Metaphorical 'Trash' (rhetorical device for discarding news items)

Invoked rhetorically by Toby as the metaphorical place to 'dump' the Zoey-class story — the trash references administrative suppression and prioritization, signaling a decision to bury an item rather than elevate it publicly.

The 'trash' is a rhetorical object invoked by Toby ('You can dump that out with the trash') to describe discarding or burying the Zoey story. As a metaphor it functions as a proposed strategy for reputational triage — an administrative decision to sideline a story rather than litigate it publicly.

The 'Metaphorical Trash' is invoked when Bartlet instructs staff to 'throw it out with the trash.' It operates as a rhetorical object: a verbal container for discarding the story publicly while retaining it privately, signaling an administrative choice to minimize attention rather than fully transparent disclosure.

The 'Metaphorical Trash' is invoked rhetorically when Bartlet instructs staff how to speak to the press — "Throw it out with the trash" — turning a moral suppression into a communication tactic and verbal ritual of disposal, normalizing the act of burying the report.