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Television and Humor
History Repeated Itself Last Week, and No One Seemed to Notice
I'm not making this up
On September 22, 1999, President Josiah (Jeb) Bartlett fell off his bicycle. Twenty-three years later, President Joe Biden fell off his bike.
Remember Jeb Bartlett, the liberal President from New Hampshire. He only served seven years. His term was from 1999 to 2006. And he won a Golden Globe and two SAG awards for his performance.
President Jeb Bartlett was Martin Sheen in disguise on a TV series — The West Wing, written by Aaron Sorkin.
I didn't watch it when it came out. I caught up twenty years later when Covid quarantined us. I was mesmerized and binged through seven seasons in a few weeks, then went back and picked up a few repeats on episodes where I fell asleep.
The show is amusing and serious, exciting and timely. In Aaron Sorkin's style, he tied real-world events into the show's theme. And there are plenty of real-world events, even twenty years ago, worthy of having TV episodes written about.
Politics notwithstanding, there are similarities between the fictional President and our current one.
- Both are from the Northeast,
- Both have the initials JB.
