• Act 1: Fiderer's in this episode. She nonchalantly puts her scarf over a locator box.
• Cut to CJ & Toby in CJ's office. He wants her to talk to some Reuters reporters while in-flight to Brussels. CJ turns the conversation by noting that something's funny about the new media ownership limits. Apparently, the FCC decided ownership limits to be about 39% (they originally wanted 45%, but there was some opposition). 2 pages later, CJ agrees to talk to the reporters, then asks Carol to get the FCC's media ownership records from 2003.
• Next, J meets with a lobbyist who's just like him had he decided to be a "captain of industry". J knows the lobbyist is moving thousands of computer programming jobs to India. The guy says that's proprietary info, so J wants to know why India's signing a trade deal when they were against some of the provisions. The guy admits that it's possible some computer jobs will be moved there. J wants to know if it has anything to do w/ their recent negotiation. It does -- because there's tougher copyright enforcement, he felt it was safer to move the more sensitive programming jobs abroad. J asks why he didn't know, & the guy said it was an internal decision. J wants to know how India knows, & the guy said they lobbied via their trade association. J argues that he's now faced with a union problem, Bartlet's not going to come out of this well, & the trade deal may not pass. The guy says he'll help by delaying their layoff announcements. He also says that programmers make 4 times more money in the US than in India: "this is how free trade works". Josh points out the irony that on the day they leave to sign a document that creates more jobs, the guy will be laying people off. The guy talks about competition & Josh counters that they're an industry giant. J asks him to stagger the layoffs over several years, but the guy disagrees. So J tells him to retrain his staff to do something else. He still won't do it. He leaves. End of Act 1.
• Much later, J's meeting w/ the Pres of CWA (Communications Workers of America) +2 others in his office. There's a yooge bottle of champagne on his desk (it has a card w/ the Presidential seal on it). The CWA Pres asks for a drink, but J stashes the bottle away. J is asking them to hold off on their announcement. J says the CWA endorsed them years ago when they knew the admin supported free trade. CWA Pres argues that they were told old economy jobs would be lost to poor countries, but if they trained themselves, they would have better jobs. Now the better jobs are being sent overseas as well. Josh argues that they're trying to get more funding for assistance & training, but the Pres argues that some people are already on their 3rd or 4th vocation. What should they train for next? The 2 others introduce themselves: they both work for the company who'll be sending jobs to India. One of them worked on the Bartlet campaign -- he has 3 kids in college. The other person returned to school so she could get the job she has. She's still paying off her student loans. CWA Pres reminds J that he made a promise to him 5 years ago while they were at a hotel. He says the other 2 are staying right there until J tells them how he plans to honor his promise. The Pres gets ready to leave. J wants to know where he's going. He's going to the press room, then Capitol Hill. End of Act 2.
• Act 3: An aide holds up a new Presidential sign for Josh to approve. He doesn't. W enters. The TV's on, & the reporter's got the story about the jobs being sent to India. J's sitting at a conference table in his bullpen, & W wants to know why he's there. J says D's not talking to him, he's hiding from some Congressmen, & some soon-to-be unemployed people will be "camped out in my office". W wants to know if the story's true, & J says it's proprietary info. W wants to know if this'll give the GOP "an excuse to squash this trade deal". J says midterms are coming up -- what does he think? J asks W how he became a free trader. W responds that the US has 25% of global wealth but only 2% of its customers. The US has to sell to others.
• Bottom of Act IV: L's paying for CJ's carpentry bill. She thanks him & says "but it was worth every nickel".
• Cut to J & the 2 w/ CWA. They're arguing about the predicament they're in right now. D's at the doorway & tells J that staff vans are leaving. When Donna leaves, J tells them that the admin wanted their votes. The admin didn't tell them the truth because they didn't want to scare anyone. J says he can't save their jobs, but they're going to create more in the long run. They don't know what to do about the short run, but says they're going to do more to prepare them in this fast-moving world. The woman asks if he's giving them a promise. J says no, but they will try.
• Cut to J's bullpen, where everybody's leaving w/ their luggage to get on the van. You can see J shaking hands w/ the 2 from CWA, "sealing the best deal of his day" & END OF EPISODE.

• Ashraf
• Eliat
• Iyad
• Yoav
• Yossi

• Bill Parsons
• Diane
• James Cook
• TV Reporter
• Steve

• On-site Reporter #1
• On-site Reporter #2
• TV Anchor
• Andrew
• Craig Bloom
• Eric
• FBI Director Arnold
• FBI Press Rep
• Franklin
• Herb Morris
• Jack
• Martin Sheffield
• Neighbor (on TV)
• News Analyst
• Renato Menari

• TV Anchor
• E. Bradford Shelton
• Christopher Mulready
• Sen. Roland Pierce
• Justice Lang
  Guest Stars:
  • Jesse Bradford (as Ryan Pierce)
  • Lily Tomlin (as Debbie Fiderer)
  • Melissa Marsala (as Rina)
  • Glenn Close (as Justice Lang)
  • Robert Picardo

• Eric Hayden
• Aide (on phone)
• TV Anchor
• Dr. Foy
• Gary
• Lisa Wolff (Wolfe?)
  Guest Stars:
  • Nina Siemaszko (as Ellie Bartlet)
  • Melissa Marsala (as Rina)
  • Lily Tomlin (as Debbie Fiderer)
  • Jesse Bradford (as Ryan Pierce)
  • Cherry Jones (as Barbara Layton)
  • Michael Gaston
  • Brian Kerwin (as Ben Dryer)

• Teaser: We're looking at a video. We can't make anything out. Then we hear CJ's voice. She says, "Why? Well, that's the right question..." The camera pans to CJ, who's talking to the PBS guy. Five of the PBS crew are in her office. Cut to CJ (we're no longer looking at the video). She's making small talk with the PBS documentarian. He wants to follow CJ around all day, and she wonders why she's agreeing to it. We switch between looking at CJ through the video camera and normal viewing. She wants to set some ground rules: he gets to film for one day only and gets access to her, her staff and co-workers. She warns him that if he thinks he's going to video a lot of the senior staff or activity in the Oval, he's mistaken. That doesn't make up the majority of her day. He agrees and asks if there's anything else she'd like to outline. CJ expresses her concern that the PBS crew will get in her way. She can't let this filming compromise her obligations to Bartlet. She pauses for a beat, then says, "That was bragging." The crew laugh. The documentarian asks if she can answer the "why" question. CJ thinks her answer's too long-winded for the documentary. Now we're looking at CJ through the video camera. She says that a Press Secretary is a public figure. Right after the President, the Press Secretary is the one that people most associate with the administration. Although a WH Press Secretary is very visible, the job's not as understood. There's some kind of misperception that her job is to spin or hide the truth, or mislead people. She says the objective of the job is to do the opposite. She has to "clearly articulate the President's message", and to honestly inform the press and public about events and news occurring throughout the day. Then she starts laughing.
• Act II: CJ's waiting at Margaret's desk. No one's there except the camera crew. She picks up the phone and speaks to Carol (I think). She asks if the gaggle's there. There's a pause, then she says, "Not yet. I don't want to raise any red flags." She's about to give an excuse to Carol to use with the gaggle if she's not back in a few minutes, but Carol already has an excuse. After she hangs up the phone, the PBS guy asks if this is a normal day. She says yes and no. He wonders if it's because of him and his crew. She mentions the Heisenberg Principle. The PBS guy's heard of it before: "the act of observing a phenomenon changes it". Just then, Margaret steps out of Leo's office. CJ and the PBS crew go in.
• Bottom half of Act III. CJ goads Carol into going somewhere. Carol doesn't sound like she wants to go, so CJ says, "You have to. "A guy I dated from the Vatican...?' Can't pass that up." Carol throws out a "whatever" and says they got about 800 calls about the Shaw Island situation and one from a news channel re "the debacle". They look at the TV monitor, where they can see the ambulance sitting at the end of the lane, not moving towards the cabin. CJ asks if there's any news from the Oval, but Carol says Charlie will let them know when the meeting breaks up. As Carol leaves, the PBS guy asks if CJ would be in the Oval right now if it weren't for them. She really can't say because there are times when she can't get access. He says, "It's hard to be a spokesperson for a policy you're not a part of." CJ gives him a look, then says it isn't that hard when all she has to say is "no comment". Carol's back, and Agent Casper's with her.

"'The standard reaction to the Drudge Report publicly is, 'Oh gee, you can't believe every crazy Web site,'' he said. 'Which I think is word for word one of the reactions I wrote into my script---by a character who then privately says, 'I assume the Drudge Report is right.' And that's the perfect description of the way the Drudge Report is received.'

"In Mr. O'Donnell's West Wing episode, the Drudge Report "reveals" that The New York Times Magazine is working on a story that exposes the sordid truth behind Vice President Hoynes' resignation. Another Times reporter publicly discredits it, but privately believes Mr. Drudge."

