- A minority candidate from the democrats, only in Washington for a few years after a long resume in his community, runs for president while calling for unity and a different kind of politics.
- In the democratic primary he fights a long, hard and divisive campaign against an establishment candidate that everybody expects to win.
- He comes out on top after a divisive convention that threatens party unity going in.
- He delivers an inspiring speech at his party’s convention that makes people wake up and feel like he may be something special.
- In the general election, he goes up against a straight talking Republican from a western state known as a maverick in his party and more liberal than most republicans.
- He delivers an important address about race relations at a time when his poll numbers need a boost.
- A major crises hits the US which irreparably hurts his opponent’s support.
- He wins the Presidency.
- He appoints, as his Chief of Staff, a veteran of the last democratic
president with a big reputation for getting things done in often dramatic and unorthodox ways.
While these points can certainly describe Obama’s rise in real life, I had the TV character Matt Santos in mind while writing them. Not bad scripting, eh, for a show that ended well before Obama even announced he was running for President. Oh, a couple more things …
- The inspiration for the West Wing’s Matt Santos, was Barack Obama himself, after his convention speech way back in 2004.
- The political advisor the show’s writers consulted was David Axelrod, Obama’s Chief Strategist.
- Obama’s Chief of Staff, Ramh Emanuel, named just a few days ago, was the inspiration for the Josh Lyman character on the West Wing.
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