Matthew Santos of 'West Wing' was modeled after Barack Obama

[babylonsister]

:wow: I didn't watch this show but had never heard that.

Following the Script: Obama, McCain and ‘The West Wing’
By BRIAN STELTER
Published: October 29, 2008


When Eli Attie, a writer for “The West Wing,” prepared to plot some episodes about a young Democratic congressman’s unlikely presidential bid, he picked up the phone and called David Axelrod.

Mr. Attie, a former speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore, and Mr. Axelrod, a political consultant, had crossed campaign trails before. “I just called him and said, ‘Tell me about Barack Obama,’ ” Mr. Attie said.

Days after Mr. Obama, then an Illinois state senator, delivered an address to the 2004 Democratic National Convention, the two men held several long conversations about his refusal to be defined by his race and his aspirations to bridge the partisan divide. Mr. Axelrod was then working on Mr. Obama’s campaign for the United States Senate; he is now Mr. Obama’a chief strategist.

Four years later, the writers of “The West Wing” are watching in amazement as the election plays out. The parallels between the final two seasons of the series (it ended its run on NBC in May 2006) and the current political season are unmistakable. Fiction has, once again, foreshadowed reality.

Watching “The West Wing” in retrospect — all seven seasons are available on DVD, and episodes can be seen in syndication — viewers can see allusions to Mr. Obama in almost every facet of Matthew Santos, the Hispanic Democratic candidate played by Jimmy Smits. Santos is a coalition-building Congressional newcomer who feels frustrated by the polarization of Washington. A telegenic and popular fortysomething with two young children, Santos enters the presidential race and eventually beats established candidates in a long primary campaign.

Wearing a flag pin, Santos announces his candidacy by telling supporters, “I am here to tell you that hope is real.” And he adds, “In a life of trial, in a world of challenges, hope is real.” Viewers can almost hear the crowd cheering, “Yes, we can.”

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/arts/television/30wing.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

[BrklynLiberal]

1. ..and Jimmy Smits was with Obama and Clinton in Fla last night..

The universe works in strange ways...

[babylonsister]

2. I didn't hear him, but did see him between my yawns. The fact that

so many people stayed up so late to see this historic meet was impressive to me. I could barely keep my eyes open, and I'm an hour earlier here.

[Vinca]

3. I had no idea, but Santos was a great character in that show.

I'll have to go back and watch the series again. Very cool!

[AngryOldDem]

4. Bravo is rerunning the last few episodes of Season 7.

And while watching today, I had the exact same thought -- both Santos and Vinick are eerily similar to what we are seeing now, as is the entire election cycle, especially the convention. (TWW convention was basically brokered.)

Santos is Obama's fictional counterpart, while Arnold Vinick isn't nearly as repulsive as McCain.

Life imitates art...it's freaky sometimes.

[tigereye]

5. hmm, that's funny, I was thinking about that the other week...

I didn't see the end of the series when Santos was running for Pres. I miss that show - it was wonderful.

[smoochpooch]

6. I remember hearing that Josh Lyman was based on Rahm Emmanuel and Sam Seaborn

was based on George Stephanopolous. I can see it!

[jfkraus]

7. The West Wing is my favorite TV show EVER!

It's great on DVD too-- no stinking commercials to interupt the drama. If you have not seen it, go out and get it. You won't be dissappointed.

[nyy1998]

10. i actually never saw it on tv

I saw a couple of episodes of amazon and instantly loved, now I have all the DVDs and it's great! it's undoubtedly my favorite show of all time

[cally]

8. I always wanted Santos as my President

Obama is even better.

[DefenseLawyer]

9. At its peak, that was a truly great show

But once Sorkin departed and the "ER" producer took over it was truly awful, relatively speaking. I just hated seeing characters that I liked so much being forced to say the most ridiculous melodramatic lines.