OK, I too am a WW fanatic. There seems to be several misconceptions running through this thread:

1. It is a fictional show Claymore, and the example you cite doesn't seem to have a grip on reality. It is intended to be FICTION not a documentary. That means the producers of the show had a creative decision to make which had everything to do with writing, not with politics. They had to decide whether to make the West Wing a Republican one or a Democratic one. They chose the latter. Right wing conspiracy theorists will remain unconvinced, and will insist as long as this program runs, that it should have been a Republican West Wing instead, and that the choice to make it Democratic is proof the renowned liberal media conspiracy.

2. Martin Sheen has stated, publicly and often, that a) he has no intention of EVER running for president; b) Josiah Bartlett is much more conservative than he is, and; c) that doesn't matter, because HE IS ACTING!!! IT ISN'T REAL LIFE PEOPLE, IT IS A POLITICAL SOAP!!!

3. I don't believe that Goodman's character is at all over the top, nor is it the intention of the writers to demonize the Republicans with his character. I read an interview with Aaron Sorkin maybe (?) not sure who it was from the show now, who said John Goodman's delicious character is a caricature of several southern Democrat demagogues, Huey Long and LBJ, actually. So all you offended Republican leaning folks can just chill, OK? There is no danger to the public here.

4. O'Donnell is full of shit when he makes the unprovable claim that 99% of the Writers Guild is left leaning or Democrats. There is no polling of the membership in this regard, and believe me, there are plenty of conservatives right on up to nazi type writers working in the biz. Puhlenty!

BTW, I'm guessing it will most like #4. We already know that Zoe is alive, because they are showing photos of her on Al Jazeera, and we also know that Goodman's character will not be as trigger happy as the White House Dems think he will be. His character both wants to rescue Zoe because he genuinely wants to do it on a personal level, and because he knows it will make him the hero--not Bartlett--and he will gain a tremendous political windfall if he can actually pull a rescue off. He will then graciously (remember, the character believes himself to be a Southern gentleman) turn the reigns of power back to Bartlett in a highly public way, while at the same time, having set the wheels in motion for selecting the vice president to replace the one who resigned in the season finale last year, just before Zoe was kidnapped, due to a sex scandal.

BTW, the Republicans should have loved that Dem sex scandal thing, how come no mention of that juicy tidbit?