Original airdate: February 7, 2001
Teleplay by: Aaron Sorkin (34)
Written by: Allison Abner (2) & Dee Dee Myers (3)
Directed by: Christopher Misiano (4)
Synopsis
- The State of the Union address appears to be a smash, but while Josh and Joey Lucas wait for polling numbers, something about the speech makes Abbey feel betrayed. A police officer recognized for heroism has an unfortunate secret in his past. Colombian rebels capture some DEA agents. And Ainsley finally meets the President.
"We had a deal."
We don't always get a lot of family-related storylines on The West Wing. I mean, sure, the staff is a family of sorts, a family we almost feel a part of by watching them week after week ... but the real dynamics of people actually related by birth or marriage usually takes a back seat to the political strategies and foreign policy plotlines we get with the Leader of the Free World™. Plus, that kind of thing can tend to get a little soap-opera-y.
This episode (actually the first of a two-parter) sinks us right into the middle of a run of shows that dig fairly deep into family, from the trust issues that husbands and wives and fathers and mothers and sons and daughters have to deal with, to the nagging worry that maybe your children don't quite have the relationship with you that you think they should, to ... well, just stick around through The War At Home and Ellie and Somebody's Going To Emergency, Somebody's Going To Jail (heck, maybe even The Stackhouse Filibuster) and see what I mean. This isn't just a momentary footnote by Aaron Sorkin, though - this family-level background building is going to prove immensely important as we hit the stretch run of the season. Because we're going to learn (if we haven't already) that family isn't just the people we live with that are related to us, they're the people we work together with each and every day, and the sinews of those relationships are the strengths that keep us together when things get tough. And they're going to get tough, believe me.
The big issue here is Abbey. Stockard Channing is back, and boy, is she ever (she earned a nomination for a Supporting Actress Emmy for this episode and the second half of this two-parter, The War At Home, and she earned it). Something about the President's State of the Union speech is bothering her, but we're not sure what it is. Is it that a section about the Violence Against Women act got pulled out? Is it because he suddenly seems to support school uniforms? Is it the last-minute addition about a blue-ribbon commission to study entitlement programs? It seems to be all of those things, and yet none of them. Abbey is ready to tear into Toby for the writing of the speech, but even she isn't exactly sure where to direct her ire:
Abbey: "It was the language."
(...)
Toby: "Believe me, we gave Republicans plenty to be pissed about - the surplus, missile defense, capital gains. And I was just on TV for the 900th time and alienated gun owners, to say nothing of people who own Dodge Durangos. So what exactly was your problem with the language?"
Abbey: "It seemed ..."
Toby: "Abbey -"
Abbey: "I was just thrown by the last minute changes."
But in a tense conversation with Jed in the White House kitchen we find out what the problem was.
Abbey: "You made a promise. We made a deal."
Jed: "Abbey."
Abbey: "When did you decide you were going to run for a second term?"
Jed: "That's not what tonight's -"
Abbey: "That's all that tonight's speech was about!"
So for the first time we discover Jed and Abbey had agreed on a one-term presidency. While it's not expressly stated here, we can infer that President Bartlet's multiple sclerosis (something we found out about exactly one year ago, on the eve of that season's State of the Union) is the main factor here. With Abbey surreptitiously treating her husband and keeping his illness hidden from all but a dozen or so people during the election campaign, the idea of hiding such a huge secret for yet another campaign and another term just seems too much to handle.
As we've been talking about since The Leadership Breakfast, Leo and Toby (in particular) are moving full-speed ahead on developing a plan for a re-election campaign, and the writing of the State of the Union address as a political selling point was fully a part of that. Nobody else was aware of this "deal" between Jed and Abbey (in fact, there have been comments by the President over the past 35 episodes that appeared to put the lie to that agreement already), and of course the administration staff would be working toward building a case for another term. The President has been sort of edging his way in that direction, almost without admitting it to himself - but the bold bipartisan nature of his speech and the forward-looking calls for agreement and moving past "partisan entrenchment" were giant flashing lights to Abbey signaling the direction Jed wants to go now.
