# West Wing "quantum timeline divergence" question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-quantum-timeline-divergence-question/230337>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 21, 2004, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-quantum-timeline-divergence-question/230337 "2004-02-21T05:30:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-quantum-timeline-divergence-question/230337/21 "2004-02-23T20:40:56Z")

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James Cromwell’s character was fairly clearly a Democrat, essentially a Jimmy Crter analogue. If any of you have that episode on tape, rewatch the scenes on Air Force One and, especially, the three-way conversation between Sheen, Cromwell, and Goodman–I don’t think there’s any doubt from that that Cromwell is the Democrat to Goodman’s Republican.

And it was my impression that Lassiter (the ex-president who died) was Bartlet’s immediate predecessor, a Republican. I know someone’s done the timeline somewhere out there, and this is off the cuff, but I think it goes something like:

Cromwell elected in 1990  
Lassiter elected in 1994  
Bartlet elected in 1998 and 2002

I also know that Aaron Sorkin had a policy, which he mostly stuck to, not to mention any administration after LBJ. That’s kinda gone out the window under Wells.

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**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-quantum-timeline-divergence-question/230337/22 "2004-02-23T20:42:41Z")

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James Cromwell’s character was fairly clearly a Democrat, essentially a Jimmy Carter analogue. If any of you have that episode on tape, rewatch the scenes on Air Force One and, especially, the three-way conversation between Sheen, Cromwell, and Goodman–I don’t think there’s any doubt from that that Cromwell is the Democrat to Goodman’s Republican.

And it was my impression that Lassiter (the ex-president who died) was Bartlet’s immediate predecessor, a Republican. I know someone’s done the timeline somewhere out there, and this is off the cuff, but I think it goes something like:

Cromwell elected in 1990  
Lassiter elected in 1994  
Bartlet elected in 1998 and 2002

I also know that Aaron Sorkin had a policy, which he mostly stuck to, not to mention any administration after LBJ. That’s kinda gone out the window under Wells.

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**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2004, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-quantum-timeline-divergence-question/230337/23 "2004-02-23T21:12:28Z")

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> [@Achernar](#):
>
> Really, **Cliffy**? I know they dealt with Islamic extremism, but not that there was definitely an attack.

Spoilers for the end of Season 3:

Given Bartlett’s character as developed earlier in the series, the assassination is completely incongruent outside an acceptance that the show’s America is dealing with terrorism is a similar fashion to the way we are/were.

–Cliffy

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**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-quantum-timeline-divergence-question/230337/24 "2004-02-23T23:22:33Z")

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Aha, yeah I see what you’re saying. I don’t think I would have figured that out myself, though. Thanks! 🙂

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