The Book, the Secretaries, and 'Barbecuing'
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Debbie questions Charlie about the President's year without an executive secretary, revealing her curiosity and unfamiliarity with White House operations.
Charlie explains the structure of the President's secretarial staff, detailing the roles and responsibilities within the White House.
Debbie inquires about the 'daily diary' and private activities, leading to a humorous exchange about euphemisms for the President's private time.
Charlie and Debbie share a lighthearted moment discussing the euphemism 'barbecuing' for the President's private activities with the First Lady.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Matter-of-fact and quietly protective; he balances institutional pride with a desire to shield presidential privacy while mentoring/debriefing a candidate.
Charlie explains the President's secretarial hierarchy in patient, plain language, defines 'the book' with a concrete example, and softens the bureaucratic lesson with affectionate euphemisms about the President's private moments.
- • Explain White House procedures clearly to Debbie.
- • Protect the President's privacy and reputation through euphemism and tone.
- • Advocate implicitly for the need to fill the Executive Secretary role.
- • Order and record-keeping (the book) are essential to running the Presidency.
- • Some truths about the President's life are best handled gently.
- • A competent Executive Secretary stabilizes the office and the President's day.
Not present physically; the scene frames him as a figure whose routines and privacy are being defended, suggesting dignity and inviolability.
President Bartlet is the absent subject of discussion; his staffing choices and the fact that he has been without an Executive Secretary for a year are explained and implicitly evaluated.
- • Maintain the functioning of his office despite staffing gaps (implied).
- • Preserve private life amid public duties (implied).
- • The Presidency requires rigorous scheduling and staff support.
- • Certain personal aspects of the Presidency should remain discreet.
Absent as a person but present as an institutional necessity; described with implied urgency and importance.
The Executive Secretary is described as the central conduit for four of the President's secretaries, a role whose absence is the structural problem Debbie asks about and Charlie explains.
- • Consolidate incoming work from multiple secretaries.
- • Ensure smooth information flow to the President.
- • A single Executive Secretary is necessary for coherent presidential operations.
- • Vacancies in this role create operational and political vulnerabilities.
Implied quiet professionalism; not emotive in this exchange, but functionally necessary.
Research Secretaries are cited as two positions that feed information into the Executive Secretary; their existence explains the flow of analytical work to the President.
- • Provide research and briefing material to the President's office.
- • Support informed decision-making through synthesized information.
- • Specialized research roles improve presidential decision-making.
- • Their work must be coordinated through a central Executive Secretary.
Neutral, implicitly professional; their domain (social events) contrasts with procedural 'book' minutiae.
The Social Secretary is referenced as one of the President's secretaries responsible for social matters; mentioned to show the breadth of roles funneled through the Executive Secretary.
- • Manage ceremonial and social aspects of the Presidency.
- • Coordinate social logistics to preserve public-facing functions.
- • Social functions require specialized staff and careful scheduling.
- • Coordination through the Executive Secretary prevents conflicts.
Implied steady, almost anonymous competence; the assistant's role protects institutional memory and privacy.
The Scheduler's Assistant is invoked as the keeper of 'the book'—the person whose minute-by-minute record defines the President's day and who literally maintains the diary Charlie describes.
- • Maintain an accurate minute-by-minute record of presidential activity.
- • Ensure the President's schedule is executed and documented precisely.
- • The book is essential to accountability and continuity.
- • Precision in scheduling underpins presidential effectiveness.
Not present; referenced to convey the seriousness and regularity of presidential business and the book's detail.
The Fed Chair is referenced indirectly as the recipient in the example entry from 'the book' (10:25, placed phone call to the Fed Chair), signaling the President's routine contact with financial authorities.
- • Receive and coordinate on monetary/economic policy matters with the President (implied).
- • Act as an institutional counterpart in managing national economic stability.
- • High-level economic communication with the White House must be timely and recorded.
- • The Fed Chair is a key routine contact for the President.
Curious and professionally evaluative with a trace of bemused surprise at the formality and intrusion of presidential routine.
Deborah Fidderer asks direct, practical questions about the President's staffing and the meaning of 'the book,' listening closely and registering Charlie's explanations with mild bemusement.
- • Understand the operational structure of the President's personal staff.
- • Assess the role and importance of the Executive Secretary before a potential job commitment.
- • Gauge how intrusive or protective the White House environment will be to personal life.
- • Organizational clarity matters to job performance and personal fit.
- • The Presidency should have supporting structures; gaps have consequences.
- • Privacy matters but will be negotiated within institutional constraints.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The President's Daily Diary ('the book') is defined and exemplified in Charlie's explanation: a minute-by-minute accounting of presidential actions (e.g., '10:25, placed phone call to the Fed Chair'). It functions here as the emblem of bureaucratic order that structures private and public time.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
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Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"DEBBIE: Is it all right to ask what he did for a year?"
"CHARLIE: The President has five secreataries. Four of them funnel their work through the Executive Secretary."
"CHARLIE: It's the daily diary. It's a minute by minute accounting of what the President did that day. 10:25, placed to phone call to the Fed Chair."