The Acting President

As I write this, Martin Sheen, the actor who plays President Bartlet on NBC's The West Wing, is leading a memorial rosary at Camp Casey II in honor of the fallen soldiers in Iraq. Casey Sheehan was a devout Catholic, so the gesture is fitting.

When he arrived, Mr. Sheen referred to himself as "the Acting President," and commented, "I think you all know what I do for a living, but this is what I do to stay alive." He then took time to visit the Iraq Veterans Against the War before kneeling to pray before the field of crosses that has been dubbed "Arlington West."

My name is Lincoln Madison, and I have to say that President Bartlet is by far my favorite President of the 21st century. (In the 20th century, he has to compete with Morgan Freeman, FDR, JFK, and Bill Clinton. In the 19th, I suppose I would have to go with my namesakes.)