If only life were like TV

I was wondering the other day why it is I like The West Wing so much. I watch the new episodes each week, watch every rerun I can find on Bravo, and have rented all three seasons of it that are out on DVD from Netflix. For those of you that know me, you know that's a big deal...because I *don't* watch tv. I just don't.

Anyway, I came to the conclusion that West Wing is how I want my government to work. I want to believe that hard decisions are agonized over. I want to believe that my president sits down with his advisors, his wife, his friends, and his priest and agonizes over them! I want to believe that my president waits for all of the information to come in - despite his first reaction - before he decides on an action. I want to believe that politicians have a sense of humor. I want to believe that, even when I disagree with their views, people who are making laws that affect me honestly think they're doing right by the citizens of our country. I want to believe that the party I share the most views with picks and chooses its battles, and it doesn't just roll over because it doesn't want to fight the fight. I want to believe that people are willing to make compromises in order to get good things done.

Alas, what you want is rarely what you get.