Yesterday's West Wing (SPOILERS...)

Cafe Society
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It doesn’t. However, within the political structure of the show (such as it is) the study is presented as a sort of wedge. Bartlett appears to view it as a slippery slope in terms of his administrations politics and fears that it will set a dangerous precedent to agree to purchase a vote in this manner. The “separation” has been a key sandbag for this administration.

Note that the right wing senator was presented as ultra-smarmy and certainly aware that he could get this money somewhere else. It was a power play and an attempt to shape policy in the eyes of most of the senior staff.

I don’t necessarily agree, but it does fit in with the holier than thou we know what’s right passion with which this staff seems to approach their duties. Pragmatically it doesn’t make much sense but it is an internally consistent move.

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That was in reply to SpoilerVirgin’s post…

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Thanks, stoli. I guess it makes sense in a political context. Sorkin could have made his point a little clearer, but that’s what makes The West Wing so interesting to watch – it is subtle and complex. What I got from the staff and particularly from Bartlet was an attitude that funding such a study would be a terrible betrayal of liberal values, which didn’t feel right to me, particularly when Bartlet himself has been portrayed as such a strong supporter of religious freedom as well as his own religion. If the staff’s objections had been based on the political slippery slope (if we give in on this issue, there are bound to be other more problematic ones down the line…) rather than the Constitutional one, I would have understood a little better.