Thanks for nothing, television news cycle. Apparently, on the eve of an election, everyone in the TV news world has taken the day off for early voting, leaving me with nothing of interest to talk about. It’s probably for the best because it allows me to remind everyone of one of the best scenes of one of the best shows on television: West Wing. It’s also a reminder of simpler times, when elections were about smart versus dumb instead of rich against really rich.
The scene comes at the end of season three, after the agent (Mark Harmon) assigned to protect C.J. Cregg is gunned down in a random act of violence. President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) has a run in with Florida Governor Robert Ritchie, his opponent in his re-election. Ritchie is clearly modeled after George W. Bush, but he actually is a closer proximation to Texas Governor Rick Perry. The conversation starts out innocently enough, but soon turns to elitism vs. anti-intellectualism, and before the scene is over, President Bartlet drops one of the most bad-ass lines in the series. Watch:
Note to future political candidates: “Crime. Boy, I don’t know,” is never the appropriate response to the senseless death of an FBI Agent.
