Thepopular political drama, The West Wing, is set during the administration of the fictional Democratic President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet. Bipartisan/inter-party relations are definitely strained in the show, but it doesn't come close to having a bunch of renegades threatening war if they don't get what they want.

When our nation is a week away from quite possibly the most important election in American history, the dissatisfaction with this year's presidential election is becoming more and more evident. During these past few weeks (and even during the primaries), I've seen many fans post their favorite parts of The West Wing. The West Wing is well-known for having elements that couldn't be more different from the political polarization that we have today, specifically during this presidential election. Additionally, Buzzfeed released a piece on why fans still watch The West Wing to this day.

Many important themes are featured in the series, including themes of anti-terrorism, and multiple sclerosis, and in one episode, there are parallel references to the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. Former White House aide Matthew Miller

commented that Aaron Sorkin (the creator of The West Wing), "captivates viewers by making the human side of politics more real than life—or at least more real than the picture we get from the news".

The legacy of The West Wing continues to survive today. Some of the characters from The West Wing have even been seen campaigning for Hillary Clinton. There were a few episodes in The West Wing where the fictional President Bartlet's administration had a day called Big Block of Cheese Day, where the administration had "face-to-face meetings with those people of organizations who have a difficult time getting our attention", according to Leo McGarry, the White House Chief of Staff, who was played by John Spencer. Barack Obama's administration also created an annual Big Block of Cheese Day, where Americans can go onto social media websites and ask questions about our government.

There are many episodes that continue to emphasize how important it is to get involved in our nation's politics, especially in this election.Though an administration in likeness to The West Wing is impossible today, I believe that it should be a model for other politicians in terms of how they do their jobs and how they choose to govern. I recommend watching The West Wing (which is on Netflix!) to anyone who wants to learn more about politics or is already a PoliSci geek!