The Bible, Mr. Cravenly, and Khundu
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Charlie informs Bartlet that he cannot use the Bartlet Bible for the inauguration due to preservation concerns.
Bartlet and Charlie discuss the irony of the Bible needing climate control and joke about Mr. Cravenly's name.
Bartlet insists on using the Bartlet Bible despite the historical society's refusal, highlighting his persistence and personal connection to the artifact.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Composed and matter-of-fact, focused on transmitting facts and carrying out the President's instructions without drama.
Enters the Oval, reports Mr. Cravenly's phone call, relays the refusal succinctly, answers Bartlet's questions about the Bible's provenance, confirms that Americans were evacuated from Khundu, and acknowledges the President's request to summon Slattery before exiting.
- • Convey the museum's decision clearly and without embellishment.
- • Confirm the status of Americans in Khundu and ensure the President has the necessary operational information.
- • Act on the President's commands (relay requests, summon staff) quickly and accurately.
- • The President should be given clear, actionable information without noise.
- • Preserving the chain of command and executing orders is the aide's job.
- • Practicalities (vault rules, evacuation status) must be faced even amid ceremony.
Implied relief and exhaustion as a population recently subject to violence and evacuation.
Referenced in dialogue: Americans in Khundu are reported to have been evacuated; their status is confirmation that an operational extraction occurred.
- • Survive and be evacuated to safety.
- • Rely on U.S. resources and diplomacy for protection.
- • Americans abroad expect rescue and support from their government.
- • Their safety can catalyze executive attention and action.
Begins amused and privately vexed at a petty denial, then shifts to sober concern and focused resolve when the Khundu casualties register.
Sitting reading at the start, Bartlet engages in wry banter about the family Bible, asserts a private claim on ritual, then abruptly receives and absorbs news of mass killings in Khundu and issues an order to summon his National Security Advisor.
- • Secure a meaningful, personal Bible for his inauguration to preserve ritual continuity.
- • Maintain composure and dignity in ceremonial matters while asserting presidential prerogative.
- • Get immediate, authoritative briefing and response options for the Khundu crisis by summoning Bob Slattery.
- • Rituals and symbols matter to presidential identity and public continuity.
- • Institutional rules sometimes conflict with personal or symbolic needs and should be negotiated.
- • The President must personally oversee responses to international crises affecting American lives.
Regretful and steady—he defends preservation norms while acknowledging the personal significance to the President.
Participates off-screen via a phone call: as Director of Special Collections he refuses the loan of the Bartlet family Bible on conservation grounds and conveys regret, defending institutional preservation over ceremonial loan to the President.
- • Protect the artifact from damage by enforcing preservation protocols.
- • Maintain the integrity and standards of the Historical Society despite high-profile requests.
- • Preservation requirements (climate control) are non-negotiable for fragile artifacts.
- • Institutional duty sometimes requires refusing even sympathetic or prestigious requests.
Neutral in-scene (off-screen), implied readiness to brief and coordinate a response.
Mentioned and summoned by the President; not physically present. His name functions as the pivot to move the conversation from ritual to immediate national security action.
- • Provide immediate national security briefing to the President.
- • Coordinate evacuation or operational steps regarding Khundu if required.
- • Rapid, informed advice is essential to presidential decision-making in foreign crises.
- • National Security Advisor must be available for prompt consultation.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Bartlet family's Jefferson Bible is the contested ceremonial prop: Bartlet insists on using this personal relic for his oath, Charlie relays the museum's refusal, and the Bible functions narratively as the tangible expression of Bartlet's need for personal continuity amid public ritual.
The climate-controlled vault is cited as the documentary, technical reason the Historical Society will not release the Bartlet Bible; it embodies the institutional priority of preservation over ceremonial use and creates the logistical barrier that sparks the domestic quarrel.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Republic of Equatorial Khundu is referenced as the scene of a massacre and rebel control; it functions as the external crisis that interrupts ceremonial concerns and forces immediate presidential attention.
The New Hampshire Historical Society is the repository that holds the Bartlet Bible and enforces preservation protocols; it exists off-screen but exerts authority through Mr. Cravenly's phone call and the vault requirement that denies the loan.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Arkutu-directed mob is invoked as the perpetrator controlling Khundu's government and carrying out mass killings; their actions are the proximate cause of the Oval Office's shift from ceremonial talk to national-security business.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
No narrative connections mapped yet
This event is currently isolated in the narrative graph
Key Dialogue
"CHARLIE: "Mr. Cravenly, the Director of Special Collections at the New Hampshire Historical Society, just phoned about the Bartlet Bible.""
"CHARLIE: "It needs to be in a climate-controlled vault or it warps." / BARTLET: "Just as the disciples intended.""
"BARTLET: "You know, a couple hundred people got killed today in Khundu.""