Manchester, Part I - TWW S3E2

Original airdate: October 10, 2001

Written by: Aaron Sorkin (45)

Directed by: Thomas Schlamme (8)

Synopsis

• As the President prepares for the official announcement of his reelection campaign, we bounce back and forth between the frenzied excitement of the night he made his decision and the aimless stalemate the staffers find themselves in four weeks later: the speechwriters are at a deadlock over tone and a Bartlet apology; CJ contemplates her future after a terrible gaffe with the press; an FDA announcement may overshadow the campaign's plans; the situation in Haiti remains volatile; against all advice, Josh is dead set on going after Congress for tobacco lawsuit funding; and Jed and Abbey still haven't dealt with how the President's decision will affect their relationship.

"Leo, I'm running for President. And I'm gonna win."

After the bumpy detour of Isaac And Ishmael, Season 3 kicks off for real with this dramatic, well-constructed two-parter (the two-part structure being a hallmark of Aaron Sorkin's season premieres). Boy, things are a mess - but we can't quite put our finger on why.

We careen between the initial excitement, energy and frenzy of the night President Bartlet announced (against all prior indications) that he is running again, and a month later. There's no frenzied excitement now, no pumped-up energy - just frustration and anger and exhaustion. The genius of the episode's structure, switching back and forth from the present (a trip to New Hampshire where the President will officially kick off his reelection campaign) and the days following his stunning turnaround press conference, is that it slowly gives us bits of information by which we can start to piece together why things have changed so drastically in four weeks.

We start almost exactly where we left off in Two Cathedrals - CJ is dealing with the raucous press conference at the State Department after Bartlet and the First Lady revealed his multiple sclerosis to the nation, then the President takes the podium. We get a better look at the "tell" Mrs. Landingham let us in on than we did at the end of Two Cathedrals; the hands in pockets, slight head turn, and smile that shows us Jed has made up his mind:

We also get to hear his answer to the reporter's question:

Reporter: "Yes, sir, can you tell us right now if you'll be seeking a second term?"

President (pauses, puts hands in pockets, smiles slightly): "Yeah. And I'm gonna win." 

We are then thrown to the present, four weeks after that night, to a distracted and moody CJ sitting in her car waiting to board Air Force One for their trip to New Hampshire. This jumping back and forth in time continues throughout the episode, and it's a fantastic storytelling construction that keeps us viewers off-balance as we try to put things together. Why is CJ off her game? Why are speechwriters Sam and Toby so frustrated with their progress? Who is this Bruno character, and why are these strangers involved in writing speeches? Why is Haiti still being discussed, and why is it discussed as a success but could have been an even bigger political win? We'll eventually find out what we need to know (some of these things not until Part 2), but that's all part of the plan Sorkin has with his plot structure.

The scenes from the past show us the initial excitement of the staffers after Bartlet's bombshell. They're all fired up, setting up calls with Congress, arranging appearances on TV news, and most importantly, getting a new poll in the field to gauge public reaction to the announcement. Joey Lucas, Sam, CJ ... everyone is ready to roll.

This comes in stunning contrast to what we see in the present:

Reporter 1: "The speech is done?"

CJ: "It's done, they're just ironing a few things out."

Reporter 2: "Toby and Sam don't have any problem with Bruno's people?"

CJ: "They're getting along great, they're just dotting the Is and crossing the Ts."

Sam (storms out of room behind CJ): "This thing reads like an Andy Williams special. We're starting all over again with a white piece of paper!" (He throws the speech into the air)

CJ: "I'm going to take my seat now."

The neatly constructed plot gives us little tidbits, in the past and present, that we as viewers have to piece together. We see Bruno and his team onboard to help advise the campaign, but why? We find out later that Joey's poll numbers didn't turn out to be all that great, and they haven't budged over the past four weeks, so Leo and the staff brought in some help to jump start the campaign. Haiti is mentioned as both a success and a missed opportunity - and we then discover the rescue mission ordered by the President to evacuate Americans and the elected President of Haiti from the embassy encountered trouble, with American helicopters firing on the Haitian military. Casualties were incurred, and the prospect of an American invasion was very much alive.

In a quick little flashback scene, we see Oliver Babish telling Charlie that, as the President's closest personal assistant, he's going to need a lawyer for the oncoming subpoenas and investigations. When the expense of that is made clear to Charlie, a young guy trying to save for college while taking care of his younger sister, that falls on him like a thunderbolt.

Charlie: "So they can just knock on my door one morning?"

Babish: "They will. Knock on your door. One morning."

Charlie: "How much? You know, how much do you think ... ?"

Babish: "Assuming you did nothing wrong, saw nothing wrong, and heard nothing wrong ... about a hundred thousand dollars."

The speechwriters are in conflict over a Bartlet apology to the nation; Doug has submitted a draft that he thinks shows an apology can work, but Toby and Sam are dead-set against any apology from the President. But wait! A later flashback scene shows Sam bringing up the idea of an apology, Sam actually thinking the President might be well served with such a statement to the voters. We are a bit whipsawed with the contradiction of the same staffers we see in the present dismissing an idea out of hand, while talking favorably about that same idea in a flashback.

