At Paley Fest LA on March 7, 2000, Martin Sheen (Jed Bartlet) discusses his feelings on playing an American president, and how the show's scripts consistently incorporate an optimistic outlook.
I was obsessed with this show for years, looking back at it now, it's staggeringly naive. Many of the problems we face today were routed in the policy decisions of the nineties.
And many of those in the 70s, and many of those in the 50s, and on and on. I think the assertion of naiveté is easy and short-cited. Yes, of course by today's world, it can look dated in tone. But that's almost always true of historical media. You don't know what you don't know. You just have to try your best with the circumstances you've got.
