West Wing: moving to the center

I was a West Wing fan early on in the series, but it has been at least three years since I have watched a new episode on NBC (as opposed to an old episode on Bravo). Last night I watched a new episode and discovered that all signs are that the show is going to go from focusing on a pure-hearted liberal (Martin Sheen) to focusing on a pure-hearted centrist (Alan Alda). Alda plays a moderate Republican from California who is pro-choice (but favors a ban on partial birth abortion), pro-environment, and a deficit hawk. (No mention last night about foreign policy positions.) The theme last night was that Alda's character represents the views of 60% of the electorate and he might be able to carry 50 states in the upcoming (TV) election if he avoids pandering to the right with his VP pick.