I kind of knew that this one would get me in the end, especially having seen the excellent, zinging first episode on an HBO teaser disc a while back ... West Wing-associated positive associations + idealism + (a bonus, but a big one) Emily Mortimer, who has indeed, as her character Mackenzie McHale declares in that season opener, gotten hotter with age (at another point, asked about whether she's tired, she replies something to the effect of "I'm exhausted. I've been exhausted since I was 30. We've all been exhausted since we were 30"). Sure, it has its frustrating and indeed somewhat problematic aspects (the somewhat on the trite side interpersonal dramas and love triangles, the uncritical acceptance of the killing of Osama Bin Laden as a unifying American moment, the general preachiness) but it's nonetheless very enjoyable, watchable tv.
