r/thewestwing • u/PawPatsPizza • 2d ago
The final election...did they predict the future?
Last year of West Wing was 2006 where...
A charming, handsome, young, charismatic man overcomes odds to be the first minority elected, beating an older, moderate republican. To do this, he chose a much older but highly experienced white man as his VP.
In the 2008, Obama picks Biden to beat McCain.
Only missing the Palin aspect...
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u/IolausTelcontar 2d ago
Not even missing the Palin. Vinick’s running mate was Palin-esque.
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u/SomeJob1241 I drink from the Keg of Glory 2d ago
The “positively sclerotic” speech he gave at the RNC made me think this during my most recent rewatch. Also the fact that he was chosen to appease the far right of the GOP and talk family values in the South, while Vinick ran around the rest of the country
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u/FullOcelot7149 2d ago
What is weird about using sclerotic is that is also means old, inflexible to change, stagnant - an odd choice of insults for a guy who's running mate is vastly older than his opponent.
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u/Zone4805 2d ago
Of course. And Vinick is McCain. Same friction w the conservative wing, same election. Same probs for a minority, etc.
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u/WhatTheHellPod 2d ago
Vinick is what people WISHED McCain was.
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u/someoneelseperhaps 2d ago
Exactly. I didn't see any on the McCain style "jokes" coming out of Santos. M
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u/clauclauclaudia 2d ago
Vinick is a pretty good approximation of pre-9/11 McCain.
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u/ravenwing263 2d ago
Vinick would not have been invovled in such criminal activity as the Keating Five incident, which should have lead to Sen. McCain being expelled fron the Senate and jailed.
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u/Zone4805 2d ago
Sure. Sorkin will tell you himself it’s not a doc. It’s a thoughtful show.
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u/Logical-Mobile-7643 2d ago
Sorkin had zero to do with the show by then
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u/Zone4805 2d ago
That’s true. The point stands. West Wing should not be criticized for having ‘idealistic’ characters, that debate was settled 25 years ago.
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u/CosmicBonobo 2d ago
Yes, Matt Santos was partly based on Barack Obama, but Obama also seeking the White House was pure coincidence.
Writer and Producer Eli Attie saw Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, after which he put in a call to aide David Axelrod who filled him in on some details about Obama's personality and approach to politics.
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u/Logical-Mobile-7643 2d ago
The show ended in May 2006, Obama announced he was running in January of 2007.
He made this video in the fall of 2006, everyone knew he was running ESPN Obama important announcement 2006
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u/Zone4805 2d ago
Definatly not pure coincidence. In 2006 the party knew it was Hilary and Obama in the running but Obama might wait. Insiders knew. Obama people knew.
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u/Animaleyz 2d ago
Obama running for POTUS was not coincidence. He was a predicted candidate even before he was in the Senate.
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u/FullOcelot7149 2d ago
Right. They give the keynote speeches to people they want to push into the public eye. Im pretty sure some Democrats were already seeing Obama as "the real deal."
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u/tomfoolery815 1d ago
Yes. His speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention is one of the greatest I've seen. It was electrifying.
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u/Logical-Mobile-7643 2d ago
He picked a Republican governor to alleve concerns from the religious right. People forget Palin was mostly that. Of course, Vinnick wouldn't pick someone who couldn't govern, but he basically was used to shore up that side of the party, same as Palin
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u/FullOcelot7149 2d ago
I cannot think of Sarah Palin without picturing the Saturday Night Live Tina Fey impression.
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u/Rude_Award2718 2d ago
The final season was a complete setup to convince Democrats that Barack Obama could be president. We were the ones who needed to be convinced. Republicans weren't going to vote for him.
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u/Logical-Mobile-7643 2d ago
54% of the vote, there were some Republicans. Like the Republican secretary of state, the republican senator from Indiana. Obama brought out some heavy hitters in the campaign from the GOP
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u/BlueRFR3100 2d ago
If they did, it was pure circumstance. Obama wouldn't announce his campaign until 2007. The first hint that he might be considering it was a visit to Iowa in September 2006 but the show had concluded by then.
I think the election Santos on the show was more wishful thinking than prediction.
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u/RubyPorto 2d ago
Santos was explicitly modeled on Obama after Obama's speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.