Post season 6 ruminations...
Aug. 24th, 2010 10:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brabbel123Well, I certainly picked up speed in my TWW-marathon - but honestly, that's due to the again rising quality of the programme and the fact that there are times where you simply can't stop watching...
So, we're now in the middle of the next presidential race, and, boy, are these contenders I'd like to see in real life. (Even if one of them was created with the image of a, then, promising senator in mind...)
Josh certainly has his work cut out for him with Matt Santos - who'd have known that running the campaign of a candidate who'd like to rely on his political statements or on the truth for that matter rather than on a smear campaign against his opponents would be such a difficult job. But I loved the way the fire came back into his eyes, the way he once again found someone to believe in after being shoved aside again and again while working for Bartlet. I have to admit, though, that I also appreciated that new secretary Josh had for those 2 episodes after Donna left the White House.
As we all know, Santos was based on the then senator Obama - and honestly, when I watched "2162 votes" and Santos's speech at the end that unified the party, I once again had those shivers running down my back. I'm not from the US, and I clearly don't understand all the nuances of the American presidential elections, but his behaviour during the primaries, beginning with that 1-minute "ad" in New Hampshire and ending with the convention, just screamed presidential - or rather, what I'd like to see in the leader of the most powerful nation: honor, integrity, idealism. Of course, he wavered - changing his PoV on ethanol in Iowa for the sake of pandering to public opinion there, or not clearly denouncing that driving license bill in California -, but in the end he came through speaking from the heart. I'm not yet sure what to make of Helen Santos, though - I hope she'll be defined a bit more in season 7.
Russell's campaign on the other hand was the typical campaign you'd expect - no hard policies, simple jokes etc. Perhaps he could have been a fine candidate with a campaign manager who really believed in him, as Will clearly didn't in the end. Winning alone isn't or rather shouldn't be the important factor - Josh understood this with Hoynes 8 years before. So maybe Will needed a "Hoynes" of his own and will come out of this experience a better political advisor. And I didn't quite understand how Russell could have use of Airforce 2 for his private affairs - I mean, running for Presidency isn't what the people are paying for, it's not in his job description as VP, so I'd say he shouldn't use the transport vehicle of the VP for this, except he's paying for it privately.
Honestly, what I'm most astonished by is the Republican candidate, Vinick. TWW always leaned towards the left side, and the fact that Vinick certainly doesn't represent the conservative Republicans isn't surprising. It's rather the fact that this is not an immoral guy without any decency - he's just someone with different opinions about the hard facts. At every one of his appearances so far I was impressed by his integrity, his choice not to exploit mistakes or easy openings (such as the flag-vanishing stunt at Zoey's birthday party), his willingness to compromise. This is a guy one could vote for even as a non-Republican without having to bend over backwards. I am looking forward to this campaign in season 7.
Against that primary race the events within the White House paled a bit. Granted, the major issue was Bartlet's MS which finally turned secondary progressive. However, I think they're trying to cram too many successes into these last months of his presidency - first Israel, then China, Cuba... I understand all about leaving a legacy but on the other hand it's as though now that he's leaving office everything turns to gold in his hands. Whenever there's a crisis, he'd just have to come, see and conquer - and perhaps that vision is what always bothered me a bit about the US involvement around the world. (Not that we don't need someone who can back up threats with force and in that way keep diplomatic negotiations alive - but we certainly don't need that insufferable sense of superiority and disdain for other ways of living that were displayed often enough after 9/11, and even before that.)
Perhaps it's also the fact that the White House staff is just bleeding out - Josh's gone, the part of CoS isn't just focused on one person any longer with Kate Harper taking over in foreign politics... and I never could relate to Toby or CJ quite as much as to the others. Complacency is slowly taking over - and it takes a recovering Leo to shake things up again with his plan for the last 365 days. Of course, everyone gets tired, and matters a complicated by Bartlet's MS and the Republican House, but there's a certain energy missing that was so obvious in the first seasons.
And speaking of Leo, I think it's a shame that he and Bartlet never discussed what went on in Camp David. I mean, they had problems communicating all throughout season 5, and suddenly everything's all right again? It was obvious that Leo felt betrayed and left in the dark just prior to his attack - and all is forgotten and forgiven afterwards? Of course, such an event tends to put things that were blown out of proportion back into perspective, but I doubt that's so easy for matters close to the heart - and Bartlet did fail Leo in simply dismissing him without talking to him.
And now Leo's the candidate for VP - and while I see the wisdom of the decision in him bringing experience to the ticket, I can't help but wonder if this couldn't prove too much for his recovery. And let's not forget the other baggage he brings with him, his alcoholism, his substance abuse, his covering up Bartlet's MS etc. I'm curious to see how that'll play out.
