Josh Intercepts Leo with RU-486 Bombshell
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Josh follows Leo to reveal the FDA's impending approval of RU-486, urging consideration of postponing the speech.
Leo agrees to discuss the issue with the President, leaving Josh to stare after him, unresolved tension lingering.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Escalating from casual annoyance to high-stakes urgency laced with tense deference
Josh downs a quick swig of beer from the table, rises swiftly to pursue Leo toward the front door, corners him with urgent intel from C.J. on FDA's RU-486 approval, advocates back-channel pressure or speech delay, relents with 'All right' as Leo departs, then stares pensively after him.
- • Brief Leo immediately on RU-486 threat to preempt speech disaster
- • Persuade intervention via back-channels or postponement
- • RU-486 announcement will hijack re-election narrative amid MS fallout
- • Proactive disruption of FDA timeline is essential for campaign survival
Determined focus interrupted by authoritative shutdown
Doug stands addressed by Leo's gruff 'What are you two doing here?' alongside Connie, cut off mid-explanation and dismissed to tomorrow, lingering at table as Leo pays and exits.
- • Contribute to speech critique huddle
- • Align Leo on damage-control tactics
- • Concessionary language recaptures narrative control
- • Haiti-style precedents demand preemptive apology
Neutral compliance amid sudden dispersal
Connie begins 'We were...' in response to Leo's query but is curtly dismissed to tomorrow with Doug, seated at the strategists' table during the brief intrusion.
- • Explain presence and continue strategizing
- • Secure kitchen access for late sustenance
- • Team collaboration accelerates campaign fixes
- • Casual persistence sustains endurance
Implied unflinching resolve
President referenced by Leo as the sole morning consult on RU-486, centralizing crisis authority amid staff tensions.
- • Weigh RU-486 against re-election defiance
- • Personal judgment trumps bureaucratic panic
- • Policy helm endures scandal
Frustrated deference yielding to abrupt rebuff
Bruno, seated at the table post-critique, utters a single 'Leo' upon his entrance, eliciting Leo's privacy complaint and dismissal to work tomorrow, remaining sidelined as Josh intercepts.
- • Engage Leo on speech draft flaws
- • Push strategic revisions immediately
- • Sentimental rhetoric undermines poll recovery
- • Immediate course correction is vital post-MS
Gruff annoyance hardening into resolute control amid unwanted intrusions
Leo enters visibly irritated, demands why staff lingers, gruffly shoos Bruno, Connie, and Doug to reconvene tomorrow, drops bills for the tab, rebuffs Josh's RU-486 intel and intervention pleas with firm 'No,' pledges morning talk with President, shakes head, and exits abruptly.
- • Reclaim privacy and disperse strategists
- • Gatekeep RU-486 response by escalating solely to President
- • Improper FDA interference risks greater backlash
- • President's judgment supersedes staff initiatives in crises
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Josh grabs and tilts his beer bottle for a hasty swig, condensation dripping, using the moment to steel himself before launching after Leo; it anchors his transition from table banter to crisis alert, heightening the pivot to high-stakes urgency.
Leo unclenches his fist to drop the crumpled wad of bills on the table beside Josh, covering the group's food tab including ravaged sandwiches and beers, symbolizing brusque severance of the impromptu huddle and his push for privacy amid strategy clashes.
RU-486 emerges as whispered political dynamite in Josh's intel dump—FDA's Monday approval framed as speech-derailing nitro, sparking debate on sabotage; it embodies colliding pro-life inferno with Bartlet's defiant bid, escalating re-election triage.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The bar's front door and adjacent threshold serve as improvised crisis nexus—Leo barrels toward exit post-dismissal, Josh intercepts in shadowed limbo between smoky interior clamor and chill night, their tense face-off underscoring isolation amid team fractures.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
FDA looms as autonomous regulatory threat via its confirmed Monday RU-486 approval, sourced by C.J.; Josh's intel positions it as news-cycle thief amplifying MS woes, prompting intervention pleas that Leo quashes, highlighting its power to derail Bartlet's speech.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
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Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"JOSH: I need to talk to you... The FDA's gonna approve RU-486. LEO: How do you know?"
"JOSH: Then I think we have to consider postponing the speech. LEO: I'm going out to see the President first thing in the morning. Let me talk to him."