re: The West Wing - Thoughts on the First Lady?

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I tried to like sports night but it just wasn't for me I guess. Then I got to the scene where the new, young guy is all upset about the hunters killing the baby deer and, similar to what Token said, that liberal view point was simply too much for me to continue watching

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You were upset that a liberal, New York Jew opposed hunting? It would have been absolutely absurd for him to approve of it. It's important to note which characters are saying the words, and there's simply no way that is an inaccurate character beat. It would be shocking if Jeremy DIDN'T feel that way. But that really wasn't the point of the episode (the aftermath of the speech was: "My instincts told me to shut up and stay in line." "Your instincts were wrong") It's a character beat about Jeremy learning to express his views, and being accepted as one of the gang.

(I'm completely indifferent to hunting -- I just don't like getting up early)

The West wing's politics are liberal, but they do a decent job of giving voice to conservative viewpoints. Leo is a hawk, and guides the president on a foreign policy that's pretty in line with the conservatives. And despite some missteps here and there, Sorkin did create opposition Republicans who weren't vile opportunists (Ainsley, of course, but also remember the GOP Congressmen who throw them a bone during Leo's S1 troubles "I want to investigate you two for being stupid", John Goodman's Speaker of the House). It's a proudly liberal show, and there's no getting around it, but they didn't always knock over strawmen (though sometimes he did, and those are the weakest moments of the show -- except for Ritchie, who was just fun to knock over more for being a doofus, not a conservative).