• The episode title is either "Telling the Truth Slowly", or "Access".
• Teaser: VO from a PBS documentarian. He says that before the latest technology, the WH Press Secretary's deadlines were more controlled. Cut to a young press staffer reading out the Pres' schedule for the day.
• Cut to another scene with a VO from the PBS guy, stating that the Press Office now has to deal with media 24 hrs a day. VO from CJ saying the Press Secretary job was probably always as busy as it is now.
• Cut to stock archival footage of the WH in 1955 -- it's footage of Eisenhower in the WH with his Press Secretary. VO from CJ: she likes to think Eisenhower's Press Secretary knew what would happen when he allowed press conferences (for the first time) to be filmed and broadcast.
• VO of Eisenhower hoping the recording won't be "a disturbing influence".
• Cut to another archival footage. Herb Morris (I think he was a member of the Press Corps), gives us some info about the Press Office: it was first created during Teddy Roosevelt's Presidency. Up until then, anyone could walk right up to the WH and even have a picnic on the South Lawn. More archival footage and stills from the early 1900s-1940 of people doing just that. Back to Morris, who says it was a little more casual in his day. They knew the Pres and the staffers. They'd hang out in the lobby and report on the people who came and went. Eisenhower's Press Secretary would come out and tell them if there was anything to report or not.
• Back to the present with CJ and Carol doing a walk and talk about her day. Carol tells her Steve (the reporter) wants to talk to her about tech sector growth. CJ notices the FBI Director heading towards the Oval and wants to know if he's on Bartlet's schedule. Carol doesn't think so and CJ asks her to check. Then Carol mentions that the Wall Street Journal "beat us to it". CJ reads from the paper: "Overall growth... 4 points". She wants Carol to find an economics expert.
• Cut to the young press staffer, still reading the Pres' schedule to someone on the phone. CJ's reached Carol's desk where Chris and Steve are waiting for her. She asks if they can talk about tech sector growth later (at least until after she's had her coffee). The reporters both know its "Documentary Day" and are trying to act natural.
• Pages later, CJ's warning Leo that if the press sees the FBI Director... but Leo interrupts and says the Director's only dropping by.
• Cut to Former Press Secretary Sheffield. He informs us that he thought it was a tough job. A few of the former press secretaries get together every once in awhile -- it's like a club. He says CJ's too busy to join them now, but they're looking forward to CJ joining them, which will probably be around the time the documentary airs (I'm assuming that this documentary will be aired after the Bartlet Presidency is over). It's been a boy's club for too long. They all remember taking the heat while the Pres was "back in his bunker, safe and sound".
• Cut to CJ walking with Toby and Josh (a camera's filming this). Toby and Josh, laughing and joking around, head off in a different direction, while CJ walks by herself. It looks lonely. While that's happening, Sheffield VOs that that's where the Pres should be (safe and sound). He says there is a loneliness to the job, and it gives you a "front-line mentality" that the people in the rear will never understand.
• Sheffield says they have a tradition with a flak jacket -- it's this nasty looking thing they pass on to the next Press Secretary. They all left notes in the pocket, some little words of wisdom, to help the next guy who gets the job. The PBS guy wants to know what the notes say, but Sheffield won't tell him. As part of the tradition, they keep the contents of the notes private.
• Cut to CJ's office. There are over a dozen young staffers. Her domestic & foreign news deputies are there. The foreign deputy updates her on Bartlet's meeting with the Ugandan Minister of Health -- Bartlet won't take any questions (he has a prepared speech). The domestic deputy says there's a change in schedule because (this is Carol's explanation) some Rangers (who are scheduled to meet Bartlet) took Eagle Scouts for a hike & they were late in returning. The domestic deputy, however, says their bus broke down &/or they got lost. Everybody groans. CJ says, "Damn. We were going for a record." The domestic deputy says that they'll be there at 2 instead of before 9AM. CJ thinks it's cutting too close to the evening news. They were going to hold the meeting in the Rose Garden but need a backup plan because it might rain. The domestic deputy asks if they should have the meeting the next day, but CJ doesn't want to because that meeting was "designed to kick-off our environmental agenda." Wrapping up the meeting, Carol informs CJ that Bartlet's scheduled for "Remarks on the Anniversary of the Energy Security Plan" & then another meeting with the Leadership. The domestic deputy adds that someone from the Vatican Press Office is coming in advance to discuss the Pope's visit. CJ says, "Eminence's immiment. Say that 3x fast." A few people actually do! The meeting breaks up, & one of her staffers stays behind to talk about "breaking crime news". He says that there's no news that involves the FBI. A few people heading out of the meeting hear this & head back. She wishes he hadn't said that because everybody starts asking about the FBI. As she shoos them out of her office & makes an excuse, she sees Carol has a call for her. Carol, for the first time, is unsure of what to do next. CJ walks over to her, & Carol whispers. End of Act I.
• Act II: CJ, Josh, Leo & the FBI Director in Leo's office. PBS camera crew's there. Leo tells CJ that the Director has a situation that's unfolding. She can't make any comments about it, but Leo doesn't think that'll be a problem because she probably won't get any press questions. There's a note that says CJ's aware of the Director being comfortable in both the attention & his job as "Top Federal Law Enforcement Official". The Director says there's a Yemeni-American man who holed up with his wife & 6 kids in a cabin on Shaw Island (20 miles off the Washington coast). Some federal agents have surrounded the cabin. The man was being investigated for arms trafficking when the family suddenly disappeared from their home in Torrance, CA 2 weeks ago. They tracked him down, & gunfire ensued. She exchanges a look with Josh, which the PBS camera catches. CJ's shocked. She wants to know why they think she won't be getting any questions about this case. Leo says a negotiator's involved -- the contact was positive & they think the situation will be resolved shortly. Josh points out that Shaw Island is accessible only by ferry & float plane. Because of this, there'll be a delay in reporting the info if news of the situation leaks out. The Director says their Seattle Media Rep is already there. Should the news break, the Seattle Rep will be able to handle it.
• Cut to CJ's office. The gaggle's there. The PBS guy VOs that reporters from major media outlets gather in CJ's office before the televised briefing to ask questions. Katie asks if the FDA's recommendation for RU486 has been delayed until after the Pope's visit. She denies it. Another reporter asks about the FBI Director's presence in the WH. She covers that he usually briefs Bartlet 2x a week. The reporter knew that the Director did that yesterday, & wants to know why he's in the WH again.
• Pages later, we cut to Carol & Charlie discussing moving some meetings on the President's schedule. The PBS crew's there, & Charlie's uncomfortable about appearing on camera.
• Cut to Bartlet & the Ugandan Minister of Health on a TV monitor. Bartlet's giving his prepared speech about "promoting action on a community level to reduce the economic impact of HIV/AIDs". As CJ passes by the monitor, a staffer tells her that "Limbaugh" (has to be Rush Limbaugh) got a call from someone on Shaw Island. She wants to know if the gunfire was mentioned. He nods. She looks back up at the monitor. One is trained on Bartlet, the others on various news channels. None of them have picked up the story. The staffer wants to know what they should do next. CJ says they're not going to do anything. It's not their situation & they don't want to be involved. The staffer asks if she thinks this could turn into a standoff. CJ says it technically is, & that they should be cautious. Then she mentions that the FBI Director estimated 45 minutes before cameras would be on Shaw Island. She thinks there'll be aerial coverage in 20 minutes. She heads off because she has to meet with the advance from the Vatican & tells the staffer to try to look surprised if he hears the news.
