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human
[The West Wing] Was Josiah Bartlett a Good President?

The documentary focused entirely on the dynamic between Bartlett and his senior staff, but how successful were his policies? How was his administration viewed by the general public? How is he remembered in 2018?
gpt
Generally speaking, yes, Jed Bartlet was a good president.  

While ostensibly a Democrat, Bartlet was actually fairly centrist in his policies and preferences, and often crossed party lines to work with the Republicans. This meant that while he wasn't as popular among the more extreme fringes of either party, he was generally recognized as an effective leader and statesman by the more moderate factions of the two major parties, as well as moderate independents.  Some examples would be willingly ceding power to Speaker of the House Glenn Walken, a Republican, in a constitutionally rigorous manner during the Zoe Bartlet kidnapping crisis, and appointing both a conservative and a liberal justice to the Supreme Court when two openings came up.  

Furthermore, the Bartlet administration's policy implementations were generally seen as effective. Stuff like the program to boost teacher numbers by sending them to college, and intervening militarily overseas when atrocities are committed, were some of Bartlet's more notable accomplishments during his two terms.  

On a more personal note, Jed Bartlet had qualities that appealed to all kinds of people.  For those who preferred a more intellectual president, Jed Bartlet had the ability to remain the smartest and most eloquent guy in the room even when he was in a room full of doctors, scientists, and Nobel laureates (it helped that he was a Nobel Prize winner himself, of course).  For those who look for strong personal values in their president, Jed Bartlet had an unflinchingly strong moral code based on his personal Catholic faith.  And for those who just wanted the president to keep the country running, Jed Bartlet was able to end a government shutdown caused by a budgetary deadlock by personally walking to Capitol Hill in an attempt to get Republicans to talk to him.  

Of course, Bartlet's detractors would say that he was no saint, and that actions such as concealing his multiple sclerosis was proof of that.  They do have a point, because Bartlet's MS did disable him at least twice during his administration.  Furthermore, there are people who say Bartlet did not do enough, that by trying so hard to compromise with Republicans, he ended up watering down his own administration's initiatives, leading to inertia and getting stuck in the status quo. Again, these people do have a point, there were many policy initiatives that Bartlet could have pursued, but ultimately did not.  

On the whole, though, Bartlet was an intelligent, knowledgeable, morally upstanding, and effective leader.  Could he have done better?  Yes.  Could he have done more?  Yes.  But the stuff he did do, the stuff he did accomplish, will ensure that history will remember him as one of the better presidents.