La Palabra - TWW S6E18

Original airdate: March 9, 2005

Written by: Eli Attie (15)

Directed by: Jason Ensler (1)

Synopsis

• A hectic four days in California leading up to Super Tuesday see Josh facing the financial realities of a campaign stuck in third place, Matt and Helen mortgaging their future to keep going for two more weeks, and Donna gaining a new title with the Russell campaign. Then a stunning revelation flips everything on its head.
  

"You won California." 

Just when we thought we knew all about what The West Wing was, they come up with this episode that's basically a suspense thriller. And a pretty good one! Eli Attie is sharp with the writing, and Jason Ensler does a terrific job in his one and only West Wing directing stint, keeping the action hurtling forward with energy and excitement, the characters hanging on for dear life.

 

In a lot of ways this episode rehashes territory already worked over in Opposition Research, Freedonia, King Corn (sort of), and (to a certain extent) A Good Day. Josh and Matt find themselves at cross-purposes with the campaign, Matt comes up with a long-shot out-of-the-box scheme that ends up paying off, and Josh comes around to Matt's point of view and they're on the same page as the episode ends. 

 

This is like that, sort of ... with a big difference being the reversal in how the two characters are viewing the campaign. In Opposition Research and Freedonia, it's Josh who's looking ahead for the long haul, believing the Santos campaign can really accomplish big things while Matt seems to just be in the race to spur the other candidates to talk about education or stop with the negative ads. Here, it's upside-down. Josh (after seeing the dreadful financial reports and a couple of conversations with Leo) has come around to the realization that the campaign is over, they're stuck in third with no hope of moving up and it's time to bow out, while it's Matt who's so dedicated to staying in the race (at least until Texas) that he'd even mortgage his house. 

 

I also like how we see the ways Josh and Matt have come together in what they're actually campaigning about. Instead of trying the usual battleground tricks that worked for Josh in the past, the things he tried to convince Matt to do in New Hampshire, we realize Josh has come around to the fact that Matt's education and health care policy positions are the real heart and soul of his campaign. They're the reason Matt is running, and if he's going to gain traction, it's because of those policies. We get that great montage in this episode of those TV interviews where Matt masterfully takes the questions about his opponents (or Hoynes's scandal) and turns them back into answers about what he wants to do as President. And, later, we're going to talk about how Josh works to keep the press attention on Matt's talking points instead of what he thinks about the latest scandal. Matt and Josh have come a long way together since Opposition Research.

We also get Donna asking for more responsibility in her job for Russell (as she asked Josh in late Season 4 and early Season 5) and Hoynes suffering the effects of not being able to keep his pants zipped, neither one of which is particularly new to us - but Will is quick to make Donna the spokesperson for the Russell campaign (as well as trusting her instincts when she feels something is fishy with the Hoynes campaign). But even though we're going over a lot of familiar ground, this episode is just so relentless and so well-crafted that we really don't care; we just anxiously watch to see how things are going to work out.

We start off with the Santos campaign plane heading to California, putting all their eggs into the biggest basket for Super Tuesday. We learn that even though Matt won a couple of primaries in Arizona and New Mexico, he's stuck in third place behind the two Vice Presidents (Russell and Hoynes), and isn't getting much traction in any attempts to really compete with them. The press is using oranges on the campaign plane to pass notes about polls showing Matt stuck well behind in third place.

 

That orange really rolls straight, doesn't it?

 

We also learn Hoynes has already gotten the endorsement of California's governor, and with that (and Hoynes' plans to come out to California to campaign over the weekend) the Russell campaign has given up on the state and will stay in New York to get after those East Coast Super Tuesday primaries.

Matt is also slated to get the endorsement of La Palabra, a Latino advocacy group that would really cement his status with Latino voters. To add a complication, though, the California legislature has just passed a bill preventing illegal aliens from getting drivers' licenses, and La Palabra insists that Matt has to denounce it. When he refuses (for reasons that will later become clear), La Palabra pulls back on its endorsement and actually aligns with the Hoynes campaign, even further locking Santos into third. 

All this intrigue doesn't get any better when Josh meets with the campaign's new fundraising chief, who lets him know they're basically out of money and the big Democratic donors aren't interested in giving to a candidate that appears to have no hope of rising above third place. He tells Josh, Matt, and Helen, "If we don't do something to beat expectations on Tuesday, I don't see how we continue the campaign." "Beating expectations" means finishing second, which seems out of reach given the huge resources and advantages of the two Vice Presidents.

Meanwhile, back in New York, as I said the Russell campaign is resigned to staying out East and raking in as many delegates as they can there, knowing Hoynes has California sewn up with the governor's endorsement and his upcoming trip. Donna asks Will for some more responsibility, and Will instantly gives her a release and puts her out in front of the press as the campaign's spokesperson.

