5 Things Done On Scandal that would never happen on The West Wing

On the surface there are many similarities between the shows Scandal and The West Wing. Both shows air on network television. Both shows are set primarily in Washington DC. Both shows revolve around the world of politics and feature the President and members of his staff as the core cast of characters. But when looked at much closer, these two shows could not be more different. The West Wing, at its core, is all about the never-ending optimism of government. That with enough work and debate we can find middle ground and make this country a better place. Scandal is a show about how everyone gives in to temptation.

"Hey! I'm in both pictures!" - Joshua Molina

Essentially the two shows are polar opposites. One show, the characters can do no wrong and the other they can do no right. On The West Wing, even the bad guys are usually pretty good and in the end do the right thing. On Scandal, the bad guys turn out to be people we thought were good guys but probably should have been suspicious of the whole time. WARNING: Spoilers if you have never watched either Scandal or The West Wing and do not want either of these amazing shows ruined.

1.)           President condones (and participates in) Torture

Bartlet never waterboarded anybody on the West Wing. There was never a scene of Leo holding someone down while Josh and Toby took turns shocking them with a car battery. The idea of torture was a pretty foreign concept in the world of The West Wing. If it was mentioned, it was mentioned being performed by a third party and then immediately condemned. Not performed directly by a West Wing staffer.

"WTF Bro!"

On Scandal, The President of the United States PERSONALLY beats a suspected assassin with a phone book until his knuckles bleed. Now true, the suspect in question (might have) killed the President’s son. But on The West Wing, Bartlet’s youngest daughter was kidnapped and he never took a swing at anyone, though he could certainly be justified. In fact Martin Sheen’s character was so emotionally compromised that he stepped down form his Presidency. President Fitzgerald Grant is more than happy to get his hands dirty and still sit proudly in the Oval Office.

2.)           Multiple Affairs

One of the big twists of the show Scandal is that the main character, Olivia Pope, is actually engaged in a sexual relationship with the President. And of course, it turns out that the President has not just engaged in an affair with Miss Pope, but with others as well. On The West Wing it was considered a huge scandal that Sam Seaborn slept with a call girl. But he managed to be faithful to that call girl and not cheat on her. Bartlett covered up a degenerative illness but was always faithful and madly in love with his wife.

In the world of Scandal, EVERYONE is sleeping with EVERYONE. Nearly every of the titular Scandals on the show involve a politician putting his dick (or her vagina) someplace it should not be. The main conflict of the show in the current season is Olivia Pope reconciling her feelings between the President of the United States and her super spy boyfriend. And it is not even worth discussing the multiple hookups engaged in the office (not just among coworkers but in the ACTUAL office). Hopefully no one every brings a black light with them to Pope and Associates.

3.)           Using Sex to get ahead (no pun intended)

In a bit of an extension of the above number, most of the sex being had by people is done for ulterior motives. In one memorable episode of season 3, the campaign manager of the vice presidents third party campaign hires a classmate of the President’s son to sleep with him in order to get a DNA sample. She does this just so she can get into a prestigious college.  A rival political analyst had no problem hiring a male prostitute (played by a West Wing alum) to seduce the vulnerable Cy Bean. And not just once but several times.

It took seven seasons for Donna Moss to finally sleep with her boss. The idea of “sleeping to the top” is treated as a dirty and torrid thing. Honestly the citizens of The West Wing world seem downright puritan compared with the gladiators of Scandal. One episode, in a desperate attempt to save their boss Leo, Sam and Josh visit Sam’s call girl friend in an attempt to find dirt on an opponent. Even the mere act of considering asking for this information is considered beneath them and the two men feel guilty. Were that the Scandal world, not only would Josh and Sam insist on the information they’d set up hidden cameras to catch all the steamy action.

4.)           Betrayal by a close ally and Remaining friends with that ally even after it

Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer. No place is that more evident than on Scandal. Mostly because if people didn’t keep their enemies close they would be completely and utterly alone.  Every one in Scandal has an agenda. Most only see other people as a means to an end. The West Wing is a team whereas Scandal is more a school of piranha, feeding on the week and not above cannibalizing their own.

They say the key to getting ahead in life is to network. You never know what connection you make in life that could lead to some sort of fortuitous business relationship. And the cast of Scandal definitely keeps this rule alive. Even after stabbing that connection in the back. When the characters on The West Wing were betrayed they would sever all ties with the traitor in a magnificent dramatic speech or action. But in truth The West Wing were such a tight knit group, betrayal seemed almost impossible.

5.)           The Presidency is a burden

President Fitzgerald Grant hates being the President. He HATES it. He would love nothing more than to run away and be with the love of his life (Olivia Pope, not his wife). Every single episode he needs to be convinced why he needs to stay in his position and it usually rarely involves arguments about how he is the right man for the job. It usually involves guilt trips over his wife’s future political career, the aspirations of his chief of staff, or reminders that the vice president is a batshit nutty evangelical. Nothing about how good Grant is as the commander in chief.

This never happened on The West Wing. On that show the President walked on water. President Josiah Bartlet is usually described as the greatest man the rest of the characters ever knew. Despite medical problems and assassination attempts, he rarely needed a pep talk to continue to perform the duties of President. The one time he did receive a pep talk to stay in office it was from a ghost so we can assume he was just talking to himself.