A Love Letter to American Politics
The rhetoric of change and hope, the thought that “Yes, We Can,” shared by then little known Illinois senator Barack Obama, first stoked my interest in politics. It was 2008, and I had just turned 14. Obviously at the time I could not vote, but I listened to his speeches and envied my friends who went to D.C. for the inauguration. When 2012 came around, I proudly cast my first vote for another 4 years of Barack AND Michelle Obama. Like many of my peers, I was drawn to Michelle. From her energy and grace to her lifetime of achievements, she set an example of female strength and accomplishment. Flashforward to today: like so many, I’ve felt disillusioned and depressed by the shift in modern politics towards hyper polarization, where human lives are held as pawns in political gains. Gone is the hope, the call to be our better selves, that I found in both President and Michelle Obama. So when I heard that Michelle would be speaking at the opening night of the Democratic National Convention, I just had to tune in, to hang on her every word, looking for a reason to hope again.
Michelle’s speech was like every speech I’ve ever heard her give, and yet, completely different. In typical Michelle style, her words were stirring and encouraging, reminding each of us of our responsibility to our communities and our power in deciding the fate of this world. She was also far more dire and deeply honest about the state of the country:
Because whenever we look to this White House for some leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division, and a total and utter lack of empathy.
Most striking was her call for moral character, in the Office of the President, in the nature of our politics, and in each of us. I found myself reminded of the best political drama of all time: West Wing. Aaron Sorkin’s writing of the late ‘90s-early ‘00s drama following the events and personalities of Nobel Prize winning economist turned President of the United States, Josiah ‘Jeb’ Bartlet’s administration, perfectly captured everything I have ever loved about American politics. The show brims with passionate debate, bipartisan leadership, and overall a hope that tomorrow will be better than today.
Martin Sheen plays the flawed yet brilliant and magnetic President Bartlet. President Bartlet is a man of deep faith and conviction, a man who knows he is the smartest person in the room and yet when he fails, he turns to his priest in confession, to his wife in penance, and to his team and his country in humility. He truly sets an example for what a leader ought to be, one that has, as Michelle Obama described, “clear-headed judgment, a mastery of complex and competing issues, a devotion to facts and history, a moral compass, and an ability to listen—and an abiding belief that each of the 330,000,000 lives in this country has meaning and worth.” It is worth meditating on the kind of leader President Bartlet is, (and you should definitely check out my husband’s article on that!) but I am more interested in what West Wing tells us about the broader impact of our leaders in American politics.
Aside from the obvious differences in leadership, for a show produced in the late ‘90s, the similarities between then and now are striking. Communications Director Toby Ziegler is not so unlike today’s Bernie Sanders, forever grieved when his colleagues make moderating concessions. The longsuffering Josh Lyman, Deputy Chief of Staff, butts heads with Republican leaders on issues like health care, military spending, and school funding. The women of the White House are forces of nature, from the poised and sharp Press Secretary C.J. Craig to the accomplished First Lady Dr. Abbey Bartlet M.D. Yet, regularly they find themselves needing to call out the men in their lives and the sexist structures that surround our systems to this day. In other ways, the political landscape of West Wing is unrecognizable from that of the present. Though not a bipartisan paradise by any means, President Bartlet and his staff find common ground with both the left and right. The President, while often frustrated with members of Congress and the Senate, clearly has respect for other politicians who share his sense of civic duty and servanthood, even if they disagree on what is best for the country. The storyline of Ainsley Hayes, a bright Republican lawyer, is one of the shows best depictions of this mutual respect.
Ainsley takes on Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn, golden boy of the administration, and aptly cleans house with him on television. Sam takes a shot at Republican leadership for voting down a bill that would have funded various schools, painting them as insincere, education hating villains. Without missing a beat, Ainsley rebuts Sam, pointing out the leadership’s disagreement with certain caveats to the funding and how it would be distributed, in her mind, unequally. She does not paint the Democrats as villains, but backs up her views with passion, statistics, and reason. Most interesting is President Bartlet’s response to this event. It isn’t to prep Sam to quash everything that Ainsley took him down with. Instead, his response is to hire her. Chief of Staff Leo McGarry responds incredulously “But she’s a Republican,” to which the President responds, “So are half of the people in this country.”
For all her differences in opinion from President Bartlet’s administration, she shares their deep sense of duty and a belief that the country and the world can be a better place. She, too, is driven to be a part of that important work. It is that shared sense of duty that President Bartlet recognizes, and to which Leo calls on when he offers her the job. Ultimately, after her initial skepticism, that is why Ainsley takes the offer, and takes it with pride. After accepting her position on the legal team at the White House, Ainsley says this about her new colleagues:
“Say they're smug and superior, say their approach to public policy makes you want to tear your hair out. Say they like high taxes and spending your money. Say they want to take your guns and open your borders, but don't call them worthless. At least don't do it in front of me. The people that I have met have been extraordinarily qualified, their intent is good. Their commitment is true, they are righteous, and they are patriots. And I'm their lawyer.”
While Sam and Ainsley never see eye to eye, they develop a deep respect for each other, even while calling out and disagreeing with each other. Sam defends Ainsley to staff who initially distrust her, and she helps craft his arguments. They become true partners, and a demonstration of American politics at its best. It is President Bartlet’s leadership and wisdom that guides both Sam and Ainsley away from their partisan ideology, and to recognize their common calling. They each set aside their need to be right, their need to win, and choose to serve. Imagine that!
Ultimately West Wing is not about President Bartlet at all. It’s not about his staff either. It’s not even about what Lin Manuel Miranda, in his hit musical Hamilton, aptly has Aaron Burr note, “the room where it happens.” Instead it is about a nation that comes together and the effect of its leader as it is eventually reborn in the hands of another. As I watched Michelle Obama’s speech, I was again reminded of the work she and her husband did for this country, and how this country is being reborn again and again. “This is who we still are: compassionate, resilient, decent people whose fortunes are bound up with one another. And it is well past time for our leaders to once again reflect our truth,” Michelle reminded us. As West Wing showed me so clearly, while a leader may guide us, while their impact is felt in the makeup of our country, it is always up to us, the voter, on how we will be reborn. After all, as President Bartlet said “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.” Are you ready to change the world in November? Are you ready to hope again? I am.
“Joy cometh in the morning, scripture tells us. I hope so. I don’t know if life would be worth living if it didn’t…”
