West Wing Election Quotes (Done)

As we approach the Presidential Election and I rewatch West Wing yet another time, I'll update this post with applicable quotes. Update: I have completed the West Wing (sans parts of season 5, 6)

Santos: "You, know they say, 'Democracy is about how we choose who gets the blame'. Well, I will take the blame but I will never forget those of you who deserve the credit. Thank you for being with me at the start of this crazy roller-coaster ride."

CJ: "Everyone is stupid on an Election year."
Charlie: "No, everyone is treated as stupid on an election year."

Toby: "If our job teaches us anything, it's that we don't know what the next President's gonna face. And if we choose someone with vision, someone with guts, someone with gravitas, who's connected to other people's lives, and cares about making them better. If we choose someone to inspire us, then we'll be able to face what comes our way and achieve things we can't imagine yet. Instead of telling people who's the most qualified, instead of telling people who's got the better ideas, let's make it obvious. It's going to be hard."

Sam: It's not just about abortion, it's about the next 20 years. In the '20s and '30s it was the role of government. '50s and '60s it was civil rights. The next two decades are going to be privacy. I'm talking about the Internet. I'm talking about cell phones. I'm talking about health records and who's gay and who's not. And moreover, in a country born on the will to be free, what could be more fundamental than this?

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

Sam: Mallory, education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don't need little changes, we need gigantic, monumental changes. Schools should be palaces. The competition for the best teachers should be fierce. They should be making six-figure salaries. Schools should be incredibly expensive for government and absolutely free of charge to its citizens, just like national defense. That's my position. I just haven't figured out how to do it yet.

Bartlet: Here’s an answer to your question that I don’t think you’re going to like: the current crop of 18-25 year olds is the most politically apathetic generation in American history. In 1972, half of that age group voted. In the last election, 32%. Your generation is considerably less likely than any previous one to write or call public officials, attend rallies, or work on political campaigns. A man once said this, "decisions are made by those who show up." So are we failing you, or are you failing us? It's a little of both.

Josh: Numbers don't lie.
Joey (Kenny): They lie all the time. They lie when 72 percent of Americans say they're tired of a sex scandal, while all the while, newspaper circulation goes through the roof for anyone featuring the story.

Bartlet: It doesn't matter if most voters don't benefit, they all believe that someday they will. That's the problem with the American Dream, it makes everyone concerned for the day they're gonna be rich.

Bartlet: It's not our job to appeal to the lowest common denominator, Doug. It's our job to raise it. If you're going to be the "Education President," it'd be nice not to hide that you have an education.
Churchill and FDR: serious men using big words for big purpose.

Toby: If our job teaches us anything, it's that we don't know what the next President's gonna face. And if we choose someone with vision, someone with guts, someone with gravitas, who's connected to other people's lives, and cares about making them better... if we choose someone to inspire us, then we'll be able to face what comes our way and achieve things... we can't imagine yet. Instead of telling people who's the most qualified, instead of telling people who's got the better ideas, let's make it obvious. It's going to be hard.

Arnold Vinick:I know what you wanna hear. Telling people what they wanna hear is the easiest thing to do in politics. But that's not why I'm here. That's not why I'm running for president.

Bartlet: It's not up to us to decide what the voters get to use in evaluating us.

Arnold Vinick: You can't have a separation of church and state if you have to pass a religious test to get in this government. And I want to warn everyone in the press and all the voters out there if you demand expressions of religious faith from politicians you are just begging to be lied to. They won't all lie to you, but a lot of them will. It'll be the easiest lie they had to tell to get your votes. So every day until the end of this campaign I'll answer any question anyone has on government. But if you have a question on religion, please, go to church.

Arnold Vinick: He (Bartlet) has served this country steadfastly and laudably and I say this despite our political and philosophical differences. For in the end, a presidency is more than a simple catalogue of policies pursued, crises weathered, battles lost or won. It's a stewardship, a sacred trust a commitment to sacrifice every fiber of your being every thought, every moment, every Every everything in service to your nation.

Matthew Santos: We all live lives of imperfection, and yet we cling to this fantasy that there's a perfect life and that our leaders should embody it. But if we expect our leaders to live on a higher moral plane than the rest of us well, we're just asking to be deceived.

Matthew Santos:And you have a decision to make.
Don't vote for us because you think we're perfect.
Don't vote for us because of what we might be able to do for you only.
Vote for the person who shares your ideals, your hopes, your dreams.
Vote for the person who most embodies what you believe we need to keep our nation strong and free.
And when you have done that you can go back to Seattle and Boston, to Miami to Omaha, to Tulsa and Chicago and Atlanta with your head held high and say, "I am a member of the Democratic Party."

Matthew Santos: We can never forget that the best way to preserve our democracy is to take part in it.

Santos: I know you like to use that word 'liberal' as if it were a crime.
Vinick: No. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have used that word. I know Democrats think liberal is a bad word. So bad you had to change it. What do you call yourselves now, progressives? Is that it?
Santos: It's true. Republicans have tried to turn liberal into a bad word. Well, liberals ended slavery in this country.
Vinick: A Republican President ended slavery.
Santos: Yes, a liberal Republican, Senator. What happened to them? They got run out of your party. What did liberals do that was so offensive to the liberal party? I'll tell you what they did. Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act. What did conservatives do? They opposed them on every one of those things ­ every one. So when you try to hurl that label at my feet, 'Liberal,' as if it were something to be ashamed of, something dirty, something to run away from, it won't work, Senator. Because I will pick up that label and I will wear it as a badge of honor.

Josh: Campaigning's about promise.
Governing's about achievement.

Sam: Santos may be the future this country wants.
For all the partisan noises made, we're a nation of centrists.
He may be the right man with the right message at the right time and if he is I wanna be a part of it.
But he can't do it without you.
Liberal Democrats will try to force him left.
Moderate Republicans will fence-sit as long as they can.
It's you who's gotta make this go who's gonna cut through the demagoguery and timidity and make people do what they were sent here to do, actually govern.
Serve the voter's interests instead of striking poses and playing gotcha.