• Cut to the meeting with the Vatican Advance. They go over some details about who's going to sit where in the Oval. The Vatican rep asks where the press will be situated, but CJ was under the impression that the Pope and Bartlet would have a private conversation. He says it will be private, but with a few select press members. CJ's deputy asks, "You want the private meeting to be public?"
• Cut to moments later. They're still talking about the same thing -- the meeting's heading south. The rep states the Pope's desire to "allow the President's audience to be shared with the public". CJ's deputy is getting hot under the collar. He's surprised that the rep's now calling it an "audience" and wants to know if he wants shots of Bartlet kissing the Pope's ring. The rep wants to know if the deputy's uncomfortable about this, and he says, "Is the Pope Catholic?" The rep doesn't get it, and CJ interrupts and excuses herself and her deputy.
• Cut to the hallway, where CJ's about to wring her deputy's neck. Unfortunately, we can't hear their convo very well because we're not close enough. What we do get is the deputy telling CJ that he thinks the Pope's going to chastise Bartlet on birth control and ... CJ interrupts and tells him that he needs to respect their guests. He assures him that if Bartlet doesn't want to make his conversation with the Pope public, it won't be. If he does, the deputy doesn't have to worry about it because "that headache is way over your pay grade".
• Cut to CJ in her office, giving an interview to the PBS guy. She says that the hardest thing to learn is to not get caught up with anything and everything that could be damaging to the President; it's more than an ability to pick your battles; it's grace under fire.
• Cut to a reporter in a helicopter, breaking the news about the situation on Shaw Island. We see all this via the TV monitor. The press are gathered around the monitor. CJ joins them. CJ VOs that in her job, you have to be able to determine when the battle lines are drawn and when it's OK to "fraternize with the enemy". Back to the present. CJ doesn't give any info out and acts as if she doesn't know anything. One of the reporters asks if he has a comment on the dog. She doesn't know what he's talking about.
• Act III: We're supposed to think we're looking at the present, but we're actually looking at video footage from 1999 (you can tell by the way CJ looks). She's giving a press briefing about the standoff at Casey Creek where 2 people died (an agent and the wife of the guy they wanted to apprehend). The PBS guy VOs that that standoff haunted Bartlet's first term. Cut to the reporters asking questions. Cut to PBS guy VOing that it haunted CJ as well. Cut back to the press briefing, where a reporter states that according to the rules, no actions are to be taken unless innocents are in danger. He wants to know if the FBI Director discussed the suspension of rules with the President. She errs by saying, "No; though apparently some agents on the ground thought the rules had been suspended". The room erupts.
• Cut to Josh's office, present day. That same video footage is being played on the news. The news channel cuts back to its reporter on Shaw Island. He says that a dog has been shot and wonders if this will turn out the same as the Casey Creek situation. Talking over the news coverage, Josh notes how young they looked in the footage. CJ wonders how old she'll look by tomorrow. Josh apologizes for not telling her about the dog. In the back, you can hear the reporter saying he doesn't know who fired the first shots. CJ says that if she was briefed properly, she could've told them that the situation wasn't going to go away.
• Pages later, a reporter is asking CJ if the reforms put in place after the Casey Creek scenario will be adhered to in the current situation. She says yes.
• Cut to a still of Bartlet and the FBI director from the early years of the administration with a headline on top: Casey Creek. Who's Responsible?" There's video footage of a packed Congressional hearing with the FBI Director speaking.
• Cut to a cable news channel. The anchor's reporting that after years of getting a Commission together, and 3 years after the Casey Creek situation, the Commissioners have said "the FBI Director is still failing to cooperate and impeding the progress". PBS guy VOs that some thought the investigation into the CC tragedy was an "extended farce" and many wanted the Director to step down or wanted the President to fire him.
• Cut to CJ in a press briefing (present day). The reporters are asking if the FBI Director came to the WH on his own volition. She gives the line about the FBI Director coming in 2x a week to brief Bartlet. The reporters want to know if they discussed the Shaw Island situation. She says she can't comment, and wants to know if they have any questions not related to law enforcement. There's something going on in the press room, and Chris (the reporter) says she's getting word that the FBI Director is issuing a statement -- that the agent on Shaw Island is going to make an announcement. They all look at the monitors. The FBI press rep says one child was injured during the gunfire, and it has been agreed that an ambulance will be allowed to get the child (and one family member) out of the cabin for medical treatment. There are a lot of reporters on Shaw Island asking the FBI press rep a gazillion questions, but he's not commenting. Cut to CJ in her press room. Now she's getting all the questions.
• Cut to CJ in the hall. Donna's there, sees the look on CJ's face, and tells her Josh is meeting with Leo.
• Act IV: Several TV Monitors. On one, you can see that there's still a standoff. The ambulance hasn't moved. On the 2nd monitor, Taylor Reid's sounding off about the FBI Director. He also says Bartlet looks nervous around the Director. On the 3rd monitor, they've got the guy's neighbor saying she thought the family was nice. She goes on to say that the guy ran a gun store and that we have the right to bear arms. She thinks the guy's being picked on because of racial profiling.
• Much later, we cut to one of CJ's staffers. He tells Carol the wife of the Yemeni-American was born in Detroit and is the daughter of a school teacher and an auto worker. Carol wants to know if the media know this yet, but it doesn't seem that they do.
• Cut to the ambulance approaching the cabin. Cut to CJ watching in her office. The reporter's giving a play-by-play. The child's being brought out by either her mother or another sibling, when there's a flash. She doesn't know if it's gunfire or a flashbang.
• Two pages later, CJ's telling Bartlet that they're going to prep for any questions he might get. They head into the Mural Room. The PBS camera catches something in the background: Leo, the FBI Director and Agent Casper! outside the Oval. Leo's doing most of the talking and it looks like he's reprimanding the Director. The Director tries to interrupt to make a point, but Leo's having none of that. Just as the camera gets close enough to hear the conversation, CJ calls out to them to follow her. They follow her into the Mural Room, where Bartlet's meeting the Eagle Scouts. PBS guy VOs that while the Shaw Island situation was happening, the President resumed his day. One of the Rangers is apologizing for being so late. Bartlet asks them if they can stay in town one more night; he'll meet them tomorrow instead. Bartlet then has a "heartwarming chat" with the little Eagle Scout who wrote to him. During this, the PBS camera focuses back on Leo and the FBI Director. They look like they're having a serious conversation. The Director has a few parting words for Leo and then leaves. They don't shake hands (there's a note that says they may have earlier, but the camera sees what it sees). It seems Ben is a Ranger or Eagle Scout. Either that or it's just another guy named Ben. Anyway, before the Eagle Scout group leave, Ben and CJ "probably" share a look. The PBS camera doesn't focus on this; rather, they are searching for a sign as to how the Shaw Island situation is being taken. "And in this moment with Ben, when she lets herself be real, behind a single word, the camera believes it's captured the resignation and moral ambivalence it's looking for."
• Pages later, CJ's giving her briefing on the standoff. One child was injured during the initial gunfire. The family have been evacuated from the cabin. Josh is listening in the Communication Room. The PBS camera catches Ben listening in as well. One of the reporters asks about the charges that will be brought against the man. Agent Casper doesn't have all the details, but says a warrant was issued in the morning for illegal sales of arms.
• Cut to a cable news channel showing the end of the siege. Hostage rescue used a flashbang as a distraction, then stormed the cabin.

