I think the actors who play the staff on the television show The West Wing should all just play their characters and do the jobs for real. (Too bad the incredible wealth of knowledge the characters possess is probably not available to the actors.)
In the episode entitled "Ghengis Kahn," Josh Lyman, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, gains new respect for NASA and space exploration. A character goes so far as to mention Mars Direct by name, and Josh is intrigued enough to listen. He doesn't believe Congress would ever support it, but if someone like that was actually in the White House, Mars Direct could become a reality.
The argument hinged primarily on the incredible inspiration manned space exploration creates. At one point, Josh had to convince his assistant of it, and the dialogue was very nice.
All this from an episode not written by Aaron Sorkin.