The West Wing

Cover of The West Wing (The Official Companion)

Very rarely does the American public get to see the inner workings of the White House. The nitty gritty tossing of ideas around the West Wing, the intensity of the communications bullpen, the decisions made in the Situation Room. But Aaron Sorkin’s beloved TV show, The West Wing gave everyone a look into the fast paced life of working for the President. 

It was created and produced by Aaron Sorkin, and had an all star cast of Martin Sheen, playing Jed Bartlett, one of the most well known fictional Presidents ever, Stockard Channing as the First Lady, Allison Janney, as the press secretary, Bradley Whiford, as the lovely deputy White House Chief of Staff, John Spender as the Chief of Staff, Rob Lowe as the Deputy White House Communications Director, and many more talented people. (“IMDb”)

Although it is not a 100% factual representation of the inner workings of the White House, many former White House staffers actually worked on the show, especially Dee Dee Myers (Clinton’s former press secretary) and Patrick Caddell (an expert pollster). Henry Kissinger, Karl Rove, and former Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have all  praised the show’s depiction of the White House. (“Wikipedia”)

The show was immensely  popular, winning nine Emmys it’s first season, the record for most won by a series in its first season. It is fourth in the number of Emmy Awards won by a single series.

This show taught many Americans how the White House works, anyone who has seen the show for even just a few episodes feels a familiarity when they see a real White House press briefing. They feel like they understand the work and thought that goes into White House decisions, and the stress the staffers feel very day. I may only be speaking from personal experience here, but I beilve that the show also inspired young Americans to pursue, or consider pursing a career in politics.

The show’s characters are incredibly positive, optimistic and generally good people, which contrasts from Americans’ views of politics, and quite often, the truth. But it showed a human side to politics, and Americans did enjoy seeing politicians who were quite often, decent people.