Okay, so there are some similarities between Barack Obama's real-life candidacy and Matt Santos' fictitious candidacy on "West Wing." But that's not a coincidence.
We now learn that Santos' character was actually based on Obama. "West Wing" contributor Eli Attie wrote the Santos character after discussions with his friend David Axelrod, now chief strategist for the Obama campaign. Axelrod promoted Obama to Attie, inspired, in particular, by Obama's
speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. According to
Peter Funt,
Even though Obama had not yet won his Senate seat, Axelrod was promoting him as "handsome, appealing, articulate" -- a politician who could find new paths to solve old problems; a minority candidate who could show pride in his race without allowing it to define him. That's what Matt Santos became.
Classic.
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Will John Spencer's death deliver the general election to Barack Obama, aka the real-life Matt Santos? Tune in come November to find out.
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