Let Bartlet Be Bartlet

[Admin]

From NBC:
Rumors percolate about a scathing memo that outlines the weaknesses of President Bartlet's (Martin Sheen) administration for his political rival and grip the White House, until C.J. (Allison Janney) learns it came from one of the trusted staff, Mandy (Moira Kelly). Now in someone else's possession, C.J. finally tracks it down to Danny (Timothy Busfield) and tries to dissuade him from publishing it. Meanwhile, Sam (Rob Lowe) and Toby (Richard Schiff) meet with opposing military officers and congressmen to discuss amending the current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy towards gays in the armed forces. When two members of the Federal Election Commission resign, Josh (Bradley Whitford) sees opportunity and moves fast to meet with contentious senator's staffers to suggest that the President appoint two campaign finance reformers as replacements instead of those wanted by the Senate leadship. Leo (John Spencer) not only has trouble with the White House's faulty e-mail system, he confronts the President and issues a challenge that could define or destroy his administration.

[Joey Lucas]

From The Official Companion:
The President is due to address the United Organization of Trout Fishermen outside the White House. It’s raining, so the remarks are moved inside to the OEOB. Toby reminds Sam to be sure he changes the opening line of the speech, which refers to a “magnificent vista.” Bartlet’s distracted and the tiniest bit annoyed – his staff if a no-show at the OEOB, claiming they didn’t know it was raining. “Nothin’ like surrounding yourself with the best and the brightest.” Bartlet perks up when he hears that two FEC commissioners resigned. Leo assures him the Senate leadership will fill the seats, but Bartlet wonders why they can’t suggest their own guys. He wants to dangle his feet in the water and tells Josh to fins candidates who back aggressive campaign finance reform. After missing the rain cue, Sam forgets to change the remarks, so the President, firmly indoors, begins his speech, “As I look out over this magnificent vista –“

Josh recites the Federal Election Commission protocol for Donna. There are six commissioners who serve rotating six-year terms. Two seats are up every two years. The party leadership on both sides always advises the President whom to appoint.

The press and staff alike are speculating about “a mysterious piece of paper” that’s floating around. C.J. intuitively asks Mandy, who knows what it is because she wrote it. It’s a memo she prepared for her former boss, Lloyd Russell, on the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the Bartlet administration and how to beat him for re-nomination. Mandy’s embarrassed but C.J.’s just flat-out pissed.

Leo’s e-mail is going haywire. Margaret begins to explain about a message she forwarded regarding the calorie count in the raisin muffins that has since clogged the entire computer system. Leo would rather not hear about it in detail. Josh reports he has a couple of good FEC candidates, John Bacon and Patty Calhoun. The leadership will hate them both. Leo tells Josh to sound out the leadership’s front men, not the leaders themselves.

In the Roosevelt Room, Sam and Toby are toiling over a lost cause of their own. Toby explains to two congressmen and two young military officers that the Bartlet administration his hamstrung by the policy they inherited on gays and lesbians in the military. They want more input before Sam makes recommendations to the President. An officer asks Sam what consequence his recommendations will have, and Sam admits very little. But if the commander on chief orders that gays can serve openly, then anyone who disobeys can stand court-martial. The officer replies that the chief can order what he wants, but the uniform code makes sodomy a crime, and it takes an act of Congress to change that.

In a room tucked away in to Capitol, Josh I talking to congressional aides about the soft money loophole, which renders the 1974 Campaign Finance Reform Act toothless. Josh argues that soft money is corrupt, an aide contends that it’s free speech. Josh says ads and bumper stickers are free speech; money isn’t speech. The aide brushes Josh off – they have their FEC candidates.

JOSH: The President makes appointments to the Federal Election Commission.
ONORATO: And the Senate confirms them. And I’m speaking for the majority leader. Embarrass us this way, and we will give the same back tenfold. Every piece of legislation the White House wants off the table will make a sudden appearance.
BLAKELY: Steve’s talkin’ about all our greatest hits, Josh. Five forty-one, school prayer, the Family Support Act, the Entertainment Decency Act –
GRAHAM: English as the national language.
ONORATO: English as the national language will be the first up, that’s gonna be our leadoff hitter.
JOSH: Wouldn’t it be easier just to not confirm the nominees?
ONORATO: We’re gonna do that, too.

Josh takes this as a challenge. Four hours ago, this was a fool’s errand: he was sending up a test balloon. Now they’ve managed to get him on board.

Sam and Toby are still at it with the congressmen. “ ’Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ works,” says a representative, but Sam disagrees. He says 1,145 people were discharged for being gay in 1998, a 92% increase since the policy was initiated. C.J. pulls Sam and Toby out of the meeting. She’s read Mandy’s memo, and it’s devastating for the administration. She quotes: “The reality of the Bartlet White House is a flood of mistakes.” It goes on to discuss the indecision and the lack of a coherent strategy. But the worst is reserved for the President and Leo.

