Mourning the end of “The West Wing”

Our very own James Forsyth is in today's WaPo Outlook section, writing on why the end of "The West Wing" will be mourned in London: If there is one place where the end of the Bartlet administration will be mourned more than in Washington, it is in Whitehall, the home of the British government. "The ...

Our very own James Forsyth is in today's WaPo Outlook section, writing on why the end of "The West Wing" will be mourned in London:

Our very own James Forsyth is in today's WaPo Outlook section, writing on why the end of "The West Wing" will be mourned in London:

If there is one place where the end of the Bartlet administration will be mourned more than in Washington, it is in Whitehall, the home of the British government. "The West Wing," which will end its seven-year run tonight, enjoys cult status among the British political class. Such was the show's allure that former Bartlet chief of staff Leo McGarry — played by the recently deceased John Spencer — was invited to 10 Downing Street in June 2002 for some face time with Jonathan Powell, Prime Minister Tony Blair's real-life chief of staff. Later Spencer told a reporter, "I had British politicians coming up to me saying, 'I don't want to gush too much but I think meeting you could be one of the greatest moments of my life.' "

Their reaction underscored the show's importance: the fictional President Jed Bartlet was to Blair's young turks what President Ronald Reagan had been to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Tory boys. Admiration for President Bill Clinton's campaign techniques morphed into a desire to be like the good-looking, fast-talking Bartlet aides Josh Lyman or Sam Seaborn. For the first time since the Vietnam War, the British Left wanted to be American.

 

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