Some other complications are revealed, with the FDA's planned announcement of approval of an abortion drug set to take attention away from the President's campaign kickoff, and Josh's dogged determination to go after the Congressmen holding up tobacco lawsuit funding (against everyone's advice). But there is a another very important, long-lasting note of trouble in the flashbacks. The personal relationship between Jed and Abbey has taken a serious hit with the President's sudden change in course. As we saw all the way back in Bartlet's Third State Of The Union, the couple had an agreement that Jed would only serve one term, as a stipulation for him keeping his medical condition secret. In Two Cathedrals, the President came to the decision that he would not run again after attending Mrs. Landingham's funeral, and that was the unspoken foundation behind Jed and Abbey when they went on television that afternoon. Of course, as we saw, the President changed his mind and blindsided everyone at the press conference. But there ain't no blindsiding like blindsiding your wife, and Abbey is quietly furious:

Jed: "You'll be up later?"

Abbey: "When?"

Jed: "Probably three or four."

Abbey: "Am I usually up at three or four in the morning?"

Jed: "Not usually."

Abbey (bitingly): "Then let's assume I won't be tonight." 

The status of the First Couple's relationship is a topic of the staff's discussion throughout the episode, with Josh concerned about the optics of the President flying to New Hampshire without his wife along, some sardonic comments from a couple of divorced guys,

Leo: "You know, I think with everything on our plates, we don't really need to be marriage counselors."

Toby: "No, we should, 'cause you and I would be really good at it." 

and a slapdown from Charlie when Toby's questions to him go a bit too far:

Charlie: "I can't do the job if he thinks he's got to send me out of the room every time -"

Toby: "No, you're right. You know what? Look, it's a typical marriage, I've been there."

Charlie: "Well, I haven't, but he's the President of the United States, so my guess is no, it's probably not a typical marriage."  

But the deep, emotional throughline in the episode belongs to CJ. As mentioned, we see her at the beginning sitting in the car at Andrews Air Force Base, distracted and lost in her thoughts. She's off-kilter just a little throughout the scenes in the present, not quite the quippy, quick-witted CJ we've seen so much of. She's completely in her own world in that scene in the bar, half-heartedly playing pool with Toby and reading a historical flyer about Colonel John Goffe's mill. And then Toby says:

Toby: "Leo talked to me. I know what you're thinking about doing."

What? What is CJ thinking about doing?

We go back to the scenes in May. CJ has her hands full with a demanding, shouting press corps - quite natural, considering the news that's just dropped about President Bartlet's health, the "elaborate plot to conceal a life-threatening illness from the American people," and the ongoing Haiti crisis to boot. Sorkin and director Thomas Schlamme do a great job of showing us the increasing pressure on CJ, with the press briefing room more raucous and CJ looking less composed and less under control with each passing briefing room scene. Finally, after a particularly persistent reporter keeps hammering at making a link between the President's MS and his decision-making about Haiti, she snaps:

Reporter: "CJ, would you say that the President's situation makes it harder for him to focus on the situation in Haiti?"

CJ: "To be honest with you, Carl, I think the President's relieved to be focusing on something that matters." 

The entire episode comes to a halt. Toby, watching from the back of the room, is in shock like Toby's never been before:

Sam illustrates the public perception problem with CJ's statement quite succinctly:

Sam: "'He's relieved'? ... He might have to put American lives at risk and kill Haitian civilians 'cause it takes his mind off having lied to the electorate?" 

And when CJ bursts out of the room, finding Toby, Sam, and Josh in the hallway, her reaction shows her distress, her exhaustion, her frustration:

"Dammit!"

So what's CJ thinking about doing? She's thinking about quitting.

And there we are, left in the middle of what feels like quicksand: CJ is adrift, contemplating leaving the administration; Jed is facing personal and marital challenges he's likely never seen before; Josh is hell-bent on attacking over the tobacco suit, an attack everyone tells him is a bad idea; and the entire campaign can't figure out what's the best approach, the best case Bartlet can make to the country for his reelection. I suppose we'll have to tune in for Part II to see what Sorkin has in store for us next.

Tales Of Interest!

-  As always, I like to see how The West Wing works with their script-established timelines. We know the bombshell press conference happened on a Wednesday night sometime in early May (during May sweeps, as CJ clearly indicated in 18th And Potomac). The onscreen graphics tell us the trip to New Hampshire is happening four weeks later, so we're talking early- or perhaps mid-June. It must have been unseasonally chilly in DC for mid-June, considering all the coats and outerwear we saw on the tarmac.

- The opening credits have added Stockard Channing as a regular cast member. We also get some new video in the credits for Rob Lowe, Allison Janney, and Janel Moloney.

- It's a West Wing tradition - that shot with the camera spinning around a character as they are speaking. Schlamme pulls it off well with one of CJ's press briefing scenes:

Quotes 

Sam: "Public Liaison?"

Toby: "Yeah."

Sam: "Half an hour."

Toby: "Fifteen minutes! (talking over Sam) Sam, we've got to -"

Sam (as Toby speaks): "You'd better -"

Sam and Toby (simultaneously): "- call the networks and make sure we've got one of our people in every single broadcast tonight."

