White House staff's high-stakes political maneuvering to secure Senator McGowan's vote for the Blue Ribbon Commission through last-minute SOTU speech dilutions and pork-barrel concessions, balancing policy purity against legislative reality.
White House staff's high-stakes political maneuvering to secure Senator McGowan's vote for the Blue Ribbon Commission through last-minute SOTU speech dilutions and pork-barrel concessions, balancing policy purity against legislative reality.
Events in This Arc
In the FBI Field Office in Burlington, Vermont, Agent Greg urgently directs Joan to run an NCIC search on 'Yaarun Nabi,' which she recognizes as Persian for 'Friend of the …
In a shadowed White House office during the post-9/11 lockdown, Chief of Staff Leo McGarry aggressively interrogates innocent Arab-American staffer Raqim Ali about a wire in his backpack (dismissed as …
Under the strain of the White House lockdown, Leo enters Ali's office with solemn stiffness, awkwardly apologizing for his earlier prejudiced jabs about Ali's features resembling criminals and Muslim women …
Alone in the congressional hearing room on Christmas Eve, Leo summons FBI agent Mike Casper to brief him on escalating threats—seven more black churches targeted in Tennessee—dispatching Mike to support …
Fresh from Bartlet's bolstering phone call, which Jordan overheard, she anxiously probes Leo about 'what's going on.' As Chairman Bruno calls him to swear in, her unease prompts another urgent …
In a pivotal morale-boosting interlude during the hearing break, President Bartlet calls Leo, fiercely urging him to let Josh shield him—even via perjury if needed—while Leo deftly deflects for security. …
Toby bursts into Sam's office, masking frustration over the stalled economy section of the State of the Union speech with pie banter, then sharply questions progress and Lisa Sherborne's impending …
In the Communications Office at night, post-meeting tension erupts as Toby dismisses Bartlet's bold cancer-cure pledge for the State of the Union as a futile, post-censure distraction lacking resources or …
Two weeks before the State of the Union, Sam delivers his bold draft pledging a federal crusade to cure cancer within a decade to President Bartlet in the Oval Office …
In the frenetic Outer Oval Office, Sam paces anxiously on a high-stakes call, negotiating votes for the Blue Ribbon commission. Toby rushes to the Oval Office, directing speechwriters to soften …
In a nail-biting climax to frantic negotiations, Sam clinches Senator McGowan's pivotal support for the Blue Ribbon Commission by conceding backing for a highway bill (SP 380) and dedicating U.S. …
In the chaotic final minutes before the State of the Union, Toby directs speechwriters to excise inflammatory words like 'vigorously' and 'chokehold' to placate Senator McGowan. Sam clinches the crucial …
Immediately after concluding her press briefing on the UN speech delay, Leonard Wallace intercepts C.J. in the Press Room corridor, urgently reporting that reporter Bill Price has missed two deadlines …
McKennen Loboko, the Congolese attaché, enters Leo's office amid C.J.'s update on reporter Bill Price's distraught wife. C.J. launches a blistering accusation, labeling the abduction a shakedown and demanding ransom …
In the shadowed White House hallway at night, after Josh relays reporter Bill Price's ambush death to C.J. and Wallace—who then shatter Janet with the news, her raw cries echoing—Donna …
In the Roosevelt Room, Toby ignites a strategic huddle, warning that sharing space with rival Ritchie at a high-profile Shakespeare gala elevates the Governor while diminishing Bartlet. Josh frets over …
In Josh's bullpen, Donna relays Harry Conroy's Bismarck wake-up call to a defensive Sam—'get up off the dirt'—echoing his post-scandal funk. Toby clears the room and shares a brutal fable …