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Sorry to say but Leo, CJ, Sam, and Toby, along with their supernatural capacity to quote statistics, scripture, Shakespeare and Steely Dan lyrics, don’t actually exist (Josh is the exception — he’s real, I knew that guy). Nevertheless, some people want to believe that ‘Let Bartlet Be Bartlet’ is something that exists beyond a television screen. That it can be a genuine political strategy for honest-to-God real world politicians. Or, at least, that it should be.

It’s an illusion — and a harmful one to boot.

Over the years, ‘Let Bartlet Be Bartlet’ has gained a currency among politicos that normal people would find bewildering. Despite being created in Hollywood, it lives on in the minds of actual campaign operatives who imagine themselves as misunderstood crusaders against injustice and cynicism. It has become the refuge of the noble loser, the unofficial slogan of campaigns that prefer to drink their own bathwater.

Two recent examples — from opposite ends of the political spectrum — illustrate this phenomenon perfectly.

In Ontario last June, the Tim Hudak campaign worked itself into a lather, believing the only way to win was to tell voters that 100,000 workers had to be sacked for the greater good. “Others won’t have the courage to tell you this, but deep down you know we’re right,” followed the presumptuous script. Even today his supporters insist that he only lost because he was willing to tell the truth. Really? Sorry Team Hudak, maybe it’s you who can’t handle the truth.