Josh Interrupts: Let the Flenders Vote Freely
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Donna passionately defends President Bartlet over the phone against Roberta's criticisms, asserting his integrity and the limitations of presidential power.
Josh interrupts Donna's call, shivering in the cold, and takes the phone to deliver a decisive message.
Josh tells Donna to 'let them vote,' acknowledging the Flenders' moral conviction and democratic right.
Josh takes the phone from Donna and speaks directly to Roberta, humorously addressing their concerns and confirming their right to vote.
Josh and Donna reconcile as they walk back, with Josh humorously asking for his coat back, signaling a return to normalcy.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Shivering resolve masking physical discomfort with firm conviction
Josh struts out shivering in his suit, interrupts Donna decisively, takes her cell phone to identify himself graciously to the Flenders, deploys humorous charm about salmon and chains, closes the call affirming their vote, then walks back with Donna requesting his coat.
- • Halt coercive persuasion and honor voter autonomy
- • Reconcile with Donna through shared democratic principle
- • Democratic integrity trumps arm-twisting votes
- • Humor diffuses tension in personal politics
Betrayed disappointment tempered by past loyalty
Roberta Flender engages on the phone as Donna defends Bartlet, raising points of betrayal over unkept promises; receives Josh's gracious thanks and salmon humor before the call ends.
- • Express valid grievances against administration failures
- • Decide vote based on personal standards
- • Bartlet failed core promises despite censure
- • Moral superiority justifies withholding support
Weary disappointment from broken political bonds
Mackey participates remotely on the phone, contesting Donna's defense of Bartlet and responding affirmatively to Josh's query about truck chains amid the charm offensive.
- • Challenge administration on perceived lies
- • Prepare practically for voting amid winter conditions
- • Past support demands higher accountability
- • Local hardships outweigh national achievements
Frustrated exasperation laced with weary loyalty
Donna walks paces from the gates clutching her cell phone, passionately arguing Bartlet's virtues and censure acceptance to Roberta and Mackey, sighs in exasperation at Josh's arrival, challenges his intent before handing over the phone, then walks back with him in reconciliation.
- • Persuade Flenders to support Bartlet despite grievances
- • Vent frustration over voters' moral superiority claims
- • Bartlet holds himself to a higher standard than most
- • Voters' disappointment is overstated hypocrisy
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Donna's cell phone serves as the vital conduit for the tense voter outreach, clutched tightly during her defense, seized by Josh for his disarming intervention, and closed after charm offensive—symbolizing the frayed bridge between White House urgency and grassroots sentiment in the Hartsfield's Landing fight.
Mackey's truck chains referenced humorously by Josh on the phone as a practical winter prep nod, grounding the charm offensive in shared New Hampshire realities and thawing interpersonal frost amid political tension.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The shadowed, frigid expanse outside the White House gates frames Donna's isolated phone plea and Josh's shivering intervention, amplifying vulnerability as national power contrasts intimate voter reconciliation—pivotal site where persuasion yields to principle amid Taiwan crisis echoes.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Josh's initial alarm over the Flenders voting for Ritchie evolves into his acceptance of their democratic right, showing his character growth."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"DONNA: this one's an economist from New Hampshire and I think it's time for you to get off your horse!"
"JOSH: Let them vote."
"JOSH: (into phone) Yeah, this is Josh Lyman. We just wanted to call and thank you again for all your work and remind you that the polls in Hartsfield's Landing open in fourteen minutes. Get the chains in the truck, Mack? Okay, listen, tell your sister in Oregon I'm gonna try and learn something about salmon. Right now, all I know is they're good on a bagel. Good night."
"JOSH: (to Donna) Maybe they are morally superior. Anyway, they get to vote."