• Toby wants CJ to meet with Justice Lang but CJ says she's too busy. She also thinks Lang's "a decoy". Toby gives in, then says that Bartlet is meeting someone named Judge E. Bradford Shelton. CJ asks if they like him, and Toby says they do.
• Cut to Bartlet and Shelton, a very likeable character. Bartlet asks about the initial in his name and makes a joke when he finds out what it stands for. Bartlet says his staff likes Shelton, and wonders if they need to know anything about him that the others don't know. Apparently, his son "burned [Bartlet] in effigy" during a demonstration against the American presence in Saudi Arabia. Bartlet wants to know if Shelton was there, but he wasn't. Shelton says he's telling Bartlet because there's a photo of this in the yearbook and someone's going to find out about it at some point. Shelton thinks his son was going through a phase, and it didn't really have anything to do with Bartlet, but more to do with his relationship with his son. Bartlet wants to know if his son burned anyone else; he didn't.
• Cut to Toby, Josh, and Justice Lang in the Roosevelt Room. Lang tells them she's missed them (probably a sarcastic remark). Lang tells them that she's run into Shelton in the parking lot and doesn't believe it's a coincidence. They thank her for her patience and for being there. She's OK with it, but says that people think the system's slow and they shouldn't find out that this is how she spends her time. Toby says, "If you were less appealing..." to which Lang says, "Same to you, Sir."
• Back to Bartlet and Shelton. Bartlet asks Shelton about his views on affirmative action. Shelton doesn't have an opinion, which is not the answer Jed was looking for. Bartlet asks him to come up with something they could talk about. He doesn't really have anything, so Bartlet asks him to make up a topic. Shelton explains himself: he doesn't want to take a position on issues until after he's heard a particular case. Bartlet wants to know if he thinks he wants someone to vote with Ashland. Shelton says no -- he thinks Bartlet's looking for "somebody who can vote with him now and replace him later." Bartlet asks if he thinks he's the guy. He wishes he was, but his opinion on a particular issue would hold more with him than any position he thinks he may hold on the general issue. Bartlet calls Fiderer (he uses the intercom!) and asks her to get some coffee for Shelton because he's going to be there for awhile.
• Cut to Josh, Toby and Lang. They're having a discussion about the Judiciary Committee and their views on reproductive rights.
• Much, much later, Josh is telling Donna that the press can't see "him" and the corridors have to be clear between Toby's office and the Oval. Donna wants to know if their guy is on the short list, and Josh says, "he is if she is. We may get both." (I don't know who "he" is). Donna says, "Oh my God. You're putting my mother's cats on the Supreme Court." CJ doesn't understand (I don't either). Just as Toby enters, Josh tells Donna not to tell anyone about that story. Toby enters. Then Ryan (*@#%!) appears on scene, and asks if they're ready. They apparently are. As they're walking in the hallway, Ryan gives them some info: the guy they're meeting with hollers a lot; they should let him do it until he gets tired. He only has strength, but they've got endurance. Ryan gives them a bottle of Lagavulin and tells them to use it with care: they definitely shouldn't try to keep up with the guy because he can drink them under a table. Josh shoves the bottle at Ryan and tells him they don't need it. And thanks.
• Cut to the Mural Room, where Senator Pierce is waiting. They greet each other, and Ryan tells the Senator how impressed Josh was with his floor speech. Pierce says, "Josh can kiss up all on his own. Get back to work." As Ryan leaves, he tells him to holler if they need anything. Pierce asks how Ryan's doing, and Josh says, "He's a treat". Pierce informs them that Ryan bugged him for 2 years to get a job in the WH. They dispense with the chit-chat, and Pierce tells them about a rumor he's heard. Apparently, he heard that the WH wants to put Chris Mulready on the Supreme Court bench. If it's true, someone there's going to be in a closed session with Pierce, the Minority Leader, and "the business end of a 2x4". Josh tells him that he thinks there's a bottle of Lagavulin lying around somewhere, and would he like a glass?
• Cut to CJ and Fiderer. CJ wants to know if Lang's still in a meeting with Bartlet. Fiderer tells her that the woman's doing well. CJ informs her that she has to get out of there because someone else is scheduled to go in there soon. Fiderer says she gave him the secret wrap-it-up sign, but she's not sure if he remembers that that's the secret sign. Rena enters and tells them Mulready's ready to meet the Pres. CJ tells her to hold him off because the Pres hasn't finished his meeting yet.
• Cut to Toby and Mulready in Toby's office. He doesn't know why he's been summoned. He asks if he's being impeached. Toby says no. He wants to know if he's being set up for an intimidation meeting because of the "gays in the workplace" case. Toby says that that would be illegal. The President will fill him in on why he's there. After several beats, Toby tells him that he read his opinion on that case and wants to know how he can justify "denying committed couples access to the benefits of state sanctioned monogamy." Mulready specifies by noting that he's talking about homosexual couples, and Toby argues that "A couple is a couple."
• Cut to Josh and CJ in her office. She wants to know how his meeting went with "Uncle Rolly". Josh answers sarcastically that he's great and she should meet him. She's surprised that Pierce is still there and then realizes that Josh is drunk. Josh thinks he promised something to Pierce that doesn't exist. CJ leaves to take over for Josh. He warns her to not keep up with Pierce's drinking.
• Back to Toby and Mulready. They're still arguing about his opinion on the gays in the workplace case. Rena enters, but Toby tells her to hold on. He continues until Lang shows up at the door. Lang shakes hands with Mulready and says that their meeting each other is one of the most unlikely meetings in the WH. Mulready explains the conversation he was having with Toby, and Lang laughs. She tells Toby that Mulready doesn't need to be convinced to change his mind on that issue: Mulready hates it when Congress overreaches and doesn't believe Congress has the power to legislate marriages. Mulready wouldn't uphold DOMA. The issue isn't about privacy, but about enumerated powers. Toby is shocked that Mulready was yanking his chain. Mulready responds that he was called in for a meeting with the Democratic President in the middle of the night and he's getting "crap" for yanking Toby's chain? Lang notices Josh signalling for Toby and tells Toby. Toby steps out into the Bullpen.
• In the Bullpen, Toby asks about the Senator. Josh informs him that CJ's with him. Josh also mentions that he's drunk. Toby wants to know if Pierce is leaving yet. Josh doesn't think so because he thinks Pierce is trying to get CJ drunk. He asks Toby about his meeting. Toby says that Mulready's opposing gay marriage bans and Lang's defending them. He thinks the two are "as thick as thieves". He also mentions the chain yanking he just received. They both head back to Toby's office, where Lang and Mulready are arguing about gun-free school zones.
• Pages later, and we're in the Mural Room. Pierce and Josh are arguing about the WH admin's proposed appointments.
• Cut to Bartlet and Toby in the Oval. Bartlet thought Josh was running the meeting and Toby was only riding shotgun. Toby thought the same thing.
• Cut to Pierce considering Josh's argument.
• Cut to Bartlet telling Toby he'll meet with Mulready. Toby's about to disagree, but Bartlet says he wants to do it.
• Cut to Rena escorting Mulready in the hallway.
• Cut to Mulready in the Oval. Bartlet tells him he heard about his argument with Lang. Bartlet thinks that Lang isn't Mulready's kind of judge. He thinks the opposite; they should consider her. He thinks that the sight of himself and Lang should "placate" anyone who's seen them. He also thinks he was brought in for only that purpose, but they should consider "using" her if they can. Bartlet thinks it's unlikely that they will. Mulready wants to know who's on the top of the list, and Bartlet reveals that it's Shelton. Mulready's surprised and Bartlet asks for his opinion. He basically thinks Shelton's OK and that he'll hold up the center if all the judges (like Mendoza) die. Bartlet wants to know what type of judge he would want. Mulready says he'd rather have someone like Ashland than someone like Brady, who seems to be on the right. There's another person who could fill in Brady's position. Bartlet argues that there are several good laws that were written by moderates, but Mulready counters that there's no one there who will write for "extraordinary dissent". Bartlet thinks that could be him, but Mulready doesn't think they can put him on the bench, just like they can't put Lang on the bench. They're only going to be able to appoint people like Shelton. After awhile, Mulready says that they all have their jobs to do, and Bartlet's is to nominate someone who doesn't alienate people. Bartlet shocks Mulready by saying that he's in serious contention for getting a seat on the Supreme Court.
• Cut to the next day (Title card! says Friday morning). CJ, Josh and Toby leave her office. On the TV, you can hear a reporter announcing Ashland's retirement.
• Cut to outside the East Room, where Lang, Bartlet, Charlie, Mulready, and Toby are watching Ashland announcing his retirement (they're watching on a monitor). Charlie and Mulready are having a discussion on affirmative action. Bartlet notices Toby take something out of his pocket and then put it back in. Bartlet asks Toby to hand it over, then tells Lang that Toby has a 10 month old daughter, and he'd like to give her a copy of the 14th amendment, signed by "the first ever woman to hold this job." She's nervous, but smiles and signs her name. Bartlet tells her to write in her title, but she wonders if they're being premature. He doesn't think so. She hands the paper back to Toby, who thanks her. Next, we hear someone announcing Bartlet, and he heads into the East Room with Lang and Mulready (CJ, Josh and Leo are there). Bartlet takes to the podium and announces Mulready as his nominee for Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, and Lang as nominee for Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. There's thunderous applause. The entire cast is in the back of the room. CJ looks at Josh. WRT to CJ's look: a note says, "This is what we came here for." End of episode.
  January 26, 2004 - "ahnold" posted on Television Without Pity's West Wing forum about location filming in D.C.:
  "They filmed tonight at the Grand Hyatt at 11th & H st NW. John Spencer was there.Leo is presenting an achievement award to someone at a dinner. The dinner takes place in Chicago."
  January 24, 2004 - "Alexandria" posted on Television Without Pity's West Wing forum about going to the location where they were filming in D.C. this evening:
  "...Just back from 3rd & A Sts. N.E.....

