Leo Takes Charge of the Precinct Crisis
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Josh and Leo strategize about pressuring Iowa and New Hampshire precinct captains, realizing the calls are coming from unexpected sources.
Leo takes charge of the situation with the precinct captains and reassures Josh by declaring the matter resolved.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Concerned and unsettled; he is alarmed by the impossibility of the source and looks to Leo for containment and political cover.
Sitting across from Leo, Josh reports the alarming data point — dozens of calls traced to the Flathead River — and seeks direction, explicitly asking what to tell Senator Triplehorn about the situation.
- • Convey the intelligence accurately and quickly to decision-makers
- • Obtain clear instructions for how to respond to Senator Triplehorn
- • Protect the campaign's ground game by resolving the apparent sabotage or interference
- • The pattern of calls indicates deliberate interference rather than routine outreach
- • Staff lacks the access or motive to reach top-tier precinct leaders in this manner
- • Leadership (Leo/Bartlet team) must intervene to prevent political damage
Curt professionalism; focused on logistics and maintaining the rhythm of Leo's office despite the crisis being discussed.
Margaret interjects a brief administrative note — 'CEQ' — signaling concurrent scheduling or briefing pressures while the urgent conversation unfolds, maintaining operational flow in the outer office.
- • Keep Leo informed of scheduling and other immediate administrative tasks
- • Ensure the chief of staff's office remains coordinated during the crisis
- • Provide discrete, timely operational information without distracting from decision-making
- • Even during crises, administrative protocols and scheduling must be observed
- • Small, timely interjections (like 'CEQ') help sustain operational continuity
- • Her role is to enable Leo's decision-making by filtering and delivering relevant notices
Controlled and resolute — outwardly calm while mobilizing to contain political fallout and protect the administration's reputation.
Seated in his office, Leo listens to Josh's terse briefing, processes the implausible origin, and decisively assumes responsibility—cutting off further debate with 'All right. I'll take it.' He then issues the instruction to tell Triplehorn the problem is solved.
- • Contain and neutralize a developing political scandal before it escalates
- • Reassure senior stakeholders (e.g., Senator Triplehorn) that the issue is being handled
- • Reassert White House control over operational problems to prevent blame and preserve credibility
- • Centralized, decisive action will defuse the political risk more effectively than debate
- • Taking ownership publicly will limit opposition leverage and calm concerned allies
- • The staff should be shielded from unfounded accusations to preserve operational effectiveness
Expectant and possibly suspicious — a stakeholder likely seeking assurance or leverage, now placated by Leo's instruction but still a latent pressure point.
Senator Triplehorn is not present but is the immediate political audience for the decision; Josh asks what to tell him and Leo instructs that the problem be presented as solved, directly addressing Triplehorn’s expected concerns.
- • Obtain an explanation and remedy for perceived interference
- • Protect his political interests by holding the administration accountable
- • Maintain leverage to influence administration behavior or confirmations
- • Anomalous operational events can reflect managerial failures or political manipulation
- • The White House owes him explanations and quick remedies when his interests are affected
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The 'Flathead River Interference Calls' function as the factual pivot of the beat: Josh cites forty to fifty calls traced to that origin, using the object as evidence of organized, improbable interference. Narratively it operates as the smoking gun that forces Leo to act, converting an intelligence fragment into a political problem requiring containment.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Iowa is the affected battleground: top-tier precinct captains there received the anomalous calls. The state functions as the vulnerable constituency whose ground game credibility is threatened, sharpening the political stakes of the reported interference.
The Flathead River is invoked as the anomalous geographic source of the calls — a remote, wild place that should not be the origin of coordinated political outreach. Its mention heightens the absurdity and implies deliberate sabotage or a sophisticated vector of interference.
New Hampshire, like Iowa, is identified as a directly affected early primary state where top-level precinct captains received suspicious calls; its mention compounds the scope and urgency, indicating multi-state operational penetration rather than localized noise.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Campaign Staff is implicated as a possible origin of the calls but is explicitly defended and cleared in the exchange. The organization is both the operational body threatened by the interference and the entity whose legitimacy Leo seeks to protect by taking responsibility and promising resolution.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
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Key Dialogue
"LEO: "You think cell phones, maybe?""
"JOSH: "Not whitewater rafting. And staff can't make those calls. They're top-tier Iowa people, and New Hampshire. Forty, fifty calls from the Flathead River?""
"LEO: "Tell him it's done.""