I’m sure there are worse ways to establish democratic institutions. I can’t think of any off the top of my head, but I’m sure … there must be…

Hillary Clinton said that Burma’s lower house speaker had told her during her visit last year: “Help us learn how to be a democratic congress, a Parliament. He went on to tell me that they were trying to teach themselves by watching old segments of ‘The West Wing.’ ”

They could be watching old segments of Hogan’s Heroes or The P.T.L. Club, so yes, yes, it could be worse.

But for those of you who were fans of The West Wing, which, to be fair, had its moments and some crisp writing, some of the old cast has reassembled to give Bridget Mary McCormack, sister of Mary McCormack (who played Kate Harper) a boost in her election to the Michigan State Supreme Court.

I was going to say that I hoped the cast from My Mother the Car Green Acres reassembled to help Mitt Romney, but they’re all dead. If I were a superstitious type, I’d say that did not bode well. But I don’t have much faith in boding, which may be a North Korean plot.