Monday, November 10, 2008 10:35 AM

The 'West Wing' Prophecies Continue

By LUCAS GRINDLEY

Now it's starting to get creepy. In an odd way, the selection of Rahm Emanuel as Barack Obama's chief of staff fulfills yet another plot line that unfolded during the final season of NBC's "West Wing," which must have been written by Nostradamus.

As aficionados of the long-running show will know, Emanuel is widely cited as inspiration for the character of Josh Lyman, who becomes the chief of staff to the new president, Matthew Santos. And the real conspiracy theorists know why that's important: The Santos character is modeled after Obama. (The writers spoke repeatedly with David Axelrod while composing their prophetic plot lines.)

This isn't the first parallel to emerge from the show. The New York Times cataloged earlier coincidences in October.

At this rate, John McCain will be named as Obama's secretary of state. After all, that's how the season ends, with Santos picking his former rival in the ultimate gesture of bipartisanship.