As Hurricane Sandy hits the east coast of the United States,
I can’t help think that we have seen this before...Unlike most commentaries
however, this isn’t a Katrina comparison.
It has been said that The
West Wing has delivered prophetic storylines in the past. The rise of the
fictional House Rep. Matt Santos, with a revolutionary education policy akin to
Obamacare had many Sorkin fans preaching about the show’s ability to predict
American politics, especially when another ethnic minority candidate, Barack Obama, was
elected president of the United States.
Now, more than ever, the NBC drama’s ability to predict the
future is going to be put to the test.
In the final season of the show, young, Hispanic Santos
faces off against a (very McCain-esque) Arnie Vinick (played by Alan Alda).
Going into the final clutches of the election, Republican Vinick holds a slight lead over
his Democrat rival.
However, in a dramatic twist in the story line, there was a near nuclear meltdown at the
San Andreo power plant in Vinick's home state of California just four weeks
from election day.
Vinick was,
until this point, a staunch supporter of nuclear power and this near-tragedy eventually
costs the Republican the election.
Five years
later and firmly grounded in reality, Hurricane Sandy is causing chaos and destruction just a
week before the election. Whilst Barack Obama tries to prove his leadership
credentials by calmly steering the American ship through this literal and
metaphorical storm – Mitt Romney is once more dodging questions.
Mr Romney had previously announced (and his campaign confirmed in no uncertain terms),
that if elected, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would be abolished,
and individual states given control over their own emergency response.
Has Sorkin done it again and will this prove to be Mitt
Romney’s Vinick moment? We will find out in just one week.
No comments:
Post a Comment