NBC's "West Wing", Brought to You by The Democratic Party!

Did anyone else pick this up? From the Boston Globe:

Debate was Fictional, Issues were Real

Sunday's live debate on NBC's ''The West Wing" was so enlightening -- not to mention entertaining -- that at least one wag called it the most significant presidential debate since John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon squared off on the small screen in 1960. But it was actually another Kennedy's policies that were pitched on the TV show. Debating Alan Alda's Senator Arnold Vinick, Democratic Congressman Matt Santos, played by Jimmy Smits, borrowed liberally -- no pun intended -- from Senator Ted Kennedy's ''Medicare for All" proposal. ''The geniuses behind this award-winning show clearly understand that Kennedy's vision is the winning platform for America," said Kennedy staffer Melissa Wagoner in an e-mail afterward.
Problem is, voters may not agree. A survey done by pollster Zogby International before and after the debate found it was Vinick, the Republican, who gained the most ground, not Santos.

Miss Wagoner and the West Wing writers sound like they are enjoying pleasuring each other, but based on the Zogby results, the American people get the last laugh on them again. Nevertheless, this is a concern - did this NBC drama allow itself to be used as a "trial balloon" for Democratic party policies? Was it a ploy to familiar the body politic with upcoming liberal campaign themes; to make them seem more mainstream by using them in a "upscale" televison drama?

I would like to find out more about this; if the writers had any consultations with Ted Kennedy's staffers or officials of the Democratic Party, then are not the Republicans legally entitled to their own NBC series to showcase their policy outline?

Then again, this is a last-place network...wonder why?

Link to Boston Globe story here: http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2005/11/10/debate_was_fictional_issues_were_real/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Living+/+Arts+News