LONDON (AP) - Does life imitate "The West Wing"? Ron Silver, who played a political strategist on the Emmy-winning drama series, said parallels with the 2008 U.S. presidential race "are kind of spooky in a way."

"But they are very understandable because a lot of people who were writing for 'The West Wing' were political operatives," the 62-year-old actor said. "They wanted people with that kind of knowledge, so it smelled and tasted like the real thing."

Lawmakers and party workers jammed a meeting room in Britain's Houses of Parliament to hear Silver discuss echoes between the presidential election and a contest on "The West Wing" between a neophyte Democrat congressman from a minority background and a veteran Republican senator with a maverick streak.

"The West Wing," set behind the scenes of a fictional U.S. administration, aired from 1999 to 2006.

In the show's final season, Jimmy Smits' Rep. Matt Santos defeated Sen. Arnold Vinick, the Republican presidential candidate played by Alan Alda. "Smits won, and I think (Barack) Obama will win," Silver said.

That doesn't constitute an endorsement. Silver said actors and other celebrities "serve a function in attracting attention" to political issues. "But at the end of the day I hope to God people don't listen to actors about who to vote for."

Labour lawmaker Bruce George, who chaired Wednesday's meeting, recounted "West Wing" plots with the detail of a true fan, and expressed envy at the high drama of American elections. British campaigns, he said, were "three weeks and often pretty boring."

"Your elections aren't anything like that."

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press Writer

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