More and more this season I hoped “West Wing“’s executive producers — and NBC — would reconsider the decision to cancel the series.

No such luck.

Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe bids good-bye and nicely sums up the series’ highs and lows.

“The show often felt too much like a cheering section for Democratic leadership, particularly under Sorkin. But ‘The West Wing’ has also felt like a cheer for any form of responsible democracy,” writes Gilbert. “When we’re watching the show 10 years from now, when it’s free from immediate political associations, it may stand as a rally for viewers to keep hoping for the best, despite any signs to the contrary.”

Baltimore Sun television critic David Zurawik notes that this hasn’t been a very good year for U.S. presidents on television. To wit: the on-screen death of “24″’s President David Palmer, the probable off-screen death of President Mackenzie Allen — or, to be more precise, the ABC series “Commander in Chief” — and the dastardly deeds of “24″’s President Charles Logan.

Of course, the president sitting in the real White House isn’t doing so well, either.

Josiah Bartlet, we’ll miss you.