Nation-Building >> candidacy takes 'Wing' | return to front page

The most striking thing about Bartlet and his "West Wing" crew, however, is that they are principled. Sure, they get worked up over what to do about a presidential aide who's dating a call girl. But what they agonize over most is how not to compromise their principles for the sake of politics. As Toby, the angst-ridden director of communications would say, "We have to remember why we're here. And if we don't use this office to do some of the things we came here for, then what's the point?"

Democrats have forgotten this, which is why it's refreshing to have Dean remind us that he belongs to "the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party." In a profile that appeared on the Web site "TheStranger.Com," the words used to describe him apply equally to President Bartlet: "a muscular Democrat"; "pugnacious and a little prickly"; "doesn't back down from a fight"; "willing to play political hardball if that's what it takes to get what he wants."
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Like Jed Bartlet, Howard Dean is complicated and pragmatic but principled. And with a Republican administration filled with cowboys, zealots and religious fundamentalists lacking in empathy, Dean is appealing.

"One of the things I like about Bartlet is that he combines the better qualities of four or five presidents - JFK's hair, Reagan's affability, Truman's directness, Carter and Clinton's genteel intelligence," says my TV-watching colleague. I'd like to have Bartlet as president. But if I can't, why not a Democrat who's not afraid to be a Democrat and who has some idea of what that means? Howard Dean gets more interesting by the day.