Books with tone and protagonist similar to “The West Wing” — not necessarily about politics

I'm looking for a book that is similar to the show "The West Wing" in the following ways:

• protagonist with a strong moral center, if not a spotless personal history
• generally earnest tone and optimistic POV without being pollyannaish
• presumes the audience is intelligent

I'm completely agnostic on genre and setting. The Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny is a perfect fit, despite having nothing to do with politics.

Any other ideas?