S2e19- Bad Moon Rising (Bring it on)

If you're keeping track at home, President Bartlet is apparently on his fifth White House Counsel in his first 3 years in office.  Apparently, they all want to have more input than is allowed; a problem that Oliver Babish isn't going to have, given the events of this episode.  

If this was a higher-budget blog, I would have created a "In Memoriam" video montage for the dearly departed Lionel Tribbey.  

Unfortunately, this isn't a higher-budget blog.  Instead, you get to look at the following image, and sing to yourself Sarah McLaughlin's "I Will Remember You" 

(try to hold it together)

Anyways- out with the old, in with the new.  Meet your newest White House Counsel:

Nope, that's not it...

Still not it...

Ok, I really enjoy Oliver Platt in "Three Musketeers."  Sorry...

There he is- Oliver Babish, with the gavel given to his grandfather by Supreme Court Justice Brandeis.  He's very proud.

So, why do we need to know about the new White House Counsel?  Now that Toby has figured out that something is wrong, it's clear that the President needs to speak with his lawyer, and begin plans to tell the senior staff and eventually, the public.  

Mr. Babish is from Chicago, and was about to go on vacation when the President and Leo show up to ruin his week.  So, after some preliminary questions and the start of conversations, Babish seems convinced that it everything seems in order- a bit too in order:

LEO- I mean, in the two and a half hours we've been sitting here have you discovered one thing 

that he's done wrong? 

OLIVER- No. 

LEO- So, what's your problem? 

OLIVER- That's my problem, Leo. Are you out of your mind? He did everything right. He did 

everything you do if your intent is to perpetrate a fraud. 

Thankfully, there is something rotten in Denmark- Zoey had to submit a health form giving medical history, and she didn't put the MS on the form, and Abigail Bartlet signed it (Lady Macbeth, as President Bartlet calls her- hence the Denmark reference).  So, Babish's recommendation is to tell the staff, tell the public, and then invite the Attorney General to pick a Special Prosecutor to dig through the whole matter.  Babish even suggests a motto for the administration in this: "Bring it on."

That's right- "Bring it on."  Meet your new media consultant:

Seriously- the movie "Bring it On" came out one year before this episode aired, and I remember thinking that it was a terrible line back then.  Hasn't gotten much better, but that only makes you appreciate the moments of genius more!

Less-Major plotlines:

- Josh/Donna update- they're talking about bailing out Mexico, but really it's all flirtation.  

- The oil tanker that Sam was uneasy about purchasing on the last day before he went to work for the campaign ran into Delaware and is leaking oil.  He's not happy about it, since he wanted them to buy better boats (or are they called ships?).

- Someone leaked a story, Toby channelled his anger at the President to CJ, and told her to find the leak; an impossible task. 

- Gail gets two fishbowls- one with oil leaking (for Sam's tanker) and one with a hundred-dollar bill in it for the Mexico Bailout.

It's worth noting that this episode is 4th from the end of Season 2- expect the pace to quicken, and for the title of the episode to ring true: there truly is a bad moon rising over the Bartlet Administration.

What's Next?  S2e20-The Fall's Gonna Kill You

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