Reply #38: Sorry but the show has been on the decline since Sorkin left

[Hippo_Tron]

In Seasons 1-4 and in some respects Season 5, Jed Bartlet did an incredible job of making George Bush look like the shitty leader that he is. Sorkin wanted to use his medium to show what government could be like versus what it really is like. Late season 3 and early season 4 dealt with this in particular as Bartlet's GOP challenger was based off of Bush. This all climaxes in the debate episode where Bartlet shows his intelligence and kicks Ritchie's ass in the debate and then in the election episode where Bartlet wins in an an absolute landslide carrying states that Democrats don't ever win like Nebraska, South dakota, etc. Sorkin showed us why it is better to have someone in the white house like Bartlet than to have someone in the white house like Bush.

The show doesn't do that anymore, especially with Arnold Vinick being the face of the Republican party. I don't know a single Republican that is like Vinick. John McCain would be if he would quit selling his soul to Bush. Matt Santos isn't exactly a depiction of reality either. Sure there are democrats like Matt Santos, but they don't win presidential elections or even nominations. Matt Santos is just not presidential, at least the way that Jimmy Smits plays him anyway.

I could go on and on, but my point is that The West Wing just does not serve the purpose that it once did. Its cancellation is kind of a shame because it's still better than most of the crap that's on television now, but the show is not nearly as enjoyable as it once was nor does it present the kind of intelligent debate that it once did.