Wait a second. Did Aaron Sorkin write this story?
OK, so I was a fan of The West Wing. I could put up with the soap opera stuff because I liked the famously rapid-fire smart dialogue.
I remember reading somewhere that Josh's character on the show was based on Rahm Emanuel. Josh, for those of you who don't know, was the Chief of Staff to president Bartlet (Martin Sheen.)
And what about the young, minority presidential candidate Santos, who won against an elderly "moderate" Republican (played by Alan Alda.)
I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin...
I remember reading somewhere that Josh's character on the show was based on Rahm Emanuel. Josh, for those of you who don't know, was the Chief of Staff to president Bartlet (Martin Sheen.)
And what about the young, minority presidential candidate Santos, who won against an elderly "moderate" Republican (played by Alan Alda.)
I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin...
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Any coincidence you're seeing is purely intentional.
I'm pretty sure Sorkin has stated that Congressman Matt Santos was loosely modeled after Barack Obama.
November 6, 2008 8:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, but that was when Obama was still a longshot. And the aging Republican? (OK, things looked good for McCain even back then.)
But it's beyond weird that the Chief of Staff character was based on someone who would only become an actual Chief of Staff several years after the show's demise.
November 6, 2008 9:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
My wife and I were big West Wing fans. Yesterday I was talking to her about concerns I have about Emanuel as Chief of Staff. I asked her to recall some of the times Josh really didn't help his boss or himself by going over the top and unnecessarily pissing off members of Congress at times in ways that backfired.
He was full of himself, which is an occupational hazard for people holding those jobs. I told her that based on his reputation I could all too easily imagine Emanuel doing stuff like that at times.
At various times that show had editorial input from Ken Duberstein from the Reagan WH (a late Obama endorser) as well as DeeDee Myers from the Clinton WH and Patrick Caddell, a pollster who a long, long time ago pressed the case for a then-young Senator named Joe Biden as the real deal for US president.
November 6, 2008 10:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
One correction, BTW. Josh was never Bartlett's Chief of Staff. He was Deputy Chief of Staff. His boss, Leo McGarry, played by the late and magnificent John Spencer, was the Chief of Staff.
On the TV show, Bartlett and McGarry went way, way back as very close friends and there never emerged even a hint of trust issues between them. McGarry understood it just wasn't about him and submerged his ego to set a good example for everyone else on his staff and do his job the right way.
During a down time when the Bartlett Administration was down in the polls, the media version was that McGarry discouraged Bartlett from being Bartlett. They had a confrontation in which it came out that Bartlett had internalized that narrative and repeated it to McGarry. McGarry told him he was full of shit, that Bartlett was reining himself in and that all he had to do was just say the word because his staff would die for him and would champing at the bit to take more risks.
I also recall seeing that the screenwriters acknowledging that the Jimmy Smits character was based in part on Obama.
Remember the Al Smith dinner show where Smits as Santos and Alan Alda as Vinick had the kitchen conversation/confrontation just before they jointly took the stage for the Al Smith dinner? Obama and McCain were both terrific at the real Al Smith dinner this time around. If they exchanged words in the holding area that would be a bit of life imitating art, wouldn't it? I wouldn't be surprised if Obama was a West Wing fan. McCain...hmmm. Maybe. Especially that last season. Someone reading this probably knows the answers to those questions.
WW was just a great, great show.
November 6, 2008 10:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Every time I say I'm a fan of something I put my foot in it. Truth is, I'm a terrible fan of anything. For example,if I say I like a particular musician, someone will immediately make a reference to a song or album or concert or something I'm totally in the dark about.
So no, I don't remember that particular episode and yes, I forgot ol' Leo. But Santos made Josh the COS, right? Close enough for government work.
Was I right about Josh being based on Emanuel? I seem to remember it from the slew of articles about Rahm after the 2006 election.
And yes, it was a great show. I'm the kind of person that -- if it wasn't for my family -- would have shot his TV a long time ago. (Or at least brought it to Goodwill:)
But I actually set that time aside for a brief span, which says a lot.
November 7, 2008 3:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
You're right--Santos did name Josh Chief of Staff but unfortunately for some of us we never got to see what Josh would be like in that role. Before that, he was Santos' Campaign Manager.
Re whether Josh was based on Emanuel, I hadn't heard that. Sounds plausible.
November 7, 2008 9:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh yes, and about Josh's short fuse, one of my favorite episodes was when there was a leader of the religious right going on about "my God" and Josh says, "You God is being indicted for tax fraud!"
Which led to "outrage" and ultimately a great scene with Bartlet kicking the wingers out of the White House. Then a private kick in the butt for Josh.
Hey, it all worked out great on TV:) And besides, Josh might have been full of himself, but he was the Energizer Bunny of the whole crew.
We've had eight years of "on message." I think it's a great call.
November 7, 2008 4:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
I remember that episode well! Very fun.
November 7, 2008 9:57 AM | Reply | Permalink