Narrative Web
Location

Maine

Election night TV screens in the White House Communications Office display Maine's early returns—22% of votes tallied—amid staff countdowns and cheers over New Hampshire projections. Staff track this northeastern state as a battleground with shaky Bartlet support, vulnerable to needle-exchange debates and Senator Stackhouse's maneuvers. Partial tallies sharpen focus on its potential to flip electoral math and drive campaign pivots.
2 events
2 rich involvements

Detailed Involvements

Events with rich location context

S4E4 · The Red Mass
Validation Secured — Validators and Debate Strategy Mobilized

Maine is named as an always-iffy state for the President; the reference is used to inject a weary, almost comic sense of unpredictability into the electoral calculus.

Atmosphere

Resigned bewilderment mixed with strategic concern.

Functional Role

Wild-card electoral territory that can be nudged by policy stances.

Symbolic Significance

Represents inexplicable electoral quirks that complicate clean strategy.

Invoked via Bartlet's aside: 'They've always been iffy about me in Maine' Used to diffuse tension with a personal observation while underscoring risk
S4E4 · The Red Mass
Needle-Exchange Flashpoint — Debate Stakes and Stackhouse Uncertainty

Maine is mentioned as historically iffy for Bartlet and therefore an electoral concern; its mention underlines the thin margins and past vulnerabilities that make principled stands politically risky.

Atmosphere

Evoked as a perennial political trouble-spot.

Functional Role

Reference point for prior electoral weakness and potential immediate risk.

Symbolic Significance

Symbolizes long-standing regional skepticism toward the President.

Called out with a dry presidential aside — 'They've always been iffy about me in Maine' Used rhetorically to downplay or acknowledge vulnerability

Events at This Location

Everything that happens here

2
S4E4 · The Red Mass
Validation Secured — Validators and Debate Strategy Mobilized

President Bartlet receives confirmation that the tax plan has passed technical vetting across Treasury, OMB, NEC and Hill counsel. He immediately pivots from validation to politics — ordering validators and …

S4E4 · The Red Mass
Needle-Exchange Flashpoint — Debate Stakes and Stackhouse Uncertainty

After the tax plan is cleared and Bartlet orders validators lined up, a political emergency erupts around Ritchie’s attack on needle-exchange. Toby pushes a forceful, moral-and-evidence-based rebuttal; Josh immediately flags …