The Feld-Blog

First spokesmen for the Bush administration come out and say “let Bush be Bush,” borrowing material almost directly from Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing. Now Donna Frye, mayoral candidate in San Diego, has ripped off from the same TV show, more directly and more blatantly. In this video local news coverage remarks that since Frye lacks the funds to run TV advertisements, she continues to rely on news coverage and publicity stunts. One of these stunts smacks of The West Wing’s fictitious political strategy come to life in San Diego.

For those of you who are fans of The West Wing, you may remember when Josh Lyman sends volunteers dressed in gigantic chicken suits to protest the other two democratic candidates press conferences. In her latest publicity stunt, Frye is followed around by someone dressed in a huge chicken suit, holding a sign accusing Jerry Sanders, her opponent, of being a chicken by refusing to admit where the money for his proposals will come from. This idea of getting free publicity in the more credible form of news coverage is common in political campaigns, but a person dressed in a chicken suit accusing opponents of “being chicken” seems to be an identifying and unique characteristic of that particular episode of The West Wing.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Aaron Sorkin is a brilliant writer. I envy him and can only aspire to approach his talent, but when real-life politicians make campaign decisions inspired by a fictional television show, no matter how well it’s written, it does not bode well for the candidate. If Frye’s political advisors are looking to a TV show to compliment her political strategy, she may be doomed. She may also be doomed if she can’t even raise enough money to run advertisements on local television, but for the moment this is beside the point.

I enjoy politics and I enjoy The West Wing, but let’s be clear: they are two very separate entities. I am troubled when people start to talk about The West Wing as if it is real politics, so similarly, I am troubled when politicians start talking about politics as if it were The West Wing.