U.S. Cruise Missiles

President Bartlet raises U.S. cruise missiles as a hypothetical retaliatory weapon during a heated Situation Room debate, specifying a target of Tel Aviv if gripped by emotion over his daughter's safety. Admiral Fitzwallace, Nancy, Leo, and a general absorb the stark image amid false-alarm tension, where military readiness clashes with restraint. No physical details emerge; the missiles stand as mental specter of precision devastation.

2 appearances

Purpose

Delivering retaliatory precision strikes on high-value targets like Tel Aviv

Significance

Exposes Bartlet's fear of irrational command under personal stress, crystallizing his decision to invoke the 25th Amendment and transfer power, as leaders witness his raw vulnerability in crisis.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S4E23 · Twenty-Five

Air Alarm Forces a Rules Debate — Bartlet’s Judgment Tested

U.S. cruise missiles serve as a mental/ rhetorical object when Bartlet imagines revenge scenarios — a hypothetical tool he might deploy if emotionally manipulated, which underscores why he orders continuity safeguards.

Before: Conceptual: part of the President's rhetorical inventory and threat calculus, not physically used.

After: Remains a hypothetical instrument referenced to illustrate potential emotional escalation; no physical deployment.

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S4E23 · Twenty-Five

Bartlet's Crisis: Fear, Memory, and the Transfer of Power

U.S. cruise missiles function as an imagined instrument: Bartlet invokes them as a hypothetical retaliatory option (and cites Tel Aviv as a target) to illustrate how his personal grief could translate into catastrophic policy, making a moral weapon out of paternal rage.

Before: Conceptual—present only in the President's rhetorical/hypothetical inventory of options.

After: Remains a specter in the President's mind, contributing to his decision to initiate constitutional continuity measures rather than order retaliation.

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