Bartlet was able to overcome the challenges of his disease to succeed, "the public will become more accepting of individuals with MS and individuals with MS will become more accepting of themselves and their abilities to lead fulfilling lives." Mike McCurry, a former press secretary for the Clinton administration, described Bartlet as the ideal president, possessing "the compassion and integrity of Jimmy Carter... that shrewd decision-making and hard-nosed realism of a Richard Nixon... the warmth and amiability and the throw-the-arm-around-the-shoulder of a Bill Clinton; and... the liberal passion of a Teddy Kennedy." James Poniewozik described the character in 2002 as "a folksy Nobel laureate with touches of F.D.R., Stephen Hawking, Will Rogers and the Buddha." At one point, the producers of The X-Files considered having Sheen portray Bartlet in the final episode of the show, in a scene where he would be informed by members of The Syndicate that Fox Mulder escaped from government custody. Instead, Bartlet was replaced by an actor playing George W. Bush, although the scene was cut from the final episode altogether. The TV series Pine Gap named a US aircraft carrier USS Barlett honoring former president Jed Bartlet following the US tradition to name US aircraft carriers after former presidents. A Wall Street Journal poll in 2016 named Martin Sheen's Josiah Bartlet as the second greatest fictional president, behind Harrison Ford's President James Marshall in Air Force One. See also List of characters on The West Wing List of The West Wing episodes References The West Wing characters Catholicism in fiction Fictional candidates for President of the United States Fictional characters from New Hampshire Fictional characters with neurological or psychological disorders Fictional Christians Fictional Democrats (United States) Fictional members of the United States House of Representatives Fictional presidents of the United States Fictional state governors of the United States Fictional Nobel laureates Fictional people from the 21st-century Television characters introduced in 1999