Margaret's Slow Protest Quashed; Leo and Josh Devise Konanov 'Accident'
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Margaret deliberately types slowly as part of a protest organized by Donna, provoking Leo's frustration when he demands the memo.
Josh interrupts Leo’s office, revealing the Ukrainian diplomat situation and prompting Leo’s plan for an 'accidental' presidential meeting.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Defiant solidarity yielding to intimidated compliance
Types deliberately slowly with two fingers on the memo in solidarity with Donna's OSHA protest, banters defiantly with Leo about the assistant revolt, then locks eyes on his scowl and accelerates to rapid professional typing.
- • Protest White House OSHA exemption hypocrisy
- • Maintain employment by obeying Leo
- • Workplace safety laws should apply universally
- • Hierarchical authority overrides personal protest
Determined urgency
Invoked by Josh and Leo as on critical 'mission' to sway potential defector Senator Marino for Test Ban Treaty vote amid lame-duck pressures.
- • Secure Marino's vote loyalty
- • Counter defection risks
- • Personal appeals crack senatorial resolve
- • Treaty demands unyielding pursuit
Drunkenly oblivious and insistent
Referenced as drunken 'man who came to dinner' squatting uninvited in Josh's office, prompting embassy pleas and the central diplomatic ruse for accidental POTUS meet to grant him prestige amid his reformist chaos.
- • Secure meeting with President for credibility
- • Advance Ukrainian reformist agenda
- • Bold intrusion yields diplomatic wins
- • Western power bends to audacity
Grudging loyalty
Discussed by Leo and Josh as Toby's target: devoted to treaty issue but vengeful 'street kid' ripe for lame-duck influence or defection.
- • Weigh treaty allegiance against grudges
- • Assert senatorial independence
- • Issue devotion clashes with personal revenge
- • Power favors the persistent
Neutral emblem of diplomacy
Cited in Leo's Labor Secretary anecdote as precedent for 'accidental' low-level meet ploy to enable covert POTUS contact, blueprinting Konanov strategy.
- • Evoke symbolic leverage
- • Facilitate hidden alliances
- • Feigned serendipity masks intent
- • Pariahs unlock doors
Indignant outrage transforming to empowered resolve
Walks hallway protesting OSHA exemptions, summoned as 'Norma Rae' into Leo's office, indicts White House hypocrisy, then follows Josh out where he recruits her as Konanov 'beard,' reframing it as worker advocacy opportunity, leaving her empowered.
- • Champion OSHA enforcement against exemptions
- • Seize ruse as platform for labor advocacy
- • Hypocrisy undermines moral authority
- • Personal agency turns exploitation into gain
target of the planned 'accidental' meeting with Konanov via low-level ruse
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Margaret's memo for Leo becomes the battleground for OSHA protest, typed glacially with two fingers to symbolize staff rebellion, drawing Leo's ire and glare that snaps her to speed; it embodies operational friction turning to restored workflow amid ruse plotting.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Leo's outer office hosts Margaret's typing revolt and quashing, Josh's intrusion, Donna's summons and OSHA clash; transitions to inner office for ruse strategy and hallway for Donna recruitment, pulsing with hierarchical tension and crisis pivot.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
OSHA's ergonomics standards ignite Margaret and Donna-led assistant revolt of slow-typing sabotage, spotlighting White House exemption hypocrisy; protest fuels initial chaos resolved into ruse recruitment.
The White House asserts exemption from OSHA laws, quashing internal protest while plotting Konanov ploy; embodies the ethical tightrope of lame-duck maneuvers amid treaty deadlines.
Ukrainian Government represented by embassy Josh begs for Konanov extraction; diplomat's squat catalyzes the 'accidental' POTUS ruse, positioning Ukraine as chaotic ally in treaty leverage.
West Wing assistants, rallied by Donna, execute slow-typing insurgency in Leo's outer office; Margaret's compliance signals collapse, redirecting energy to Konanov 'beard' assignment.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Leo's 'Dalai Lama ploy' strategy leads to Josh recruiting Donna as the 'beard' for the Ukrainian meeting."
"Leo's 'Dalai Lama ploy' strategy leads to Josh recruiting Donna as the 'beard' for the Ukrainian meeting."
"Margaret's slow typing as part of Donna's protest leads to Josh interrupting Leo’s office to reveal the Konanov situation."
"Margaret's slow typing as part of Donna's protest leads to Josh interrupting Leo’s office to reveal the Konanov situation."
"Donna's confrontation with Josh about OSHA ergonomics standards continues her persistent advocacy, leading to her later confrontation with Leo and Josh about workplace safety exemptions."
"Donna's confrontation with Josh about OSHA ergonomics standards continues her persistent advocacy, leading to her later confrontation with Leo and Josh about workplace safety exemptions."
"Leo's 'Dalai Lama ploy' strategy leads to Josh recruiting Donna as the 'beard' for the Ukrainian meeting."
"Leo's 'Dalai Lama ploy' strategy leads to Josh recruiting Donna as the 'beard' for the Ukrainian meeting."
"Margaret's slow typing as part of Donna's protest leads to Josh interrupting Leo’s office to reveal the Konanov situation."
"Margaret's slow typing as part of Donna's protest leads to Josh interrupting Leo’s office to reveal the Konanov situation."
Key Dialogue
"LEO: "No, here's what we're going to do: All this guy wants to be able to say he met the President while he was here.""
"LEO: "When I was Labor secretary we did it with the Dalai Lama. Obviously Beijing doesn't want the President to have any diplomatic contact, so they arrange a low level meeting, keep the door open, the President wanders by, 'Hey, how ya doing, Dalai Lama.""
"JOSH: "That's the most crazy ass thing I've ever heard." LEO: "It works.""
"DONNA: "This is an opportunity." JOSH: "That's right.""