We hate the fact that the best thing we can say about “The West Wing” these days is, “Well, it could have been worse.” Remember when this show was actually really good?

This week we get the Josh and Matt Santos show. Josh and the good Congressman start campaigning for the New Hampshire primary, and there’s already trouble in paradise. The opening sequence has Josh and Santos driving through N.H., slightly lost, and bickering like a married couple over a map. They discuss what Santos should be doing to win the primary. Josh says Santos needs to talk about himself and let the voters get to know him. Santos says he wants to talk about “the issues” and not waste time shaking hands. Ah yes, “the issues.” DCist loves talking about “the issues.”

Santos has a bunch of ideas on education reform and wants his first big speech to be about his education plan. Josh thinks it’s a bad idea and they proceed to argue over this for the entire episode. Josh plays the savvy, seasoned Washington politico and Santos is the fresh, idealistic candidate whose spirit will undoubtedly be crushed by the entire election process.