The victories of presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee in the US' Iowa caucus––both considered dark horses to win their respective parties' nominations––look eerily familiar.In the sixth and seventh seasons of the popular US TV series The West Wing, the battle for the White House was fought between two fictional characters that bear a resemblance to the Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
In The West Wing, Matt Santos (played by Jimmy Smits) is a young, idealistic congressman from Texas who is considered a long shot to win the Democratic nomination for president when he enters the race. The fact that he belongs to a minority––Santos is Hispanic––is just one of the many factors that works against him. He overcomes this seemingly insurmountable challenge by campaigning on a platform of change, which he's able to back up with word and deed. Santos is a tall, charismatic public speaker who does the impossible; he beats candidates considered sure winners by winning over voters with his apparent sincerity, intelligence, and gravitas.
If this sounds familiar, it is. Democrat Barack Obama has done the same thing. He's defied pundits by beating the supposedly unbeatable Hillary Clinton in Iowa, and should he do so again in New Hampshire, the US may well have its first African-American president.
There are also similarities between The West Wing's Republican nominee, Arnold Vinick (played by Alan Alda) and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Both are straight-talking, smart candidates who charm voters with their wit and charm. Both are great interviewees, project well on TV, and come across as no-nonsense, pragmatic candidates who know what they're talking about.
(The similarities end there. Vinick wins his nomination easily. Huckabee, while no longer considered a long shot, still has a ways to go. The latter considers himself a "Christian Leader" who appeals to Christian Evangelicals; the former, while being interviewed, admits to not going to Church, and has beliefs that make him unattractive to the Christian Right.)
Oscar Wilde once said "life imitates art far more than art imitates life." Looks like he got it right.
