Wackiness Ensues

I am, of course, speaking of the political conventions south of 49 and the whole political situation up here.

Down south, we have dueling "God's on my side and let the weather prove it" stories. We also have people in clay shoes, which isn't a problem; we're all human and all that--except that you invite criticism when you run on the "holier than thou" platform.

Up here, we have attention span issues. the Prime Minister claims that the opposition parties won't cooperate, when they have rolled over for him on EVERY SINGLE ISSUE. And he's getting away with this claim. It's very perplexing, especially because "everybody knows" that "nobody wants" an election.

In light of these oh-so-serious events, I would like to discuss something near and dear to all of us: television. Specifically, two TV shows from the U.S.; therefore, everyone can follow along. (Canadian television wouldn't afford us this same luxury. My sister had never heard of Little Mosque on the Prairie before this summer. Nobody I tell about the Maria show can believe it. But that's a different issue.)

First, The West Wing and the whole "Gee, Obama sounds like Matt Santos" (the guy played by Jimmy Smits) thing. I can't give you the source, because I read it in a column by the local TV guy, who said he'd read it somewhere but didn't say where, that the lead West Wing writer saw the 2004 Democratic Convention, looked at Obama, and went, "Hey! What if this relative unknown came outta nowhere to be a contender?"

In the West Wing Universe, Santos ran against an elder statesman/moderate Republican senator, played by Alan Alda. I think Alda is taller than McCain, but the casting was pretty obvious. I won't tell who won but honestly, if you don't know by now, rent the show. Start with Season 1. There's some excellent writing. Have your encyclopedia ready to refresh your memory about Smoot and Hawley.

In a sad case of life imitating art, John Spencer, who played Santos's vice presidential candidate, died of a heart attack partway into the last season. The death was written into the show.

So yes, Obama is much like Matt Santos, with some differences. Obama is a senator, where Santos was a member of the House. Obama is African-American; Santos was Hispanic. Both have small kids. Both are relatively unknown. Both depend on the experience of their running mates to give them credibility in the eyes of the public.

Now for the other TV shows. The Republican convention, before it was hijacked by Gustav, seemed to be paying closer attention to Commander in Chief, a short-lived series from 2005. In this program, Geena Davis played a formerly Independent Congresswoman who was chosen as the running mate of a Republican president, who wins. She finds herself in the Oval Office when the President dies of a cerebral aneurism in office.

So, the similarities: Mackenzie Allen/Sarah Palin? Who's that?

My real point is this: in both shows, important people on the ticket die. I hope Biden and McCain are paying attention. Yes, they've both trotted out living mothers. And I would be the last person to play down the relative vitality of today's 60-somethings--one spent the month of July replacing the roof on our yellow camp.

But I do hope they, and the American public, are paying attention. Honestly. Is Sarah Palin someone you can trust as President? And it's a serious question--we should all be doing some homework. After all, the last relatively unknown governor to become President was...

Yeah, that's why.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled wackiness.