The most pressing issue facing PODUS in the pilot episode of the "West Wing" is the concern of maintaining face in front of the American public. As viewers, we are voyeurs to the daily grind and string pulling of White House politics. Every situation that could even be considered scandalous is immediately thwarted, from dealing with the Cuban raft, setting up a quick conference with religious right leaders to quell a brewing storm, and finally, when Sam goes back to ask the hooker to keep mum. The government should be a moral reflection of the state, and throughout the pilot we witness the White House grappling with this duty.
While the aforementioned issues are important roadblocks for the White House, as far as political issues are concerned, a Times article proclaiming that approval ratings have dropped for the administration is closes to inducing panic amongst the staff. Even though Presidential approval ratings are in constant flux, the decline in approval for the President and the increasing momentum of Senator Russel's campaign makes this a far more dangerous overarching issue. The pressures of re-election make the issues of the Cubans and the religious right fall out that more vunerable; for any slip up so close to an election could cost the Democrats the Presidency.
While the aforementioned issues are important roadblocks for the White House, as far as political issues are concerned, a Times article proclaiming that approval ratings have dropped for the administration is closes to inducing panic amongst the staff. Even though Presidential approval ratings are in constant flux, the decline in approval for the President and the increasing momentum of Senator Russel's campaign makes this a far more dangerous overarching issue. The pressures of re-election make the issues of the Cubans and the religious right fall out that more vunerable; for any slip up so close to an election could cost the Democrats the Presidency.
My question to you is which morality should be President reflect--Those who want no choice for women, no sex education in the schools, no gay marriages? Or should he reflect his own liberal values and those of the people who elected him, remember he won on a platform of choice, tolerance and education. Use your first and last name in the label for you posts.
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