In that role, Donna spars a bit with Hoynes' campaign director, who really just wants to spend a little time with Donna. When she relents, going to his room to maybe ask him to share a coffee or New York's "champagne of waters" just before Hoynes departs for California, what she sees in his hotel room instantly sparks her realization that things are not as they seem.

She races to find Will.

Donna (breathlessly): "He's just canceled his first policy speech and Brewer's not packed and this isn't a guy who throws things in a duffel bag, and why would he be working on a press statement if they were physically going to ---"

Josh: "Whoa, slow down. I'll lend you some punctuation."

She's figured out Hoynes has no plans to go to California, it's all been a fake-out to keep Russell from going out there. She doesn't know why, exactly, just that the trip isn't happening

Reporter 1: "Hoynes' campaign says it's his throat."

Donna: "You guys are supposed to be journalists, so unless one of you has a throat swab --"

Reporter 2: "Go over this one more time."

Donna: "Okay, look. Vice President Russell was going to campaign in California. Then the governor endorsed Hoynes and Hoynes practically announced he was moving there. But now that we've canceled our trip, Hoynes is holed up in New York, canceling his California events left and right like a Foghat reunion tour."

Reporter 2: "What do you think Hoynes is up to?"

Donna: "Do I look like an investigative reporter? The answer is I do not, and I can't believe you're just standing around when you should go do your jobs."

 

Even Matt gets in on the whole Where-Is-Hoynes thing, using that orange messaging system:

 

 

Back in California, Josh has finally come to grips with the harsh financial realities ... there's no way Matt can win the nomination, the donors are never going to come around, they absolutely cannot keep the campaign limping along for two weeks to get to the Texas primary. Matt and Helen have had discussions about mortgaging their home in order to self-finance the campaign, but Josh is desperately trying to discourage them from risking so much of their personal savings. And that brings us to the core of the episode, a speech by Matt that explains so much of why he's running the way he's running, why he doesn't want to just be the "brown candidate," why he doesn't want to pigeonhole himself as the Latino in the race and nothing else, and why he doesn't want to use his opposition to the drivers' license bill to gain Latino support.

Josh: "We're not going to win the nomination. I made myself believe it; you too, but ... you can't risk everything for this. You should go to La Palabra, make a strong statement against the drivers' license bill. You should remember who your friends are, not some names on an index card, but the people you're going back to - and then you should take a bow, and then you should step off the stage."

(Helen rises, touching Matt's shoulder as she leaves the room)

Matt: "You know, when I got out of the Marines, I hadn't been around my old neighborhood in Houston in a few years. I had just gotten this job offer from the Pentagon, and it required a full FBI background check. After a few weeks, the investigators, they came up to me and they said, 'We can't give you the job. We've interviewed all your old friends and neighbors. They can't confirm anything - not even your name.' So I hop a plane, go back to the old block. I see my neighbor's 11- and 13-year-old kids, they're sitting on the stoop, same as always. They see me coming, they start running towards me and they're shouting, 'Tío Matt, Tío Matt - Uncle Matt - Tío Matt, the Feds, they were here looking for you. We told 'em we never heard of you.' (chuckling) Eleven and thirteen. (pause) You're not the only one who can read bad polls, Josh. I am running for President in that Texas primary ... and those kids are going to see me do that. And that's the only statement about my skin color I intend to make in this campaign."

 

So Matt is all-in, at least until Texas - quite a change from his "I'm only in it to get the others talking about education" that we saw in Opposition Research.

 

And then, a bombshell that shakes up everything. As the Russell campaign quickly pulls up stakes and heads out to California, desperate to gain an edge on Hoynes after giving up on the state earlier, word breaks on why Hoynes was holed up in New York - a couple of college-age staffers from his Senate days are splashed across the tabloids, having sold their stories of Hoynes making improper sexual advances. Let's be frank: this shouldn't be that much of a scandal, not eight years later and not when one of the chief reasons Hoynes resigned the Vice Presidency in Life On Mars was because of an affair he was having (and the fact he tried to impress his mistress with classified information), and he must have described various other affairs and womanizing in his tell-all book (Full Disclosure). But, for the purposes of this episode, it's a scandal worthy of him suspending his campaign.

Suddenly, it's basically a two-man race in California; and Santos is the one who's been there on the ground for several days as Russell tries to play catch-up. This is where both Josh and Matt really shine, grabbing the initiative in ways that can really make a difference. First, the conversation with Josh, Ronna, and Bram in the elevator - Josh knows Matt needs to keep hitting his policy proposals, and not take the bait about the scandal:

Bram: "We've gotten almost 300 press requests - all about Hoynes' overcharged libido. I assume you want to ride the story?"

Josh: "We're not riding it, we're not spinning it, the press may love it but the voters don't. Accept as many of those press requests as you can jam on his schedule."

