Is President Obama completing some of fictional President Josiah Bartlet's unfinished business?

Bartlet, played by actor Martin Sheen, had wanted to propose finding a cure for cancer in an episode of 'The West Wing,' planning to make the announcement during the State of the Union, the Daily Caller discovered.

In the fictional version, the plan was canned. In real life, Obama announced that 'moonshot' during last night's address to Congress.

Actor Rob Lowe, who played White House aide Sam Seaborn on the show, pointed it out.

'Sam Seaborn finally got his cancer line into #SOTU,' the actor tweeted.

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Both Democratic President Barack Obama (left) and fictional Democratic President Jed Bartlet (right) wanted to mention curing cancer in the State of the Union. Though Bartlet's plans were tabled

Rob Lowe tweeted about the State of the Union, noting that his 'West Wing' character Sam Seaborn finally got the president to talk about curing cancer in the big speech

Rob Lowe, who played White House aide Sam Seaborn, on the popular show 'The West Wing,' was the first to point out that there were similarities between the show and real life

In the episode, titled '100,000 Airplanes,' even though Bartlet is eventually convinced to table the plan, he reads lines of his speech.

'Over the past half-century, we’ve split the atom, we’ve spliced the gene, and we’ve roamed Tranquility Base. We’ve reached for the stars, and never have we been closer to having them in our grasp,' Bartlet began.

'New science, new technology is making the difference between life and death, and so we need a national commitment equal to this unparalleled moment of possibility,' he continued.

'And so, I announce to you tonight, that I will bring the full resources of the federal government and the full reach of my office to this fundamental goal: we will cure cancer by the end of this decade,' the fictional president had planned to announce.

Cut to the real thing and the lines have a similar ring, albeit with a modern twist.

'Sixty years ago, when the Russians beat us into space, we didn’t deny Sputnik was up there,' Obama said, scolding the global warming deniers. 'We didn’t argue about the science, or shrink our research and development budget. We built a space program almost overnight, and twelve years later, we were walking on the moon.'

While the curing cancer plotline appeared on 'The West Wing,' in real life the plan was inspired by the death of Vice President Joe Biden's son Beau

'That spirit of discovery is in our DNA,' the president continued. 'We're Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers and George Washington Carver. We’re Grace Hopper and Katherine Johnson and Sally Ride.'

'We're every immigrant and entrepreneur from Boston to Austin to Silicon Valley racing to shape a better world,' he added.

Obama said Americans have embraced that spirit throughout his administration.

'But we can do so much more,' he continued. 'Last year, Vice President Biden said that with a new moonshot, America can cure cancer. Last month, he worked with this Congress to give scientists at the National Institutes of Health the strongest resources they've had in over a decade.'

Cue the Jed Bartlet.

'Tonight, I’m announcing a new national effort to get it done,' Obama said.

Of course, Obama's promise was inspired by a very real tragedy: the loss of Biden's son Beau.

And that's why, in one of the most spirited moments of the night, President Obama said he was putting Biden in charge of the plan to cure cancer once and for all.

'I’m putting Joe in charge of Mission Control,' Obama said.