C.J.'s Index Card — Children's Q&A Prompts

A small, rectangular index card—likely white or pale cardstock, pocket-sized and scrawled or printed with brief question prompts. Creased from handling, inked lines mark names or cues. Characters palm it as a prompt: C.J. marshals the cards to organize the Q&A while Bartlet glances at them to steer playful exchanges with the children.

2 appearances

Purpose

To hold and display the prepared questions and cue lines that structure the White House Q&A between President Bartlet and visiting schoolchildren.

Significance

The card anchors the staged intimacy of the visit, functioning as a practical cue that enables controlled warmth. It allows Bartlet to improvise while remaining on-message; when tragic news arrives, the card helps him resume the ritual of public duty, compressing private grief into a maintained performance for the children.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S1E10 · In Excelsis Deo

Playfulness Interrupted: Bartlet with Schoolchildren

Index cards carried by the students contain their prepared questions and structure the Q&A; C.J. references them as part of the drill that organizes the children's interaction with the President.

Before: In the hands of the children or pocketed, prepared by teachers for the visit.

After: Still in possession of the children; the cards remain as organizational props but are not central after the interruption.

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S1E10 · In Excelsis Deo

Interrupting Joy: Lowell Lydell's Death Announced to the President

Index cards held by the children structure the Q&A, providing scripted prompts that allow the President to perform accessible answers; they underline the staged nature of the encounter which is abruptly interrupted by real grief.

Before: Palm-sized cards held by children, folded/handled, used as cues for questions.

After: Remain in the children's hands or with their teachers; the Q&A resumes so the cards continue to serve their original role.

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