(Ronna and Bram react, confused)

Bram: "Didn't you just say --"

Josh: "We have a message. It's health care and education. It's the only way he beats Russell."

Ronna: "Every question will be about Hoynes."

Josh: "But none of the answers."

And then yet another of Matt's long-shot difference-making leaps of faith - he goes to Governor Tillman, knowing he feels burned by Hoynes and isn't willing to go out on that endorsement limb again. Matt has a late-night conversation with the governor in his limo, where he lays out his reasoning why it doesn't do much good for a guy like Santos to come out against the drivers' license bill.

Gov. Tillman: "Are you so desperate for the appearance of my support that you'd stand behind me while I strike down a bill that you don't oppose?"

Matt: "Oh, I think the bill is an abomination. We need to toughen our immigration laws, make our borders 50 times more secure. But if we're not really willing to do that, it's wrong to punish the people that we bring here to pick our avocados."

Gov. Tillman: "Well, why don't you just come out and say that?"

Matt: "Cause people don't need to hear it from someone who looks like me. They need to hear it from someone who looks like you."

Matt has an offer for Tillman. If the governor lets Matt stand up at the podium behind him while the governor vetoes the drivers' license bill, he won't ask him directly for the endorsement. The governor vetoes a bill he thinks is bad, getting a little cover from a Latino presidential candidate; Matt gets the appearance of the governor's support.

 

That works even better than expected, as Gov. Tillman explains to the press that he gave the veto pen to Rep. Santos, then pumps up Matt's health care plan as he leaves the room. It's a media bonanza for the formerly third-place guy, and the perfect storm of Hoynes' scandal/governor's veto press conference/Russell's late arrival ends up with the result we never thought we'd see.

Josh: "You won California."

Not a second-place finish to stay alive, but a primary-race-defining victory in the biggest state there is, leading up to a Texas primary in Matt's home state. For the first time ever, Josh and Matt can actually see a path to the nomination starting to develop.

 

 

Tales Of Interest!

- Another of the few instances of the episode title appearing over the action of a scene, instead of simply white lettering on a black background. In Third-Day Story and Liftoff (sort of) the title appeared over the video, as it does here. In Twenty Five it was black lettering on a white background, while in Opposition Research it was black lettering on a gray background. 

- The direction of this episode is, in my opinion, really well-done. The moving camera zooming in on characters as they move toward the camera, the music cues hitting just the right emotional spot, the zooming sound of airplanes - gosh, it's all so right. Big props to Jason Ensler, who started his career trying to be an actor, got into studio promotion at Warner Brothers (including helping to launch The West Wing), then directed episodes of Ed and Scrubs before his one and only time directing The West Wing. Not just the direction, but the writing of the cold open by Eli Attie also does a wonderful job of setting up the episode and the driving tension of what we're going to watch over the next 43 minutes.

 

- On the Santos plane inbound to Sacramento we are told it's four days until the California primary/Super Tuesday. That means it's probably Friday, which would be March 3, 2006 (if Super Tuesday was on the first Tuesday of March, as it traditionally had been prior to this episode).

- Cliff congratulated Josh on the campaign's performance in Arizona and New Mexico in A Good Day. Here we discover Matt actually won both of those states. With Matt now being recognized as a solid third place in the Democratic race, we can assume he was able to rise above most of the rest of the "seven dwarfs" we saw in Freedonia.

- We find out a bit of news about the Republican race, as a reporter tells us Senator Vinick is sweeping the primaries on that side.

- As Vice President Russell is flying to California, we see a shot of the aircraft commonly referred to as Air Force Two. It's a Boeing C-32, which is a modified B757.

 

As Donna is walking in the interior of the aircraft, we see her pass a stairway to an upper level. This stairway would not exist in the B757 (which doesn't have two levels); it would, however, be seen in a B747 like that used by the President as Air Force One.

 

(Obviously the show filmed the scene in the same set they use for Air Force One, instead of building a new set just for this shot.)

- Josh tells us Russell wins the primaries in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

- Why'd They Come Up With La Palabra?

Josh and Matt are hoping an endorsement from the (fictional) Latino group La Palabra will give them a boost in the California Democratic primary. La Palabra means "the word" in Spanish.

Quotes    

Bram: "Ed Garcia's in your room, then we'll do the home health care hit."

Matt: "Eddie's here?"

Josh: "Couple of last minute details about La Palabra's endorsement."

Bram: "They're huge in the Latino community, going to be a great hit."

Matt: "Are we gonna bump somebody off?" 

-----

Gordon: "The latest field polls say that if the election were held today --"

Matt: "People would be surprised because it's normally held on Election Day."

----- 

Bram: "I just talked to Garcia, about the rollout of the La Palabra endorsement ..."

Josh: "You realize it's redundant to say 'the' and 'la.'"

