Character

American Fathers and Mothers

capable autonomous valued

President Bartlet invokes American fathers and mothers in debate prep to dismantle Governor Ritchie's attack on family policies. He questions lecturing them on child-rearing, casts subsidized daycare, preschool, and leave as tools that bolster their efforts rather than supplant parents. This stand empowers the rhetorical figures, rallies his advisors against messaging caution, and cements the campaign's defense of working families as autonomous and capable.

2 appearances

Also known as: American fathers and mothers

American Fathers …'s Journey

A timeline through the narrative

2 moments

S4E5 · Debate Camp

Bartlet's Reframe: Defend, Not Replace

Portrayed as valorized by the president's defense, positioned as allies of policy rather than targets of it.

American fathers and mothers are rhetorically invoked by Bartlet to defend parental competence and ground his policy justification in familial respect and shared experience.

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S4E5 · Debate Camp

Tone Clash: Bartlet's Blunt Reframe and the Messaging Rift

Positioned as defensive and dignified by the President's invocation.

American fathers and mothers are rhetorically invoked by Bartlet as a constituency he defends against Ritchie's caricature; they function as the moral counterweight to the accusation.

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