9:00 PM Returns — New Hampshire Projection and Office Jubilation
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
The staff celebrates as the clock hits 9:00 P.M., marking a pivotal moment in the election night coverage.
The group moves to the Mural Room where they are applauded, and TV reporters begin announcing early state results.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Cautiously excited — outwardly assertive while internally holding onto skepticism about premature calls.
Standing in the Communications Office watching live returns, Josh reads the pattern aloud ('It's on. You can see it.'), shifting from anxious focus to brittle optimism and prompting others' attention.
- • Confirm whether trends are reliable enough to change messaging
- • Signal momentum to staff to shape morale and operational focus
- • Patterns in early returns can indicate durable advantage if replicated
- • Staff morale and rapid coordination hinge on authoritative cues
Controlled relief — relieved enough to act confidently but intent on preserving composure and message discipline.
Answers a phone, ends the call, leaves the Communications Office, walks the news into the hallway and the Oval, fixes a drink for the President, and delivers the measured declaration 'We've got some news.' She controls the tone and hand-off.
- • Deliver the projection to the President cleanly and preserve his framing options
- • Manage optics and protect staff from premature jubilation
- • The President should receive consolidated, controlled information
- • How news is presented affects subsequent decisions and public perception
Alert and energized — acting as the operational heart that turns information into coordinated action.
Running communications logistics in the bullpen: calls out to C.J., times the 9:00 pivot and shouts '9:00!' to trigger the team's synchronized reaction.
- • Keep lines open and direct staff actions
- • Provide temporal cues to align team responses
- • Precise timing matters for coordinated communications
- • Staff rely on logistical signals to know when to act
Tense and cautious — relieved by patterns but actively suppressing visible elation to avoid premature signaling.
Standing near monitors offering a guarded analytic read ('Union households are beating non-unions...'), trying not to visibly celebrate while processing returns' implications.
- • Interpret vote patterns for strategic messaging
- • Prevent over-eager public or internal reactions until confirmation
- • Early returns are informative but volatile
- • Messaging must be disciplined even when hope rises
Pleased but guarded — privately gratified and outwardly controlling the tone to avoid undue celebration.
Receives C.J. and Leo, notices C.J. fixing a drink, responds with wry, measured commentary and accepts the glass while processing the New Hampshire projection.
- • Absorb the projection while maintaining presidential composure
- • Signal calm confidence to staff and control the narrative
- • Momentary projections are morale-changing but not final
- • His public demeanor will shape staff and media response
Neutral, procedural — focused on conveying results without editorializing.
On-screen CBS reporter provides the outward authoritative cue — ready to declare Delaware — that catalyzes the room's reaction and supplies journalistic legitimacy to early calls.
- • Communicate network's read of the returns accurately
- • Serve as an authoritative source for viewers and political actors
- • Network calls matter for political decision-makers
- • Clear, timely reporting is essential on election night
Joyful, nervously celebratory — relief mixed with awareness that results are provisional.
A roomful of communications staff erupt in cheers at the 9:00 signal and on-screen projections, transmitting relief and collective energy through applause and forward movement into the Mural Room.
- • Express relief and lift team morale
- • Pivot quickly from monitoring to preparing media and talking points
- • Network projections shape public perception and campaign momentum
- • Unified, immediate reaction helps set the narrative
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
C.J.'s cell phone rings and she uses it to field and end a strategic call ('This is C.J. Thanks.'), then pockets or sets it aside before leaving to brief the President. The phone is the literal trigger that begins her hallway run and the hand-off of information.
C.J. fixes a drink behind the Oval Office bar and hands it to President Bartlet during the news hand-off; it functions as a calming prop, a courtesy ritual that underlines the intimacy and gravity of the information exchange.
Television sets in the Communications Office broadcast network reports, supplying the raw stimuli (CBS/NBC calls and state tallies) that trigger the 9:00 cheer. The screens are both information source and dramatic catalyst for staff action.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Mural Room is where staff gather to applaud the President after Leo and C.J. walk in with the projection; it acts as the immediate celebration space and a theatrical platform to display renewed team unity and momentum.
The Hallway functions as the transit artery linking the Communications Office to the Oval — where C.J. moves quickly to meet Leo and carry the projection in to the President, making the hallway the literal bridge between operational reaction and executive knowledge.
The Communications Office serves as the central hub where staff monitor TV returns, field calls, and execute the 9:00 pivot; it is the emotional epicenter where exhaustion turns into a collective, nervous celebration that propels the narrative forward.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
CBS, via its on-screen reporter, provides the authoritative early projection (Delaware) that helps tip the Communications Office into celebration; the network's call functions as a catalyst that validates internal readings and energizes staff action.
NBC contributes a corroborating projection (placing Maryland in the President's column) that reinforces the impression of a favorable night and compounds the Communications Office's decision to pivot from defensive monitoring to public-facing optimism.
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
"JOSH: "It's on. You can see it.""
"C.J.: "You'll see in a minute.""
"LEO: "You're going to win New Hampshire.""