Not to get all political on you, but….getting a little political on you…

This weekend, the parents and I finally continued our West Wing watching. (First time for me, second for them. It’s only taken us two years to get through three seasons and one episode!) We watched the season four opener, “20 Hours In America.”

There’s a lot I loved about this episode. Lily Tomlin, Charlie getting a decent story line again, Lily Tomlin, the fact that Josh, Donna and Toby just didn’t rent a damn car, Lily Tomlin, Josh screaming into the phone for Sam to wake up, CJ mourning the loss of Mark Harmon, any time President Bartlet spoke…

But what surprised me the most about this episode is how much it relates to our world today. It originally aired in September, 2002 – roughly six years ago. Not too far in the past, but far enough for the resemblances to be sort of striking.

– They are facing an economic crisis, with the Dow plunging over 200 points.
– It’s election season.
– The show opens up with a campaign stop in Indiana, where Josh, Donna and Toby are left behind, and have to interact with farmers and the people of rural America, or, shall we say, Real America.
– Toby and Josh spend most of the episode arguing over what is the best campaign strategy – being elite or playing to the masses.

You could say that Aaron Sorkin was a visionary, or you could say that things never really change, but either way, I was both blown away and touched by the similarities, and how the characters handled their respective situations.

What I was most blown away by was the similarities to fictional president Jed Bartlet and real-life presidential candidate Barack Obama. Particularly in this scene. (Which also had me thinking, how on earth did Martin Sheen lose to James Gandolfini EVERY YEAR?)

Compare his fictional speech to this real one:

It seems like something Aaron Sorkin would write, but it’s reality.

By the end of today, this guy could actually be our president-elect. He could run the country for the next four years. It’s like having the real President Bartlet in office. The dude even has a Charlie!

I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

And if he should lose, at least there is always Aaron Sorkin’s fictional world. (Which, considering it contains Josh Lyman, ain’t too bad.) (OMG, if Obama wins, I hope he gets a Josh Lyman.)

Video of the Day:From the same episode, why Richard Schiff and Aaron Sorkin are awesome.