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The West Wing (TV series)

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Television

                       The West Wing
                The West Wing Title Screen
         Genre       Serial drama
     Running time    42 minutes
      Creator(s)     Aaron Sorkin
       Starring      Alan Alda
                     Stockard Channing
                     Kristin Chenoweth
                     Dulé Hill
                     Allison Janney
                     Moira Kelly
                     Rob Lowe
                     Joshua Malina
                     Mary McCormack
                     Janel Moloney
                     Richard Schiff
                     Martin Sheen
                     Jimmy Smits
                     John Spencer
                     Bradley Whitford
   Country of origin USA
   Original channel  NBC
     Original run    September 22, 1999– May 14, 2006
    No. of episodes  156 (including two special episodes)
                       IMDb profile
                      TV.com summary

   The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron
   Sorkin that was originally broadcast from 1999 to 2006. It was produced
   by John Wells. The series is set in the West Wing of the White House,
   the location of the Oval Office and offices of presidential senior
   staff, during the fictional Democratic administration of Josiah Bartlet
   ( Martin Sheen).

   The West Wing was produced by Warner Bros. Television. It first aired
   on NBC in 1999, and has been broadcast by many networks in dozens of
   other countries. The series ended its seven year run on May 14, 2006.

   The show received positive reviews from critics, political science
   professors, and former White House staffers. In total, The West Wing
   won two Golden Globe Awards and 26 Emmy Awards, tying with Hill Street
   Blues for the most Emmy Awards ever won by a television drama series.
   Included in this record-equalling haul were four straight awards for
   Outstanding Drama Series (2000–2003). The show's popularity waned in
   later years, but it remained popular among high-income viewers, a key
   demographic for the show and its advertisers.

Cast

   The West Wing employed a broad ensemble cast to portray the many
   positions involved in the daily work of the federal government. The
   President, the First Lady, and the President's senior staff and
   advisors form the core cast. Numerous secondary characters, appearing
   intermittently, complement storylines that generally revolve around
   this core group.

   The following table summarizes the main cast. The position listed is
   the job that the character held in the first season, before any changes
   took place.
   Actor/Actress Character Position (first season)
   Stockard Channing Abigail Bartlet First Lady
   Dulé Hill Charlie Young Personal Aide to the President
   Allison Janney C.J. Cregg Press Secretary
   Moira Kelly (1999-2000) Mandy Hampton White House Media Consultant
   Rob Lowe (1999-2003; briefly in 2006) Sam Seaborn Deputy Communications
   Director
   Janel Moloney Donna Moss Special Assistant to Josh Lyman
   Richard Schiff Toby Ziegler Communications Director
   Martin Sheen Josiah "Jed" Bartlet President of the United States
   John Spencer Leo McGarry Chief of Staff
   Bradley Whitford Josh Lyman Deputy Chief of Staff

   Additions to the cast following the first season include Joshua Malina
   as speech writer and campaign guru Will Bailey, Mary McCormack as
   deputy National Security Advisor Kate Harper, Kristin Chenoweth as
   communications advisor Annabeth Schott, Jimmy Smits as Texas
   Congressman Matt Santos, and Alan Alda as Senator Arnold Vinick of
   California.

   Each of the principal actors made approximately $75,000 an episode,
   with Sheen's most recently confirmed salary being $300,000. Rob Lowe
   also had a six-figure salary, reported to be $100,000, because his
   character originally was supposed to have a more central role.
   Disparities in cast salaries led to very public contract disputes,
   particularly by Janney, Schiff, Spencer, and Whitford. During contract
   negotiations in 2001, the four were threatened with breach-of-contract
   suits by Warner Bros. However, by banding together, they were able to
   convince the studio to more than double their salaries. Two years
   later, the four again demanded a doubling of their salaries, a few
   months after Warner Bros. had signed new licensing deals with NBC and
   Bravo.

   The show suffered an unexpected loss by the death of John Spencer, who
   played Leo McGarry. Spencer passed away from a fatal heart attack on
   December 16, 2005 — about a year after his character experienced a
   nearly fatal heart attack on the show. A brief memorial message from
   Martin Sheen ran before " Running Mates", the first new episode that
   aired after Spencer's death. The loss of Spencer's character, McGarry,
   was addressed by the series beginning with the episode " Election Day",
   which aired on April 2, 2006.