And as a doctor, I think she sees better than anyone what another campaign, another term, another six years in the Oval Office could do to her husband - not to mention the fact that this disease can't be kept a secret forever. The seeds are planted for the Bartlet administration to lay its soul bare, not only in front of the nation, but also in front of the staffers and "family" members who have put their trust in Jed, only to have this huge secret kept from them. Hang on, folks. It's going to be a bumpy ride through the rest of Season 2.
Channing, of course, is outstanding in this confusion, this sudden unmooring that Abbey is going through. The speech was a gut-punch to her, as she instantly realized that it was intended to kick off the re-election campaign without so much as a word of discussion with her ahead of time. And yet, she has to keep that public face of normalcy and happiness after the speech's success. Here she is, smiling and glad-handing well-wishers, just moments after the tense confrontation with her husband behind the scenes (the shot of her through the kitchen door gathering her courage is tremendous):
Abbey also shows that, despite her disappointment with the political events spinning out of her control, she still deeply loves and supports her husband who has perhaps the most difficult and challenging job in the entire world. I love the moment when the President tells her about the DEA agents being held hostage in Colombia, with three hours left to negotiate before a military rescue team will go after them, and even in her anger and disappointment she says, "I'll stay up with you."
The Colombia storyline is another high-stakes foreign policy development, right in the middle of what should have been an overwhelmingly successful night for the administration. Five agents with the DEA were taken hostage by anti-government rebels, and the options are limited. The President is left with trying to negotiate their release, while preparing a military strike to rescue them (one that could ignite an actual war with Colombia). It brings a real awareness of the responsibilities and duties the President has, and the decisions he has to make under intense time pressure without, perhaps, all the information he'd like to have available.
Speaking of not having all the information - the President acknowledged a Detroit police officer for heroism during his address, but soon afterward news comes to the White House that the officer had been accused of using excessive force earlier in his career. It's up to CJ to try to handle the issue, although ... what is she supposed to do about it, exactly? She does discuss the story with the officer, to try to get his side (which doesn't sound all that nefarious, especially considering charges were dropped and the civil suit against him was dismissed). Anyway, we know the media is going to spill the story soon, so CJ is trying to figure out a way to get ahead of it.
Meanwhile, Joey Lucas is back! Fully transformed from the campaign manager of Take This Sabbath Day and now a full-time polling expert, Joey and her sign-language interpreter Kenny are back to pester Josh as they prepare to get some instant nationwide polling numbers following the State of the Union. Naturally Donna is after Josh to ask her out (the sexual tension remains high with those two), and complications ensue when the power goes out at the polling firm's office just before the first numbers are ready.
And then there's Ainsley. As the Capital Beat TV show broadcasts live from the White House with its State of the Union coverage (prompting a legitimate question from the press to CJ, "So why do they get special treatment?" to which CJ's response is a not-very-satisfactory, "Because they're special"), the administration brings out all their spokespeople to appear, from CJ to Toby to Ainsley (being an attractive Republican working in the Democratic White House, it's a pretty good spot for her, even if she hasn't met the President yet):
Ainsley: "I've never met him. I'm an associate counsel. The Chinese food guy's got more access than I do."
Mark: "And yet they have you out here speaking for the White House."
Ainsley: "Yeah! It's a really big night for me!"
Ainsley indeed enjoys her big night; even sitting in wet paint in the sculpture garden (something CJ did earlier as well) can't ruin her mood, as she enjoys a Pink Squirrel while dancing to "Blame It On The Bossa Nova":
But then Sam's plan to have Ainsley meet the President backfires. She's a bit tipsy, she's in a bathrobe, and she's already told Sam she's terrified to meet President Bartlet - so naturally, Sam has him drop by her office as a total, horrific surprise. This moment is intended for laughs (Ainsley's scream as she throws her drink glass against the wall is pretty funny), but the humiliated, stricken look on her face as the President departs isn't funny at all. It's terrible.
Great job, Emily Procter. Bad form, though, Sam Seaborn.
What we do have to look forward to, though, is the second part of this arc in the next episode. Will the DEA agents be rescued, without kicking off a war in South America? Will Ainsley get a second chance to make a first impression? Will Josh ever get his polling numbers, and will he get up the courage to ask Joey for a date? And how will Abbey and Jed settle things?
