The West Wing - In God We Trust

Cafe Society
1

So we get to see Vinick in all his glory, fighting the good fight and locking in the nomination before the convention. Good for him. I think this is the most complex (and likable) politician that TWW has created since Jed Barlett himself. I think I would really look forward to seeing the whole next season dedicated to a Vinick administration.

Patricia Richardson’s character has been fleshed out a bit more after last night too. I get the impression that she’s a single mother, if only because she picks up the phone immediately when her kids call, and she never once said “Ask your father.” Stephen Root is still a little one-dimensional, but there’s plenty of time.

I’m still doubting that Santos can actually win the nomination for the Dems. Being the sitting VP carries a lot of weight when push comes to shove. Barlett needs to get off the fence and endorse someone fast, either formally or informally, before the convention. All the primaries are over, and he’s running the party for a couple of more months. He needs to show them which way they should go. They conversation he had in the kitchen with Vinick is one he should have had with either the VP or Santos.

And how about Bruno working for The Senator now? Ain’t that a kick in the pants to the Dems? And I like how he’s pushing Vinick to run a campaign without even mentioning the opposition, to run on issues only. Has that ever happened in a modern presidential election?

But of course the big story of the night was Vinick saying that if you ask a politician about religion they’re going to lie to you. “And it will be the easiest lie they’ve told.” Who would have thought a Republican would refuse to bring religion into a campaign?

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Vinick’s phenomenal primary success doesn’t quite ring true for me. Primary voters have a role in determining who gets the nomination. But if a candidate’s views conflict with a fundamental piece of his party’s platform, wouldn’t that party’s leaders ensure he doesn’t make the final cut? In real life, I think a Vinick would have been torpedoed by Republican leadership very early on in the primary process for being pro-choice. He’d be on the stage at the Convention, but nowhere near a Republican ticket.

3

I thought about posting here last night after watching the episode, but I was sucked into L&O before I got the chance.

I really enjoyed this episode. One of the best I’ve seen in a long time, I’ve always been a big fan of the show, but in recent years the shows haven’t been very profound or compelling, still enjoyable, just not as rivetting. Last night episode really grabbed me. In drastic contrast to the big let down that was the previous weeks about Castro (having watched them back-to-back on the DVR last night made the comparison even more stark).

Now, a big reason why I liked this episode is the Godless politics angle. Honestly I couldn’t possibly agree with Vinick more on this one, and it’s long been the source of most of my vitrol for IRL politicians. Full disclosure I suppose.

Aside from that, the Vinick-Bruno storyline is a pretty interesting one. I idealism Bruno shows and his apparent regrets over being a partisan for so many years gives his character depth. It’s a complexity that most of the part-time characters don’t have.

I also liked seeing Bartlett getting in the game using some of his political clout. The threat to the Dems to avoid any mudslinging was a hell of a good moment.

And lastly, I loved the scene in the kitchen over ice cream. The two opposing heavyweights having a heart-to-heart with a undercurrent of debate and contention was good theater. I’m pretty sure that this episode outlines the intent of the show to go with Vinick as the new Pres. He’s a centrist republican, which wouldn’t be as much of a stretch for the left-slanted righters as a hard-core fundy would. Plus he’s very multifaceted. A pretty good character when it comes down to it, and one who’s pure of heart. He speaks his mind, and the no religion questions diatribe at the end of the episode will probably be political suicide. Which of course is good for the upcoming few weeks allowing the Dems a chance to mount a close race for the White House. Really, did anyone expect the Vinick 50-state bum rush to pan out?

Lastly one minor bitch about the “scenes” for next week. It’s not much of a spoiler, but just to be safe I’ll use the box.

I was annoyed by the fact the when they were hyping the upcoming DNC they were implying that the decision will be made as to who’s the Democratic nominee. However, this episode stated how having them both at the DNC would be good for the party as long as things stay clean (see Bartlett threat above), and in the wide angle shot they showed where the guy announces “Laides and Gentlemen, the next President of the United States…” certainly looked like Vinicks VP choice. So they seem to be misleading the audience if I’m right.

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Wouldn’t be the first time this season. Remember Santos telling Josh to strap in on the airplane (implied that the plane was going to crash) and the bit about the asteroid? I think it’s an NBC directive to have some kind of misleading clip from the next show, just to generate some buzz.

I think Vinick is a very viable Republican candidate. Bruno even said that 60% of all of America agrees with him on some issues. Numbers like that even die-hard right wingers can understand - electable. All politics is based on compromise, and if the Republican party can get most of their platform passed and still have a candidate that Independents and Democrats will cross the road to vote for, they’ll buy into it.

I’m sorry to see that Don S. Dixon isn’t on the ticket though. First he was a Major (Twin Peaks), then a General (Stargate SG-1). Getting up to Commander-in-Chief would be a natural progression for him. So instead we’ve got a VP candidate that I didn’t even recognize (actor, that is.) Anybody know who is playing the Governor from West Virginia?

Is Bruno really having a change of heart? I doubt it. Why does he feel that way now when only four years (and one major campaign) ago he was more than happy to use divisive methods to win an election. It’s what he does - win elections. I think he’s more up for a challange of changing his style to win rather than using the business-as-usual tactics. That seems more in line with the established character of Bruno. (By the way, I hope that Connie Britton is still on his staff. She’s yummy.)

5

I enjoyed the episode very much, as the candidate I would LIKE the Republicans to elect was elected, but once again with WW, I wondered if the writers have ANY political knowledge or are they just writing what they would perfer to see.

Vinick is a good guy, but a Republican Senator who is pro-choice winning the nomination for President? That’s waaay out there for me. Even if he is ‘electable’, it wouldn’t happen. And his BIG primary opponent is some Reverand? WHAT?! If I was a Republican governor watching that primary: Pro-choice Republican vs. Reverend, I’d be jumping in as soon as humanly possible and probably win the whole thing. And to whit, he basically ends up saying he doesn’t believe in God… a Republican nominee? They’d fry him after that!

As for the Santos-VP thing. I know they have to build drama, but a decision made AT the convention? Naaah… especially not when you have a wide eyed Congressman going agains the sitting VP.

And have the writers noticed that 4 of the last 5 real life Presidents have been Governors? Vinick would have been more convincing if playing the Governor of California and not a Senator. But, of course, that would have meant that his minimum wage thing could happen…

Oh, and the Republican nominee and his party pushing for a minimum wage increase? I don’t think so!

Great drama, but as a (moderate) Republican, it just seemed not based on reality at all. Perhaps that is what they want… a country how they would like to see it.

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I’m another moderate Republican and I agree that Vinnick is the kind of Republican candidate that liberals would like to imagine. But who knows? In the West Wing world, where the Democrats have held the white house for eight years, the Republicans might be looking for crossover electability.

A good solid episode if not a great one.

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Hi from 2016, cuauhtemoc!

I hate to tell you, but in this year (in real life) the Republicans are set to nominate somebody who is in many ways an anti-Republcan. Unfortunately not like a Vinick that a liberal could respect.