   Different performers had been originally considered for many of the
   roles. Bradley Whitford states in an interview on the Season 1 DVD that
   he was originally cast as Sam, though the character of Josh was the
   role Whitford had wanted and auditioned for. In addition, Josh's
   character been written specifically for him by Aaron Sorkin. In the
   same interview, Janel Moloney states that she had originally auditioned
   for the role of C.J., and that the role she eventually received, Donna,
   was not meant to be a recurring character. Other actors who were
   seriously considered include Alan Alda and Sidney Poitier for the
   President, Judd Hirsch for Leo, Eugene Levy for Toby, and CCH Pounder
   for C.J.

Plot

   The West Wing, like many serial dramas, stretches storylines over
   several episodes or entire seasons. In addition to these larger
   storylines, each episode also contains smaller arcs which usually begin
   and end within an episode. Plot synopses, both for individual episodes
   and overall seasons, are included with a list of The West Wing
   episodes.

   Most episodes follow President Bartlet and his staff through particular
   legislative or political issues. Plots can range from
   behind-closed-doors negotiating with Congress ("Five Votes Down") to
   personal issues like sex ("Pilot", "Take Out The Trash Day") and drugs
   (a major plotline throughout the first and second seasons). The typical
   episode loosely follows the president and his staff through their day.
   A large, fully connected set of the White House allows the producers to
   create shots with very few cuts and long, continuous master shots of
   staff members walking and talking through the hallways. These
   "walks-and-talks" became a trademark of the show.

   In the first season, the administration is in the middle of its first
   year and is still having trouble settling in and making progress on
   legislative issues. The second season brings scandal as the White House
   is rocked by allegations of criminal conduct and the president must
   decide whether he will run for a second term. The third and fourth
   seasons take an in-depth look at the campaign trail and the specter of
   both foreign and domestic terrorism. In the fifth season, the president
   begins to encounter more issues on the foreign front, while at home he
   must face off with the newly elected Speaker of the House over the
   future of the federal budget. The sixth season chronicles the quest to
   replace Bartlet in the next election, following the primary campaign of
   several candidates from both parties. In the seventh season, the
   president must face a leak of confidential information from inside the
   White House, while the Democratic and Republican candidates battle to
   replace him in the general election.

Show's evolution

   The series developed from the 1995 theatrical film The American
   President, for which Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay. Unused plot
   elements from the film inspired Sorkin to create The West Wing.

   Sorkin intended to centre the show on Sam Seaborn, Bartlet's deputy
   communications director, with the president in an unseen or a secondary
   role. However, Bartlet's screen time gradually increased, and his role
   expanded as the series progressed. Positive critical and public
   reaction to Sheen's sometimes Clintonesque performance raised his
   character's profile, decreasing Lowe's perceived significance. This
   shift is one of the reasons for Lowe's eventual departure from the show
   in the fourth season.

   For the first four seasons, Sorkin wrote almost every episode of the
   series, occasionally reusing plot elements, character names, and actors
   from his previous work, Sports Night, a sitcom in which he began to
   develop his signature dialogue style of rhythmic, snappy, and
   intellectual banter. Fellow executive producer and director Thomas
   Schlamme developed the " Walk and Talk," a continuous shot tracking in
   front of the characters as they walk from one place to another that
   became part of The West Wing's signature visual style. Sorkin's hectic
   writing schedule often led to cost overruns and schedule slips, and he
   opted to leave the show after the fourth season, following increasing
   personal problems, including a very public arrest for possession of
   illegal drugs. Thomas Schlamme also left the show after the fourth
   season. John Wells, the remaining executive producer, took the helm
   after their departure.

   The perceived switch of emphasis from Sorkin's dialogue-centric style
   of writing to Wells' focus on plot-driven drama angered some of the
   show's fan base. Some disliked the switch so passionately that they
   actively campaigned for the series to be cancelled, citing Sorkin's
   departure as the sole cause of its "decline". However, many viewers
   continued to tune into The West Wing regularly, with the show
   consistently averaging eight million viewers a week at the close of its
   run.

   The show aired its series finale on Sunday, May 14, 2006.

