wing on Netflix.
If you haven’t seen it, go watch all 154 episodes of it. If you don’t stop to eat or sleep it’ll only take about five days.
I’ll wait…
If you’re unfamiliar, the Wikipedia entry for The West Wing describes it as:
“An American serial political drama series created by Aaron Sorkin which is set in the West Wing of the White House during the fictitious Democratic administration of Josiah Bartlet.”
I think the order of that sentence is correct, especially now, 17 years after its debut. The most important thing about the series is that it’s American, and the fact that it’s created by Aaron Sorkin is more important than the fact that it’s about the POTUS.
I LOVE Aaron Sorkin.
- The Social Network
- Steve Jobs
- The Newsroom
- Moneyball
I don’t care that he used to do coke. His writing and production style are exquisite.
But, as usual, I digress…
I’ve wanted to watch The West Wing for a long time. I’m only in season 1, but I’m glad I waited as long as I did for two reasons.
First, the West Wing Weekly Podcast is a thing that exists (and it does what it says on the tin) and I’m almost caught up to them.
And Second, I get to watch during an election year that is making both main political parties in the United States reimagine their identity.
Last week was the Republican Convention. Next week is the Democratic Convention. The parties are choosing their platforms. I’ve heard many say that each party has been galvanized, doubled down, that the Republicans and Democrats have adopted the most conservative and liberal — respectively — platforms in the history of the parties. If you didn’t already know, I’m a democrat, and so was Josiah Bartlet, President on The West Wing.
The reason I’m enjoying watching is because I can see what my party was like when I was 10 years old.
We’re about halfway through the first season and already here are some of the problems that President Bartlet has faced:
- He wanted to be against the death penalty, but too many citizens were for it.
- Despite being a fiscal liberal, he couldn’t be seen as supporting “big government.”
- He pushes a gun-control agenda which he has to scale back because it will be seen as “too progressive.”
- He was criticized by the father of a boy killed for being gay that he was not enough of an advocate for gay rights.
Again, I’m a Democrat.
At 10 years old all I thought I knew was Bush bad, Gore good. But it’s wonderful and fascinating to see that in the past 18 years how much the needle has moved on these important social issues. It’s OK to even be a Republican who’s in favor of not only LGBT Rights, but also Gay Marriage.
That was unheard of in the 1990s.
Although, not everything has changed.
At one point President Bartlet is berated for bumming a cigarette during his term of office. At least we know THAT criticism isn’t limited to Barack Obama.
Listen to this week’s episode, Episode 107 — Reagan, Trump, and Daria (featuring a piece by Yours, Truly):
Written by Louis Reich of Comatose.
Comatose is a weekly series of amusing anecdotes, insightful commentary, and pithy stories. Every week three contributors are featured in short segments. The segments, though often unrelated, are tied together using music and narration to set the scene. Relax and enjoy the ride while listening to topics as varied as love, birthdays, and reciprocity.
You can find Comatose on Facebook, Twitter, iTunes, and Stitcher.
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