The West Wing: The American Presidency as Television Drama.(Book Review)

The West Wing: The American Presidency as Television Drama. Eds. Peter C. Rollins and John E. Connor. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2003.

This is the season of American politics as another presidential election unfolds and the Democrats nominate a candidate to challenge the incumbent, George W. Bush, for control of the West Wing. As the primaries wind down, many liberals fantasize about nominating a Josiah Bartlet-like candidate to be the party's standard bearer this fall. Peter Rollins, a living icon in film studies and American culture at Oklahoma State University, along with his coeditor John E. Connor from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, provide a stimulating volume on the phenomenon that we know as The West Wing, a popular NBC docudrama for four years.

We all know people, including colleagues, whose lives revolve around the show; they often call us, sometimes at the last minute, to videotape episodes when they forget to set their VCRs. What accounts for this craze? The editors, in a series of brilliant essays, analyze the dynamics of the show, ranging from the authenticity of the presentation of the presidency to the cultural imperatives that influence the producer and screenwriters. But does this show really manipulate the public's perceptions of government?

In one of the more engaging essays, "The King's Two Bodies," Heather Richardson Hayton explains that many Americans long for a President Bartlet, or at least they did prior to the tragedy of 9/11. She offers insights, some from politicos who contend, as did Daniel Schnurr, John McCain's former communications director, that "politics as entertainment definitely has an impact on the electorate" because Americans see politics as drama anyway (78). Issues become even further distorted when members of The West Wing cast appear on talk shows, sometimes immediately following the appearance ...