A Proportional Response - TWW S1E3

Original airdate: October 6, 1999

Written by: Aaron Sorkin (3)

Directed by: Marc Buckland (1)

Synopsis

• It's three days after the final events of "Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc", and President Bartlet continues to call for a devastating military response against Syria, even as his generals and advisers recommend a more proportional retaliation. The West Wing staff is concerned about the President's rather personal response to the loss of his physician, as well as how the first use of military force by this administration will play with the American public. Charlie Young, who applied for a job as a messenger, is selected to be the President's new personal aide. And CJ has to cope with the revelation of Sam's relationship with Laurie, especially once she discovers a reporter has the story as well.

"What is the virtue of a proportional response?"

That's the question pointedly asked by President Bartlet to his generals in this top-notch, juicy episode that's one of the highlights of Season 1. He never gets a satisfactory answer, which is part of the point, but the theme of proportionality and levels of response runs through this entire episode. Interestingly enough, Aaron Sorkin pulled that theme wholesale out of his 1995 movie The American President, where the President (played by Michael Douglas) asks almost the very same question ("Someday you'll have to explain the virtue of a proportional response.").

(Not for nothing, but Martin Sheen - Jed Bartlet himself - plays the Chief of Staff in The American President, and one of the main plotlines of the film involves the administration pursuing a gun control bill - which is also coming up in the very next episode of The West Wing. Can a screenwriter be accused of stealing from himself?)

The idea of responding, proportionally or disproportionally, can be seen a whole bunch in this episode. The primary story, of course, is the administration's retaliation for Syria's shootdown of the military transport that occurred at the end of "Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc". It's just three days later, and President Bartlet (who famously told Leo he was going to blow the Syrians off the face of the earth with the fury of God's own thunder) is angrily disappointed with the response options being given him. He's ranting at his advisers, he's storming around the White House, even snapping at the First Lady.

There's a couple of issues at play for Jed here. First off, he did have a personal relationship with Morris Tolliver, and having him be one of those killed in this attack spurred thoughts of revenge and strong retaliation. Also at play is the President's standing with the military - this will be the Bartlet administration's first use of military force, and he already feels as if the generals don't really have respect for him as a commander. His notion of striking hard, while paying the Syrians back for the loss of his friend, might also show he's no "candy ass" (as he describes the military options being laid out for him) to those in the armed forces.

So we get to see the Situation Room. Remember, in the last episode, all the military brass were just handing out information and intel in the Roosevelt Room, with Sam and Toby and Josh and who knows who else looking on. This time, we have a windowless, fluorescent-lit cubby hole with a weak little projector to throw visual aids up on the wall.

Don't worry - just like what happened to the press briefing room between Pilot and "Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc", the Situation Room will improve in later episodes. In actuality, this Situation Room isn't all that far off from the real White House Situation Room meeting area, as seen in this photo from 2000.

The entire Situation Room complex in the White House is some 5000 square feet, so this room is just a part of it. At least The West Wing isn't showing it like some vaulted Bond-villian lair, like they do in Designated Survivor.

I mean, really - is that going to fit in the basement of the White House? I expect to see Blofeld petting a white cat somewhere.

Back to the plot ...

We find the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Fitzwallace (John Amos), presenting three options which would limit civilian casualties and provide maximum protection for American personnel. The President is not happy - "What is the virtue of a proportional response?" - and demands to have a stronger retaliatory plan within an hour. When the generals come back with that option, an attack on a major Syrian airport that could result in thousands of civilian casualties and disruptions to water and medical supplies, Bartlet realizes he's trapped. This response would be seen worldwide as a wild overreaction by a first-time Commander in Chief, and would have a negative impact on America's standing. The President reluctantly approves the original plan, an attack on two ammunition dumps, a railroad bridge, and the Syrian intelligence service.

This forced choice continues to grate on Jed, even up to the point where he's going to go on TV to address the country about the attack. Just before air time, Leo takes him aside and basically reads him the riot act. While Jed refers to the right of Roman citizens to walk anywhere in the world without fear, due to the swift and mightly retaliation of the Empire, Leo reminds him that the Roman Empire isn't really a worthy example for American democracy to emulate, and superpowers shouldn't act that way.

 Leo: "So, my friend, if you want to start using American military strength as the arm of the Lord - you can do that. We're the only superpower left. You can conquer the world like Charlemagne. But you better be prepared to kill everyone. And you'd better start with me, cause I will raise up an army and I will beat you."

When Leo tells Jed, "It's what our fathers taught us" (referring specifically to proportional responses), the President finally comes to terms with it. Just in time before going on TV to inform the nation of his administration's first military adventure!

