You and the West Wing

Christmas of 2007 your mother got me the entire DVD set of The West Wing. I'm so addicted to that show. Even though the politics are rather liberal, I'm fascinated with life behind the scenes in the White House. Anyways, you watch this with me when I don’t let you watch another Curious George. You like Joshua and you call him that too, even though 90% of the times people say his name it’s just Josh. However when you play that game that kids like to do where you say, “I’m the mommy and you’re the puppy” or “I’m the princess and you’re the broom” or whatever, you always say, “I’m the President and you’re Joshua”. Guess you can tell it’s good to be in charge.

So it’s July of 2008 and I’m watch the first show of Season Six. NSF Thurmont is the name of the episode. That’s Naval Support Facility Thurmont, commonly known as Camp David. Leo and the President are arguing in the Oval Office and it gets very loud and very heated.


BARTLET
Killing Palestinians isn’t going to make us feel safer. They’ll kill more of us, we’ll kill more of them. It’s Russian roulette with a fully-loaded gun.

LEO
We can’t allow terrorists to murder our citizens without...

BARTLET
Why would they do it? Why would Palestinians murders American government officials? They never have before. They’re deliberately provoking us, Leo. They know that we have to retaliate. They’ve studied us. They want us to overreact.

LEO
This isn’t overreacting. It’s the appropriate, balanced...

BARTLET
Tell me how this ends, Leo! You want me to start something that may have serious repercussions on American foreign policy for decades, but you don’t know how it ends.

LEO
[shouting] We don’t always know how it ends! [calmer] The Lincoln will be in position in a few hours and then you are going to have to give the go ahead for the bombings.

BARTLET
Or what? [pause] Let me know when Chairman Farad calls. I’ll be in the Residence.

LEO
Thank you, Mr. President.

He leaves.

There’s a small pause where the cut to commercial would be. You were at the coffee table coloring and you said very calmly and very plainly “The President doesn’t think it’s a good idea.”

I’m still floored just writing this. "A good idea" is a vastly difficult concept. There is no simple dialog in that exchange, nowhere does Bartlett say, well I just think it’s not a good idea – something you could have been repeating. It obvious that they are arguing, even a three year old could pick up the emotion – these are consummate actors. But it’s not that they are just mad, it’s a persuasion. Leo needs the President to pull the trigger, he’s urging so strongly that he yells – at the President – in the Oval Office. Bartlett's protests never use "I". I don't like, I don't think, whatever... he rebuffs Leo with questions, that's much more subtle of a rejection... although the tone was full of it.

This was truly an “old soul” moment. That part of you that's 400 years old spoke up and you listened.