I thought LoM was very appropriately critical of Gene to begin with, but they did seem to buy into the hype a bit too much as the series continued. Yes, he's a wonderfully compelling character, but he's so wrong about so many things. (I have to admit I was really shocked to come online and see the media praise of him, because it was so obvious to me that he was a deeply ambiguous character. But I suppose I was watching him through the filter of my own very liberal views.)

And, yeah, I'm sure it would be GREAT to have all cops act just like him--as long as you're white, male, able-bodied, straight, not an immigrant, and so on. Any variation and you're probably going to be ignored/discriminated against/beaten up/imprisoned unfairly. But hey! Gene's a cowboy so it's all okay! *rolls eyes*

Gene is far more palatable because the text is critical of him (he often causes problems by being wrong due to his sexism/racism/etc) and because Sam is there to counter his bigotry. And it doesn't change that he has many wonderfully heroic qualities and that he truly cares about his city and is doing what he thinks is best for it. That makes him interesting, not perfect.

I love Snape, Sirius, Spike, Methos... but their flaws are what make them fascinating characters. Whitewash those and what's the point?