  "They were filming cars going up and down a residential street. BW was in one of the cars. It was the scene with the NASA chick from Mrs. VIW's spoilers. Since the conversation in the scene takes place in the car, we couldn't hear that....

  "Richard Schiff, who was in town to shoot Friday, had already left town.

  "They apparently also shot the telescope scene with Josh and the NASA chick in D.C. earlier today...."

  January 23, 2004 - "corimarti" posted on Television Without Pity's West Wing forum:
  "They're filming right now outside the building where I work. I heard one of the extras say they'd be filming until 9 tonight, but I don't know if that'll all be here. Anyway, it's the Postal Square Building (the corner of Massachusetts Ave NE and North Capitol St), which is across the street from Union Station. One of my coworkers and I went and watched for a bit - they were filming Toby and another man I didn't recognize walking out of the building, down the steps, and across the street."
  January 21, 2004 - "Mrs Visnjic I Wish" posted on Television Without Pity's West Wing forum:
  More on Eppur Si Muove continuation of Act 2:

  • Will doesn't think Layton's speech on the floor will have much impact. CJ agrees. After a strange pause in conversation, CJ tells Will that if he wants to know more about Layton, Toby's dealing w/ her. He says he's good. CJ watches Will walk out. There's a note that says, "That was weird".
  • Josh meets with the Head (or Asst to the Head?) of Judiciary CoS. They start talking about the 8 available seats on the 6th Circuit. She says there aren't any confirmable nominees. Josh pushes his friend; she doesn't think he'll get confirmed. Josh asks if she heard about his friend possibly withdrawing; she hasn't but wouldn't be surprised if he does. Josh threatens that Americans will be shocked when they hear what her boss & pals are doing to the 6th Circuit. She claims they're preventing the bench from being "overrun by the green party". Josh is confused, so she clarifies: his friend gave a speech on gay rights & said sodomy laws should be made unconstitutional, & now the Court has deemed those laws unconstitutional. She sarcastically notes that they're really thrilled about that. Josh continues pushing for his friend, & it seems like they might be able to make a deal. Josh thinks they should do something about this situation -- it's in both their interests. Josh thinks they should confirm his friend; once they do, Josh thinks they can return the favor by doing something "about the greater system". She notes that he's really serious about this, & relates to Josh that she heard he's different now. Josh tells her that "it's been an interesting year. Like starting over." She agrees to make a deal w/ Josh & gives him some advice: if he wants to convince the Republicans on committee that the WH admin is starting on a fresh page, he's going to have to find some new nominees. He wants her to confirm his friend first before he even discusses it. She won't confirm him. He argues, saying they can't hold his nomination indefinitely. She apologetically says that they can hold it up for 3 years. Josh is shocked & argues that half the bench is empty, but she states that the 6th circuit accounts for only 15% of the fed bench. She says that 120 seats were empty during the last Republican presidency, & Governor Bartlet didn't say a word about it. It's a stalemate. She tells Josh that she doesn't like what's going on; she's a Republican & she wonders whether "judges should be appointed by executive decree." A lightbulb goes up over Josh while she tells him that appointments to the bench are political -- he has to give them someone they can confirm.
  • Act 3. Toby, Josh & CJ are walking towards the Oval. Josh asks CJ if Ellie's OK. CJ tells him that Secret Service were there. As they get closer to the Oval, they can hear Bartlet screaming. They get to Debbie's desk, where she & Toby are watching a reporter talking about Ellie. They can hear Bartlet still yelling, & Toby says he'd yell, too. The reporter's talking about Ellie (she's a post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins) & that she works on the HPV study. Josh doesn't know how the FVC (Family Values Coalition) can link HIV money to Ellie's research. CJ says, "they're both below the waist." Debbie informs them that HPV is an STD that's linked to cervical cancer. They're surprised that she's informed about that topic.
  • Toby visits Layton. She says they don't want to destroy the NIH. She promises that she won't mention the Supercollider (remember that one?) Toby counters that she (& maybe those who work with her) have already taken care of that one. Layton expresses her apologies for Ellie being dragged into the dispute. Toby makes a sarcastic remark, to which Layton says that she's not the one who decided to do "spurious research" funded by govt grant. Toby wants to know who gave her the right to decide what's important. She says it's her job -- she's on the committee that authorizes the funding. She doesn't see anything wrong in "healthy scrutiny". Toby doesn't think it's healthy scrutiny, but an "irresponsible attack". He thinks that her list of unworthy research studies are not about priority, but about religious beliefs & ideology. She argues that they're wasting taxpayer money. He counters that she's using her disapproval of dangerous behavior as a reason to avoid wasting money. She says she doesn't have a problem w/ gays or drug users, but they're a small part of the population, & funding will be cut for research on Alzheimer's, MS, etc. Toby's in disbelief that she's using the "MS card." She says that the more $ are spent on sex workers, the less there'll be for researching other diseases that affect more of the population. Toby says that she doesn't know where this research may lead; he says she's not a scientist & wants to know why she's in bed with the FVC. She says she isn't. He says that her list of research (that she doesn't want to fund) exactly matches the FVC's. She says there's a lot of prominent people who care about this issue. Then she dismisses him. End of Act 3.
  • Act 4. Much later, Ben's waiting for CJ. Toby blows past him, barely acknowledging him.
  • Cut to Josh & his friend. Josh tells him Bartlet's going to try to push through a number of nominees. His friend thinks they're doing that so Bartlet's approval points increase; he doesn't want to be their "martyr". They go back & forth on this; Josh really wants his friend on the bench. He tells him that they "want to raise the level of debate". His friend says that they need to try a new approach & he's willing to help, but only from the sidelines. Before we can hear more, a group of lawyers rushes past them. Then another. They're talking on their mobiles, & then Josh's beeper goes off.
  • Josh tells Leo that he's got his friend to agree to hang on. His friend's called Georgetown (probably to turn down the job offer). Unfortunately, Leo tells him that they'll have to put that appointment on the back-burner; Chief Justice Brady had a heart attack. Leo gets a call; while he's on the phone, Josh is looking at the TV -- the reporter's talking about the Chief Justice. It sounds like he passed away.
  January 20, 2004 - "Mrs Visnjic I Wish" posted on Television Without Pity's West Wing forum:
  A slew of spoilers came in for Eppur Si Muove.... You've seen some of the info, but I needed to re-post them so that everything's in sequential order.

  • The teaser: Johns Hopkins lab at night. A doc is telling someone (his asst?) that their first results show "an alarmingly high instance of infection". While the US is at 14%, volunteer patients are at 50% positive for high-risk HPV (Human Papilloma Virus). A call comes through; a Congressman is on the phone wanting to speak to the doc about his NIH grant. While the doc is looking for a file, the Congressman's aide tells the doc that they're impressed with his work on "HPV in Commercial Sex Workers in Port-au-Prince, Haiti". The aide wants to know why he chose sex workers and why he chose Haiti (he doesn't believe there's much scientific value in that). The doc writes something down & shows it to his asst; the asst leaves. Meanwhile, the aide's asking the doc for his home address & if he's a registered voter. Cut to the doc's asst, who's walking into an office where Doctor Ellie Bartlet's working. The asst says the doc needs her. You can hear the aide (on speaker) asking the doc whom he voted for. As Ellie leaves, you can see a wall in her office full of her awards and certificates. There's also a pic of Ellie & her father.
  • Cut to CJ & Toby. CJ thinks she's overreacting about the story above. She tells Toby that the aide didn't mention Ellie & he never said anything about Ellie working in that lab. Toby's giving her one word answers.
  • Toby's talking to CJ about some guy from the NIH. He mentions that the conversation would be easier if he weren't inhaling massive amounts of Shalimar. CJ doesn't think there's a "massive cloud" of Shalimar, but he disagrees. She leaves to give a briefing. On the way out, he mentions that he'll get a breakdown of the doc's funding. CJ hopes the funding hasn't gone up since Ellie "started working in his lab". Toby wants to avoid any conversation w/ the President that would involve saying, "Your daughter".
  • Cut to Josh having breakfast in the cafeteria w/ an old law school friend, who is a judicial nominee for Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit. His friend wants to know if he keeps track of the Court. Josh says "color-coding the President's M&M's" keeps him quite busy. His friend mentions that he interviewed w/ Georgetown and they want him to serve as Dean of the law school. Josh reminds him that he's a judicial nominee, but his friend says that he's been a nominee for a long time. Josh tells him that the confirmation process is arduous and time consuming, and his friend says he can't do what he wants (like write &/or publish on various issues) while waiting to be nominated, & they've called family members and ex-girlfriends during that time (during the discovery process, I presume). Josh promises to call someone, & his friend doesn't think he'll have much luck since the Republicans have been blocking all of the WH's nominations. Josh really wants to help, so his friend gives him a week (he has to get back to Georgetown by then). The scene ends on Josh's look -- he's "wondering what he just got himself into".
  • Toby and Rena. He's waiting for a Congressman, & Rena tells him he'll be there when he's off the floor. Toby doesn't think there's any voting going on right now and flips the TV to C-SPAN. He sees the Congressman, Congresswoman Layton, and a few Republican Members of House Reform. The Congresswoman states that she can't stop people from researching things like, "Depression in Childless Lesbians", but they shouldn't waste taxpayer's money on research that offends their basic values & has no benefit to "hard-working Americans". Toby tells Rena to get CJ. Layton continues, saying she has a list of numerous projects being conducted by supporters of the administration who know that the studies are questionable in nature or she/they wouldn't have received several calls from "their offices of spin and scandal management".
  • Cut to CJ's ringing phone. She's already watching. The Congresswoman lists some of the projects, one of them being the HPV study. CJ screams, "Dammit!" End of Act I.
  • Act II. Much later, Josh asks Donna to set up a meeting w/ him & the Head of Judiciary Chief of Staff. Donna wants to know if he's doing this to impress a guy he's impressed with (also a guy who, apparently, stole his girlfriend). Josh clears it up: his friend didn't steal his girlfriend; when Josh saw sparks between the 2, he backed out of the relationship). He swears he's serious about this. Donna thinks he should get Supreme Court judges nominated if he's that serious. There's some exposition about the difference between the Fed Judiciary & the Supreme Court. After that conversation, Donna tells Josh that Ryan's "still missing".
  • Cut to Debbie asking Abbey if Abbey can attend a reception.
  January 18, 2004 - "theone22785" posted on Television Without Pity's West Wing forum:
  "I am one of the people who dropped the info back in November that there was gonna be some possible Josh/Donna in the Feb. eps, particularly episode 14 (somebody else said they had heard the episode 13). I went back to the source of the original intel....