And so, on to season 7.
So, we're now in the middle of the next presidential race, and, boy, are these contenders I'd like to see in real life. (Even if one of them was created with the image of a, then, promising senator in mind...)
Josh certainly has his work cut out for him with Matt Santos - who'd have known that running the campaign of a candidate who'd like to rely on his political statements or on the truth for that matter rather than on a smear campaign against his opponents would be such a difficult job. But I loved the way the fire came back into his eyes, the way he once again found someone to believe in after being shoved aside again and again while working for Bartlet. I have to admit, though, that I also appreciated that new secretary Josh had for those 2 episodes after Donna left the White House.
As we all know, Santos was based on the then senator Obama - and honestly, when I watched "2162 votes" and Santos's speech at the end that unified the party, I once again had those shivers running down my back. I'm not from the US, and I clearly don't understand all the nuances of the American presidential elections, but his behaviour during the primaries, beginning with that 1-minute "ad" in New Hampshire and ending with the convention, just screamed presidential - or rather, what I'd like to see in the leader of the most powerful nation: honor, integrity, idealism. Of course, he wavered - changing his PoV on ethanol in Iowa for the sake of pandering to public opinion there, or not clearly denouncing that driving license bill in California -, but in the end he came through speaking from the heart. I'm not yet sure what to make of Helen Santos, though - I hope she'll be defined a bit more in season 7.
Russell's campaign on the other hand was the typical campaign you'd expect - no hard policies, simple jokes etc. Perhaps he could have been a fine candidate with a campaign manager who really believed in him, as Will clearly didn't in the end. Winning alone isn't or rather shouldn't be the important factor - Josh understood this with Hoynes 8 years before. So maybe Will needed a "Hoynes" of his own and will come out of this experience a better political advisor. And I didn't quite understand how Russell could have use of Airforce 2 for his private affairs - I mean, running for Presidency isn't what the people are paying for, it's not in his job description as VP, so I'd say he shouldn't use the transport vehicle of the VP for this, except he's paying for it privately.
Honestly, what I'm most astonished by is the Republican candidate, Vinick. TWW always leaned towards the left side, and the fact that Vinick certainly doesn't represent the conservative Republicans isn't surprising. It's rather the fact that this is not an immoral guy without any decency - he's just someone with different opinions about the hard facts. At every one of his appearances so far I was impressed by his integrity, his choice not to exploit mistakes or easy openings (such as the flag-vanishing stunt at Zoey's birthday party), his willingness to compromise. This is a guy one could vote for even as a non-Republican without having to bend over backwards. I am looking forward to this campaign in season 7.
Against that primary race the events within the White House paled a bit. Granted, the major issue was Bartlet's MS which finally turned secondary progressive. However, I think they're trying to cram too many successes into these last months of his presidency - first Israel, then China, Cuba... I understand all about leaving a legacy but on the other hand it's as though now that he's leaving office everything turns to gold in his hands. Whenever there's a crisis, he'd just have to come, see and conquer - and perhaps that vision is what always bothered me a bit about the US involvement around the world. (Not that we don't need someone who can back up threats with force and in that way keep diplomatic negotiations alive - but we certainly don't need that insufferable sense of superiority and disdain for other ways of living that were displayed often enough after 9/11, and even before that.)
Perhaps it's also the fact that the White House staff is just bleeding out - Josh's gone, the part of CoS isn't just focused on one person any longer with Kate Harper taking over in foreign politics... and I never could relate to Toby or CJ quite as much as to the others. Complacency is slowly taking over - and it takes a recovering Leo to shake things up again with his plan for the last 365 days. Of course, everyone gets tired, and matters a complicated by Bartlet's MS and the Republican House, but there's a certain energy missing that was so obvious in the first seasons.
And speaking of Leo, I think it's a shame that he and Bartlet never discussed what went on in Camp David. I mean, they had problems communicating all throughout season 5, and suddenly everything's all right again? It was obvious that Leo felt betrayed and left in the dark just prior to his attack - and all is forgotten and forgiven afterwards? Of course, such an event tends to put things that were blown out of proportion back into perspective, but I doubt that's so easy for matters close to the heart - and Bartlet did fail Leo in simply dismissing him without talking to him.
And now Leo's the candidate for VP - and while I see the wisdom of the decision in him bringing experience to the ticket, I can't help but wonder if this couldn't prove too much for his recovery. And let's not forget the other baggage he brings with him, his alcoholism, his substance abuse, his covering up Bartlet's MS etc. I'm curious to see how that'll play out.
And so, on to season 7.
