Bartlet's Raw Confession: 'I Don't Want to Be President'
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Josh enters with campaign updates, shifting focus from the crisis to political optics.
Bartlet delivers a blunt, unscripted answer to the question 'Why do you want to be President?', revealing his raw exhaustion.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Hesitant yet professionally persistent, gauging room dynamics
Josh enters politely, greets Bartlet and Albie, probes if crisis talk precludes his update, hesitates on campaign sensitivity, then delivers the Majority Leader gaffe details and core question, absorbs the blunt reply with wry deflection before exiting promptly.
- • Secure Bartlet's input on campaign response to gaffe
- • Gauge crisis severity without overstepping
- • Presidential authenticity fuels effective campaigning
- • Distractions can humanize amid unrelenting pressure
Wryly tolerant of the interruption
Albie briefly acknowledges Josh's entrance with a curt 'Joshua,' remaining a silent sentinel of cautionary presence as the campaign pivot unfolds, his earlier warnings lingering in the air without further interruption.
- • Maintain diplomatic composure during diversion
- • Observe presidential handling of dual pressures
- • Historical precedents demand unwavering caution
- • Campaign intrusions risk diluting crisis focus
Calmly professional amid underlying tension
Charlie knocks decisively on the Oval Office door, announces 'Josh' with crisp deference, facilitating the intruder's entry into the high-stakes gathering without lingering, his presence a brief conduit bridging campaign urgency to crisis command.
- • Promptly deliver Josh's arrival to the President
- • Minimize disruption to ongoing discussions
- • Duty demands swift, unquestioning service to Bartlet
- • Campaign matters warrant immediate presidential access
exhausted and frustrated
Bangs his head on the desk in frustration, defends his plan to send subs and gather NSC, seeks distraction, and bluntly confesses 'I don't' want to be President.
- • Seek distraction from the submarine crisis.
- • Respond to the campaign question on desiring the presidency amid re-election pressures.
Sardonic calm veiling operational impatience
Leo deflects Josh's query with laconic 'We're just catching up,' endures the campaign detour stoically, then delivers the terse 'Fifty-five minutes' post-confession, yanking Bartlet back to submarine urgency with iron command.
- • Minimize campaign intrusion on crisis
- • Redirect to NSC timeline immediately after diversion
- • Time is the enemy in submarine blackouts
- • Personal revelations must yield to duty
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The NSC looms implicitly as Leo's 'Fifty-five minutes' countdown redirects post-confession, underscoring the event's pivot from personal exhaustion to institutional crisis machinery, where Bartlet's raw admission delays but cannot derail convocation amid North Korean submarine shadows.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"The urgent news of the missing submarine compels Albie Duncan to recount past submarine disasters to inform Bartlet's decision-making."
"Bartlet's assertiveness in declaring political record reflects his same decisiveness on the submarine crisis."
"Both beats explore the challenge of answering why one wants to be President, from the Majority Leader's gaffe to Bartlet's raw admission."
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: No, give it to me now. I want a distraction."
"JOSH: Why do you want to be President? BARTLET: ([without hesitation]) I don't."
"JOSH: Well, we'll put that in the hopper and show you a draft."