'WEST WING' Producer discusses show

One topic that hasn't been presented on the show is gun control.
SCRIPPS HOWARD
Executive producer John Wells would like to see John Goodman and Matthew Perry return to "The West Wing," but says it depends on their availability.
"[Perry's] movie career keeps him busy," Wells said. "But we had a great time with him." "The West Wing" brought the "Friends" star's character, conservative Joe Quincy, back to the series last fall in a storyline in which he talked to the ailing chief justice.
Wells praised Goodman for bringing energy to the series in his role as the temporary acting president, but added, "We couldn't keep him as president forever."
The producer said distance makes Goodman's availability more difficult. "John lives in New Orleans," Wells said.
Wells, meanwhile, said he plans to continue his efforts to make President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet (Martin Sheen) a strong leader again. "He takes the initiative with domestic policies and the federal judiciary."
Leaning toward center
Wells said that despite the common perception, "The West Wing" leans more to the center than the left, especially on its positions of use of force and economic policies.
"We try to present both sides of the issues," Wells said. "The one thing we haven't done that on is gun control. [Creator] Aaron Sorkin didn't feel [the anti-gun-control] side had a strong enough argument.
"Is there a liberal bias? One of the jokes in Democratic circles is that the first thing Democrats would do if they had a talk show is ask, 'Do we need conservatives for balance?'" Wells said.
He added that guest star Gene Moore will play a conservative talk-show host on an unidentified cable network.
Wells said the producers aren't trying to make any of their own political points.
"We keep track of the administration's positions; we try to be true to the political reality [of the series]," he said.