Tee hee hee…“can we have it back?”…that was really great. Certainly one of the better episodes I can remember. Just one question: what did CJ whisper in Hal Holbrooks ear after she redirected him on the China question?
I really loved it when Abbey cut off his tie.
So will Sam be in his own series next year?
Sam is leaving. No plans for a new series, I think he wants to go back to movies. If it was a pay-raise issue then they could spin him off, but I don’t know that America is ready for two primetime political dramas just yet.
CJ whispered “you’re my favorite one, too.”
Anyone else notice that the “cute assistant” was Winnie from The Wonder Years.
I really liked the episode. The opening joke sequence was good, they didn’t really make Ritchie look stupid as much as just terrorise him, the scenes with Leo and the Ambassador were strong. And the campaign manager for Horton Wilde was very likeable in his sincerity of conviction. BTW, is San Diego in the “County of Orange”? Since I was just there yesterday I could swear it was a suburb of LA.
Also, although he won the debate in words, in real life there is just as much if not more emphasis on appearances. Wonder how the polls will go.
A particularly well-written episode. I like the chemistry between Abbey and the President now that they’re not mad at each other anymore. The banter is much more enjoyable than the bickering was.
I missed a little in the middle, but it looks like they’re opening the exit door for Sam with that California election.
They had Jeremy!
The best character from the other show. When I saw him I scared my dogs I yelled so loud. I liked the press conference that he gave. (from memory)
Reporter : Your canidate is dead doesn’t this race seem like a big joke to you.
Jeremy : [Republican Canidate’s name] has taken money from pharmacuticals and vetoed medicaid. He once challenged another senator to a fist fight on the senate floor because the other Senator was for a bill that proposed a longer waiting period for felons to buy AK-47s, CAR-15s, M16s, M10s, and M11s.
Reporter : What’s your point.
Jeremy : There are worse things than being dead.
Easily one of the best episodes ever.
If by Suburb you mean “only 120 miles away.”
If Sam leaves the White House, who could they possibly get to fill his job?
Could it be… Satan?
No, no, no. Sorry. Get thee behind me Church Lady.
I meant Jeremy Will Bailey.
I’d love to see that. I think he’d be a great add to the cast.
Both characters introduced on this show, the guy from Sports Night and the girl from Wonder Years, had the markings of more long term characters. I see them getting involved in Sam’s life and his eventual exit.
They had to do the whole debate without making Ritchie look like an idiot or it would come off as propaganda on the show. They kept Ritchie off camera for most of the debate and focused on Bartlett’s responses. It would have been very easy to portray Ritchie as dumb, it was harder to make Bartlett look smart, I’m glad they went that way.
Abby cutting the tie was perfect, a real nice touch. I thought the writing all around was great, especially the campaign manager out in CA. It sounded very much like he was plucked out of Sports Night and dropped in here, Sworkin’s writing is so similar in both shows.
I kinda wish the Republican debate candidate had been written to be sharper. It’s easy to make your main character look good if you contrast him with a boob, but there are plenty of well-thought-out Republican positions that could have been argued convincingly. For me, that was the episode’s only sour note.
Yeah it did hit a little close to home. Now if we could only find a real life Jed Bartlett. One that would run for office. Whether you agree w/ his politics or not.
CJ - “I like you best too.”
Toby, got burned didn’t he? Gotta admit, I fell for it also.
Remember earlier in the show when Hal Holbrooks’ character said to CJ, “I like you. You’re the one I like”? Well, CJ whispered, “You’re the one I like, too.”
I wonder of President Bartlett will pay income taxes on that $30 he won?
I knew it was something like that.
Sam said if he the Democrat won, he would run in the special election. Isn’t there a residency requirement he would have to fulfill? While he may have grown up there, he has been living in DC for the last few years.
I liked everything about this episode except the actual debates. They were soundbites. I really wanted an entire episode on the debates. Even half an hour would have been nice which is what I assumed they were setting up to go for in the first part of the episode.
Instead we get three partial questions. Not full questions. Never once did we see the opening statement, question, response played out in its entirety.
It’s so easy to have Richie play the straight man to Bartlet’s zingers. It’s difficult to show a smart candidate being trounced by an even smarter one.
There was no build up within the debate itself. It was all Bartlet, all the time cut to the highlights and lets see it again in slow motion. To me, that’s just not interesting. Show me a debate!
It wouldn’t be hard for Sam to establish California residency. He would have enough time to do it. You just have to be registered to vote in the district in question and you can do that up to 30 days before the election.
They did get right one aspect of California election law. The candidate’s name could not come off the ballot because the cutoff date is 68 days before the election.
I think there is actually more time allowed than 90 days for a special election.
If the district in question truly includes Newport Beach, there would be no way for a Democrat to win. Let alone a dead one. Most likely the State Democratic Party wouldn’t even be paying for the race unless the incumbent had a criminal record.
Kinda like Dick Cheney’s residency requirement worked out.
While I agree that I would love to see a real debate, that kind of thing would only work so well in this medium. I enjoy a solid debate as much as anyone (more than most, actually), but I think presenting one in tonight’s “West Wing” would have seemed either boring or implausably scripted. Probably both.
No, I took it for what it was… a fairly obvious parallel to the 2000 debates, with Ritchie as a stand-in for Bush and Bartlett as… well… Bartlett. Really, I wish we had someone as strong and confident as that to put Shrub in his place once and for all. The fact that many of Ritchie’s “ten-word” responses were straight out of Shrub’s playbook only highlighted how weak Gore’s performance was in the 2000 debates. The clear message (at least to me) was that a dissembler like Bush/Ritchie has to be called on his crap, not just once or twice, but every time he tries to feed it to us. I found Ritchie’s responses (what little we saw of them) very plausible, based on the fact that they were carbon copies of things we’ve seen before.
Anyway… an excellent episode. Maybe not the best yet (that would most likely go to the end of the season before last, the “Brothers in Arms” episode), but one of the top ones. Great writing, good pacing, and some nice personal moments for just about each cast member. I loved the bit when Abby cuts his tie, and C.J.'s scenes with Hal Holbrook were priceless.
It just makes me wish we really had a leader like that… rather than the man behind the other podium. 
One of the little touches I liked was CJ stumbling as they entered the main corridor of the debate. More realistic than the normal glib repartee while walking 100 mph. Ditto for Toby and Bartlet saying nothing to each other after everyone one else had a short comment. Just a knowing moment between old friends, sans words.
pepperlandgirl, I just checked some Orange County maps and the county starts just outside East LA and goes north through San Diego. I was just over the county line from LA County, shuttling between my grandmother’s place in Whittier, through La Habra into Brea, which is just in Orange County. These areas are all much more suburbs of Los Angeles than San Diego, which is what I meant in my question. Ditto Anaheim (go Angels!)
<< I really wanted an entire episode on the debates. Even half an hour would have been nice which is what I assumed they were setting up to go for in the first part of the episode. >>
They couldn’t do that, and certainly not in an election year a week before the real election. This is fiction, not reality, and we know that Bartlett (as star of the show, who’s not going to be replaced) will win, so the debate would be pretty one-sided. Then the (real) Republicans would scream that it’s unfair and demand equal time.
I thought they handled it very nicely, by just giving a few of Bartlett’s sound-bites.
I guess I’ve seen enough Presidential debates that I didn’t see this as a pastiche of the 2000 debates, but as just a general debate. The set-up for this debate was different (more direct and confrontational) than the 2000 debates, remember the earlier episode that had a subplot about the debate rules and number of debates?