Critical reactions

   The West Wing offers a rare glimpse into the inner workings of
   America's most powerful address, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Many
   criticisms have been written concerning the show's legitimacy,
   political slant, and film merits.

Realism

   The West Wing is not completely accurate in its portrayal of the actual
   West Wing because of the certain amount of melodrama that must be added
   to each episode to captivate viewers. However, former White House
   staffers agree that the show "captures the feel [of the West Wing],
   shorn of a thousand undramatic details."

   Former White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers as well as expert
   pollster Patrick Caddell served as consultants for the show since the
   beginning, helping writers and actors depict the West Wing accurately.
   Other former White House staffers, such as Peggy Noonan and Gene
   Sperling, have served as consultants for brief periods.

   A documentary special in the third season attempts to lend legitimacy
   to the show's depiction of the real West Wing. Many former West Wing
   denizens applauded the show's depiction of the real West Wing,
   including advisor David Gergen, Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers,
   Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, Deputy
   Chief of Staff Karl Rove, and former Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy
   Carter, and Bill Clinton.

   While some critics often praise The West Wing for its writing, others
   fault the show for its unrealistic optimism in the face of all odds. A
   large part of this criticism rises from the perceived naiveté of the
   characters. Television critic Heather Havrilesky asks "... how do you
   go from innocent millipede to White House staffer without becoming
   soiled or disillusioned by the dirty realities of politics along the
   way?" However, many fans believe that the show's scripts changed for
   the worse after Sorkin left the show in 2003.

Social impact

   Despite acclaim for the veracity of the series, Sorkin believes, "My
   obligation isn't to the truth ... my obligation is to captivate you for
   however long I've asked for your attention." Former White House aide
   Matthew Miller notes that Sorkin "captivates viewers by making the
   human side of politics more real than life — or at least more real than
   the picture we get from the news." Miller also notes that by portraying
   politicians with empathy, the show has created a "subversive
   competitor" to the cynical views of politics in media. In the essay
   "The West Wing and the West Wing", author Myron Levine agrees, stating
   that the series "presents an essentially positive view of public
   service and a healthy corrective to anti-Washington stereotypes and
   public cynicism."

   Dr. Staci L. Beavers, associate professor of political science at
   California State University, San Marcos, wrote a short essay, The West
   Wing as a Pedagogical Tool, concerning the viability of The West Wing
   as a teaching tool. She concludes, "While the series’ purpose is
   for-profit entertainment, The West Wing presents great pedagogical
   potential." The West Wing, in her opinion, gives greater depth to the
   political process usually espoused only in stilted talking points on
   shows like Face the Nation and Meet the Press. However, the merits of a
   particular argument may be obscured by the viewer's opinion of the
   character. Beavers also notes that characters with opposing viewpoints
   are often set up to be "bad people" in the viewer's eyes. These
   characters are assigned undesirable characteristics having nothing to
   do with their political opinions, such as being romantically involved
   with a main character's love interest. In Beavers's opinion, a critical
   analysis of the show's political views can present a worthwhile
   learning experience to the viewer.

   One of the stranger impacts of the show occurred on January 31, 2006,
   when The West Wing was said to have played a hand in defeating Tony
   Blair's government in the British House of Commons, during the so
   called "West Wing Plot". The plan was allegedly hatched after a
   Conservative Member of Parliament watched the episode, " A Good Day".

The Left Wing

   The West Wing is sometimes called The Left Wing by detractors because
   of its portrayal of the ideal liberal administration and an alleged
   penchant to demonize conservatives. Some view the show as a revisionist
   look at the Clinton presidency: an attempt to solidify the Clinton
   legacy and to make America forget the Whitewater and Lewinsky scandals.
   On the other hand, some Republicans have admired the show since its
   inception, regardless of the departure of Sorkin and the show's
   resulting shift toward the centre. In his 2001 article "Real Liberals
   versus the West Wing", Mackubin Owens pointed out,


   The West Wing (TV series)

     Although his administration is reliably liberal, President Bartlet
      possesses virtues even a conservative could admire. He obeys the
   Constitution and the law. He is devoted to his wife and daughter [sic].
   Being unfaithful to his wife would never cross his mind. He is no wimp
        when it comes to foreign policy — no quid pro quo for him.


