Goverment politics - Essay Example

the first lady, press secretary, communications director, media consultant and the White House Chief of Staff character called Leo McGarry who was replaced with another character, C.J., as the Chief of Staff. The show has been received positively from TV and political critics due to its more or less accurate depiction of the actions that takes place behind the scene and its political viewpoints. However, there is also some criticism about how the show presents a very idealistic view of both the American government and the President himself.

For instance, Barlet comes across as the perfect President who is smart, has a high level of personal integrity, is flexible in his views, has a good sense of humor and is extremely compassionate. Most of the other heroic characters follow the same mold and show that they hold high ideals dear to them. The structure shown in the TV show is accurate since the same structure is present in the real government (OConnor, K. & Sabato, 2005). The appointments made to the Supreme Court as well as the cabinet shown have counterparts in reality therefore it is plausible that the show does not deviate from reality in so many ways.

Presidential powers however may be exaggerated because it would be difficult to see Presidents ordering political assassinations or sanctifying unethical behavior without taking a few senior members from both sides into confidence. It can be seen that any unilateral decisions made by a President have historically come back to haunt him later (OConnor, K. & Sabato, 2004). The show portrays the actions of the President to be grounded in reality, particularly when the President’s daughter was kidnapped and using Section 3 of the 25th amendment, he temporarily gives up his powers granted by the presidency (Wikipedia, 2006).

In terms of the character, I think the most exaggeration comes from making the President a Nobel laureate since it would be difficult to image someone so ingrained in academia to go towards