Walking the West Wing: Softball, Satellites, and the First Sting of Crisis
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet and Charlie walk from the Residence to the Oval Office, discussing Bartlet's excitement about watching a girls' softball game later.
Bartlet receives a memo from an aide but continues to tease Charlie about his reaction to the softball game.
Bartlet and Charlie enter the West Wing offices, where Bartlet humorously misnames aides while maintaining his excitement about the softball game.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Professionally focused and slightly impatient to get to the rehearsal; registers shuttle news but defers to the President's directive to gather facts.
Runs the press rehearsal logistics — tells the President the town‑hall will be broadcast on MSNBC, describes staging (moderator, pitcher, glass), and follows the President onto the stage; her controlled, managerial presence frames the public performance.
- • Ensure the town‑hall rehearsal runs on schedule with correct stage setup.
- • Control messaging and on‑air optics before the live broadcast.
- • Preparation and stage discipline mitigate risks to public perception.
- • Operational clarity (who sits where, props) reduces last‑minute mistakes.
Prepared and attentive to her role in the rehearsal; unaffected publicly by the shuttle ambiguity until asked to proceed.
Introduced by C.J. as the mock moderator for the rehearsal; she is present and about to take the first question, facilitating the staged public exchange while the private crisis is beginning to intrude.
- • Moderate the rehearsal smoothly and follow C.J.'s direction.
- • Keep the town‑hall simulation realistic and on cue.
- • Stage discipline will keep the rehearsal credible.
- • Adhering to the planned order prevents confusion on camera.
Mildly embarrassed but protective and loyal; comfortable in the President's banter while remaining respectful.
Walks beside the President, answering respectfully; becomes the target of playful teasing about the softball remark and deflects, maintaining deference and a mild embarrassment as the exchange humanizes the President.
- • Support the President's ease and public performance.
- • Avoid escalating or undermining the President's humor.
- • Follow cues and help keep the walk efficient and on schedule.
- • Maintaining a respectful posture is the right way to serve the President.
- • Lighthearted ritual helps reduce the emotional cost of the day.
Playful and steady on the surface; quickly shifts to concerned curiosity and a simmering personal worry when the shuttle news arrives.
Walks conversationally from the Residence into the Oval and press room, trading teasing banter to humanize himself; receives a memo; pivots from jocularity to urgent curiosity when he hears the Columbia may not have landed and learns Toby's brother is aboard.
- • Maintain calm, personable public posture ahead of the town‑hall rehearsal.
- • Gather immediate factual information about the reported shuttle anomaly.
- • Protect staff morale by using small‑town humor to diffuse tension.
- • Public ritual and small talk can steady both him and the staff.
- • He should convert ambiguous reports into personal queries to prompt faster answers.
- • Personal relationships (Toby's brother) matter in assessing the significance of a technical event.
Professional calm, focused on timely delivery and moving the President along the schedule.
Approaches to hand the President a memo in the Oval; provides the physical cue that transitions the walk from casual banter to briefing mode, performing routine logistical duty without ceremony.
- • Deliver the memo to the President promptly and unobtrusively.
- • Keep the flow of movement and information smooth for senior staff.
- • Timely, discreet handoffs matter more than theatrics.
- • Routine actions (memos) anchor larger, unpredictable events.
Calm and routine — part of the daily background of aides who populate the President's path.
Receives an informal greeting from the President and is part of the corridor entourage; his presence signals normal West Wing continuity amid the shifting tone.
- • Serve as a reliable on‑floor aide, contributing to the look of normalcy.
- • Remain available for small tasks or cues during the rehearsal transition.
- • Everyday presence of aides reassures principals and publics alike.
- • Efficiency is demonstrated by unobtrusive support.
Neutral, professionally friendly; her greeting contributes to the everyday rhythm that masks underlying crises.
Greets the President with 'Good morning' as an aide/participant in the West Wing flow; her brief exchange underscores the familiar, collegial milieu Bartlet cultivates to humanize power.
- • Maintain professional rapport with the President and staff.
- • Be available if needed during the transition to the press rehearsal.
- • Polite recognition sustains working relationships in the West Wing.
- • Being present in the flow increases usefulness should immediate consultation be required.
Unflappable and businesslike; his presence is a neutral cue amid shifting tones.
Pops his head in to announce readiness ('They're ready for you, Sir'), serving as the temporal anchor who keeps the President on schedule for the town‑hall rehearsal.
- • Ensure the President is aware the rehearsal is ready to begin.
- • Coordinate timing so the President can transition to the staged event.
- • Keeping to schedule preserves control and avoids chaos.
- • Clear, concise updates are the most useful in tight operational moments.
Caught off guard and inquisitive; quickly moves into action-mode to fetch answers when asked.
Arrives during the walk and is fired a question by the President about the shuttle; surprised and without immediate answer, he is sent to find Toby — acting as a conduit for information rather than a decision maker in this exchange.
- • Obtain accurate information for the President by contacting Toby.
- • Protect the President from misinformation by quickly verifying facts.
- • Information should be verified at the source (talk to Toby).
- • Timely, accurate answers are essential to preserve credibility.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
A small stage stool is occupied by the President when he moves onto the stage for rehearsal; it permits a conversational posture, lowering formal distance and reinforcing the domestic, accessible tone he cultivated during the Colonnade walk.
Four red-bellied Japanese newts are invoked as the shuttle's biological payload, offering a humanizing, oddly comic specificity that underlines the shuttle's scientific stakes and the trivial-to-critical tonal shift.
A simple pitcher of water is placed as a prop for the town‑hall rehearsal; C.J. references it as part of staging — a tactile detail that anchors Bartlet's onstage routine even as the content of conversation turns grave.
A plain short drinking glass is described as the partner prop to the pitcher; its mention helps C.J. map out Bartlet's onstage actions and maintain the illusion of casualness while backstage tension grows.
A compact White House memo is handed to the President as he enters the Oval; its physical transfer punctuates the informal walk with administrative reality, reminding participants that performance and policy coexist in the same space.
The Space Shuttle Columbia functions as the unseen but central crisis object: Bartlet mentions that it failed to land, instantly converting small talk into operational concern and tying the drama to a personal stake (Toby's brother aboard).
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Colonnade/West Wing corridor serves as the transit spine where private banter and institutional rhythm collide; the walk stages the President's small‑town humor and connects domestic life to public performance.
The Press Room / Town Hall stage is the public performance space where the rehearsal is set to unfold; it holds the props, cameras, and the stool, and it is where private news must be reconciled with public optics.
The Oval Office is the immediate locus where official business intrudes: a memo is handed there and the cadence tightens; it is the executive threshold where lightheartedness meets documentation and chain-of-command cues.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Bartlet's casual mention of watching a softball game contrasts with Gina's later discovery of skinheads loading weapons, hinting at the impending attack."
"Bartlet's casual mention of watching a softball game contrasts with Gina's later discovery of skinheads loading weapons, hinting at the impending attack."
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: It seems to me that if this event is over by 10:00, then I can be back here by 11, and you know what that means. CHARLIE: Yes, sir. It means that you can watch the girls' softball game."
"BARTLET: Why didn't the Columbia land last night? SAM: I'm sorry, sir? BARTLET: The Space Shuttle was supposed to land last night, someone told me that it didn't. SAM: I don't know, sir. BARTLET: Why don't you go ask Toby? SAM: Why would Toby know? BARTLET: His brother's on that flight."
"C.J.: Astro-newts? BARTLET: 100% right."