   The West Wing (TV series)

   Some praise the show for helping to bridge the gap between the left and
   the right in America. By showing Democratic views on issues and the
   debate surrounding them, the series has provided many Republicans with
   useful insights about the views of the left.

Film criticism

   In its first season, The West Wing attracted critical attention in the
   film community with a record nine Emmy wins. The show has been praised
   for its high production values and continuously recognized for its
   cinematic achievements. With a budget of $6 million per episode, many
   consider each week's show to be a small feature film. However, many in
   the film community believe that the true genius of the show was
   Sorkin's rapid-fire and witty scripts.

   The West Wing is most famously noted for developing the
   "walk-and-talk"—long Steadicam tracking shots showing characters
   walking down hallways while involved in long conversations. In a
   typical "walk-and-talk" shot, the camera leads two characters down a
   hallway as they speak to each other. One of these characters generally
   breaks off and the remaining character is then joined by another
   character, who initiates another conversation as they continue walking.
   These "walks-and-talks" create a dynamic feel for what would otherwise
   be long expository dialogue, and have become a staple for
   dialogue-intensive television show scenes.

Awards

   In its first season, The West Wing garnered nine Emmys, a record for
   most won by a series in a single season. In addition the series has
   received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2000, 2001,
   2002, and 2003, tying Hill Street Blues and L.A. Law for most won in
   this category. Each of its seven seasons earned a nomination for the
   award. As of 2006, The West Wing ranks 8th all-time in number of Emmy
   Awards won by a series.

   Twenty individual Emmys have been awarded to writers, actors, and crew
   members. Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, and Stockard Channing have each
   received six Emmy nominations for their roles. Allison Janney is the
   record holder for most wins by a cast member, with a total of four
   Emmys.

   In addition to its Emmys, the show has won two Screen Actors Guild
   (SAG) Awards, in 2000 and 2001, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble
   in a Drama Series. Martin Sheen is the only cast member to have won a
   Golden Globe. In both 1999 and 2000, The West Wing was awarded the
   Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting.

   The following table summarizes award wins by cast members.
   Actor Awards won
   Alan Alda Emmy, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2006)
   Stockard Channing Emmy, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama
   Series (2002)
   Allison Janney Emmy, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
   (2000, 2001)
   Emmy, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (2002, 2004)
   SAG Award, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
   (2000, 2001)
   Richard Schiff Emmy, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
   (2000)
   Martin Sheen Golden Globe, Best Actor in a TV Series - Drama (2001)
   SAG Award, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
   (2000, 2001)
   John Spencer Emmy, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
   (2002)
   Bradley Whitford Emmy, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
   (2001)

   W.G. "Snuffy" Walden received an Emmy Award for Main Title Theme Music
   in 2000 for "The West Wing Opening Theme".

   Many cast members have been Emmy-nominated for their work on The West
   Wing but have not won, including Martin Sheen, Dulé Hill, Rob Lowe,
   Janel Moloney and Mary-Louise Parker. Several people have also received
   Emmy nominations for guest starring on the show: Matthew Perry, Oliver
   Platt, Ron Silver, Tim Matheson, and Mark Harmon.

Exploration of real world issues

   Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

   The West Wing often features extensive discussion of current or recent
   political issues. After the real-world election of Republican President
   George W. Bush in 2000, many wondered whether the liberal show could
   retain its relevance and topicality. However, by exploring many of the
   same issues facing the Bush administration from a Democratic point of
   view, the show continued to appeal to a broad audience of both
   Democrats and Republicans.

   In its second season President Bartlet admonished fictional radio host
   Dr. Jenna Jacobs for her views regarding homosexuality at a private
   gathering at the White House. Dr. Jacobs is a caricature of radio
   personality Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who strongly disapproves of
   homosexuality. Many of the president's biblical references in his
   comments to Dr. Jacobs, which can be heard here, are thought to have
   come from a letter circulated online in early May 2000.

