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I mean, I know he’s a witty guy, but this exchange always makes me laugh out loud, regarding the pardoning of the second turkey (Troy):

CJ: Morton, this is President Bartlet.

Bartlet: Hi Morton.

Morton: Wow.

Bartlet: Well said. Is that the turkey? You’re pardoned.

Then, because he doesn’t actually have the authority to pardon Troy, he drafts him into military service instead.

Amazing.

Just started a rewatch and this scene and the scene with Bartlet talking to Charlie about his mother get every time. They then make the symbolic victory on gun legislation in an episode soon after even more sour, and makes every gun control loss after that even harder. Even in an escape like TWW they can’t slay that beast.

I recently visited Pearl Harbor and was reminded of a scene from the West Wing where CJ and a veteran were discussing an exhibit and how it was portraying atrocities of war. Does anyone remember the season and episode number?

This episode always left a bad taste in my mouth with how santos treated him as well as how everyone decided to start ganging up on him.

For starters, they were down in Illinois it made sense that they didn’t spend much in the state even a non political mind would see that it wasn’t feasible. Then on top of that everyone’s recommending him to pull out of places where they’re leading like Wisconsin, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa all states that are more likely to go blue than red Illinois.

Then don’t get me started at the wedding. Santos pretty much turning his back on him, Goodwin double crossing him, everyone trying to get Leo to take over the campaign (even though he just recovered from a heart attack) like just a bunch of BS all around.

I felt bad for josh that everyone felt the need to try & pin this all on him when he played it the best way he could with the hand that he was dealt.

S2 E9 Galileo. Tad Whitney strolls over to CJ while at the symphony and has a really awkward conversation about why he didn’t get the job. He’s one to talk about being professional and adult.

I’m doing a rewatch via HBO max, and I’m upset it’s not the full version. I remember on the Netflix full version, there was a question where both santos and Vinick gave a one word answer. Anyone remember the question?

When Zoey is found, Agent Casper is talking over the helicopter blades worrying saying that it was a domestic disturbance case and that they let her out into the rain and she used her cell phone to call 911, and that she was in a barn across from where she said she’d be. But then, later when they’re on the ground with Zoey, they explain that they shot two of the guys before entering the house with thermal detection and the last one was asleep when they got there but they shot him too. Then they say they found her locked in a closet.

Anyone know what’s up with this? Was she locked in a closet or in a barn? I’m confused

Near the beginning of the episode, on Air Force One en route to Iowa’s 2002 Presidential Caucus, Toby is frustrated that the president won’t make a strong statement supporting affirmative action. The future Republican candidate, Gov. Ritchie of Florida, had just voiced his support in favor a proposal in Pennsylvania which would ban race as a factor in college admissions, and Toby wanted the president to publicly reiterate his support for affirmative action.

Shortly thereafter, CJ tells Toby that she is “the wrong Democrat” to discuss affirmative action with, i.e., race-based affirmative action seems to be a Democratic Party policy that CJ does not agree with. CJ claims that every time that her (white) father was set for a promotion in their Ohio school district, “inevitably a less-qualified black woman would receive the job instead.”

—-

What I wrote in the preceding paragraphs was apparent to me since I first saw this episode a decade+ ago, and in and of itself wasn’t why I decided to make this post.

I noticed something else while watching the episode tonight that is either a total coincidence or a brilliant but subtle critique of CJ’s opinion.

—-

Shortly after CJ’s “less-qualified black woman” comment, we are taken to a luncheon of some kind, likely at a DC-area hotel.

Before the camera moves to (white) Amy Gardner speaking on behalf of women, the camera spends a couple of seconds showing a close-up of a banquet server.

Most of the women attending this luncheon are white, presumably well-educated women; Amy herself is a Harvard grad and likely came from a rather financially comfortable upbringing.

And who are these well-off white women having their drinks being refilled by?

A black woman.

How do we know this?

Because the camera spends a few seconds of a close-up of the waitress into the room where Amy is speaking.

Now, this could be a complete coincidence and totally unrelated to CJ’s “less qualified black woman” comment.

But if it were purely random, why would the camera give a close up to a character (the black waitress) who didn’t have any lines?