We will get a more in-depth feeling about family, though, in both the family-as-relatives sense and the family-we-work-together-with sense. There's so much more power and unity and strength and purpose, in both senses of family, and we'll take a few episodes to explore that. Before all hell breaks loose.
Tales Of Interest!
- Somebody involved in this episode really wanted to give a plug to University of Florida. Note the Florida Gators mug held by the background actress here behind Sam. That mug is being held in a very unusual and unnatural manner, that just happens to clearly show off the logo to the camera. Hmmm.
- As mentioned, Stockard Channing was nominated for an Outstanding Supporting Actress Emmy for her performance here and in the next episode.
Quotes
Josh: "Where the hell you been?"
Joey (through Kenny): "My plane had mechanical difficulties."
Josh: "This is the State of the Union. There was nothing you could do about it?"
Joey (through Kenny): "No. Because as a child I never paid attention during airplane mechanics class."
Josh: "Is this the kind of Noel Coward-esque wit I can expect all night long?"
Joey (through Kenny): "Yes."
-----
CJ: "You know why I'm not wearing any pants?"
Sam: "I just assumed it was the usual reason."
(...)
Sam: "Where'd you get the bathrobe?"
Carol: "The gym."
Sam: "They have bathrobes at the gym?"
CJ: "In the women's locker room."
Sam: "But not the men's."
CJ: "Yeah."
Sam: "Now that's outrageous. There's a thousand men working here and 50 women - "
CJ: "Yeah, and it's the bathrobes that are outrageous."
-----
Sam: "I think if you said something along the lines of, 'You know, a lot of people assumed you were hired because you're a blonde, Republican sex kitten and they were obviously wrong.' And to keep up the good work."
President: "That's really good."
Story threads, callbacks, and familiar faces (Hey, it's that guy!)
- We saw Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law, Major League) as Rep. Henry Shallick in The Leadership Breakfast. He's back as a Republican guest on Capital Beat; it seems like he's being set up as a recurring character, but as it turns out we won't see Rep. Shallick again.
- The adviser in the Situation Room, Mike Chysler, is played by Glenn Morshower. He is often seen playing military advisers or law enforcement officers, is a familiar voiceover artist (video games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 or Battlefield 3), and had long-running roles in 24 and Friday Night Lights.
- The Detroit police officer, Jack Sloan, is played by familiar character actor Richard Riehle (Office Space, among many other TV and movie appearances).
- Ted McGinley is back as Capital Beat host Mark Gottfried.
- It was exactly a year ago (He Shall, From Time To Time ...) that Leo (and we, the viewers) discovered President Bartlet suffers from MS. We've heard very, very little about it since, only Zoey's remark about the President looking flushed in What Kind Of Day Has It Been and Abbey telling the anesthesiologist in In The Shadow Of Two Gunmen Part I that he's the fifteenth person in the world to know ("When all this is over, tell the press, don't tell the press. It's entirely up to you."). I can't help but think Leo's quick remark to Jed in the Oval Office ("How you feeling?") is a subtle callback to his illness and his collapse on the brink of the State of the Union the year before.
- I also couldn't help but think the moment where President Bartlet stops to tie his shoe on his way to the House chamber was a callback to the moment when he collapsed in the Oval Office before the State of the Union a year ago. I mean, maybe I'm reading too much into it, but when he stops and stoops down to the floor, the looks on the faces of Leo and Toby and Sam all seem to reflect a concern and worry that the pressure is getting to the President again. Or maybe they're just concerned he's going to be late, I don't know.
DC location shots
- There don't appear to be any DC location shots in this episode.
They Do Exist! It's The Real Person, or Thing
- The President says Bob Novak (then with CNN) claimed this State of the Union is "the speech of (his) political life."
- Several shots of C-SPAN network coverage of President Bartlet's speech to Congress.
- Josh compares Joey's airplane mechanic joke to the wit of playwright and actor Noel Coward.
- There's a fleeting shot of CNN's John King on TV in the background of the White House reception as Sam enters ("Sam Seaborn, everybody!").
- We see Josh holding a copy of Vogue with actress Charlize Theron on the cover.
End credits freeze frame: The President and his team waiting to enter the House chamber.
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