'West Wing' Title Credits: The Obama Version

Yet another one of the reasons I'm starting to actually like Twitter . . . I learned that someone has posted this video on YouTube where the opening credits from The West Wing were changed, with the actors' names replaced by the real names of the folks from the incoming Obama administration.

That reminds me . . . I want to Netflix the earlier seasons of this show. I really liked it when it first aired.

Suburban Mom's Political Fix: 'West Wing' Similarities, Political Fashion and Joe the Plumber as Joe the Crooner

Election Uncannily Similar to 'West Wing'

My gal pal Gayle and I both adored The West Wing, particularly its rejuvenated final season which focused on the fictional presidential campaign between Jimmy Smits, as an eloquent, young Democratic congressman with two young children, and Alan Alda, an older, bipartisan-esque Republican with an independent streak. During our conversations throughout the past year, we've often been thunderstruck at how that final season contained so many similarities with the real life campaign unfolding this year.

The New York Times has also noticed those similarities and has a piece today comparing the show with the current campaign:

"Certainly some of the parallels are coincidental. It is unlikely, for example, that the writers knew Mr. [Barack] Obama had an affection for Bob Dylan when they made [Smits' character] a Dylan fan. But it is the unintentional similarities that make the DVDs of the sixth and seventh seasons . . . so rewarding to watch now. In both The West Wing and in real life, for example, the Phillies played in the World Series during the election campaign."

Political Fashion . . . Continued

Today's Boston Globe has a top 10 list of political fashion moments from this never-ending presidential election including the flap over flag lapel pins, Hillary Clinton's pantsuits, who'll inherit the mantle of Jackie O's iconic fashion status and the post-Democratic primary season beard sported by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. (Doesn't it seem like he ran for president a lifetime ago?)

Joe the Plumber . . . to Become Joe the Crooner?

I kid you not.

Joe the Plumber, otherwise known as Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, has an agent and plans to become a "show business personality," might record some country music, according to today's NYT.

What the hell am I doing wrong?

Image credit: Mitchell Haddad/NBC via NYT.

Suburban Mom's Political Fix: More on Palin Clothes, EW on TV Presidents and Funny Video

I blogged in this space last week about how I didn't think it was fair play to attack GOP VP nominee Sarah Palin for the $150,000 of designer clothing that the Republican National Committee purchased on her behalf. In this week's Pop Culture and Politics column at Mommy Track'd I expounded on the issue saying that women politicians are in a no-win situation when it comes to how they're viewed fashion-wise, as the scrutiny they face about their appearance is much harsher than that of the male pols.


Meanwhile, in this week's Entertainment Weekly, the writers did what they do best: View the presidential election through the lens of TV. EW's Kate Ward examined TV presidents by how old or young they were (youngest, Patty Duke, 38, from Hail to the Chief; oldest, Martin Sheen, 59, from The West Wing). She also looked at the fictional presidents' screen time. Sheen logged the most time on TV with 154 hours of portraying President Jed Bartlet, and Duke had the least with only 210 minutes.

And with the election less than a week away, my gal pal Gayle e-mailed me a video, which she personalized for me, that looks like a cable news network segment which blamed me for failing to vote for Obama, thereby sealing a McCain victory. As I watched the video, I couldn't stop thinking about how shrewd a move it was for whichever Obama supporter created it, because it's spreading so virally. I also received it from a colleague of my husband's. (Link to the video here.) Will it prompt anyone to vote? Who knows? But it's very savvy.