TV changed politics forever. This sentence is usually followed by the example of JFK crushing Nixon in the 1960 televised debate, but losing the same exact debate on the radio broadcast. I think a much simpler example would be that a 400lb man named Howard Taft was once president, and this coincided with the era of American history when TV’s simply didn’t exist.
But this isn’t another essay about how TV changed politics.
After graduating from college, I didn’t do too much. I considered starting a photobooth empire, but the profit potential for portraits just wasn’t there. I couldn’t really think of much anything else I was interested in doing, so I went back home with my tail between my legs and a couple boxes full of used textbooks. I plopped down on my parent’s couch and didn’t move much.
I played a basketball video game for a long time that allowed you to create your own player. Obviously, I made one that bore an extreme resemblance to myself. I just sat on my couch all day, averaged 2 showers a week, and developed some serious apathy.
One day, my friend and I were hanging out on the couch, not really going anywhere. We stumbled across a show on Bravo that had Martin Sheen in it. I had never seen it before, and the characters were speaking really quickly about something that had to be really important. They were having conversations in the hallway and they were going somewhere, always with purpose. Me? I was hooked. Now, I continued to sit on the couch but I had purpose. I had to watch every episode.
And I did. I finished the first season of West Wing in 2 days (20 hours of TV). Have you seen the end of Season 1? I couldn’t stop there! I finished Season 2 within the week.
Election 2004 was heating up and I couldn’t help but think: what if President Bartlett was running? I’d do anything for Bartlett, a man who makes decisions with a conscious. A man who is always the smartest person in a room. A real leader. (Okay- a fictional real leader).
My Mom invited me to go with her to see John Kerry give a speech in Norfolk. We were part of the largest crowd of Democrats to assemble in Tidewater since JFK. He was no Bartlett, but he gave me high-five on the rope line that day. The 5 o’clock news featured Kerry walking to a huge crowd of people and the camera zoomed in on him giving me an intricate 3 step high-five.
I ended up working on the 2004 presidential election. Whenever I became disenchanted about the process, I would watch an episode of West Wing. I would just imagine what things would be like if people cared about politics again, and not just about how they looked on TV.
This isn’t about how TV changed politics; it’s about how politics and TV somehow changed me.
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They canceled the show last night. Anybody want to buy Seasons 1-3 from me?
I need to save up for Season 2 of LOST.
My Craigslist Ad:
RIP Leo McGarry.
In honor of the passing of a great man, with some minor character flaws, I am selling the 1st 3 seasons of West Wing, with relatively no flaws or scratches.
They are available as a set for $80, or best offer. If you want to try and talk me down, you better have the negotiating skills of Josh Lyman.
the Mark Pike
