Comanderess in Chief

Is Commander in Chief still on the air, or did it basically die a'borning? I certainly don't hear any buzz about it, and I haven't seen articles from the Right attacking it, which is what would happen if conservatives feared it was making headway. I also think it's a stillborn show because, last night, the West Wing took on the job of making sure people are being trained to have a female president. Last night's episode focused entirely on C.J. Craig, the President's female Chief of Staff. The show was ostensibly intended to demonstrate what a difficult day this hard-working, tough-talking, compassionate, yet hard-headed political drone was having. One couldn't escape the feeling, however, that the show's writers and producers were letting us know that a hard-working, tough-talking, compassionate, yet hard-headed woman who is much in the news lately could do just as well, solving multiple crises while flipping her hair back from her forehead. Lest this subtlety escape us, there was a moment when an activist came into C.J.'s office to talk to her about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. At the end of the meeting, the man said something along the lines of "Look, C.J., I just want five minutes with the President." At which time C.J. snapped back "This was your five minutes with the President." Nudge, nudge, hint, hint. The show also ponderously made it clear that the U.S.'s role is to solve humanitarian crises and not to have anything to do with ensuring the free flow of oil to the Western world. Anyone (hint, hint) who is trying the opposite tack, is immoral and a bad President (hint, hint). The show is so heavy handed it's almost ludicrous. I console myself that it's preaching to the converted and that its wordy, windy style is not going to bring around any new converts. Talking to Technorati: Hillary Clinton, West Wing, 2008 Presidential Race