  The "moment" we all keep waiting for is happening in February. I begged for the specific episode, my source wouldn't budge..... according to my source...: "All it is right now is the setup. It won't be a radical departure from anything we've done before."

  --- Which I would assume means that it'll be more of the same ring-around-the-rosey-almost-kinda-sorta moment, in the grand tradition of the Skiing Book, Red Lights, and most recently the Gift that Shall Not Be Named. So if you've always liked those kind of things, enjoy more. If you are ripping your hair out waiting for more, or just hate it all together, more pain. ---

  And... direct quote from e-mail - "Right now, we haven't decided if the payoff is coming at season's end, or if we wait until next fall."
  January 16, 2004 - "Mrs Visnjic I Wish" posted on Television Without Pity's West Wing forum:
  Spoilers for Episode 5.16, Eppur Si Muove
  Explanation of the title. According to one site: This is what Galileo is alleged to have said on going into house arrest: "but it does move ..."
  We like to think that it represents the indomitable nature of the questioning, questing mind...

  • My guess is that this is part of the teaser: I don't have the beginning of the conversation, but Toby's talking to CJ about some guy from the NIH. He mentions that the conversation would be easier if he weren't inhaling massive amounts of Shalimar. CJ doesn't think there's a "massive cloud" of Shalimar, but he disagrees. She leaves to give a briefing. On the way out, he mentions that he'll get a breakdown of someone's funding. CJ hopes the funding hasn't gone up since Ellie "started working in his lab". Toby wants to avoid any conversation w/ the President that would involve saying, "Your daughter".
  • Cut to Josh having breakfast in the cafeteria w/ an old law school friend, who is a judicial nominee for Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit. His friend wants to know if he keeps track of the Court. Josh says "color-coding the President's M&M's" keeps him quite busy. His friend mentions that he interviewed w/ Georgetown and they want him to serve as Dean of the law school. Josh reminds him that he's a judicial nominee, but his friend says that he's been a nominee for a long time. Josh tells him that the confirmation process is arduous and time consuming, and his friend says he can't do what he wants (like write &/or publish on various issues) while waiting to be nominated, & they've called family members and ex-girlfriends during that time (during the discovery process, I presume). Josh promises to call someone, & his friend doesn't think he'll have much luck since the Republicans have been blocking all of the WH's nominations. Josh really wants to help, so his friend gives him a week (he has to get back to Georgetown by then). The scene ends on Josh's look -- he's "wondering what he just got himself into".
  • Much later, Josh asks Donna to set up a meeting w/ him & the Head of Judiciary Chief of Staff. Donna wants to know if he's doing this to impress a guy he's impressed with (also a guy who, apparently, stole his girlfriend). Josh clears it up: his friend didn't steal his girlfriend; when Josh saw sparks between the 2, he backed out of the relationship). He swears he's serious about this. Donna thinks he should get Supreme Court judges nominated if he's that serious. There's some exposition about the difference between the Fed Judiciary & the Supreme Court. After that conversation, Donna tells Josh that Ryan's "still missing"....
  • Cut to Debbie asking Abbey if Abbey can attend a reception.
  • Much later, Ben's waiting for CJ. Toby blows past him, barely acknowledging him.
  • Cut to Josh & his friend. Josh tells him Bartlet's going to try to push through a number of nominees. His friend thinks they're doing that so Bartlet's approval points increase; he doesn't want to be their "martyr". They go back & forth on this; Josh really wants his friend on the bench. He tells him that they "want to raise the level of debate". His friend says that they need to try a new approach & he's willing to help, but only from the sidelines. Before we can hear more, a group of lawyers rushes past them. Then another. They're talking on their mobiles, & then Josh's beeper goes off.
  January 14, 2004 (part 2) - thefutoncritic.com reports:
  "Jay Mohr (NBC's 'Last Comic Standing') is set to appear in a three-episode arc as a controversial and conservative talk show host on 'The West Wing'...."
  We learned of this article through a post by "eeowyn" on Television Without Pity's West Wing forum
  January 14, 2004 (part 1) - Zap2it.com reports:
  "...Jay Mohr will appear for three episodes on 'The West Wing' as a conservative talk show host."
  We learned of this article through a post by "eeowyn" on Television Without Pity's West Wing forum
  January 8, 2004 - "Mrs Visnjic I Wish" posted on Television Without Pity's West Wing forum:
  Spoilers for Episode 5.15, Full Disclosure

