Certainly some of the parallels are coincidental. It is unlikely, for example, that the writers knew Mr. Obama had an affection for Bob Dylan when they made Santos a Dylan fan. But it is the unintentional similarities that make the DVDs of the sixth and seventh seasons, which at the time received mixed reviews, so rewarding to watch now. In both “The West Wing” and in real life, for example, the Phillies played in the World Series during the election campaign.



more similarities inside...

Awesome

I never watched West Wing but this article in The New York Times is scary.

Highly recommended...

I got into the show later in its run but it did become "must watch" TV. The Santos character was excellent, as was Jimmy Smits in playing him. I hadn't thought of the similarities before this clip, though.