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The Cast of ‘The West Wing’ Reunites for…a Local Mich. Campaign Ad?

Sep. 21, 2012 7:10am Mytheos Holt

A particular candidate for State Supreme Court in Maryland appears to have pulled out all the stops to get voters’ attention by making her campaign the centerpiece of an episode of “The West Wing.” No, really.

Yes, the show has been off the air for some time, but that didn’t stop Michigan Supreme Court candidate Bridget Mary McCormack from getting the cast of the program back on the air, in-character, to support her in a four minute long web ad that has since gone viral.

How did she get virtually the entire main cast back together for this? Well, having a sister who played a recurring character can’t hurt. The Washington Post reports:

How did the Michigan law professor , 46, snag the Emmy-winning cast? Connections: Her sister Mary McCormack, who played Deputy National Security Adviser Kate Harper for the show’s final three seasons — and has some of the best lines in the video.

“I’m very happy today,” McCormack told us Thursday, just a few hours after it hit the web. “And I love my little sister.”

McCormack, who launched her bid for office in March, told her sister about a common problem on many state ballots: People vote for the party candidates, but often skip the non-partisan portion where judicial candidates are listed. For years, people have been trying to get the word out, without much luck.

Lightbulb moment! Mary called Janney and Whitford, her closest friends from “West Wing,” and asked them to do a campaign video. “They said ‘sure’ and it spiraled from there,” said McCormack. Others signed on to reprise their old roles: Richard Schiff, Joshua Malina, Janel Moloney, Lily Tomlin and Melissa Fitzgerald. “I think it’s a testament to their good will and good friendships,” the candidate said.

The series’ creator, Aaron Sorkin, was not involved in drafting the script. However, as veteran “West Wing” watchers will note looking at the ad, the dialogue is deliberately written to parody his extremely fast-paced style, which frequently makes use of “walk-and-talk” style staging. Everything else comes off practically verbatim like a show episode. Martin Sheen even makes an appearance as fictitious ex-President Josiah Bartlett.

There is one interesting omission in the video – namely, it avoids mentioning McCormack’s Party identification. Given that the office she’s running for is listed under the “nonpartisan” offices (hence the ad), this makes sense, but it does raise an interesting question. McCormack has received the endorsement of Michigan’s Democratic Party, and it’s pretty dubious whether the West Wing cast would have reunited to pitch a Republican.

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Comments (17)

TwoMinuteMan
Posted on September 21, 2012 at 6:41pm
I gotta give the campaign props for getting all of them together. The series was fantasy land but i can still give them a thumbs up for the ad.

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- ERP
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 11:54pm
  I’m a fan of “The West Wing” and own the box set. I don’t appreciated it’s politics but I really enjoyed the characters and the story lines.
  
  BTW, did anyone notice in this ad that Mary McCormack seemed to be more in her “In Plain Sight” character than her “Kate Harper” one?
  
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suz
Posted on September 21, 2012 at 5:56pm
guess what? it’s partisan.

gee, i wonder where rob lowe is?

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budahbabe
Posted on September 21, 2012 at 10:58am
Liberals have the right to voice their opinion. I have the right to not go to watch their television shows or movies when they abuse the system. What ever is motivating Hollywood to push Obama to victory is beyond me except for the fact that Obama is an Actor wanna be and can be easily manipulated by them. They obviously live in a bubble and don’t search for the truth. Since most of them live in California and see the condition of their state run by democrats it is beyond imagination that they would want the country to go under like the state they inhabit. But then again Directors and Producers get there spouses cushy ambassadorships and tax breaks to build Movie Studio’s in China. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

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- JRook
  Posted on September 21, 2012 at 12:45pm
  I believe you also have the right to grow up and stop being lazy by labeling people. Ideas and policies are not positive or negative, right or wrong because they are consistent or inconsistent with you ideological addiction. While it may be easy to view everything in the world within a dichotomy of good or bad, life is a lot better when you recognize and spend time understanding the complexities. And it is a tad bit simplistic to assume everything consistent with your ideology, and thus you, is the correct answer or approach in all situations. Something intellectual, social and philosophical maturity will bring.
  
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on September 21, 2012 at 10:50am
For someone running for a non partisan position, she has certainly make known her political leanings.
I have the DVD Apocalypse Now, but I was a Cyndi Wood fan back in the day. Think that I was about 25 then. This is the most of any of The West Wing that I have ever seen. Still not impressed.

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Critters58
Posted on September 21, 2012 at 10:34am
They are still really as bad as they were originally! Really BAD! Left wing all the way!

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BigdaddyK
Posted on September 21, 2012 at 9:55am
The sad part is that there are probably voters in Michigan who’ll see this video and think Martin Sheen really is the President. The main thing the video accomplishes is pointing out the reason not to vote straight ticket.

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loiloi
Posted on September 21, 2012 at 9:45am
This is massively clever. If the Romney campaign and the RNC had 1/10th the brilliance of this, Romney would win.

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JeffJ1985
Posted on September 21, 2012 at 9:22am
Sheen: “It’s an apocalypse now?”

I see what they did there. LOL.

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MONICNE
Posted on September 21, 2012 at 8:27am
Good morning Westies!

Today is POW MIA Rememberance Day in the USA. In addition to our unsung heroes and their loved ones, we take a moment to think about the tireless workers who make a daily difference in bringing home the remains of those who were left behind.

POW/MIA 21-9-12

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eaglescout1998
Posted on September 21, 2012 at 8:03am
Politics aside, as a fan of “The West Wing”, it was a fun video to watch. It would have been even better if Rob Lowe’s character made an appearance. But, I have a feeling that Rob leans a bit more libertarian than the rest of the cast.

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- contkmi
  Posted on September 21, 2012 at 8:22am
  Completely agree. Loved that show and, surprisingly, it wasn’t as political as Sorkin appears to be now. Didn’t watch the ad but probably will for old times sake.
  
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jackact
Posted on September 21, 2012 at 7:57am
Martin Sheen, as JFK re-incarnated, is running for Camelot?
Ha ha ha ha….. Z

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HKS
Posted on September 21, 2012 at 7:44am
But that liberal agenda has worked so well for Michigan. Folks are coming from near and far just to be there.

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Delores at CH WV
Posted on September 21, 2012 at 7:22am
MI needs help with jobs and etc., Not, Hollywood!!!!! They need a Hand up; not, actors words of help!

Words without meaning and action, do not feed the belly!

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DEMOCRATS.ARE.EVIL
Posted on September 21, 2012 at 7:20am
Liberals live in fantasy land. They’re ALL kooks.

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