Based on the how Josh looks when he wakes up the morning after attending a bachelor party (above), Donna is correct when she says that Josh has a very delicate system. Thanks to ZuZu (the cleaner on Connecticut.), he get's cleaned up (almost) in time for a Saturday morning meeting. A meeting with who? With Joey Lucas, along with her interpreter, Kenny... Somebody (Thurman- I'm sure Josh would remember that if he wasn't so hungover). She is running a campaign in California that is having its funding cut because the President doesn't think enough of her candidate, and Democrats make tons of money every time the incumbent Republican says something inflammatory. She takes a tour that ends with a nice (though abruptly ended) meeting with the President in the Oval Office, and it's clear that she's a true winner. Though Josh first meets Joey looking like the Gortons Fisherman:
he rallies by meeting her at her hotel to lay on a little bit of charm and pass along some presidential encouragement for her to run for office.
A few episodes back, in S1e9- The Short List, we heard rumblings about the Bartlet Presidency; whether or not he was leading with the courage of his convictions that he showed during his campaign. In this episode, President Bartlet cites public opinion, court decisions, concern over the precedence it would set, the separation of powers, St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and the old Testament as reasons why Bartlet the politician should not stop the execution of a man convicted of killing two drug kingpins. Meanwhile, both Bartlet the man and Bartlet the Catholic are unable to find a rationale that would also satisfy Bartlet the politician to stay the execution- until it is too late.
Having arrived at the White House just before the execution takes place, President Bartlet's childhood priest from New Hampshire, Father Cavanaugh, reminds him that of a simple line of scripture, which should have been all the reason he needed to stay the execution:
“‘Vengeance is mine,’ sayeth the Lord.”
With this simple statement, Fr. Cavanaugh reminds the President of the difference between leadership and just going along with the popular and easy idea; he also reminds him that Bartlet's humanity was elected, not his ability to read polling data. Fr. Cavanaugh further breaks through the barrier that Bartlet has built between the himself and the office by calling him by his first name, and asking if he would like to give confession. The president kneels on the seal of the President- a stunning visual of the most powerful man in the country submitting to a higher power.
Fr. Cavanaugh (portrayed so well by the lovely Karl Malden) also shares this parable, in response to President Bartlet's anger that his prayers for wisdom went unanswered:
"You know, you remind me of the man that lived by the river. He heard a radio report that the river was going to rush up and flood the town. And that all the residents should evacuate their homes. But the man said, “I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.” The waters rose up. A guy in a row boat came along and he shouted, “Hey, hey you! You in there. The town is flooding. Let me take you to safety.” But the man shouted back, “I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.” A helicopter was hovering overhead. And a guy with a megaphone shouted, “Hey you, you down there. The town is flooding. Let me drop this ladder and I’ll take you to safety.” But the
man shouted back that he was religious, that he prayed, that God loved him and that God will take him to safety. Well... the man drowned. And standing at the gates of St. Peter, he demanded an audience with God. “Lord,” he said, “I’m a religious man, I pray. I thought you loved me. Why did this happen?” God said, “I sent you a radio report, a helicopter, and a guy in a rowboat. What the hell are you doing here?”"
You see, we all don't get a burning bush, waters parting, a talking donkey or bottomless casks of wine (although that would be nice) as signs of God's wisdom- the miracles of inspiration that we get are much more often found in the form of the people who come into our lives, and those small moments of courage in which we bravely chose our actions based on the conviction of our beliefs, rather than what might be popular, easy to applaud or is guaranteed to get votes.
I know that outside my world of West Wing blogging, many people are voting in primaries- (I'll be voting in the Michigan Primary on the day this posts) and more people are deciding who they hope to vote for in November. I hope we look for people who seek out that inspiration and have that courage, rather than a platform of diatribe designed to engender popularity, applause or votes. We elect people and their humanity, not just a collection of polling data, soundbites and enough anger to raise people up through fear. For some reason, another bit of Aaron Sorkin's writing has been running through my mind on this Primary day- I'll just leave it here for you to judge. In the movie "American President," the President is finally speaking out against the main antagonist (Bob Rumson) in the movie- Sorkin (through his mouthpiece, President Andrew Sheppard) lets us behind the curtain on Candidate Rumson's campaign platform:
"I've known Bob Rumson for years, and I've been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain was that he simply didn't get it. Well, I was wrong. Bob's problem isn't that he doesn't get it. Bob's problem is that he can't sell it! We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle-aged, middle-class, middle-income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family and American values and character."
What's Next? S1e15- Celestial Navigation
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