Obama/Santos parallels: West Wing and the 2008 campaign

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A fictional character based on a real person...
...who is now following a path similar to that of the fictional character.
Photo of Obama and Jimmy Smits in 2005 stolen from here.
(Chris Greenberg/Getty)

Yglesias:
Steve Benen spies a parallel between Barack Obama’s choice of Joe Biden and Matt Santos’ selection of Leo McGarry as a running mate during the final season of The West Wing. There really are a somewhat freakishly large number of parallels between the Santos-Vinick race and the Obama-McCain matchup. It’s worth noting, though, that it’s not all coincidence. As Jonathan Freedland pointed out in a perceptive Guardian article some months ago Santos was actually modeled in part on Obama.
Freedland:
The result is a bizarre case of art imitating life - only for life to imitate art back again.

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