   The Bartlet administration experienced a scandal during the second and
   third seasons that has been compared to the Monica Lewinsky affair.
   President Bartlet was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple
   sclerosis (MS) in 1992. The scandal centered around President Bartlet's
   nondisclosure of his illness to the electorate during the election. He
   is investigated by an opposition Congress for defrauding the public and
   eventually accepted a Congressional censure. Multiple sclerosis
   advocacy groups have praised the show for its accurate portrayal of the
   symptoms of MS and stressing that it is not fatal. The National MS
   Society commented:


   The West Wing (TV series)

    For the first time on national television or even in film, the public
   encountered a lead character with both an MS diagnosis and the hope for
     a continued productive life. Because [The] West Wing is a fictional
       drama and not a medical documentary, writers could have greatly
        distorted MS facts to further their story line [but did not].


   The West Wing (TV series)

   Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the start of the third season
   was postponed for a week, as were most American television premieres
   that year. A script for a special episode was quickly written and began
   filming on September 21. The episode "Isaac and Ishmael" aired on
   October 3 and addressed the sobering reality of terrorism in America
   and the wider world, albeit with no specific reference to September 11.
   While "Isaac and Ishmael" received mixed critical reviews, it
   illustrated the show's flexibility in addressing current events. The
   episode is not part of The West Wing continuity.

   While the September 11th attacks did not occur in The West Wing
   continuity, the country did enter into a variation of the War on
   Terrorism. The war began in the show's third season, when a plot to
   blow up the Golden Gate Bridge was uncovered; in response, the
   President ordered the assassination of terrorist leader Abdul Shareef.
   At the end of the fourth season, the conflict escalated when Zoey
   Bartlet ( Elisabeth Moss), the president's youngest daughter, was
   kidnapped by Qumari extremists. The result of this kidnapping was the
   bombing of Qumar. This storyline drew similarities to the real-world
   U.S. invasion of Afghanistan as well as U.S. relations with Saudi
   Arabia, as it brought the Middle East to the forefront of U.S. foreign
   relations and elevated terrorism as a serious threat in The West Wing
   universe.

   In the sixth and seventh seasons, The West Wing explores a leak of
   top-secret information by a senior staffer at the White House. This
   leak has been compared to the events surrounding the Valerie Plame
   affair. In the storyline, the International Space Station is damaged
   and can no longer produce oxygen for the astronauts to breathe. With
   other methods of rescue unavailable, the president is reminded of the
   existence of a top-secret military space shuttle. Following the
   president's inaction, the shuttle story is leaked to a White House
   reporter, Greg Brock (analogous to Judith Miller), who prints the story
   in the New York Times. Brock will not reveal his source and goes to
   jail for failing to do so, as did Miller. In order to stop the
   investigation, in which authorities suspect Chief of Staff C.J. Cregg,
   Toby Ziegler admits to leaking the information, and the President is
   forced to dismiss him. In comparison, the Plame affair is still under
   investigation, but charges have been brought against Lewis Libby, the
   vice president's chief of staff, who has since resigned. Richard
   Armitage, an official in the Bush State Department, has also
   acknowledged leaking information to reporters.

   Other issues explored in The West Wing include:
     * North Korean and Iranian nuclear ambitions
     * Strained relations and a state of brinksmanship between India and
       Pakistan
     * Legislation of the Central American Free Trade Agreement
     * The formation of the Minuteman Project
     * Peacemaking and terrorism in Israel, West Bank and the Gaza Strip,
       including a peace negotiation at Camp David, similar to the Camp
       David 2000 Summit.
     * The genocide in Darfur, Sudan
     * AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa
     * The Northern Ireland peace process in one episode.

The West Wing universe

Domestic

   All contemporary domestic government officials in The West Wing
   universe have been fictional. President Bartlet has made three
   appointments to the fictional Supreme Court and maintains a full
   cabinet, although the names and terms of all members have not been
   revealed. Some cabinet members, such as the Secretary of Defense,
   appear more often than others. Many other government officials, such as
   mayors, governors, judges, representatives, and senators, have been
   mentioned and seen as well.

Foreign

   While several real-world leaders exist in the show's universe, most
   foreign countries have fictional rulers. Some real persons mentioned in
   The West Wing include Muammar al-Qaddafi, Yasser Arafat, Fidel Castro,
   Queen Elizabeth II, and Osama bin Laden. However, when a peace accord
   was worked out between Israel and the Palestinian Authority at the
   start of the show's sixth season, the Chairman of the Palestinian
   Authority was the fictional Nizar Farad, not Arafat.

