In its first season, The West Wing attracted critical attention in the film community with a record nine Emmy wins. The show has been praised for its high production values and continuously recognized for its cinematic achievements. With a budget of $6 million per episode, many consider each week's show to be a small feature film.Richmond, Ray. "''West Wing'' 100th episode." JoshLyman.com. 7 January 2004. Accessed 12 December 2005. However, many in the film community believe that the true genius of the show was Sorkin's rapid-fire and witty scripts."Next week on The West Wing ... erm" Guardian Unlimited. Accessed 10 December 2005.

The West Wing is most famously noted for developing the "walk-and-talk"—long Steadicam tracking shots showing characters walking down hallways while involved in long conversations. In a typical "walk-and-talk" shot, the camera leads two characters down a hallway as they speak to each other. One of these characters generally breaks off and the remaining character is then joined by another character, who initiates another conversation as they continue walking. These "walks-and-talks" create a dynamic feel for what would otherwise be long expository dialogue, and have become a staple for dialogue-intensive television show scenes. Smith, Greg M. "The Left Takes Back the Flag." Accessed 10 December 2005.

The West Wing often features extensive discussion of current or recent political issues. After the real-world election of Republican President George W. Bush in 2000, many wondered whether the liberal show could retain its relevance and topicality. However, by exploring many of the same issues facing the Bush administration from a Democratic point of view, the show continued to appeal to a broad audience of both Democrats and Republicans.

In its second season President Bartlet admonished fictional radio host Dr. Jenna Jacobs for her views regarding homosexuality at a private gathering at the White House. Dr. Jacobs is a caricature of radio personality Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who strongly disapproves of homosexuality. Many of the president's biblical references in his comments to Dr. Jacobs, which can be heard here, are thought to have come from a letter circulated online in early May 2000.

The Bartlet administration experienced a scandal during the second and third seasons that has been compared to the Monica Lewinsky affair. President Bartlet was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1992. The scandal centered around President Bartlet's nondisclosure of his illness to the electorate during the election. He is investigated by an opposition Congress for defrauding the public and eventually accepted a Congressional censure. Multiple sclerosis advocacy groups have praised the show for its accurate portrayal of the symptoms of MS and stressing that it is not fatal. The National MS Society commented:



Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the start of the third season was postponed for a week, as were most American television premieres that year. A script for a special episode was quickly written and began filming on September 21. The episode "Isaac and Ishmael" aired on October 3 and addressed the sobering reality of terrorism in America and the wider world, albeit with no specific reference to September 11. While "Isaac and Ishmael" received mixed critical reviews, it illustrated the show's flexibility in addressing current events. The episode is not part of The West Wing continuity.


While the September 11th attacks did not occur in The West Wing continuity, the country did enter into a variation of the War on Terrorism. The war began in the show's third season, when a plot to blow up the Golden Gate Bridge was uncovered; in response, the President ordered the assassination of terrorist leader Abdul Shareef. At the end of the fourth season, the conflict escalated when Zoey Bartlet (Elisabeth Moss), the president's youngest daughter, was kidnapped by Qumari extremists. The result of this kidnapping was the bombing of Qumar. This storyline drew similarities to the real-world U.S. invasion of Afghanistan as well as U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia, as it brought the Middle East to the forefront of U.S. foreign relations and elevated terrorism as a serious threat in The West Wing universe.

In the sixth and seventh seasons, The West Wing explores a leak of top-secret information by a senior staffer at the White House. This leak has been compared to the events surrounding the Valerie Plame affair. In the storyline, the International Space Station is damaged and can no longer produce oxygen for the astronauts to breathe. With other methods of rescue unavailable, the president is reminded of the existence of a top-secret military space shuttle. Following the president's inaction, the shuttle story is leaked to a White House reporter, Greg Brock (analogous to Judith Miller), who prints the story in the New York Times. Brock will not reveal his source and goes to jail for failing to do so, as did Miller. In order to stop the investigation, in which authorities suspect Chief of Staff C.J. Cregg, Toby Ziegler admits to leaking the information, and the President is forced to dismiss him. In comparison, the Plame affair is still under investigation, but charges have been brought against Lewis Libby, the vice president's chief of staff, who has since resigned. Richard Armitage, an official in the Bush State Department, has also acknowledged leaking information to reporters.

Other issues explored in The West Wing include:

North Korean and Iranian nuclear ambitions

Strained relations and a state of brinksmanship between India and Pakistan

Legislation of the Central American Free Trade Agreement

The formation of the Minuteman Project

Peacemaking and terrorism in Israel, West Bank and the Gaza Strip, including a peace negotiation at Camp David, similar to the Camp David 2000 Summit.

The genocide in Darfur, Sudan

AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa

The last real president that is known to have existed in the show's universe is Richard Nixon. Presidents who served between Nixon and Bartlet include Democrat D. Wire Newman (James Cromwell) and Republican Owen Lassiter (now deceased). It was not disclosed whether Newman and Lassiter served directly before President Bartlet. It is clear however that Newman (vaguely based on Jimmy Carter) lost an election to Lassiter (based on Ronald Reagan) who then proceded to serve for two full terms. In an episode centering around Lassiter's funeral, Bartlet and Newman were shown to be the only two surviving former Presidents who had served full terms (President Walken also having technically become a serving President).

