Object
Bartlet's Cash Offer (Josh's Hotel-Bar Cash)
A small handful of U.S. paper bills—mostly ones with a single five—each folded once and softened at the creases, briefly warm from handling. President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet produces the bills as a discrete, almost furtive payment: the cash is laid on or slid across a hotel bar/counter to cover a tab or incidental expense. Josh Lyman and others finger or glance at the money; Josh politely declines. The bills function as a tactile prop that punctuates apology, paternal care, and the negotiation of favors in the scene.
2 appearances
Purpose
To provide petty cash for small, incidental expenses (e.g., a drink or bar tab) as an informal payment to facilitate a personal errand.
Significance
Acts as a humanizing token of presidential paternalism and informal support—a modest gesture that undercuts high-stakes policy tension, signals personal concern, and seeds the night-out plot despite ultimately not being accepted.
Appearances in the Narrative
When this object appears and how it's used