   Entire countries are invented as composite pictures that epitomize many
   of the problems that plague real nations in certain areas of the world.
   Qumar, an oil-rich, terrorist-sponsoring Middle Eastern state is
   repeatedly a source of trouble for the Bartlet administration.
   According to maps on the show, Qumar appears to consist of a small part
   of southern Iran, including the important Strait of Hormuz. Elsewhere,
   Equatorial Kundu is an African nation blighted by AIDS and a civil war
   resembling the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Real world events

   Recent historical events from the real world that are mentioned in The
   West Wing include the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich , the U.S. invasion
   of Grenada in 1983, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the Three Mile
   Island Nuclear accident, the wreck of the Exxon Valdez, the first Gulf
   War, U.S. military operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the fall of
   the Berlin Wall and the end of Communism, the signing of the Kyoto
   Protocol, the 1986 bombing of Tripoli in Libya, the 1989 Tiananmen
   Square events in the People's Republic of China, and the 1998 Northern
   Ireland Good Friday Agreement.

Presidential elections

Timeline skew

   The last real president who is known to have existed in the show's
   universe is Richard Nixon. Presidents who served between Nixon and
   Bartlet include Democrat D. Wire Newman ( James Cromwell) and
   Republican Owen Lassiter (now deceased). It was not disclosed whether
   Newman and Lassiter served directly before President Bartlet. It is
   clear, however, that Newman (loosely based on Jimmy Carter) lost an
   election to Lassiter (based on Ronald Reagan), who then proceeded to
   serve for two full terms. In an episode centering around Lassiter's
   funeral, Bartlet and Newman were shown to be the only two surviving
   former Presidents who had served full terms.

   The passage of time on the show relative to that of the real world has
   always been somewhat ambiguous when marked by events of smaller
   duration (e.g., votes, campaigns). Sorkin has noted in a DVD commentary
   track for the second season episode "18th and Potomac" that he has
   tried to avoid tying The West Wing to a specific period of time.
   Despite this, real years are occasionally mentioned, usually in the
   context of elections and President Bartlet's two-term administration.

   The show's presidential elections have been held in 2002 and 2006,
   setting them off by two years from actual presidential elections in the
   United States (e.g., 1996, 2000, 2004, etc.). The election timeline in
   The West Wing matched up with that of the real world until the middle
   of the fifth season, when it appears that a year was lost. For example,
   the filing deadline for the New Hampshire primary, which would normally
   fall in January 2006, appeared in an episode airing in January 2005.

   In interviews, John Wells stated that the series began one and a half
   years into Bartlet's first term and that the election to replace
   Bartlet was being held at the correct time. There is evidence against
   this claim, which is discussed further in the main article.

1998 presidential election

   Bartlet's first campaign for president is never significantly explored
   in the series. Bartlet won the election with 48% of the popular vote,
   48 million votes, and a 303–235 margin in the Electoral College.
   Bartlet faced three debates with his Republican opponent. It is
   mentioned that Bartlet won the third and final debate, which was held
   on October 30, 1998, in St Louis, Missouri, and that this helped swing
   a close election in his favour.

   The campaign for the Democratic nomination was extensively addressed.
   In the episodes "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen" and "Bartlet for
   America", flashbacks are used to tell how Bartlet defeated Texas
   Senator John Hoynes ( Tim Matheson) and Washington Senator William
   Wiley for the Democratic nomination. The flashbacks also revealed how
   Leo McGarry persuaded Bartlet, who was then governor of New Hampshire,
   to run for president and how Bartlet ultimately selected John Hoynes as
   his choice as running mate.

2002 presidential election

   The West Wing's 2002 presidential election pitted Bartlet and Vice
   President John Hoynes against Florida Governor Robert Ritchie ( James
   Brolin) and his running mate, Jeff Heston. Bartlet faced no known
   opposition for renomination, though Democratic Senator Stackhouse did
   launch a brief independent campaign for the presidency. Ritchie, not
   originally expected to contend for the nomination, emerged from a field
   of seven other Republican candidates by appealing to the party's
   conservative base with simple, homey sound bites.

