Word: bartlet
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...President Bartlet's manic attention to local school politics on a recent episode of NBC-TV's hit show "The West Wing" seems especially appropriate in the final days of this real-life American campaign. Anyone hearing George W. Bush and Al Gore might think that the big vote we're casting next week is really for superintendent in chief...
...those who are totally out of the loop, "West Wing" is an hour-long drama that focuses on the trials and tribulations of fictional President Josiah Bartlet and his quirky, intense Oval Office staff. It premiered last year on NBC and--despite a slow start--proved to be a break-out hit for the network, snagging nine Emmys...
This theory seems to be supported both by the fact that in a recent Internet poll, President Barlet ranks way above any of the current presidential candidates, and also by a report from The New York Times that "Bartlet for President" bumper stickers have been spotted throughout Los Angeles...
...ensemble drama heads to its season finale next week (Wednesday, 9 p.m. E.T.), creator and writer Aaron Sorkin has proved that dealing with public policy doesn't mean ratings hell. The characters--President Josiah Bartlet, a liberal Democrat played by Martin Sheen; chief of staff Leo McGarry, played by John Spencer; and a clutch of earnest young staff members--have wrestled with school vouchers, the Pentagon's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays, even the debate over using statistical sampling to improve the Census. "Make the Census interesting, who'd have thought?" says (real) White House spokesman...
Given the stacked deck in the pilot, detractors have claimed the series might well be called The Left Wing, and Sorkin has promised balance--Bartlet is antiabortion and a military hawk, for instance. But the real and admirable radical idea here is that people might still be passionate about principle, about government, about their jobs. When he's not indulging his you-can't-handle-the-truth side, Sorkin spins witty, hypercaffeinated office jabber with an intensity that's easier to buy from folks who have the Bomb than from sportscasters. That and an ensemble including ice-cool Rob Lowe...