Bram: "Oh. La endorsement is off. Garcia says la Congressman knows why."

-----

Josh: "It's a bad bill. You should be who you are. I was wrong to push the politics on this."

Matt: "I'm not taking a position."

Josh: "Garcia's serious about going with Hoynes."

Matt: "Maybe he should be, and not for nothing, Josh, Garcia can tell me if he thinks I'm not Latino enough. You can't, okay?"

-----

Matt (as Josh hands him a sheaf of papers): "What's this?"

Josh: "It's a campaign plan for Texas. Sell my own house if I have to."

Matt: "You'd be going to federal prison."

Josh: "Need to live someplace, won't I?"

 

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

• This is our introduction to Bram, played by Matthew Del Negro (The Sopranos, Scandal, Wind River). Bram will be a key part of the campaign from now on.

• Steve, the White House pool reporter, is now on the road (er, plane) covering the Santos campaign.

• Another White House reporter, Gordon, is seen in the hotel hallway, also covering the Santos campaign (Gordon was famously seen being pranked by CJ in Slow News Day when she used his speculative question about the President and Abbey possibly adopting a baby to lead him down the path of possibly being a sperm donor for CJ's prospective baby).

• The often-seen TV anchor played by Ivan Allen is seen and heard again, this time reporting on the latest Hoynes scandal.

• California Governor Tillman is played by Ray Wise (Twin Peaks, Robocop, Reaper).

• Governor Tillman has actually been mentioned before. In Game On, we keep hearing about an amazing speech Gov. Gabe Tillman delivered to the Stanford Club, and Sam figures out it was Will who ghostwrote it. That helps spur Sam to suggest Will to Toby as a writer for the White House staff, which happens in Arctic Radar.
  

• We're going to eventually find out a lot more about the physical and romantic chemistry between Matt and Helen; I've said it before, Helen Santos is probably my favorite performance by Teri Polo in anything, and it's obvious she and Jimmy Smits can play off each other terrifically. Anyway, the little moment on the plane just before they arrive in Sacramento really shows us these two love each other and have a lively, warm, loving marriage that includes an active sex life.

• The Hoynes scandal seems like, well, not all that much of a scandal, given what the public already knows about him. We've known for years that John Hoynes is a womanizer who's cheated on multiple wives; the entire reason he resigned the Vice Presidency in Life On Mars is because he was having an affair with a socialite who was writing a book, and he tried to impress her with classified information. In Full Disclosure we learned he'd had a one-night stand with CJ when he was a Senator. Heck, he wrote a book about his past, which I'm sure covered many of his affairs and peccadilloes, it's not like the public didn't know about his past. And even if he's campaigning now on the fact he's made himself a better, more faithful husband, news of having affairs with staffers when he was a Senator (at least eight years or more in the past) doesn't seem like it would cause as much of a firestorm as we see play out here.
  

• WHAT'S NEXT - After finishing up TV interviews on Super Tuesday, Matt says, "What's next?" To which Helen replies, "Besides the mother of all throat lozenges?"
  

DC location shots    

• None; the episode is set entirely in California and New York (well, except for the scenes of Leo on the phone with Josh).
  

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

• Using oranges to send messages up and down the aisle between the campaign and the press seems like something Eli Attie copied from reality, and he mostly likely did. My surface Googling of that, however, doesn't bring up any real-life instances prior to this. I did find a couple of articles about the Mitt Romney campaign in 2012 and the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016 doing that, but that's getting their inspiration from this episode.

• At the beginning of the episode you can hear the pilot of the Santos plane say they're beginning their descent into Sacramento's Franklin Field. Franklin Field is a small general aviation airport with two 3000-foot runways, and would not be a place for a jetliner to land. The primary airport in Sacramento is Sacramento International, and there is also Sacramento Executive (with one of its runways 5500 feet long).
  

• Helen tells Matt she feels "trapped in a Tammy Wynette medley" as they talk about the possibility of mortgaging their house to continue the campaign. Wynette famously sang Stand By Your Man.
  

• All the television stations mentioned during Matt's remote interviews actually exist. KSEE in Fresno, KGET in Bakersfield, KNTV in San Jose, and KSBW in Salinas. And, of course, with The West Wing airing on NBC, they are all NBC affiliates.
  

• Leo says he's reading the new biography of James Madison. Apparently his last words were indeed, "Nothing more than a change of mind, my dear. I always talk better lying down."
  

• Donna mentions the band Foghat when the reporters are asking her about Hoynes canceling his California events.
  

• CNN is mentioned, and we get a look at the MSNBC logo once again.

• Russell jokes about voting for Pat Paulsen, a comedian who actually did run for President (as a satirical bit) in 1968 and 1996.

End credits freeze frame: Josh giving Matt the campaign plan for Texas.

Previous episode: A Good Day

Next episode: Ninety Miles Away