The West Wing is one of the most infamous dramas in television history. Actual people in politics saw it as inspirational to be a do-nothing liberal. Liberals outside of politics used it as comfort food. And Aaron Sorkin used it (for four seasons) to work out his issues with women in public. There is something for everyone.
The show is a tremendous cultural artifact. It captures how pre-9/11 there was possibly a genuine off-ramp for how the country could operate in the world but that there was an insidious white male supremacy strand in the country that needed to be addressed. But that both of those ideas fell by the wayside due to Islamaphobia and our open World Police status. Despite this status as a cultural artifact, the show is so much of an unintentional reflection of this country. And this country sucks. So this show sucks (except when it doesn’t).
The Reel World 