  • Looks like Hoynes has decided to run for President. Leo tells Will, Toby & Josh that it's not their concern, but Will doesn't see it that way. He's afraid Hoynes' people will spin his adultery and make him look morally superior than Bartlet. Josh doesn't think Hoynes has any people. Will think he's going to have to deal with the Hoynes situation, and believes that Hoynes is trying to campaign "to make himself out to be the only honest guy in an Administration of liars." Leo gives Will a look that says he stepped over the line with that comment and sarcastically says, "Yeah, we'll be sure to call ya."
  • Filing room with Toby, Rena, Ed 'n Larry. Rena's set up the room with folding chairs & tables. Toby has a meeting with some union reps re trade deficits with China. Larry thinks Toby wants him & Ed to stay, but he doesn't, since it's about politics more than facts & figures. Toby apologizes to the reps about having to use folding chairs & tables. The rep says it doesn't matter: what matters is that Toby does what they want & treat "them" with respect, none of which Toby is/was doing.
  • Will & Josh talking about Hoynes. Will wonders if Hoynes thinks he can put the scandal behind him. Josh doesn't take it seriously and offers a reason for why Hoynes is saying what he's saying (looks like Hoynes gave an interview in a newspaper/magazine, is now working for a law firm, and might be trying to drum up clients for them).
  • Josh & Ryan meet the Base Closing Commission. Will tells Josh that Russell doesn't want any bases closed in any state that has more than one electoral vote. When Josh enters the meeting, he notices Ryan sitting in a chair at the table; he whispers for Donna to move him. While Josh starts the meeting, Donna whispers to Ryan that junior staffers don't get to sit at the table. He moves to a seat against the wall with Donna. Donna takes notes as one of the Commissioners talks about one of the bases they want to close.
  • Cut to Toby's meeting. The 2 union reps are basically giving Toby the union's anti-trade argument (US is China's biggest customer -- therefore they should dictate terms, the US lets China import massive amounts of goods while they buy nothing from the US), & he's trying not to look like he's heard this before. Toby points out that China has bought 747s from the US. While the rep is arguing, Rena whispers to Toby that Leo needs to see him ASAP. He says he can't, but Leo needs him now. Toby excuses himself, saying the President needs him, but they don't believe him. Toby makes a smart remark and leaves. En route to Leo's office, he bumps into Will, who is still talking about the Hoynes campaign. He's surprised he's the only one who's worried about it, and Toby tells him that if Hoynes runs, he'll work for Will's campaign.
  • When he gets to Leo's office, CJ is questioning Leo about the last conversation he had with Hoynes. She wonders if he left the door open for Hoynes to consider running for President. Leo recaps his last exchange with Hoynes (read deborah's recap from last season for the details). She wants to know if Leo said he'd help Hoynes.
  • Act 2: Toby and the union reps. He argues with them that the last time the administration did as they asked, the US lost jobs in manufacturing. The union rep thinks they should pick their actions more carefully. His pick? Bras. Wal-Mart has massive amounts of bras from China, making it difficult for domestic producers to compete. Toby makes a funny remark about them being OK with French bras, but they're not laughing. Toby says that the Pres can't do anything about this, & they say he can. Bartlet needs to "activate the textile & apparel import safeguards we got you guys to put in the deal admitting China to the WTO". Toby didn't know about the safeguards, but the reps assure him that he will when they start burning bras in front of the WH tomorrow. Toby pops out of the room & over to Josh's meeting. He tells Josh he needs Ed 'n Larry "for a thing about bras". Josh asks Toby if Ed 'n Larry are the right guys. Toby says it's about Chinese bras, so Josh says, "Oh, well, they're the experts". Toby leaves & Josh follows him. Toby asks Josh if he thinks Hoynes is really going to run. Josh does. Toby wonders what his next step will be if he's serious, & Josh thinks Hoynes will start hiring staff. Toby tells Josh to make a few calls. Josh goes back to his meeting & tells Ed 'n Larry to hightail it to Toby's meeting. Josh apologizes to the Commissioners because he has to duck out as well, but tells them that Ryan & Donna will sit in for him.
  • Donna wants to know if he's sure, & he tells her to just say, "How much does that save?" every so often. He turns to Ryan & tells him not to say a word. The mtg goes on, and Donna asks the question. They ask her which projection they should use. She says um, Ryan says both. Donna's trying to take notes quickly & Ryan's sitting there with a look on his face as if he knows what they're talking about.
  • CJ gets a bunch of calls about Hoynes. She asks if Greg Brock, a reporter on the Paris beat (I think), has called her yet; he hasn't. She calls him, telling his voicemail she'd owe him big time if he calls her back. Carol tells her he's there. She tells him that she's going off the record & shouldn't take notes. She wants an advance copy of his article. He says he can't give advance copy to a subject of his article. She wants to know if she's in the article.
  • Cut to Josh making calls about Hoynes. Donna enters & Josh wants to know if she left Swimtern on his own in the mtg. She did because she thinks he has a feel for what he's doing. Anyway, Toby wants to know if J can meet the Mayor, since he's trying to stay away from the Base Closing mtg. He tells her he will, & then asks her, which Mayor?
  • Cut to CJ & Greg. He says he's not going to play games w/ her about who is & who isn't in his article. He tells her Hoynes' publisher is a source for the article. CJ asks if Hoynes is writing a book, & he says Hoynes got a $5m advance & must be saving the good stuff for his book. He gets up to leave, & his notebook falls on the floor, along with a disk that was inside. He picks up the notebook, but not the disk. They both see it, but it's like a white elephant in the room. Greg nonchalantly asks if he could get an exclusive on Bartlet's reaction to Hoynes' statements in his article. She won't promise, but she'll try. He asks if she can promise that no one else gets an exclusive, & she does. He also gets CJ to promise him an advance copy if Bartlet issues a written statement. He finally leaves, she grabs the disk and loads it. She gets a worried look on her face & end of Act 2.
  • Act 3: CJ finishes reading & asks Carol to make copies for Toby, Josh, L & Bartlet.
  • Toby & the union mtg. Ed says they can use the apparel safeguard, but needs the union reps to file a petition, which they say they'll do. Unfortunately, the Trade Rep is in China working out a deal on cars & the deal might fall through if they file a petition. Carol enters w/ the Hoynes article for Toby. Toby says he'll give the reps a break to talk amongst themselves about which deal is more important: cars or bras.
  • Cut to Josh & the Mayor of DC, who's never been in the WH since Bartlet's inauguration. Josh excuses himself for a sec, & the Mayor is slightly insulted, but says, "sure". Josh slips into the Base Closing mtg to see what Ryan's saying. He's apparently making a dumb point & Josh corrects him. He excuses himself, tells them not to mind Ryan, and splits. Carol manages to give him a copy of the Hoynes article. During his mtg with the Mayor, he can't help but take a look at it. The Mayor notices Josh isn't fully paying attention, but isn't surprised because it "personifies" the way the Fed govt treats DC. Josh tells him the Pres wants to issue a joint statement w/ him opposing the voucher rider on an appropriation. The Mayor says he wants the money, & Josh assures him he will, but the Pres has to veto it first before they get a bill w/ no riders attached. The Mayor says he wants the Pres to sign the bill w/ the vouchers, which gets Josh's attention. Josh tries to argue against, but the Mayor won't have it. He's surprised the Mayor won't help fight Congress gaining control of the budget & he says he will if they help him fight to get the kids in DC a better education.
  • Ryan's mtg. He's still pushing his point. They argue against. Then he gets up & makes a phone call to the Congressman who's state will be affected by the Base Closing recommended by the Commissioners.
  • Cut to Josh & Toby. They're talking about the Hoynes article, & Josh mentions that this is the Hoynes he knows: self-centered, self-important. Josh tells Toby that they have a problem with DC & vouchers, but Toby isn't listening.
  • Pages later, CJ tells Toby that she's going to meet w/ Hoynes & tell him what the administration's going to do WRT his campaign. Toby wonders if she's the best person to do the job, & she thinks she is.
  • Josh & the Mayor talking about the voucher thing in the hall. He notices the Congressman (the one Ryan called) in the mtg room w/ Ryan & asks the Mayor to excuse him for another minute. The Congressman is fighting for his base not to be closed, & Josh assures him it won't. He calls Ryan out of the room and FIRES him. Ryan compliments Josh on waving his finger & looking mad. Josh is about to ask Ryan if he's out of his mind....
  • A few pages later, Josh & the Mayor are outside the Oval, watching CJ (on TV) announcing that the Pres "is considering to impose an import safeguard on Chinese-made apparel, beginning with bras," as well as asking the Chinese to consider importing American-made cars. Charlie's there & excited to meet the Mayor. He tells him he voted for him. The Mayor says he hopes Charlie will vote for him again, & Charlie says he will.
  • A few pages later, CJ's telling someone (maybe during the Press briefing) that they will not comment on any private conversations they've had with the former VP (during the sex scandal debacle).
  • Cut to the Mayor & Bartlet. The Mayor says he won't change his mind. Bartlet argues with him. After they go at it, Bartlet gets Charlie & asks him about his high school & if he wanted to go to school somewhere else. He did, because his choice (which he couldn't afford) was a lot safer & more students went to college. Bartlet asks Charlie's opinion WRT having an experimental school voucher program. Charlie wishes they had that when he was still in school. This changes Bartlet's mind & he asks the Mayor to help him put out "some big fires" within the Democratic party.
  December 29, 2003 - E! Online:
  "In January, [Marlee] Matlin will return to NBC's The West Wing in her recurring role as lobbyist Joey Lucas."
  We learned of this article through a post by "mgoshawk" on Television Without Pity's West Wing forum
  December 16, 2003 - "Mrs Visnjic I Wish" posted on Television Without Pity's West Wing forum:
  Spoilers for Episode 5.14, An Khe

