All right! Test proves that I am, of course, Leo McGarry…

17 Replies

Leo

As y’all know, I’m getting into “The West Wing” about 15 years later than everybody else (they just started streaming the whole series on Netflix), and making up for the delay by getting really, really into it.

Like, as much into it as I am into Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin novels. Which is about as extreme as it gets. Or as extreme as I get, anyway.

So when I saw that Scout had provided us with a link to a “Which ‘The West Wing’ Character Are You?” quiz, I immediately took it. And I am entirely pleased with the results.

I am — of course, of course — Leo McGarry. No result could have pleased me more. Leo is exactly what I want to be when I grow up.

Sometimes these kinds of quizzes are pretty silly, but this one was obviously devised by geniuses…

quiz 1

17 thoughts on “All right! Test proves that I am, of course, Leo McGarry…”

  1. Brad Warthen Post author

    The toughest question for me was the pick-a-president one. And not just because Jed Bartlet wasn’t one of the choices.

    John Adams WAS one of the choices, and I really, really wanted to pick him. I have tremendous respect for him; he’s my favorite Founder. And anytime I have a chance to weight the balance even slightly against the overrated Thomas Jefferson, I like to do so. (Don’t get me wrong — I think a lot of Jefferson. I just think everybody else goes overboard with it.)

    But I had to go with Lincoln. Yes, it’s a cliche answer. It’s trite to list him as the greatest. But I also believe it’s true. He towers above the rest…

    Reply ↓
      1. Brad Warthen Post author

        Yes, and an honest advocate.

        In fact, one of the things I admire him most for was his successful defense of the British soldiers charged in the Boston “massacre.”

        Think what the RGA would have done with THAT!

        To me, that incident — long before he successfully championed independence in the Continental Congress — reveals so much about what I like about his character.

        Basically, he was standing in opposition to the kind of hooligans who perpetrated the Boston Tea Party, which so many today are mistakenly proud of.

        A mob antagonized some soldiers into responding with deadly force. He thought they deserved a good defense, and he provided it — which made a lot of “patriots” hate him. But unlike his cousin Samuel, John believed in the rule of law…

        Reply ↓
        1. Brad Warthen Post author

          As Adams wrote three years after the case:

          The Part I took in Defence of Cptn. Preston and the Soldiers, procured me Anxiety, and Obloquy enough. It was, however, one of the most gallant, generous, manly and disinterested Actions of my whole Life, and one of the best Pieces of Service I ever rendered my Country. Judgment of Death against those Soldiers would have been as foul a Stain upon this Country as the Executions of the Quakers or Witches, anciently. As the Evidence was, the Verdict of the Jury was exactly right….

          Reply ↓
          1. Brad Warthen Post author

            I like that part a lot more than this part, which followed it:

            This however is no Reason why the Town should not call the Action of that Night a Massacre, nor is it any Argument in favour of the Governor or Minister, who caused them to be sent here. But it is the strongest Proofs of the Danger of Standing Armies.

            Reply ↓
    1. Bryan Caskey

      I don’t think you’ve gotten there yet, but my favorite Leo scene is when he’s testifying before Congress. After being asked a snotty question, he does the thing where he covers the microphone to talk to his lawyer, except he’s not talking about the question, and his lawyer (who he’s flirting with) isn’t in on the joke.

      RATHBURN: Well, think about it and try answering.

      LEO: [covering his mic, and to Jordan] Listen, I’m going to talk a little and you nod and talk a little bit back to me.

      JORDAN: What are you doing?

      LEO: That’s good.

      JORDAN: I’m really asking you.

      LEO: I think Rathburn’s being a little snotty I think he’s going to have to wait and I think he’s going to have to wait with the camera on me.

      RATHBURN: Mr. McGarry….

      LEO: One second, please. [to Jordan] Listen, what are you doing for lunch?

      JORDAN: I don’t know.

      LEO: Because I thought maybe we could have lunch or something.

      JORDAN: Leo, you’ve got to answer the question.

      LEO: [to Committee] Congressman, could you repeat the question, please?

      RATHBURN: If Jed Bartlet had told you about his health either at the first meeting or the second meeting would you still have thought it was a good idea for him to run?

      LEO: Yeah, I don’t know.

      Reply ↓
      1. Brad Warthen Post author

        Not there yet, so I didn’t read the transcript.

        I just watched the third episode of the third season last night. It was the re-election campaign kickoff, a few weeks after the day that the MS was revealed and Mrs. Landingham’s funeral was held (the season two finale).

        Reply ↓
  4. Brad Warthen Post author

    I just saw that the actor who played Leo died when he was younger than I am. And yet, I think of him as a character who is OLDER than I am. Or at least, I assume he is.

    Of course, the actor WAS older than I was at the time, and so was the character (born in Chicago in 1948, according to the fictional bio). But he was younger than I am now…

    This is not a cheerful thought.

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *