The President's Collapse: Denial and Triage
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet, still managing crises from bed, dismisses medical concerns on the phone with Toby while Hackett conducts a blood test.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Quietly anxious but composed—focused on shielding the President and facilitating Abbey's care while maintaining protocol.
Charlie stands watch at the bedside, retrieves Abbey's bag on request, responds politely to guests, closes the door to give them privacy, and obeys Abbey's direction to wait outside.
- • to protect the President’s privacy and dignity
- • to follow Abbey's instructions and keep the room calm
- • to be available for any immediate assistance
- • his role is to be an unobtrusive but ready aide
- • private medical moments should be kept out of public view
- • he must obey the First Lady's (physician's) direction
Feigning composure to mask vulnerability—anxious and embarrassed but determined to remain in control of events and reassure others.
Sitting up in bed and finishing a phone call, Bartlet flirts, minimizes his symptoms, admits to breaking the Steuben pitcher, groans at Abbey's injection, blurts a sensitive Kashmir report, then lies back and falls asleep under Abbey's command.
- • to maintain the appearance of presidential control despite illness
- • to keep managing political/military crises remotely (via phone)
- • to avoid being perceived as incapacitated or a burden
- • showing weakness undermines his authority and must be minimized
- • he can still fulfill presidential duties even when physically impaired
- • personal disclosures should be limited to protect political capital
Professional and measured—concerned for clinical accuracy but disciplined and respectful of the First Lady/physician's authority.
Admiral Hackett prepares for and performs a bedside blood test, reports vitals to Abbey, passes a clipboard with results, and defers to Abbey's medical orders before leaving the room when asked.
- • to obtain accurate clinical data for diagnosis
- • to follow appropriate medical protocol and the physician's orders
- • to preserve the President's safety while maintaining discretion
- • medical procedure must be precise and documented
- • the President's privacy and chain of medical command are paramount
- • deference to the President's physician ensures best patient care
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Steuben glass pitcher is mentioned by Bartlet as having been broken in the Oval Office; while not directly used in treatment, it functions symbolically to highlight Bartlet's falling-asleep episode and to mark the overlap of domestic accident and the machinery of government.
The small bag of pills is not explicitly opened here but its presence (as canonical presidential medication) underlies the scene’s tension about hidden illness and Bartlet’s promises to 'take the pills' elsewhere; it reinforces the theme of secrecy and medicated stability.
Abbey takes Hackett's clipboard to read the immediately recorded vitals; it functions as the tactile locus of clinical authority, allowing her to assess temperature, pulse and the timing of prior checks and to issue orders based on those numbers.
Flumadine is ordered by Abbey as the antiviral treatment (100 mg twice daily) and is the specific pharmacological response to the President's fever; it converts the bedroom into a makeshift treatment site and signals a medicalized response to a politically risky illness.
The syringe (Flumadine injection syringe) is used by Abbey to give a direct injection to Bartlet; its presence dramatizes the clinical intimacy of the scene and physically enacts Abbey taking control of his care.
Abbey removes her jacket and places it on a chair when she arrives; the jacket signals the shift from traveler/wife to caregiver and becomes a small domestic marker of authority at the bedside.
Abbey adjusts and repositions the President's pillow to support his head as she settles him into bed; it serves as immediate physical comfort and a small medical aid that helps him lie down and sleep after treatment.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The President's bedroom is the stage for this event: a domestic, private space transformed into a triage room where personal intimacy, medical procedure, and presidential duty collide — phones, a clipboard, medical instruments and the pillow compress public responsibility into a bedside drama.
The Oval Office is referenced indirectly via the broken Steuben pitcher; its mention links the bedroom incident to a previous collapse in an emblematic seat of power and underscores the permeability between private health events and public spaces.
The West Wing is invoked by Abbey to reassure Bartlet that Leo is present to handle affairs; it functions as the administrative safety net keeping the presidency operational while the President is incapacitated.
Pakistan-Held Kashmir Territory is the geographic flashpoint referenced through Fitzwallace’s briefing; its mention escalates the stakes and transforms the bedside into a potential nexus for real-time foreign policy decisions.
The Situation Room is invoked as the source of operational intelligence — Fitzwallace called from there to report movement in Kashmir — converting a private bedside into a node in the national security network.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Leo's initial intervention in Bartlet's medical care transitions to Abbey taking over, showing the shifting dynamics of authority and care."
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: "I'm feeling roughly the same as I was feeling when you asked me four minutes ago.""
"ABBEY: "He's lying. Give him Flumadine, 100 milligrams, twice a day.""
"BARTLET: "Fitzwallace says the Pakistanis are giving command control to some nuclear weapons to the field.""