West Wing - Things Fall Apart Episode #132 - Arnold Vinick Gives Convention Speech

[tobiojo10]

mitt romney eat your heart out. if any republican shared the values of arnold vinick president Obama would need be be seriously worried

[downunderdemocrat]

Republicans won't win the Presidency in 2012. But when Jeb Bush runs in 2014 he sure as hell will.

[downunderdemocrat]

@downunderdemocrat sorry 2016.

[withalittlehelpfrom3]

We do have a real-life Arnold Vinick: his name is Jon Huntsman. But he'll never get the nomination, because the GOP is different in real life. So please, vote to re-elect Barack Obama, the most Bartlett-like person running!

[justforlescomments]

I'm not a Republican but I really wanted Vinick to win, not Santos.

I mean, I love 'em both but damn...as they said, "Vinick for Victory"

[ZacharyLoeser]

@justforlescomments Vinick WAS going to win, but after John Spencer died suddenly they changed it so that Santos would win, figuring that having both Leo McGarry die and Santos losing the race would be a little too negative.

[VolumeTurnedDown]

Vinick was great, until the writers started to clown him by having him lie to his supporters (and admit to the lie to his staff), literally steal Santos' briefcase, etc. Biased much?

[Kaalec]

If only the Republicans were really like Vinnick. If only the Democrats were really like Bartlett.

[MegaObserver1]

Jed nailed it. For three days at the convention, Republicans bashed Bartlet unmercifuly. Vinick's VP nominee even said the Bartlet Administration was "scleroitic" (a reference to Jed's MS). Now here comes Vinick who praises Bartlet for his patriotism and devotion to duty. Not only should it get Vinick Democratic votes, it is designed to make him the only choice for independent voters. He defied his only party by refusing to Bartlet-bash. A real "maverick".

[gtrmagic]

Where are Trapper John & BJ Hunnicutt :-)

[BoomtaxRISEtrons]

I would vote for this guy a thousand times IRL if i could, haha.

[ifyoufilmmeiwillkilu]

Arnold Vinick is like a Join Huntsmn Jr.

[Karthos1000]

Arnold Vinick is perhaps the embodiment of everything I'd like to see out of a Republican. He's smart and honest.

I'm a liberal Democrat, but I might actually be able to vote for someone like Arnold Vinick.

[socalifax]

Alan Alda won the Emmy in large part due to the fact that Vinick lost the election. As good as Alda was in the scenes where he is running for President, he was phenomenal in the scenes after he had lost it. Played being hopeless and humble to a tee.

[gtrmagic]

Alan Alda is a great actor with the right material...

[fjnjn]

I'm sympathetic and largely loyal to Democrat ideals but Vinick was a great character; really deserved to win. Hell, I'd have voted for him in that election. In spite of my loyalty and fondness towards Josh and the "central characters", I'd have found a Vinick victory both realistic and edifying. Narratively it'd have done the show some good as well -- devoting the last few episodes to a Republican perspective after 7 years of a Democrat narrative. Felt bad for him for losing so narrowly.

[jimbopumbapigsticks]

McCain didn't have Vinick's intelligence, integrity, charisma or eloquence. Can you imagine Vinick choosing Sarah Palin as a potential VP?

[ifyoufilmmeiwillkilu]

Fantastic speech! (For what we hear)

Although he said "Every Everything", as if he were groping for words. McCain and Obama could not say this about Bush.

Us Republicans need an Arnold Vinick. Vinick really should have won that election.

[bmillsistheman]

i agree...the closest thing the repubs have to vinick right now is probably ron paul...and although his popularity has grown...i'm not sure he can move the party back to its true self

[scythe747]

@ifyoufilmmeiwillkilu I read that the origional plan was to have Vinick win, but the writers changed it after John Spencer's death and the news that the show was going to be cancelled. They thought it would be too hard on the fans having Santos lose after all that.

[Ichiro20]

@scythe747 Even as a big liberal , I always wanted Vinick to win. ITs a shame that they gave Santos the win even though a Vinick would have been 30x more satisfying.

[Waltham1892]

@Ichiro20 They didn't want to give Vinick the win because the actor who played Leo died just before the end of the series. They didn't want to hit fans with a double loss...but I agree with you; as a moderate, I agree a Vinick win would have been a better ending of the series.

[tfn105]

@Waltham1892 You say that, but in the opening episode it was Josh how was about to introduce the new president to Bartlett et al. and Josh becomes Santos' chief of staff. It looked to me that it was always set up for a democrat victory and that season 7 was more a story on how that would happen, not whether it would happen.

[tfn105]

@Ichiro20 The payoff for Vinick fans was his being appointed Secretary of State. Santos knew he was the man for the job and didn't care he was a republican. In a show that's centered on democrats and democratic issues, that's a win for a republican. (It is fiction after all!!)

[jayjames5]

@ifyoufilmmeiwillkilu Governor Bobby Jindal for President 2012-2016, If the Republicans want to win.

[Nifer91]

@ifyoufilmmeiwillkilu He was supposed to win the election--that's what the writers planned. But when John Spencer passed away they didn't want Santos to lose the election for that reason, and they didn't want the audience to lose a great character and an election. Too emotionally painful. So they re-wrote it so that Santos won.

[TheJUMBOJAM]

@ifyoufilmmeiwillkilu

Im as left as you can get, and Vinick realyl should've won. He actually was intended to win, but then John Spencer passed away and the writers decided it would be to sad for Santos to lose an election and a mentor all in one go. So i suppose for story reasons, it makes snese

[tfn105]

@TheJUMBOJAM Not quite true. I read an interview with one of the script writing team that they wrote the election on the fly, and enjoyed the fact that it developed into a genuine contest, but that no decision had ever been made early on that Vinick would win. You know this because Josh introduces the president in episode 1 (i.e. as Santos' Chief of Staff). This idea that Vinick was supposed to win has been kicking around erroneously for a while now,

[mscottveach]

@ifyoufilmmeiwillkilu oh man, couldn't disagree more... every everything is what lands the speech... it makes it feel genuine... not canned or rehearsed... and there's actually a nice poetry to every everything... especially the way he said it... makes it sound he's grasping at ideas that can't be described with mere words...

[GOP71]

This is what McCain should have done - but he has only a 10th of Vinnick's Charisma

[Praiosrondra]

@GOP71

McCain couldn't do what Vinick did, because Persident Bush was a) a Republican and b) unpopular. To do what Vinick did, a candidate needs the former president to be popular and a member of the other party.

[phil4077]

I love Vinick! and the scene where he dismisses the flag burning story

[someguyupnorth]

Vinick = political lion.

[nittanytigers]

Great post! Someone needs to put more Vinick scenes like this up. Especially the one where he announces his candidacy. Vinick is great!