I mean, both the tv show, and the movie that spawned it (The American President) is pretty biased in favor of the Democrats. I enoy it for the good soap opera qualities, the snappy writing and high production value. Also, being fiscally conservative in Sweden makes me just about a Democrat in the US.
Let’s not convert this to a pit thread, please.
I want to hate it, and didn’t watch it for the first two season. Now I watch solely because I enjoy some of the actors/characters, and try to ignore the policy parts, and the fact that it’s a free hour of liberal politics pushing without any balance. I can usually take about a half hour of it, then I get up and do other things until Law & Order comes on.
I like it. So does my brother, who is probably even more conservative than I am.
I’m still undecided on the show’s quality in the post-Sorkin era, though.
You missed the best parts 
According to my local paper, it’s the best political show we are going to get. They ran part of an interview where CNN reporter Howard Kurtz spoke with Lawrence O’Donnell, a former Democrat political aide now consulting "The West Wing.” It originally appeared in the Washing Post and was run by the Tribune Review (my local paper: rest of article here: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/search/s_145352.html)
“Kurtz: “One thing these programs have in common, conservatives are practically invisible. President Bartlett in ‘The West Wing’ is a Democrat. Martin Sheen, in fact, made anti-war ads before the invasion of Iraq. ‘Mr. Sterling’ is a California liberal based loosely on Jerry Brown. Why aren’t there any Republicans?”
O’Donnell: “You will never get that TV show. You’ll never, ever get the Republican TV show. The Writers Guild of America, my union, is at a minimum 99 percent leftist liberal and, like me, socialist. And we don’t know how to write it. We don’t.”
So, all things considered, it’s not too bad. I can sit down and enjoy it occasionally as long as I try not to dwell on it too much.
I watch it every week, I can’t understand a fecking thing about it, but I love the banter and the way the characters interact with each other … 
I’m pretty conservative, and I liked the movie and the show. I loved the show partly for the same reason that I loved “Sportsnight” – the witty, fast-paced dialogue – and partly because of the intriguing characters, which were alternately incredibly intelligent and utterly idiotic (just like real life, in my opinion). But I also liked the show because it presented good arguments on both sides, showing that there are no simple answers in response to the questions that our government has to deal with on a daily basis. For example, in one episode, a blonde bombshell/Republican kicked Rob Lowe’s butt on a talk show on the issue of education. I think it’s veered a bit away from that (as well as the witty, fast-paced dialogue) since Sorkin left.
As for why the West Wing got a liberal slant, I read an article (I believe in Esquire – sorry, no cite) in which Sorkin said that it’s liberal because it makes for better television. He said it’s easier to craft scripts in which the people are espousing liberal values because liberal values translate better to the screen. He said that people are just more likely to tune in to watch people fight against racism than for tax cuts; or more likely to watch people fighting for a freedom to make tasteless art than the free market.
Nope, I didn’t get past the pilot, and the presidential character was barely in it. It’s boring, but it’d be boring no matter what the party of the president because politics make for boring TV.
The first couple of seasons it was an incredible show about a left leaning, elite, east coast president and his ideological staff. Even as a fairly conservative person, I really enjoyed the story. They were as even handed as possible and even zinged the DEMS from time to time.
But after it became a hit, it seemed Sorkin went mad with power. It seemed to become a partisan soapbox. It was like, if you disagreed, you were a moron.
I can think of better ways to spend an hour.
Also, at first, it was politically realistic. Leo was at the helm and things were really grey. Later, Bartlett began doing the “right” thing and still was in a position to be re-elected. It became a white knight versus the forces of darkness feeling.
The same thing was the case in AmerPres. I liked the film for the same reasons I liked WW. But the only way you could make a sequel is to do it about Dreyfuss’s character’s presidency. After making that speech, Shepherd would be unelectable.
But the thing is, it is a fanatasy. But when the triumphant music plays, the only way you can be moved is if you agree.
I have watched a grand total of about two episodes—frankly, I wouldn’t waste my time on a liberal wankfest like that.
Third season or so, I thought they stopped presenting both sides fairly. Knowing the rebuttals from this board and then not seeing them used was enough to make me stop watching.
My husband loves it, and he usually votes Republican or Libertarian. I never really got into it, but then I don’t watch much TV anyway.