Steven Bartkoski

Eli Attie, writer and producer of the NBC show “The West Wing,” answers questions from Steven Jacques, senior fellow of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, last night at the Dole Institute.

The president has been a Democrat for the last six years. He recently revealed to the American public that he had multiple sclerosis. And almost every member of his White House staff has won an Emmy while working with him.

It’s not reality, but the NBC show “The West Wing” follows realistic White House issues and culture.

Eli Attie, a writer and producer for the show, spoke to about 400 people last night at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, including students who were fans of the show.

“I like the writing and the dialogue,” said Alex Benson, Salina junior and fan of the show. “The show is a quick-paced look at politics.”

During the discussion, Attie talked about the similarities and differences between “The West Wing” and real life.

The authenticity of the show is in its underlying ideas, Attie said.

“If the show serves one purpose, it’s to show that politicians and their staffs are trying to do their best every day,” Attie said.

And Attie knows this.

After graduating from Harvard, Attie dropped the idea of going to law school and worked for the government of New York City. He began speech-writing and eventually was recruited to write speeches for the Clinton administration.

Attie learned much of his knowledge for the show while working as an assistant and speechwriter for former Vice President Al Gore and former House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt. He also worked as a special assistant to former President Bill Clinton.

After the presidential vote recount in Florida in 2000, Attie said he was unemployed and called Warner Brothers to ask about screenwriting for “The West Wing,” which was entering its third season. Screenwriting sounded a lot like speech-writing, Attie said.

“It was writing about what I was doing,” he said. “A few months later I was in L.A. and never looked back.”

But Hollywood politics are a lot different than real life, Attie said.

“Conflict and narrative are sexier,” he said. “With the music and the lights, you could make reading the phone book seem dramatic.”

Attie said people often asked him why real politicians couldn’t be like the characters on the show.

Most politicians aren’t capable of acting as presidential as the actors on the show, he said.

But Attie distinguished between seeming presidential and being presidential.

Seeming presidential is about looking intelligent, involved and intense. Being presidential is more like a being a plumber, he said.

“You’re just thrown in there fixing things,” Attie said. “We all want heroes. We just don’t believe anybody who claims that mantle anymore. I wish there were more positive examples of politics like ‘The West Wing.’”