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West wing plagiarised the future
So it's pretty clear that the writers of West Wing season seven, lacking the guidance of original show-runner Aaron Sorkin, decided that the best way to come up with a plot was to use a time machine to view the future and copy that.(nb, my understanding of american politics and the plot of west wing are both pretty fuzzy, feel free to corect parts!) EDIT:via ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
stephiepenguin, the new york times describes it better
So we have a young, idealistic non-white senator of limited experience. Noone sees him as a serious contender, but he has a growing and intense fanbase thanks to his charisma and idealism, and the sense that he genuinely stands for a change from politics as usual. They decided to make him Latino instead of black because that's more plausible, and made his main opponent for the democratic nomination (a harded politico who'd been second fiddle to the last democratic president) a man because otherwise they'd be accused of tokenism.
His running mate is much older, more experienced and well loved.
The republican nominees are a bunch of your usual West-Wing cliched right-wing nasties, apart from one man who stands apart from the rest of the party, speaking his own mind and combining a strong belief in the principles of the republican parry with more centrist views. But he's very old, and knows that this is is last chance to make a splash on the political stage. His running mate is much younger but also much more conservative, a very right-wing christian who seems to have no real interest in bipartisanship or due politcal process, and was chosen against his will to satisfy the more hardline elements of the party. He's just your typical southerner though: obviously an ex-beauty queen from Alaska would just seem silly.
The campaigns progress. Both candidates are forced into compromises and their supporters do nasty things in their name, and a lot of racist bile is spewed. But despite it all a huge wave of optimism spreads the country, and despite all the odds the democratic candidate wins in a big emotionally satisfying finish, to cheers and joy all over the country. Both candidates finish with a deep understanding and affection for each other, and give heartwarmingly nice speeches.
The thing that really made me decide on this theory? This post where greyreviews, who hasn't seen WW, suggests that McCain get a place in the Democratic cabinet...the way that his WW equivalent did.
So, did I get any of it wrong? Any other parallels I missed? (and I know, random australians making suggestions is not the same thing as it actually happening, but the fact it seems at all plausible says something) I would say this boded poorly for Joe Biden, but they only got rid of Leo after the actor died, and that was earlier in the plot than the point we're at now.
stephiepenguin, the new york times describes it betterSo we have a young, idealistic non-white senator of limited experience. Noone sees him as a serious contender, but he has a growing and intense fanbase thanks to his charisma and idealism, and the sense that he genuinely stands for a change from politics as usual. They decided to make him Latino instead of black because that's more plausible, and made his main opponent for the democratic nomination (a harded politico who'd been second fiddle to the last democratic president) a man because otherwise they'd be accused of tokenism.
His running mate is much older, more experienced and well loved.
The republican nominees are a bunch of your usual West-Wing cliched right-wing nasties, apart from one man who stands apart from the rest of the party, speaking his own mind and combining a strong belief in the principles of the republican parry with more centrist views. But he's very old, and knows that this is is last chance to make a splash on the political stage. His running mate is much younger but also much more conservative, a very right-wing christian who seems to have no real interest in bipartisanship or due politcal process, and was chosen against his will to satisfy the more hardline elements of the party. He's just your typical southerner though: obviously an ex-beauty queen from Alaska would just seem silly.
The campaigns progress. Both candidates are forced into compromises and their supporters do nasty things in their name, and a lot of racist bile is spewed. But despite it all a huge wave of optimism spreads the country, and despite all the odds the democratic candidate wins in a big emotionally satisfying finish, to cheers and joy all over the country. Both candidates finish with a deep understanding and affection for each other, and give heartwarmingly nice speeches.
The thing that really made me decide on this theory? This post where greyreviews, who hasn't seen WW, suggests that McCain get a place in the Democratic cabinet...the way that his WW equivalent did.
So, did I get any of it wrong? Any other parallels I missed? (and I know, random australians making suggestions is not the same thing as it actually happening, but the fact it seems at all plausible says something) I would say this boded poorly for Joe Biden, but they only got rid of Leo after the actor died, and that was earlier in the plot than the point we're at now.