The passage of time on the show relative to that of the real world has always been somewhat ambiguous when marked by events of smaller duration (e.g., votes, campaigns). Sorkin, the show's creator, has noted in a DVD commentary track for the second season episode "18th and Potomac" that he has tried to avoid tying The West Wing to a specific period of time. Despite this, real years are occasionally mentioned, usually in the context of elections and President Bartlet's two-term administration.

The show's presidential elections have been held in 2002 and 2006, setting them off by two years from actual presidential elections in the United States (e.g., 1996, 2000, 2004, etc.). Although, at one point, the timeline in The West Wing matched up with that of the real world, it appears that in the middle of the fifth season a year was lost. For example, the filing deadline for the New Hampshire primary, which would normally fall in January 2006, appeared in an episode airing in January 2005.

In interviews John Wells stated that the series began one and a half years into Bartlet's first term and that the election to replace Bartlet was being held at the correct time. There is evidence against this claim, which is discussed further in the main article.

The West Wing's 2002 presidential election pitted Bartlet and Vice President John Hoynes against Florida Governor Robert Ritchie (James Brolin) and his running mate, Jeff Heston. Bartlet was faced no known opposition for renomination, though Democratic Senator Stackhouse did launch a brief independent campaign for the presidency. Ritchie, not originally expected to contend for the nomination, emerged from a field of seven other Republican candidates by appealing to the party's conservative base with simple, homey sound bites.

Bartlet's staff contemplated replacing Vice President John Hoynes on the ticket with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Percy Fitzwallace (John Amos), among others. After it was clear that Ritchie would be the Republican nominee, Bartlet dismissed the idea, declaring that he wanted Hoynes in the number two spot, "Because I could die."

Throughout the season it was anticipated that the race would be close, but a stellar performance by Bartlet in the sole debate between the candidates gave Bartlet a landslide victory in both the popular and electoral vote.

A speed-up in The West Wing's timeline, in part due to the expiration of many cast members' contracts and a desire to continue the program with lower production costs, resulted in the omission of the 2004 midterm elections and an election during the seventh season. The sixth season extensively detailed the Democratic and Republican primaries. The seventh season covers the lead-up to the general election, the election, and the transition to a new administration. The timeline slowed down to concentrate on the general election race. The election, normally held in November, took place across two episodes originally broadcast on April 2 and April 9, 2006.

Congressman Matt Santos (D-TX) was nominated on the fourth ballot at the Democratic National Convention, staged as the sixth season finale. Santos was planning to leave Congress before being recruited to run for the presidency by Josh Lyman. Santos polled in the low single digits in the Iowa caucus and was virtually out of the running in the New Hampshire primary before a last-ditch direct television appeal vaulted him to a third-place finish with 19% of the vote. Following allusions during the Bartlet administration, Josh Lyman, Santos's campaign manager, convinced Leo McGarry to become Santos's running mate. However, John Spencer, the actor portraying Leo McGarry, died on December 16, 2005.

Senator Arnold Vinick (R-CA) (Alan Alda) secured the Republican nomination, defeating Glen Allen Walken (John Goodman) and the Reverend Don Butler (Don S. Davis), among others. Initially, Vinick wanted Butler to become his running mate. However, Butler did not want to be considered because of Vinick's stance on abortion. Instead, West Virginia Governor Ray Sullivan (Brett Cullen) was chosen as Vinick's running mate. Vinick was portrayed throughout the sixth season as virtually unbeatable because of his popularity in California, a typically Democratic state, his moderate views, and his wide crossover appeal. Vinick, however, has faced difficulty with the pro-life members of his party as a pro-choice candidate, and criticism for his support of nuclear power following a serious accident at a Californian nuclear power station.

On the evening of the election, Leo McGarry suffered a massive heart attack and was pronounced dead at the hospital, with the polls still open on the West Coast. The Santos campaign released the information immediately, while Arnold Vinick refused to use Leo's death as a "stepstool" to the presidency. Santos emerged as the winner in his homestate of Texas, while Vinick won his homestate of California. The election came down to Nevada, where both candidates needed a victory to secure the presidency. Vinick had told his staff repeatedly that he would not allow his campaign to demand a recount of the votes if Santos was declared the winner. Josh Lyman was seen giving Santos the same advice, although the Santos campaign did send a team of lawyers down to Nevada. Matthew Vincente Santos was pronounced the winner of the election, having won Nevada by 30,000 votes, with an electoral margin of 272–266.

Santos organizes his administration, choosing Josh Lyman as Chief of Staff, who in turn called on former colleague Sam Seaborn for Deputy Chief. In need of experienced cabinet members, Santos tapped Arnold Vinick as Secretary of State, believing the senior statesman to be one of the best strategists available and respected by foreign leaders.


President Bartlet's final act as President of the United States was to pardon Toby Ziegler.
The series ends with Bartlet returning to New Hampshire. Having said his good-byes to his closest staff, former President Bartlet tells President Santos "Make me proud, Mr. President", to which Santos responds, "I'll do my best, Mr. President."

According to executive producer Lawrence O'Donnell, the death of Spencer forced him and his colleagues to consider the taxing of emotions that would come from having Santos lose both his running mate, and the election. It was eventually decided that the last episodes would be rescripted by John Wells, executive producer of ER and The West Wing.