Sheraton Center Hotel — Ballroom Audience Monitor (Mandatory Minimums, S01E20)

A large flat-panel display positioned within the Sheraton Center Hotel ballroom, its lit screen carrying a crisp video image of President Bartlet to the assembled crowd. The monitor throws a cool, public-facing glow across faces in the audience; viewers shift attention to the glass, erupt in applause when the President lands a line, and treat the screen as the focal point that amplifies the speech's timing and impact.

1 appearances

Purpose

To present a live video feed of the President's speech to the ballroom audience and attendees so viewers can see and hear the address clearly regardless of physical sightlines.

Significance

Serves as the visual amplifier for a key rhetorical moment—Bartlet's denunciation of mandatory sentencing—turning a spoken line into a public rallying cry that galvanizes allies and telegraphs political risk to advisors and opponents.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

1 moments

S1E20 · Mandatory Minimums

Bartlet Denounces Mandatory Sentencing as Mistrust

The flat-panel monitor projects the President's image and voice into the ballroom, acting as the event's focal amplifier. It mediates distance, allowing Bartlet's carefully chosen line to land simultaneously across the assembled crowd and press, shaping immediate public reaction.

Before: Set up in the Sheraton ballroom and switched on, ready to display the live or recorded feed of the President.

After: Still displaying Bartlet as applause follows; remains the focal point for audience reaction and possible media capture.

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