The Western World

I recently finished watching every season of the "West Wing." Now I'm not a Johnny-come-lately--I watched the show from the very beginning. But I hadn't seen it in a long time, and so I went out and got the the complete series box set.

And lost time.

The main reason I got it was because I had a hankering for certain episodes, certain shining moments when I really wished Bartlett was our president. Now, I think the whole series is excellent, but here are a few of my favorites, in no particular order:

"Game On"; Season Four--was the debate between Bartlett and a rather "folksy" governor from Florida, Robert Ritchie, played by James Brolin. While the characters clearly compare to the idea of Gore and Bush, the writers made it so that the debate ended the way it could have ended, if Gore had embraced his intelligence and went after Bush with it, instead of trying to come across as appealing. Bartlett kicks Ritchie's ass.

"Posse Comitatus"; Season Three--The final episode of Season Three, the juxtaposition between Shakespeare's Henrys and the situation Bartlett is dealing with is fairly impressive. More, though, is the emotional climax, accompanied by an excellent rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."

"Shutdown"; Season Five--Some may wonder why I like this episode so much, but it comes down to the big scene when Bartlett decides to go to Capitol Hill to negotiate the budget. It's a moment of political theater (which is basically what "The West Wing" is anyway), and at the point where the Speaker of the House, played very well by Steven Culp, realizes his grandstanding may have failed.

"Isaac and Ishmael"; Season Three--I'm sure this makes a lot of "favorite" lists, but I like the way Aaron Sorkin reacted to 9/11 (in fact, the whole way the show dealt with it was both creative and, I think, respectful--never cashing in on it or trying to rewrite history with its own characters), with a smart discussion of the issues people were talking about (and are still talking about). Very powerful.

"The Debate"; Season Seven--This was about, well, the debate between Santos (Obama) and Vinick (year 2000 McCain--you know, reformer, different-kind-of-Republican McCain). When it first aired, it was live, and although it was obviously scripted, it made for innovative, interesting television. Even better, though, is that the writers didn't just make Santos destroy Vinick, but rather made it a thoroughly fair debate. Since my personal politics are a little odd, I pretty much found that whoever "won" the topic gave the answer I agreed with.

"The West Wing" was probably one of the best television shoes ever, because it was a complete story, with a great balance of drama, humor, and enjoyable characters. I did think the final season was the worst one, but I also think that "worst" is relative. Mostly I didn't like that it wasn't as much about the West Wing, and that the character of Josh--who works in doses--took a lead role. Also, I thought it was stupid that they would give away who won the election in the first episode of the season, especially since the season tries to put the election in doubt. Were we just supposed to forget what we saw in the first episode? Not likely.

Still, though, I found the weeks of my television viewing life that I lost because I was watching DVDs well worth it.

Bartlett for America: Yes we can!

What Bwings Us Herw Togeta, Today

I recently read probably one of the best books about a marriage that I think exists, and oddly enough, I'm not sure if most people focused on that when it originally came out.

The reason I have my doubts is because even though "Wife" is in the title, I think the majority of readers felt that the main thrust of the story was that it was a fictionalized account of the life of Laura Bush. And while I'm told it certainly mirrors much of the ex-First Lady's story, I couldn't help but think that this is not a book about politics, or power, or even an insider's female perspective of the former president.

No, to me, American Wife is about marriage: the ups and downs, the rewards and pitfalls, the struggles and triumphs. And, if I can say so from my vast experience from being married for so long (all of zero days, my friends), I feel like the book is an honest and accurate portrayal of how a typical marriage--no matter how atypical the circumstances it finds itself in--works.

And that's where Curtis Sittenfeld, the author, does such an outstanding job. Now, I had read her previous novel, Prep, and for the most part enjoyed it. I thought the writing was good, and the story interesting enough to keep me moving along. However, the protagonist of that story, Lee, is ultimately disappointing, as she succumbs to the pressures to fit into a world she doesn't belong to, without ever truly redeeming herself. Granted, I think that's the point: that a teenage girl who finds herself thrust into a much higher social strata will almost certainly try whatever she can to adapt, but I never sympathized with her.

With Alice Lindgren in American Wife, while we watch her make mistakes, ultimately I feel we can identify with her, or, at least, understand her decisions. Clearly she's too good for her husband, but we see, through her eyes, that there is something worth loving in him, and although at times he comes across as boorish or spoiled, he's not a monster. He's just a man with too much pressure on him from too many angles, and she's the one thing that seems to keep him grounded.

One thing I've asked my other friends who have read this book is, based on their own personal politics, had their opinions of George Bush changed at all. While most have said no (claiming there's just too much "history" to cast off their distaste for him based on a work of fiction), almost all of them have said that their opinion of Laura Bush has certainly changed--and for the better. While not exactly a Bush fan myself, I was perhaps a little disappointed that people didn't approach their feelings about Bush with him painted in this new light, but I can respect it. Still, I actually feel Sittenfeld did more to help Bush's legacy than any partisan biography could ever do.

And the reason for that is not so much because she's a vocal liberal who is penning an objective fiction, but because the novel holds the feeling of so much truth that it's hard to dismiss that maybe her characters are true depictions of the real-life people they represent.

No matter what, though, this is a phenomenal novel, a story that transcends the politics and history and instead thoroughly explores an intimate relationship in a way few books I've read have ever done. I highly recommend.