As far as other examples of the episode's theme, you've got Josh blowing up at CJ, who responds in kind.

Josh: "You know what, CJ, I really think I'm the best judge of what I mean, you paranoid, Berkeley, shiksa feminista! (beat) Well, that was way too far."
CJ: "No, no. Well, I've got a staff meeting to go to and so do you, you elitist, Harvard, fascist, missed-the-deans-list-two-semesters-in-a-row, Yankee jackass!"

CJ also comes down hard on Sam about not telling her about his relationship with Laurie, and Sam really responds overly harshly - he's defensive about the idea that he's really not doing anything wrong, and the White House is too worried about "looking good" rather than "being good." Sam also rather meanly accuses CJ of not being brave enough or strong enough to do what's right, which definitely hurts CJ (a great acting moment from Allison Janney). On the other hand, the entire notion that Sam's upright and noble influence is somehow going to "save" Laurie from her "tawdry" life as a $3000-per-night call girl isn't exactly honorable from a feminist/equal rights/liberal point of view.

The discussion does make Sam pound the wall as he leaves CJ's office, so we get that visual.

Those two patch things up later in the episode, and CJ goes on to show that Sam's virtuous defense did have some effect on her thinking.

There's also the Bertram Coles subplot. Coles is a Democratic congressman (it appears from the South, although it's not expressly stated) who, in a radio interview, took issue with the Bartlet administration's decision to cut funding for a military program, and said if the President chose to visit the Air Force base in his district, he may not get out alive. Toby goes ballistic, wanting to haul Coles in for questioning and starts yelling about treason and threats against the President - a quite disproportional response! Toby later implies to the press that there may be a Secret Service investigation going on, which makes him feel better - much later in the episode, when Leo tells Jed about the quote, they have a good laugh about it (again, showing the difference in proper levels of responding).

When CJ finds out a reporter has the Sam/Laurie scoop (it's the first appearance of Danny Concannon, played by an uncredited Timothy Busfield), she comes down hard on him, with an epic defense of Sam that shows she's reconsidered her position.

 CJ: "Sam is a grownup and I don't get to choose his friends and your readers don't get to judge them. And I'll tell you what else, there's something commendable about Sam's behavior here, don't ask me what, but there is. And I'm sticking by him until the President orders me otherwise and I'm going to look very unfavorably on those who seek to make us look like fools."

And then we get Charlie. Charles Young appears for the first time (played by Dule Hill, who actually appears in the opening credits before he's even mentioned in the series), as a young man who applied for a messenger job but was picked out to replace "Ted Miller" as the President's personal aide. Charlie's response to the entire thing is bafflement; he wonders if he comes back later, might the messenger job be available then? Proportionally, he tries to fight off the job - but when he's in the Oval Office as President Bartlet prepares to speak to the nation, and Jed speaks to him personally about the loss of his mother and how he wants to try to get some of those weapons off the streets, Charlie is swept away by the experience.

Charlie: "I've never felt like this before."
Josh: "It doesn't go away."

(Stand by for a callback to this at the beginning of Season 4.)

In addition, the fact that Charlie is African-American causes a bit of second-thinking amongst the staff. Since the President's personal aide will be attending the President, carrying his suits, opening doors, etc, Josh is a little concerned about the optics of it all. Leo reassures him, sort of.

Leo: "This is serious business, this isn't casting. We get the guy for the job and we take it from there."
Josh: "Good."
Leo: "And I'm fairly sure I'm right about this."

Leo then brings up the issue with Fitzwallace, who dismisses it in the most efficient way possible.

 Fitzwallace: "I got some real honest-to-God battles to fight, Leo. I don't have time for the cosmetic ones."

(Background: Charlie's character was originally written to appear in Pilot, but eventual rewrites left the character out. After The West Wing premiered, there was some criticism from the NAACP and others about the uniform whiteness of the cast - valid, although it's interesting to note that Sidney Poitier was one of the top choices to play President Bartlet, and CCH Pounder was considered for the role of CJ.)

This is the first episode not directed by Thomas Schlamme, but Marc Buckland does a great job here. I particularly like the lighting - lots of intense light sources, creating a lot of light and shadow. And the ending scene in the Oval Office, as they're setting up the cameras and Charlie gathers his courage to mention where the President's glasses might be? That gives us a most interesting two-shot, where Jed and Charlie are having a conversation and we see them both, but one is on a TV screen.

Just to wrap things up, this is a crackling-good episode of The West Wing, in my view, one of the top episodes of the first season. It's just so good thematically, it all holds together just right, it introduces Charlie in a great way - even if Sorkin was recycling his own ideas, it doesn't matter. It's just top notch.

