Bartlet4America News Archive

'Real' debate on 'West Wing' spurs wishes

By Beverly Kelley
Ventura County Star

So who do you think won the debate? Or to put it another way, will Alda's Ahhhnold or Smits' Mr. Santos go to Washington?

The somewhat scripted/somewhat ad-libbed performance by Alan Alda as Republican Arnold Vinick and Jimmy Smits as Democrat Matt Santos during the live Nov. 6 "West Wing" debate drew an estimated 9.6 million viewers.

A Zogby poll taken three days prior predicted that viewers were inclined to back Santos over Vinick (59 percent to 29 percent). The post-debate NBC Web site poll reported Santos clobbering Vinick (71 percent to 29 percent).

Yet, Vinick proponents can still cling to hope. After watching the fictional face-off, viewers under 30 told Zogby International that they preferred Vinick over Santos (56 percent to 42 percent). In the vernacular of network executive-speak, "Smits is skewing older than Alda" re: the most desirable demographic. Since Madison Avenue suits chase youth, this new wrinkle has NBC movers-and-shakers quaking in their Gucci loafers.

Although Alda and Smits claim to be clueless as to who will answer to "Mr. President" next fall, during the 2004 season, "West Wing" clearly stacked the deck for Santos. The writers featured Smits in 18 out of 22 episodes, and if a picture is worth a thousand words, Alda's visage is conspicuously absent from the group mug shot on the NBC Web site.

Furthermore, if you are one of the 30,000 souls who reside in Santa Paula, Vinick (despite his greasy stance on oil) is definitely your man. As a result of pushy and persistent lobbying by Mayor Mary Ann Krause (never underestimate the pungently persuasive appeal of a Santa Paula orange), Vinick, according to the "West Wing" Web site, officially hails from her fair city.

"In Santa Paula," we read, "Arnold learned the value of hard work and responsibility, laboring during the summers alongside his friends in the citrus groves. He volunteered at the public library, entrenching himself in the history of his home state." Vinick's bio boasts that he "gained an appreciation for family and community, which he carries with him to this day" during his fictional formative years in the Heritage Valley.

Last April, city leaders located Vinick's campaign headquarters at the historic Santa Paula train depot. There, supporters can procure buttons, T-shirts and bumper stickers, the proceeds from which are earmarked for Santa Paula's Independence Day fireworks display.

Nov. 6, a crowd of 50 showed up at the community center -- not only to chow down on cheesecake, chocolate eclairs and connoisseur coffees, but also to cheer on their "favorite son." According to Mistress of Ceremonies Peggy Kelly and her fellow Santa Paulans, the venerable Vinick beat the pants off Santos.

The real winner, however, just might be "West Wing's" rabid-to-the-max fans. Faithful since 1999, these viewers prove that you don't have to be a policy wonk, a C-SPAN junkie or even a high school civics instructor to relish a television character waxing poetic about congressional committee reports or tracking polls. For the hard-core aficionados, the Nov. 6 episode proved orgiastic -- at least political fantasy-wise.

"Let's make this a real debate," insisted Executive Producer Laurence O'Donnell Jr. -- "real" being the operative word. So instead of what Dan Rather used to call "joint appearances by presidential candidates," the fictional debaters were freed from handlers and truth-suppressing format restrictions. The result showed the American public that not only could Oval Office aspirants think for themselves but could also clash without resorting to cant.

Instead of condensed versions of stump speeches, "West Wing" viewers were treated to a lively exchange of ideas, frequently punctuated by fiery confrontation, as the contenders responded to Forrest Sawyer's probes (illegal immigration, tax cuts, education reform, prescription drugs and oil drilling) -- and each other.

Did I actually hear one politico admit, "To tell you the truth, I'm not crazy about my healthcare plan, either"?

In a bon mot "home run" reminiscent of Ronald Reagan's "I will not, for political purposes, exploit my opponent's (Walter Mondale) youth and inexperience," Vinick delivered the line, "Clap if you've ever been to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge" to rip-roaring guffaws.

If ratings-winner "Commander in Chief" allows audiences to imagine women in the Oval Office, then the "West Wing" debate likewise allows audiences to imagine a campaign moment without mudslinging, media spinning or megamoney spending.

Think about the recent California initiative race. Nasty negative political spots clogging up the airwaves. A glut of mendacious remarks disseminated by both sides. Three hundred million dollars disappearing down the "mother's-milk-of-politics" rabbit hole.

Wouldn't it be nice -- if only on a single occasion -- to observe a political consultant-free discussion of the issues?

But, then, I don't really expect to win that debate.