Toby takes the responsibility of passing the news onto Leo. As Toby waits for Leo, Margaret tells him that since she sent out her muffin mass e-mail, the pipeline’s been flooded and e-mails are bouncing all over. Admiral Fitzwallace exits Leo’s office and Toby warns him there’s a security breach with the White House computers, but Fitzwallace knows they aren’t secure. Toby informs Leo about the existence of the memo, which says the President’s instinct is to be aggressive, but Leo moves him to the safe ground. Leo shrugs it off – he says don’t worry about it, and tells Toby he doesn’t want to see a copy.

As the political consultant, Mandy’s still trying to do her job, but Josh doesn’t want her advice just now. Hasn’t she ever heard of a burn bag? Mandy says someone got the memo off her hard drive. Morale in the West Wing is dangerously low. Josh asks Donna if everyone is feeling this way. They are.

Tempers are running precariously high in the Roosevelt Room when Ftizwallace enters. He knows what they’ve been discussing, and he asks the officers what they think. One says the military has no prejudice towards homosexuals, but gays threaten the discipline and cohesion in the armed forces. Fitzwallace agrees. But that’s what they said about blacks in the military fifty years ago, and they did disrupt the unit, but now he’s the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “Beat that with a stick,” he says. Outside the room, Fitzwallace cautions Sam that he’s not going to get anywhere. Sam knows, but says the President just wanted some exploratory meetings.

C.J. asks Danny if he’s heard the rumour about the “piece of paper.” In fact, he has a copy of it and he’s going to write about it because it’s news. It may not be good news for C.J., but it’s news all the same. What’s more, he says, Mandy’s right.

DANNY: You guys are stuck in the mud around here, and none of it is the fault of the press. I know you’re frustrated, but that ain’t nothin’ compared to the frustration of the people who voted for you.

Sam’s meeting on gays and lesbians in the military drags on. The two sides zing points back and forth but they’re not getting anywhere. Finally, the congressman says if the President wholeheartedly wanted to change the law he’d get a resolution in the House with high-profile co-sponsors. He wouldn’t have Sam take meetings like this. This is just a waste of time.

Now the whole White House has a crises on confidence. Toby tells Leo there’s a CNN/USA Today poll with a job approval rating of 42%, a decrease of five points in a week. Bartlet’s unfavourables are higher than the favourables for the first time in his term, and 52% are likely to vote for a Republican congressional candidate in November. Toby says they’ve had one victory in a year – Mendoza.

TOBY: One victory in a year stinks in the life of an administration but it’s not the ones we lose that bothers me, Leo, it’s the ones we don’t suit up for.

[Joey Lucas]

From The Official Companion (cont.):
Because the memo’s going to appear in the paper, C.J. confesses to Leo that she gave Bartlet a copy to read. Josh lays out what the leadership has threatened to do if the Senate is asked to confirm Bacon and Calhoun. First up: English as the national language. Josh wants to pick a fight, but Leo says they should relent and take the leadership’s nominations.

Leo goes into see the President. Leo is bothered by the memo. But he says it’s wrong, he doesn’t drive the President to the safe ground, it’s the other way around.

LEO: Everything you do says, “Leo, for God’s sake, I don’t want to be a one-term President.”
BARTLET: Did I not say put our guys in the FEC?
LEO: No, sir, you did not say that. You said let’s dangle our feet –
BARTLET: Leo –
LEO: – in the water of whatever the hell we dangle out feet in when we want to make it look like we’re trying without pissing too many people off.

Leo tells Bartlet he’s always dangling his feet. Sam can’t get real on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” because everyone across the table from him knows the President isn’t committed. Leo’s charged up. He says he can get aggressive, he can orchestrate it right now. Leo says the people who work for Bartlet would walk into fire for him. Like Charlie, who’s getting death threats and goes on with his job. Everyone’s waiting for Bartlet, Leo says. Leo is getting into Bartlet’s head. Bartlet says, “I want to speak.”

BARTLET: This is more important than re-election.
LEO: Say it again.
BARTLET: This is more important than re-election. I want to speak now.
LEO: Now we’re in business.

Leo’s going to take everyone off the leash. The President asks if he has a strategy. Leo grabs a pad and scribbles something on it with a marker. He throws the pad down on the desk. It says, “Let Bartlet be Bartlet.” Leo goes back into his office and tells the staff what’s up. “If we’re going to walk into walls,” he says, “I want us running into ‘em full speed.” First off, they can tell the Hill the President’s named his nominees to the FEC.

LEO: We’re gonna lose a lot of these battles, and we might even lose the White House, but we’re not gonna be threatened by issues; we’re gonna put them front and centre. We’re gonna raise the level of public debate in this country, and let that be our legacy. That sound alright to you?

The staff takes this pledge in. Josh announces, “I serve at the pleasure of the President of the United States.” C.J., Sam, and Toby join in Josh’s vow. “Good,” says Leo, “then let’s get in the game.”