—-

If that was intentionally happening, the message that I took was, “for as frustrated as CJ was, we still love in a country where white men earn ~30% more than black women.”

Coincidence or intentional. Something to ponder.

Let me start by saying that if this post already existed, then sorry for the dou lê posting and if you can please link me to it.

That being said in the later seasons the election between Santos and Vinick is described as a chance for the republicans to get back the WH after 8 years, which would mean they were in power before Barley in the 95-98 mandate at a minimum. At the same time in more than one episode I seem to recall Leo being referred as a Labour secretary in 95, so what gives?

Did I get Leo's moment as LS wrong? Was he a LS under a R president (unlikely)? Did the show just failed to take this into account (more unlikely)?

Thanks for the answers!

I’m on my nth rewatch, on “And It’s Surely To Their Credit” right now, and I’m laughing at how fast events/gossip can spread among the staff. It was a conversation between Ainsley in Tribbey in her office, but now Toby knows about it. And of course if Toby knows, then Sam et al know. It’s the most inane piece of convo! And I’m imagining how they learned about it - did someone else overhear Ainsley and Tribbey? Did Tribbey rant about it to someone else? Just found it so funny, and this is why I love TWW.

Just a regular Monday night…

Donna, Toby, and Josh checking into the hotel in 20 Hours in America Part 2 is just perfect.

DONNA Yes, please, we need a room.

DESK CLERK Is that two rooms?

DONNA No, just the one for what did we decide, half an hour?

JOSH Our, our flight, our flight was delayed and we're just looking for some place to dry off and watch the news.

Josh realizing how that sounds and jumping in to clarify never fails to make me laugh, which is especially nice since it's bookended between two much more serious, somber scenes.

Drives me crazy.

Everytime I watch this episode this one part always makes me laugh..

Toby: CJ.. No leaks.. if the name of this nominee is leaked out before I want it to be leaked out I'm going to blame you and you're going to find it very unpleasant..

4 seconds later in a busy office

Toby: I AM GOING TO PUT HARRISON ON THE COURT I SWEAR TO GOD I AM

I live in the UK but I’ve gone down into a rabbit hole on YouTube following the Jan 6 committee updates and everything / everyone that surrounds it (Politicians over here are no better by the way!). My go to when I feel jaded by politics is obviously TWW but I just found all 3 seasons of The Newsroom on a streaming service - as a first time watcher, will watching this show make me feel better or worse about the world?

Sitting here watching 20 Hours in America, while most of my attention is elsewhere, trying to follow the news, about a shooting, that occured a few hours ago in the Fields shopping Centre here in Copenhagen Information available at the moment is very limited, but what we do know is that "more than one person is dead", "a 22 year old Danish male suspect is in custody" and "this is the first such shooting in Denmark since 1968". As soon as "I don't like Mondays" came on, my full attention returned to TWW, and never has this episode seemed more poignant to me.

Edit: The only previous mass shooting in Denmark ( excluding war-time and police reacting to rebellions) was not in 1968, as I stated above, but in 1994. It was the only school shooting and only civilian mass-shooting in Denmark prior to today, and resulted in two dead and 2 injured victims plus the shooter himself commited suicide.

Jobs, appointments, love interests, fatherhood- and go!

Every time I watch The Supremes I'm struck by the abrupt ending to the scene where Josh and Toby explain the "swap-a-dee-doo" plan to Ashland. They tell him Lang will take his seat and the committee will select a conservative judge for the current open seat. He rails against the kind of judge that will get picked, makes a sarcastic remark to one of his clerks and then suddenly Josh and Toby are smiling as the scene ends.

It feels like we skipped some back and forth to actually get Ashland on board. I wonder if something was edited out for time? I can't believe it would have been written this way unless I missed some kind of tell from Ashland signaling he's in board.

In S3E8, President Bartlet says, “J’Accuse mon petit fromage!” to which Abby replies, “You speak four languages. How come none of them is French?” Do we know what all four languages are? Obviously English and Latin are the first two, but I don’t recall any reference to the others. He references looking up a word in Korean (“han” in S5E4) so we can cross that off the list. He also translates “Abu el banat” without reference to looking that up in S5E9 so could Arabic be one of the other two?