I’m a Republican, and I want a certain Democrat to be president. It isn’t Barack Obama or John Edwards. It certainly isn’t Hillary Clinton.

The Democrat I would desperately wish into the Oval Office is Jed Bartlet.

Okay, so he’s a television character. I can’t help it. In an election year where my only choices seem to be between the lessers of half a dozen evils -– unless John McCain pulls through with a miraculous win, a topic for another time –- all I want to do is curl up in bed and turn to my favorite fictional political world of “The West Wing.”

I didn̢۪t always agree with the politics, or with creator and writing god Aaron Sorkin̢۪s stereotypical portrayal of Republicans and blatant caricature of President George W. Bush. But I certainly did enjoy watching Bartlet kick fictional-Bush̢۪s you-know-what in a debate like the kind I wish our real candidates were having.

I rooted for Bartlet and his witty, charming staff because he represented what I dream American government should be: a group of selfless patriots led by a president who wants serve and protect the citizens of his country, politics be damned. They made difficult decisions and they made mistakes, but at the end of the day, they always aimed for what was right and what was good.

I still get chills when I hear the song that goes over the opening credits. I get the same chills every time I hear this speech.

I get a different kind of chill when I see coverage for the 2008 presidential election.