I only saw the last ten minutes, however, given his acceptance speech, I'll give good odds that he asks Vinick to be his new VP.

Takers anyone?

Scott, I said the same thing to my wife! I would really like that. It would be a really interesting thing to do, and given Vinnick's age, it would be nice for Vinnick to get to go out on top. Of course, he'd have to wait until after he was sworn in to ask Vinnick, as that one DNC hack said that until Santos becomes President, the DNC has final say on who Santos nominates as his replacement.

Frankly, I was disappointed with Santos winning. Now, I have NOTHING against the guy. I've come to like him an awful lot, and of course Josh, Donna, Annabeth, and all the other staffers are great (with the exception of Jenneane Garofolo, but oh well, what can you do....). And Leo....:-(

The issue is that it's the--well, I guess you could say it's the easy way out for the writers. Letting Bartlett beat Ritchie was fine. It was a forgone conclusion that he would win, as the subject matter of interest was not IF Bartlett would recover but how Bartlett would overcome the MS scandal and restore the public's faith in him, not to mention how an intellectual like Bartlett would overcome the plainspoken, "just folks" patois of Ritchie. We we never supposed to like Ritchie, and I don't think that there was a single viewer that found anything remotely redeeming in him.

Vinnick, as I've said elsewhere, was a different matter. He's honest, intelligent, principled, and decent, and he's every bit Santos' equal. There are things about him and his ideology I disagree with, but I respect the fact that he sticks by his values and does not like to lie, cheat, or pander. He ran a very fair, above-board campaign. He could have won and nobody would have any right to feel that the lesser man won the race. Of course I have loyalty to Santos, seeing as how his campaign is staffed by "my" people. However, I felt a lot of sympathy for Vinnick, particularly in the fact that this campaign was his final shot, politically speaking. Santos, as Josh pointed out, has a whole future ahead of him. He could run for the Senate, for Governor of Texas, even for President in four more years. For Vinnick, this was it.

I would have respected the writers for making a controversial call and putting Vinnick in the White House. One of the key things that's kept me hooked these last few seasons is that there has been a strong chance that Santos will lose. If at the end, we find out that it's a foregone conclusion, that he was always fated to win, then we viewers have been cheated. In many ways, I think, it would have been more satisfying to see our man lose, as it would have felt much less scripted.

Unfortunately, the producers had to contend with the sad event of John Spencer's passing. I think that his death influenced them to reward Leo's (and Spencer's) legacy by letting Santos win. That I can understand, respect, and even admire, as it was tearful to watch our friends suffer the loss of Leo, but gratifying to see his work continued.

Wonderful post, Jesse.

That shot of Margaret nearly put me over the top.

Thanks, Hannah! I appreciate that.

I barely made it through this week without shedding tears. I know I'll never make it through the funeral without tearing up....

Of course, he'd have to wait until after he was sworn in to ask Vinnick, as that one DNC hack said that until Santos becomes President, the DNC has final say on who Santos nominates as his replacement.

Isn't that:

1. A usurpation of presidential prerogative, and
2. Illegal, since the VP is inaugurated before the Pres, so that should anything happen (heaven forbid) to the Pres-Elect, there's a VP to step into his shoes.

???

I have a hard time imagining Bruno retired, tending to his flowers.

Re: Vinnick as VP.

This would be a return to the Founding Fathers' vision, wherein the runner-up in the election became VP.

Here is an excellent article from the NY Times on the show's winner:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/10/arts/television/10wing.html

I have a hard time believing that they would let Vinnick win. While they did write him as a great character, the fact that they spent more time on the Santos campaign made it almost a foregone conclusion.

I am truly saddened that this show is ending. I would have loved to see a couple of years of a Santos Presidency.

Did you notice though how the House came back from The Dark Side and is now under Democratic control? This will be how they get Sam Seaborn in as the VP. Remember, the Republican House forced Bartlet to make Bingo Bob his VP, setting them up with a weak candidate for this election.

Mark it - Sam will be VP.

Scott,

I believe that I read somewhere that there is no precedent for what to do if this happens. Maybe there should be.

I read somewhere that Santos will ask Vinnick to be his Secretary of State.

I like the idea of Sam as VP, but we at the LJ west_wing_fans find it unlikely.

Yeah, Sam as VP seems kind of far-fetched. I don't know....

ScottN: I have a hard time imagining Bruno retired, tending to his flowers.

I agree. I don't think he wants to retire. But I wonder if maybe he won't have a choice after the Vinnick campaign. It's obvious that he's done with the Democratic Party; he's burned all his bridges with them. And even though the GOP would probably be happy to have him, I don't think he could stomach working for a side whose ideology he despises (after all, his working with Vinnick was because Vinnick was an amazing, one-of-a-kind candidate who defied his party on all manner of issues). Unless another maverick Republican or some independent with a real shot comes along, what options does he have?

As far as Sam goes, didn't we last see him as he was losing the election to the House from California's 47th Congressional district? Not a great resume item for a potential VP candidate. Also, Sam's qualifications aside, Rob Lowe left the show because he wasn't making enough money and because he wasn't the main star anymore. Not a big fan of that.

We never find out if he wins or not, actually.

It's obvious that he's done with the Democratic Party; he's burned all his bridges with them.

I don't think that's quite true. Bruno has a rep as a "gun for hire".