   Bartlet's staff contemplated replacing Vice President John Hoynes on
   the ticket with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Percy
   Fitzwallace ( John Amos), among others. After it was clear that Ritchie
   would be the Republican nominee, Bartlet dismissed the idea, declaring
   that he wanted Hoynes in the number two spot, "Because I could die."

   Throughout the season it was anticipated that the race would be close,
   but a stellar performance by Bartlet in the sole debate between the
   candidates gave Bartlet a landslide victory in both the popular and
   electoral vote.

2006 presidential election

   A speed-up in The West Wing's timeline, in part due to the expiration
   of many cast members' contracts and a desire to continue the program
   with lower production costs, resulted in the omission of the 2004
   midterm elections and an election during the seventh season. The sixth
   season extensively detailed the Democratic and Republican primaries.
   The seventh season covers the lead-up to the general election, the
   election, and the transition to a new administration. The timeline
   slowed down to concentrate on the general election race. The election,
   normally held in November, took place across two episodes originally
   broadcast on April 2 and April 9, 2006.

   Congressman Matt Santos (D- TX) was nominated on the fourth ballot at
   the Democratic National Convention, staged as the sixth season finale.
   Santos was planning to leave Congress before being recruited to run for
   the presidency by Josh Lyman. Santos polled in the low single digits in
   the Iowa caucus and was virtually out of the running in the New
   Hampshire primary before a last-ditch direct television appeal vaulted
   him to a third-place finish with 19% of the vote. Following allusions
   during the Bartlet administration, Josh Lyman, Santos's campaign
   manager, convinced Leo McGarry to become Santos's running mate.
   However, John Spencer, the actor portraying Leo McGarry, died on
   December 16, 2005.

   Senator Arnold Vinick (R-CA) ( Alan Alda) secured the Republican
   nomination, defeating Glen Allen Walken ( John Goodman) and the
   Reverend Don Butler ( Don S. Davis), among others. Initially, Vinick
   wanted Butler to become his running mate. However, Butler did not want
   to be considered because of Vinick's stance on abortion. Instead, West
   Virginia Governor Ray Sullivan ( Brett Cullen) was chosen as Vinick's
   running mate. Vinick was portrayed throughout the sixth season as
   virtually unbeatable because of his popularity in California, a
   typically Democratic state, his moderate views, and his wide crossover
   appeal. Vinick, however, has faced difficulty with the pro-life members
   of his party as a pro-choice candidate, and criticism for his support
   of nuclear power following a serious accident at a Californian nuclear
   power station.

   On the evening of the election, Leo McGarry suffered a massive heart
   attack and was pronounced dead at the hospital, with the polls still
   open on the West Coast. The Santos campaign released the information
   immediately, while Arnold Vinick refused to use Leo's death as a
   "stepstool" to the presidency. Santos emerged as the winner in his home
   state of Texas, while Vinick won his home state of California. The
   election came down to Nevada, where both candidates needed a victory to
   secure the presidency. Vinick had told his staff repeatedly that he
   would not allow his campaign to demand a recount of the votes if Santos
   was declared the winner. Josh Lyman was seen giving Santos the same
   advice, although the Santos campaign did send a team of lawyers down to
   Nevada. Matthew Vincente Santos was pronounced the winner of the
   election, having won Nevada by 30,000 votes, with an electoral margin
   of 272–266.

   Santos organizes his administration, choosing Josh Lyman as Chief of
   Staff, who in turn called on former colleague Sam Seaborn for Deputy
   Chief. In need of experienced cabinet members, Santos tapped Arnold
   Vinick as Secretary of State, believing the senior statesman to be one
   of the best strategists available and respected by foreign leaders.

   President Bartlet's final act as President of the United States is
   pardoning Toby Ziegler. The series ends with Bartlet returning to New
   Hampshire. Having said his goodbyes to his closest staff, former
   President Bartlet tells President Santos "Make me proud, Mr.
   President", to which Santos responds, "I'll do my best, Mr. President."

   According to executive producer Lawrence O'Donnell, the death of
   Spencer forced him and his colleagues to consider the emotional strain
   that would result from having Santos lose both his running mate and the
   election. It was eventually decided that the last episodes would be
   rescripted by John Wells, executive producer of ER and The West Wing.
   Spoilers end here.

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