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Teleplay: Aaron Sorkin & Eli Attie, Story: Dee Dee Myers, Director: Jeremy Kagan
- Takes Place:
- Broadcast: April 3, 2002
- Query: Was Beowulf originally in Old or Middle English?
- Query: Will tax payers in this world have to account for the rebate checks like Charlie does in "The West Wing" world?
- Query: Has "Twelfth Night" really be banned?
- Query: Was Bartlet right about James Bond's drink?
- C.J. comes to Bartlet because Leo is not available (he is at his usual AA meeting on Thursday nights). She tells the President:
- "The wire service is reporting that a heavy-haul vehicle carrying depleted uranium fuel rods crashed in the Seven Devil Mountains in Idaho. . . . It was hit head-on by another truck in the Goldfield Tunnel on Route 234."
"Are there populated areas nearby?"
"Elk Horn's about 20 miles away with a population of about 20,000.
- Meanwhile, Leo has Josh holding a meeting with some of the most trusted members of the staff including Toby, C.J., Ed and Larry. Josh has heard from Bruno:
- "There's no electoral math they can come up with --- none --- that says it's not worth exploring replacing the Vice President on the ticket. . . . Bruno doesn't think Hoynes buys us Texas with Ritchie in the race. We lose Texas this time, we lose Florida this time, that's a third of the electoral votes we need to win. There's a reason the Republicans are nominating this man."
- When Leo gets back a half an hour after Bartlet finds out about the truck crash, Bartlet says:
- "This whole night, I'm going to be a half hour smarter than you."
"Okay. So you know about the other truck?"
"No."
"It was stolen from a rest stop outside of Glenn's Ferry two weeks ago. . . . Looks like it was an accident."
"In what happens to be the most dangerous and unanticipated situation in the transportation of nuclear waste."
- While Josh chairs a meeting about possibly taking Hoynes off the ticket for the next election, Sam meets with the Vice President to save a bill that Hoynes is interested in. The Vice President is frustrated by the position he has been put in by being part of an Administration he is often at odds with. He tells Sam:
- "I like what Daniel Webster said when the Whig Party offered him Vice President, 'I do not propose to be buried until I am dead.' I used to be every Republican's favorite Democrat."
- Later while Josh's meeting is still going on, Leo tells the Vice President:
- "I'm in a bind. . . . I have to respect the anonymity of an alcoholic and I can't reveal what's said in a meeting but I've got a responsibility to the President and in fact to the country. And so. . . . John, you've got to tell the President."
"Tell him what?"
"That you're an alcoholic."
"Are you telling me that he doesn't know?"
"How would he know?"
"You didn't tell him?"
"Of course, I didn't tell him. . . ."
After absorbing this information, Hoynes says, "Well, let's go see our boss," and the two men go to the Oval Office.
"I'm a recovering alcoholic," Hoynes tells the President.
". . . Is there anybody left who's not?"
". . . My last drink was the year I was 22." This strikes the President as silly, but the VP gives some reasons for taking it seriously. Still, Bartlet dismisses it and then asks:
". . .Leo, what the hell is this meeting that's going on all night across the hall?"
"We can talk about it later."
"It's a meeting about having me replaced on the ticket," Hoynes tells Bartlet. Then he turns to Leo to tell him how he knows, "I can count to 270." They go on to talk about the upcoming campaign.
"If someone's attacking us, you know what to do," Bartlet tells Hoynes.
"I call Leo," Hoynes tells them.
"Yeah," the President remarks, "but, don't discount the possibility that it might be Leo."
- The President then tells Hoynes that he is staying on the ticket and tells him why by writing four words on a piece of paper.
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- For anyone interested in guest stars of this episode, let us recommend the West Wing Episode Guide.
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#317 (61) "Stirred"
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