Toby: "Okay, let's try not to do that a lot." 

-----

Josh: "What are they talking about back there?"

CJ: "Leo and Bruno?"

Josh: "Yeah."

CJ: "The lack of yeast in our numbers. Yeast is a fun word to say."

Josh: "I'm sorry I got in your face before."

CJ: "Our numbers are less than yeasty."

Josh: "They are."

-----

Reporter: "I think the question was, was he physically and emotionally prepared to make a life-and-death decision after what he'd just been through?"

CJ: "He'd been through a TV interview and a press conference. The President finds you all annoying but not prohibitively debilitating."

-----

Sam: "She actually is tired, Leo, we all are."

Leo: "Well, why don't we go with that, Sam, let's go out and say we're all tired. The President's tired, complications due to MS."

Sam: "We haven't had much time -"

Leo: "You had a week, how much time do you need?"

Sam (pointedly): "Some of us have had more time than others."   

Story threads, callbacks, and familiar faces (Hey, it's that guy!)

• Ron Silver (Timecop, Reversal Of Fortune, Veronica's Closet) makes his debut as campaign strategist Bruno Gianelli. He will turn into one of the series' recurring characters.

• Evan Handler (Sex And The City, Californication, Ransom) plays Doug Wegland, one of the writers on Gianelli's staff. He will not become a recurring character, as he disappears after about two more episodes.

• The fantastic Connie Britton (Spin City, Friday Night Lights, Nashville) appears as the aptly named Connie Tate, another Gianelli staff member. She lasts only one episode longer than Handler, which is too bad for The West Wing but worked out okay for her career.

• It's a true case of "I know I've seen that guy before in something, but I don't know his name" when it comes to Earl Boen (perhaps best known as Dr. Silberman in The Terminator films). He plays Paulson, the contact who tells CJ about the FDA's impending announcement on RU-486.

• Our favorite fake newsman Ivan Allen is back, as the unnamed news anchor covering the President's surprise announcement. He first appeared on The West Wing in A Proportional Response, and has been seen several times since (sometimes named as Roger Salier).

• Martin Sheen's daughter Renee Estevez pops in as Nancy, with a few lines in a scene with Sam.

• The military advisor Mike Chysler, played by Glenn Morshower (the Transformers movies, 24, Friday Night Lights, video game voice acting) is back in the Situation Room helping with the Haiti situation. Morshower was first seen in Bartlet's Third State Of The Union and most recently appeared in 18th And Potomac. 

• Josh's determination to light a fire under the Congressmen holding up approval of funding for the government's suit against Big Tobacco goes back to 18th And Potomac, and that arc continues as an important part of Josh's character development.

DC location shots    

• I don't know if the Andrews/Air Force One scenes were filmed at Dulles airport outside of DC. It's likely, though ... previous episodes with Air Force One were filmed there, using a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 that had the Air Force One livery digitally superimposed on the fuselage.

• The Bartlet farm scenes were filmed in Virginia, specifically at the home of the mayor of Purcellville, and the town scenes were shot in Middleburg, Virginia. The hotel Josh and Donna pull up to is the Red Fox Inn in Middleburg.

Here's the Google Street View of the inn today.

They Do Exist! It's The Real Person, or Thing    

• Mifepristone, or RU-486, is indeed a real drug that can induce an abortion in the first few months of pregnancy. It was approved by the FDA in September of 2000, just over a year before this episode aired.

• "Presidential M&Ms" are mentioned a couple of times. Connie talks about them to CJ and Toby gives a box of them to the bartender in Manchester. They are handed out as mementos to people on Air Force One or other presidential gatherings, and actually replaced cigarettes as the standard gift given to guests of the President.

• Col. Gantry, the Air Force One pilot, says they're landing at Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire. While the airport still exists at Pease (near Portsmouth) and serves as an Air National Guard base, the actual Pease AFB was closed in 1991.

• Sam describes a draft of the speech as "an Andy Williams special." Williams hosted a series of Christmas television specials, known for their family-friendly nature and traditional holiday songs.

• Leo scoffs at the idea of the President apologizing, saying he's not going to appear on Oprah Winfrey.

• We can hear "Rock The Boat" by the Hues Corporation playing in the bar. While other incidental background music is heard as well, that's the only song I personally recognize.

• The flyer CJ reads about Colonel John Goffe and his mill describes a real person from New Hampshire history.

• We definitely see logos for CSPAN/CNN on TV coverage of CJ's press briefing:

• Bruno says the downbeat speech draft written by Toby's staff would make even the ever-smiling singing group Up With People break down and cry. And did you know Up With People is still a thing, even in 2019?

• Product placement: Doug orders an Absolut martini on the rocks at the bar, while Toby gets a Jack Daniels. Surprisingly, nobody gets a Dewar's, rocks, which has been the traditional West Wing drink order since Pilot.

• Also in the bar, we see Charlie drinking a Michelob;

• And cans of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, and a bottle of Amstel beer on a table.

End credits freeze frame: Josh and Toby in the Oval Office (Josh: "You know, at some point we're going to have to check the First Lady's temperature." Toby: "Okay, you first.").