Art, life and the West Wing

Shades of Oscar Wilde this morning as the great Obama-Santos debate continues.

We've speculated before about life imitating art when it comes to parallels between the West Wing finale and Obama's presidential campaign.

Now Jonathan Freedland reveals the truth. Art actually imitated life.

When the West Wing scriptwriters first devised their fictitious presidential candidate in the late summer of 2004, they modelled him in part on a young Illinois politician - not yet even a US senator - by the name of Barack Obama.

"I drew inspiration from him in drawing this character," West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie told the Guardian.

But is that all there is to it? Or do the West Wing writers really have prophetic powers? Here's Freedland on the success of Santos:

But the soaring power of his rhetoric, his declaration that the old divisions belong in the past and his sheer magnetism, ensure that he comes from behind in a fiercely close primary campaign and draws level with his once all-commanding opponent. Every aspect of that storyline has come true for Barack Obama. Axelrod, now chief strategist for the Obama campaign, recently joked in an email to Attie: "We're living your scripts!"

How very postmodern.

Alice Fishburn

Comments

[Mr R]

Oh come on, give me a break. Obama was the inspiration for the Santos character was he?!

Well the storyline was supposed to be that Santos lost the election, but they changed that ending due to the death of John Spencer.

I hope that if he does win the nomination the 'life imitating art' thing ends there...

[TOJU KD]

It sickens me to think that a MAJOR TOPIC OF DISCUSSION APPEARS TO BE ALONG THE LINES OF HOW CAN OBAMA BE BEATEN? Why the hell was that not the case when that clown of a president WW Bush was being sworn in! this increasingly reinforces the popular perception that only one race should be allowed to rule the modern world. Americans particularly ethnic americans that donot vote Obama are being short sited and proving to be the most stupid people on the planet. ALL this talk about where Obama's origins are from and whether he is muslim or not are of absolutely no significance what so ever. This election is now a world election not just an american one and its a race and ethnic issue as well no question! and to deny that would be to call a spade a spoon. AMERICANS MUST SEE THAT PERCEPTION IS EVERYTHING AND NO AMOUNT OF MONEY OR AMMUNITION CAN PROVIDE THEM OR THE WORLD WITH AS MUCH SECURITY AS AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT PERCIEVED TO BE SYMPATHETIC TO THE MIDDLE EASTERN WORLD! THEY NEED A MAN THEY FEEL THE CAN RELATE TO. THE MIDDLE EAST IS NOT PREPARED TO ACCEPT A WOMAN THUS MAKING OBAMA THE IDEA CHOICE. WHY? COS HE WOULD STILL BE AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT STUPID! AND IS THUS ALWAYS GOING TO BE PREDISPOSED TO SERVE THE BEST INTEREST OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BUT AT THE SAME TIME BE DEEMED TO HAVE A FAIR AND OBJECTIVE AGENDA. THIS IS SADLY AN IMPRESSION THAT AS BEEN ABSENT IN AMERICAN LEADERSHIP FOR THE LAST DECADE. stop the rot AND STOP IT now!!