“From the first day, there was an element of unreality for me, because there are parts of the set that look like the real West Wing,” he says. “It was as if my neurons got confused and I forgot where I was.”

Like Attie, O’Donnell has also injected his real-life political experiences into the show’s storylines. O’Donnell, who also serves as a senior political analyst for MSNBC and a panelist on “The McLaughlin Group,” says everything he has written for the show stems directly from his work in Washington. In addition to serving as the Chief of Staff on the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and then in the same position on the Senate Committee on Finance, O’Donnell was an advisor to the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y.

According to O’Donnell, “Everything I ever suggested for ‘The West Wing’ comes from my work with Senator Moynihan.”

Although O’Donnell is a longtime and much-honored writer—before he came to “The West Wing,” he had written a book and penned magazine articles—he neither particularly enjoys writing nor considers himself a success at the craft.

“It’s a horrible and difficult task, but it’s better than working and easier,” he muses.

Despite his difficulties with writing, O’Donnell says that his “West Wing” job allows him to focus on those aspects of writing that he most enjoys.

“I care about drama. I care about character. I don’t care about my own politics being expressed in a drama,” he says.

O’Donnell likes to approach issues that he dealt with during his life in politics from opposite viewpoints; he is proudest of an episode in which he reasoned through arguments in favor of the death penalty despite his lifelong objection to capital punishment. “Once you go counter to my politics,” he says, “it becomes an interesting story.”

Escape from Reality

Attie, O’Donnell and Goffman, whose careers have spanned the political and entertainment worlds, are all emphatic about maintaining the distinction between their television work and the reality of government.

“What we’re doing on ‘The West Wing’ is fictional,” states O’Donnell. “It’s not a place to learn about politics or government. Has there ever been a fundraiser on ‘The West Wing’? No. So right there, you’re in Disneyland.”

Goffman concurs.

“The goal of the show is to entertain. Any time you try to be didactic, you end up not being able to get people excited. You sound like a Sunday morning talk show,” he says. “Our world [on the show] deals with a world of idealism and possibility. If we can tap into that, that’s great.

But you can’t start out trying to do that.”

Besides, says Goffman, dramatizing real issues does not necessarily lead to effecting change.