Saturday, July 29, 2006
Farewell to the Chief
I missed the final two episodes of West Wing on More4 last night as I was out in Cardiff celebrating the final days of freedom of the Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Leader, Mike German. He is getting married next Saturday. However, I intend to catch up with them tomorrow. Still I quite enjoyed this preview in yesterday's Daily Mirror:
And what a comfort it has been during that time to know that the most powerful man in the free world was Josiah "Jed" Bartlet, a man who'd never say "Yo, Blair!", who could confidently point to Kazakhstan on a map and respond to any global crisis with a pithy quotation from the Bible.
Even his scandals - covering up his own illness - were heroic and huggable.
His staffers - chosen for their ability to think on their feet as all discussions were conducted at a brisk march through the corridors of power - governed out of a sense of duty and decency, and not because they were power-crazed sociopaths. And tonight they're inaugurating Bartlet's successor, Matt Santos, whose first presidential act will be to compose a love sonnet to his pristine blonde wife on the carpet of the Oval Office.
I will miss this portrayal of the 'perfect' Presidency. It was a beacon of hope in an imperfect and troubled World. Oh well, back to reality.
