Allison Janney takes over White House press briefing as character ‘C. J. Cregg’ from ‘The West Wing.’ https://t.co/jdDgMDQbm5
— ABC News (@ABC) April 29, 2016
With every passing day, The West Wing looks increasingly idealistic to the point of naïveté. The lauded political drama imagined an American government and an America at their best, willing to let principles, intelligence, and morals guide us when ignorance, stubbornness and corruption threatened to taint the halls of the White House. Watching the series in the present, that Jed Bartlet could even get elected seems like a stretch; the show itself is aware of the American public’s resistance to perceived “elitists.” The West Wing has become a sort of erudite comfort food, providing a mollifying fantasy of a hardworking, effective American political system.
What a relief, then, to see White House Press Secretary C.J. Cregg in the flesh this morning, come to fix everything and actually make America great again. West Wing cast member Allison Janney reprised her old role for a fun gag at this morning’s press briefing in the White House, greeting the assembled press corps and informing them that Barack Obama’s Press Secretary Josh Earnest had to step out for a root canal this morning, and that she’d be taking over. She cycled through a simple notification that the President is still preparing his assuredly funny remarks for the Correspondents’ Dinner this weekend, and snuck in a West Wing reference with her mention of “The Jackal,” a song by Ronny Jordan that C.J. would lip-sync on the show from time to time. After a minute or so, however, Earnest returned from “the dentist” and shooed her offstage.
If only C.J. Cregg really had come to life and infiltrated the U.S. government. We’d all be better off for it as American citizens, and god knows that press conferences would have more witty zingers.
(Via ABC News)