Bartlet's Re-election Speech Draft Excerpt

Loose pages clutched in Bruno's grip tremble under bar lights as he slashes through phrases with a red pen, voice rising in critique amid swirling cigarette haze and clinking glasses. Josh leans in urgently, eyes flicking to the text that Josh knows carries RU-486 collision risks; Leo absorbs the barbs stone-faced while Donna and Doug hover, tension etching every line Bruno underlines.

2 appearances

Purpose

Draft text for President Bartlet's re-election speech, refined through critical review by campaign strategists

Significance

Explosive fault line where FDA's RU-486 approval slams against optimistic rhetoric, igniting strategy rifts, loyalty tests, and potential derailment of the President's pivotal address

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S3E1 · Manchester Part I

Josh-Donna Sandwich Squabble to RU-486 Alert

Speech draft pages are quoted mockingly by Bruno and Doug—'stomachs ache,' 'dark places'—tossed on table as symbol of sentimental excess, catalyzing pragmatic revolt against re-election rhetoric.

Before: Inside folder, intact

After: Tossed loosely on table

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S3E1 · Manchester Part I

Bruno and Doug Mock Sentimental Speech Draft, Shattering Leo's Privacy

Doug quotes from loose pages of the speech draft before tossing them contemptuously onto the scarred table, materializing the document's flaws physically and catalyzing Leo's annoyed dismissal, symbolizing rejection of defiant re-election rhetoric.

Before: Within Bruno's folder

After: Tossed and scattered on table

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