The staff try to compose themselves after the shooting, after getting into his limo scene Ron Butterfield and the President are talking, after a few seconds the President starts to have blood coming out of his mouth, it is then apparent that the he’s been shot.
He is rushed to hospital, and although he has to have surgery, it is apparent that the gunshot is not anything life threatening
| QUOTE |
NURSE I need to ask you some questions, sir. Do you have any medical conditions?
BARTLET Well... I’ve been shot.
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CJ is being treated for a bump to the head, Toby starts to look for Josh, and he finds him: He has sustained massive trauma. As he is rushed to the hospital, he starts to slip in and out of consciousness. It is then that the flashbacks start and we get some history of the staff.
Josh is arguing with the staffers, Hoynes goes off to vote, and Leo slips in, asking him to come to New Hampshire to watch Governor Jed Bartlet speak, Josh can’t really see the point as Hoynes has got the nomination to the candidacy sewn up
| QUOTE |
LEO Come to Nashua Thursday night.
JOSH Why?
LEO Because that’s what sons do for old friends of their fathers.
JOSH Mr. Secretary... Leo, the-the Democrats aren’t gonna nominate another liberal academic former governor from New England. I mean, we’re dumb, but we’re not that dumb.
LEO [beat] Nah. I think we’re exactly that dumb
|
Josh goes, but on the way he stops off to see Sam who is about to be made partner in Gage Whitney Pace protecting oil companies from litigation
| QUOTE |
SAM They’re our client. They don’t lose legal protection because they make a lot of money.
JOSH I can’t believe no one ever wrote a folk song about that.
|
They talk and Sam asks Hoynes is he the real thing…… Josh stumbles for an answer.
The President is prepped for surgery, and Abbey tells Dr Lee the anaesthesiologist
| QUOTE |
There are 14 people in the world who know this, including the vice President, the chief of staff, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. You are going to be the fifteenth. Seven years ago, my husband was diagnosed with a relapsing/remitting course of M.S. When all this is over, tell the press, don’t tell the press. It’s entirely up to you.
|
Leo has to deal with the build up of troops along Iraq.
There is confusion, brought on by Danny’s questioning of CJ, on who was in charge while the President was under general anaesthetic.
We then discover how Toby joined the Bartlet campaign, he was a ‘Professional political operative.’ He joined the Bartlet campaign with others who Leo eventually fired. He watches Bartlet speak along with Toby and realise they have found the ‘real thing’ Bartlet and Leo talk on the way out how he doesn’t think he is ready to run for the Presidency
| QUOTE |
LEO Because I'm tired of it year after year after year after year having to chose between the lesser of who cares? Of trying to get myself excited about a candidate who can speak in complete sentences. Of setting the bar so low, I can hardly look at it. They say a good man can't get elected President. I don't believe that, do you?
BARTLET And you think I'm that man.
LEO Yes.
BARTLET Does it matter that I'm not as sure?
LEO Nah. Act as if ye have faith and faith shall be given to you. Put it another way, fake it till you make it. You did good tonight.
|
The episode finishes with Leo and Bartlet overlooking Josh in the OR and the words
| QUOTE |
BARTLET Look what happened.
|
Good riddance
Mandy has gone, no sign of her at the shootings, she is never mentioned again. Yippee!
Wanna know a secret?
The secret service routinely change the President’s code name, it was ‘Eagle’ in Post Hoc ergo Propter Hoc, and Liberty in ‘He shall from time to time’ it’s now Eagle again, the Secret service would never use an old code name.
The President’s thing
Abbey tells Dr Lee about the Presidents MS.
Watch out for…….
The flag outside Hoynes office is a flag for Tennessee, Hoynes is from Texas.
Haven’t I seen you somewhere before ?
Anna Deavere Smith plays the National Security Advisor Nancy McNally. She played Robin McCall in the American President, playing the Press Secretary to Martin Sheen’s Chief of Staff
When she walks in the Situation Room she says
| QUOTE |
NANCY It’s worth mentioning that at this moment we do not know the whereabouts of about a half dozen cell leaders, including bin Laden, but that’s not my concern right now.
|
This sounds strange considering in was Pre 9/11
I’d like to thank everyone for this award…..
This episode won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.
Useless facts time…..
Janel Moloney appears in the opening montage for the first time.
One of my favourite scenes in the season in when Leo is talking to ed just before he goes under for the operation, he kisses him on the cheek