  • Teaser: Flashback to the Vietnam War. A fighter jet; pilot (Leo) & co-pilot (O'Neal) talking to each other. They reached their target, but are hit before they can complete their mission. They're bailing. Another jet hears & sees this. Fade to Leo at the Chicago Hilton for the "CCBB Humanitarian of the Year". It's Tuesday night. He's giving a speech. His friend, Ken O'Neal, will be receiving the honor. After the ceremony, Ken tells Leo that some Senator is delaying progress on a "Ramses" project. Scene cuts to Abbey telling someone not to be "a baby about this".
  • Act 1: Sit Room. Leo, Bartlet, etc. Gen. Alexander briefs: says one of their jets was being "harassed" by North Korean MiGs over the Sea of Japan, in int'l waters. One of the MiGs collided with the fighter jet. They don't think it was intentional. 4 out of 5 crew members were located in NK, & they're somewhere near the coast. They're not sure if the N. Koreans have found them yet. Leo says the crew will lay low & wait to be rescued, but Bartlet says they can't rescue them (a covert rescue mission will be seen as an act of war). The Admiral says that if they don't get them, they'll be held as POWs or worse -- the N. Koreans will deny that they've imprisoned them. The Undersecretary of State thinks they should negotiate for their return, but the Admiral points out that they kidnapped Japanese citizens years ago & held them for 25 years. They don't know if the crew's still alive; they only know that their locators indicated they were in the water & now it says they're on land. They could be captured &/or dead & washed up onshore. Alexander says they'll do a recon over the crash site & will brief Bartlet afterwards.
  • Wednesday am. Carol gives CJ a s**tload of papers to go through.
  • Sit room. Alexander says no one's near the crew, but there are a lot of boats near the area of the crash site. He thinks the NKs think the crew are dead. An armed SEAL team will attempt a rescue. The U of S is against the plan. Bartlet asks for Leo's opinion, & Leo agrees with the rescue plan. End of Act 1.
  • Act 2: Josh meets with the Senator (see above). The Senator's holding up the project because the purchase price of the Ramses choppers have almost doubled from what the DoD agreed to. The Senator wants to know if O'Neal told Leo. Josh counters by asking if the Senator's delaying because the subcontractors aren't from his home state. The Senator tells Josh he won't change his mind.
  • Carol tells CJ that she'll be on the Taylor Reid Show (some scheduled guests have been bumped for her). CJ says, "I'm gonna pluck him, stuff him & carve him for Sunday dinner".
  • Josh, Swimtern & Will talking about daycare. Josh thinks there should be more, the other 2, less. Donna interrupts with a call for Josh.
  • Sit Room. Rescue mission's started. Flashback to O'Neal dragging Leo, who's injured. They hear someone speaking in Vietnamese. Leo tells O'Neal to go, but he won't leave Leo. They'll go together. Cut to Josh calling Leo's name. He tells Leo about his meeting with the Senator.
  • Back to O'Neal, who's carrying Leo over his shoulder, despite Leo telling him to leave him behind. End of Act 2.
  • Act 3: Leo and the Senator. It's a heated argument. The Senator's questioning how the builders of the choppers won the contract. He accuses Leo of using his influence "to get them the contract". Leo warns him that if he tries to damage O'Neal's reputation, he'll have to damage Leo's first.
  • Charlie & Bartlet in the Oval. A few pages later, & it's Debbie & Bartlet.
  • Sit Room. Evening. The SEAL team are with the crew, but can't move because the sun's up. They'll have to wait until it's dark again.
  • CJ at the TR show. The producer tells her not to look at the "Truth Meter". The show begins. The topic? Global warming. Reid says the WH should stop funding the World Bank & ties it in with Bartlet's wanting to confirm liberal judges. Reid feels that Bartlet wants to confirm these liberal judges so they can "institute a right to gay marriage".
  • Ben in CJ's office. He's watching her on the show. Carol tells him that she was only supposed to be on for 1 segment but stayed. Ben says CJ's beautiful & tells Carol about their history together. There's a note that says Ben's a truly nice guy. He's got a pic of him & CJ in college. CJ's wearing a bikini in the pic. Carol jumps at the chance to see the pic. Then he asks if she knows that he & CJ were arrested in Cabo for stealing a donkey.
  • During a commercial break, CJ tells Reid that he's not giving her the chance to respond. Then he twists her words when the show's back on.
  • ...the title... [may refer] to someplace in Vietnam.
  • Toby is in the episode....
  • Bartlet in the Oval with a bohemian artist who wants to paint his portrait. Josh & Toby interrupt; they want to talk to him about Leo.
  • Josh & the Senator in Josh's office. He wants Josh to stop Leo from publicly supporting O'Neal. Josh says he can't do that. The Senator asks him if he knows a man named Lipton, who used to be a DoD procurement officer making $80K/year. Now he's a SVP making $300K/year with a major defense contractor. The Senator asks Josh to guess who Lipton's working for. Cut to Josh looking for Leo. Margaret tells him Leo's out of the office; he's meeting with O'Neal.
  • Cut to the Sit Room. Leo's not there. They're waiting for word from the rescue team. The mission is a success. However, it seems that either one of the rescued or one of the SEAL team's dead -- probably hypoxia from the jump. Alexander's surprised that Leo's not there. So is Bartlet.
  • Cut to Leo & O'Neal at the Jefferson Memorial. Leo's freezing, but O'Neal doesn't seem to notice the cold. Leo tells O'Neal that he met with the Senator. O'Neal apologizes to Leo for getting him involved. Leo says that if the Senator wants this situation to go in front of Armed Services, he will testify. O'Neal doesn't want him to, because O'Neal's going to take the Fifth. It seems O'Neal received a subpoena and his lawyers instructed him to do just that. Leo asks why, and O'Neal admits that he's guilty -- he's the one who gave the DoD procurement officer the $300K/year job and he also influenced someone on the Defense Policy Board. He did it for the money. Leo's shocked. O'Neal knows that he's going to pay for what he's done, but he's not alone. He tells Leo that his Senator & Congressman (who sit on Armed Services and Appropriations) pushed him to do this because "this is a jobs bill for them". But no one's going after them. Leo asks how much he made last year; he made $11 million. He walks away.
  • Cut to Leo in his office. Bartlet asks how he's doing. He admits to Bartlet that O'Neal's guilty. He's quietly crying, saying that he and O'Neal should've lived their lives with integrity, in honor of those who sacrificed for them. Bartlet tells him that Leo's done more than that all by himself. Sounds like a very moving scene.
  • Flashback to Leo & O'Neal. They're being rescued. End of episode.
  December 9, 2003 - "Mrs Visnjic I Wish" posted on Television Without Pity's West Wing forum:
  From filmjerk:
  "This Israeli Prime Minister and Iranian Ambassador face off on a 'Crossfire'-type show in the episode entitled 'The Warfare of Genghis Kahn.' Expect to see the Prime Minister the rest of the season as this plotline will take off from here."
  December 2, 2003 - "Mrs Visnjic I Wish" posted on Television Without Pity's West Wing forum:
  Spoilers for Episode 5.13, The Warfare of Genghis Khan:

  Josh and Donna. Donna gives Josh his phones messages --- there are quite a few --- and nags him about eating some breakfast. He prioritizes his messages and gives them back to Donna, telling her he'll return the calls when he gets back from his meeting with some people from NASA. He's meeting with them about "administration space priorities".

  He enters the meeting, where some breakfast has been laid out. He makes a lame joke.

  A few minutes later, the NASA reps state that they want to send a telescope and probe past the moon to collect some space data. Josh tries to tell them that he knows next to nothing about space --- he does this by telling a funny story. All he gets in return are polite smiles. Josh goes on, saying that NASA's image is poor; the only time they ever get in the papers is when they err, like when engineers confuse meters with feet. They're shocked. In a nutshell, Josh tells them the administration has one space priority: that NASA stops "screwing up". He thanks them and walks out of the room. The NASA reps look like they're going to choke on the food they're eating.

  Gen. Alexander, McNally, Bartlet and Toby. Alexander says "they" have a "1.2 million man army and inhospitable terrain", which would make invasion difficult. "They" are threatening a nuclear attack if they are attacked. If they do, "the South", Australia, Japan, and even the US could be targeted (they've been testing missiles that could travel far enough to hit the US). The President asks about Iran and is told that Iran is similar to the other country in terms of military and terrain, but "on a lesser scale". McNally says that if they attack Iran, Iran might make a nuclear strike against Israel.

  Josh is in his office when an Admin Asst from NASA (she was in the meeting) asks to speak to him. She makes a comment about the length of the meeting; he says that although it was short, he did do his homework on the issue. She talks about the pros of sending the telescope, Josh the cons. She gives him a button that says, "Mars or Bust" --- she wants them to fund a manned mission to Mars. Josh laughs. Then she tells him that she'll take him out later that night to take a look at space through a telescope --- "until you get a good look --- you only think you prepared".

  Leo, McNally, and the Undersecretary of State meet the Iranian Ambassador at the Swiss Embassy. They tell the IA they have info that suggests Iran has or is building nuclear weapons. The IA says the production of nuclear weapons has been prohibited by the Ayatollah for religious reasons --- "they're immoral, inhuman, and against" Islamic beliefs. The IA goes further, contrasting Iran with the US, a country that has used nuclear weapons and almost sparked the Cuban missile crisis. The conversation goes on like this for awhile. Finally, Leo informs him that if Iran has or is producing a nuclear weapon, the US will treat it as "a matter of gravest consequence". Meeting's over, and they all get up. The IA says that the US' biggest fear would be an Islamic bomb. Leo says Iran's biggest fear would be a Jewish bomb. The IA's parting shot is, "Einstein, Oppenheimer, Teller---They are all Jewish bombs". They're shocked by his demeanor and his statement.

  Charlie and Bartlet in the Oval. Charlie suggests that the Pres cancel a meeting and get some rest. Bartlet declines, saying he can't sleep.

  The Admin from NASA and Josh. They're in her car. They small talk, and then she pulls her car over on the side of a road. She has a telescope in the trunk and prepares to set it up. Josh thought they were going to an observatory, but she feels he should experience things the way little kids do. Josh looks up at the sky and tells her that there's a Josh and Linda star up there. She quips that he used the International Star Registry --- how romantic. She did the same thing. She lets him look through the telescope. He sees Jupiter, then the Orion Nebula, then Mars (she's electronically repositioning the telescope so he can see each one).

  Now they're sitting in her car in front of Josh's apartment. There's a note about there being a "kiss in the offing"? Josh informs her that they're definitely not going to fund the mission to Mars, but would like to hear about it, anyway. He reaches over her and switches the ignition off.

  The next morning, Leo, McNally and the Undersecretary brief Bartlet in the Residence kitchen. Looks like Israel has nuclear capability --- they've information that Israel performed a nuclear test. Bartlet wants the Prime Minister in his office ASAP. They also need a cover story as to why the PM's meeting him.

  Josh tells Donna about Blind Willie Johnson, a bluesman. He led a tragic life and died penniless. Now his music's in space, having "just left the solar system". Donna's moved by the story.

  Bartlet, in the Oval, confronts the Israeli PM about the nuclear test. The Israeli PM defends their actions, stating that they're surrounded by nations who want to destroy them, and are modelling their stance based on the US' during the Cold War: Mutual Assured Destruction. Bartlet tells him there's a good reason why the acronym was MAD. The PM says there's another reason why they have nuclear weapons --- to keep close to the US. Bartlet quotes Hans Bethe: if they use these kinds of weapons to win a war, history will not remember the reason for the fighting; they'll remember the weapons used to win the fight. "These methods will be compared to the warfare of Genghis Khan, who ruthlessly killed every last inhabitant of Persia".

  General spoiler: CJ and Will are also in this episode.
  December 1, 2003 - "CK1Czar" posted on Television Without Pity's West Wing forum:
  Episode 13 is called Warfare Of Genghis Khan. I believe there's going to be something going on between Iran and Israel.