Quick notes:

• We see the press just hanging around in the hallways, not once, but twice (Toby drops the "Secret Service investigation" tidbit, then CJ runs into them again as the staff is trying not to look like there's a military attack going on). Why are reporters just hanging out in the hallways? Is that normal?

• I do love the give-and-take CJ has with the press, which is an ongoing lovable trait of hers. It shows she's really good and comfortable with her job - and contrasts nicely with the rare occasions when she screws up or misplays a situation (those are coming).

• There's a shot from the north side of the White House showing cars driving past on Pennsylvania Avenue. Ah, those were the days, pre-9/11 - the street is now blocked to vehicle traffic, and even pedestrians are moved back from the fence along the White House grounds.

• CNN is apparently still reporting on the Bosnian peace treaty story that first appeared in the background of Pilot. Yeah, I'm guessing the producers just had a limited amount of CNN tape that they kept using (you really don't see the graphics unless you pause the DVD/playback). We do see CNN Headline News a couple of times as well, reporting on flooding, apparently.

• Mandy drops by! For no plot-related reason at all, just because the second-billed actress on the show has to have a scene. She does leave Josh a token of affection, a picture of the two from the night they met.

• It's so sweet that Mandy used a marker to scribble over Josh's face. We also find out her name is Madeline (which makes sense, I guess).

• Remember the light, cheery music that played under the opening credits for Pilot? That same music appears here under the closing credits (which run over a still shot of Mandy, for some reason that escapes me). This is the closing credits music we know and love and will continue for the rest of the run of The West Wing ... and yes, it will sometimes seem really off-kilter when an episode ends on an emotional or dark note, only to hear this poppy, light, jaunty tune immediately afterward. It's part of what we love about the show, right?

• CJ uses a Gateway laptop. Admittedly, probably state of the art for 1999.

Quotes    

• CJ (to Sam, about his Laurie situation): "Anytime you're into something and you don't know what, you don't keep it from me. I'm your first phone call. I'm your first line of defense. You have to let me protect you, and you have to let me protect the President."

• President Bartlet (to the generals): "Let the word ring forth from this time and this place, gentlemen - you kill an American, any American, we don't come back with a proportional response, we come back with total disaster!"

• Chris (reporter): "CJ, what's all the activity?
CJ: "What activity?"
Chris: "CJ, come on."
Reporter: "Fitzwallace was in Leo's office."
CJ: "Fitzwallace is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Leo McGarry is White House Chief of Staff, I'm your host, CJ, let's play our game."
Chris: "Is it happening?"
CJ: "No."
Chris: "Would you know if it was?"
CJ: "Guys ..."
Reporter: "Why all the activity?"
CJ: "Menudo's in the building, I gotta go."

Bread crumbs and familiar faces (Hey, it's that guy!)

• We see Ginger, who develops into Toby's assistant. Played by Kim Webster, she's actually credited as "Kim" in this episode. She's the one holding the stack of papers that Toby takes before he talks to the press about Bertram Coles and the pending "investigation." Bobbi is one of the reporters - she's appeared in all three episodes so far.

• Debby DiLaguardia is mentioned as the person who first interviewed Charlie for the messenger job, then sent him on to Josh for the President's aide position. We will see more from Ms. DiLaguardia in later seasons.

• President Bartlet bums a cigarette from a general and lights up in the Situation Room. This is the first time we've seen him smoke - but Captain Tolliver didn't even mention smoking during his exam in "Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc". He told the President to cut back on dairy, red meat, and Scotch, but no mention of smoking. Hmmm.

• There's an "Adamle" mentioned at the Pentagon. He will be seen in the person of Gerald McRaney in a couple of seasons.

• As Josh shows Charlie around the West Wing he mentions the area used to be the White House Counsel's office before Toby and the Communications department took it over.

• President Bartlet mentions the loss of soldiers in Beirut and attacks in Somalia and Nairobi when he's arguing with Leo about retaliation. These refer to real historical events - a bombing of a Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, the Battle of Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down) in Somalia in 1993, and the bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi in August, 1998 (which in The West Wing universe would have occurred during Barlet's presidential campaign, on his predecessor's watch).

• Nancy (Renee Estevez) is in quite a few Oval Office shots, with four or five lines this episode.

• We see a CNN news anchor introducing President Bartlet's address onscreen. The anchor is played by Ivan Allen, who you definitely have seen in a variety of movies and TV shows, most often playing a news anchor (Sicario, Apollo 13, many, many TV shows). For some reason, his IMDB page does not include The West Wing as a credit.