The West Wing Connection

This is merely an interesting little observation:

Aaron Sorkin created a little television show which debuted in September 1999 to an average number of viewers. Initially it was only supposed to deal with the lives of staffers inside the White House but eventually grew in scale and covered the entirety of Beltway politics. As the show grew in subject matter it also gained immense popularity and prestige for being one of the finest dramas on television.

The West Wing went off the air in May 2006 but the parallels it draws to the current presidential election are astounding.

For those of you who were not fans, the final season pitted a Hispanic congressman (Jimmy Smits) versus an aging, maverick republican senator (Alan Alda) in the race for the White House.

The election contained the first candidate of color against an established political veteran who was not afraid to speak his mind and did not confine himself to party limits.

While BHO hardly shares the noble principles and ideals of Congressman Matthew Santos (Smits) and McCain surely does not possess the oratorical strength of Senator Arnold Vinnick (Alda), it is fascinating how 2008 mirrors this fictional contest.

Sometimes reality can imitate art.

Then again the Democrat does win in the show so let us hope our version holds a different ending.