The Democratic strategist Donna Brazile has played herself on the show three times. Sunday marked the debut of the Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, playing herself in a plot line that saw her going along with an Eli Gold ploy to encourage Alicia to run for state’s attorney. These cameos would make sense if Michelle and Robert King, the show’s creators, were lobbying for some kind of federal production tax credit. And they probably succeed as fan service for a liberal audience of a certain age. But they don’t work as television drama. The political functionaries can’t act — they’re a distraction, and they flatten every scene they’re in. The shock of recognition isn’t worth it. source
