Character

Ken

Ken anchors the Situation Room's tense briefing, his voice slicing through crisis fog as he relays the flight leader's stark visual: the F-16's tail plane vanished from formation. He inventories the jet's lethal payload—a 20mm Vulcan cannon and seven AIM Sidewinder missiles—with unflinching precision, vouches for the pilot's ironclad psychological screening, and charts a tactical pivot over the Sierra Madres' barren spines. At the compliance precipice, he lays bare the raw decision fork, his counsel a bulwark for Bartlet and Leo amid rogue skies threatening national rupture.

7 appearances

Ken's Journey

A timeline through the narrative

7 moments

S1E19 · Let Bartlet Be Bartlet

Roosevelt Room: Legal Roadblock

Skeptical and mildly dismissive, prioritizing legislative realities over rhetorical commitments.

Rep. Ken listens and interjects a skeptical, politically realistic note — he downplays Sam's optimism about immediate change and represents congressional caution within the meeting.

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S1E19 · Let Bartlet Be Bartlet

Slate Rebuked; 'Don't Ask' Reform Runs Into a Wall

Dryly dismissive — unconvinced that rhetoric will translate into substantive change without congressional action.

Skeptically dismisses Sam's optimism ('I would imagine it to be very little'), serving as the congressional pragmatist who reduces presidential rhetorical power to political reality.

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S1E19 · Let Bartlet Be Bartlet

Fitzwallace Calls the Question

Alert, measured; listening for how the military frames the issue because it cues legislative posture.

Rep. Ken listens, exchanges polite greeting with Fitzwallace, and remains an observational presence; his role is to represent congressional skepticism and procedural realism during the meeting.

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S1E19 · Let Bartlet Be Bartlet

Sam's Evidence Meets Military Stonewalling; Fitzwallace Breaks the Room

Alert but reserved — attentive to how the military will present itself and weigh its political implications.

Representative Ken is present as a congressional interlocutor, exchanges perfunctory greetings with Fitzwallace, and receives the Admiral's curt exit — a quiet witness to the clash between staff and military …

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S1E19 · Let Bartlet Be Bartlet

After the Meeting: Sam Left in the Roosevelt Room

Controlled exasperation — patient until provoked, then decisively dismissive when the truth about inaction is acknowledged.

Ken speaks with procedural authority and rhetorical coldness, refusing to be baited by Sam's moralizing; he systematically shifts the conversation from moral rhetoric to concrete legislative mechanics, exposing the lack …

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S1E19 · Let Bartlet Be Bartlet

Don't Ask, Don't Tell — Negotiations Collapse

Coolly exasperated and businesslike; impatient with moralizing that lacks legislative follow-through.

Ken stays controlled and procedural, refusing rhetorical detours. He enumerates concrete requirements — a House resolution, co‑sponsors, a deal — and forces a yes/no answer about presidential commitment, then ends …

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S2E10 · Noel

Situation Room: Bartlet Probes Rogue F-16 Crisis

Focused professionalism under presidential scrutiny

Ken details flight leader's visual of missing tail plane, inventories 20mm Vulcan and 7 Sidewinders, affirms pilot's psych screening, proposes Sierra Madres routing, and outlines decision fork if non-compliant.

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