The entire White House staff bristles with activity when it's learned that the President injured himself during a bicycle accident, and his absence becomes a factor as chief of staff Leo McGarry must juggle a host of impending crises, including a mass boatlift of Cuban refugees approaching the Florida coast and the reaction of conservative Christians to a controversial televised comment by deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman.
In the series premiere, the White House staff is being called into work in the early hours of the morning to the news that the President of the United States has crashed his bicycle into a tree, much to the enjoyment of the press. The staff must run damage control on this and a gaffe by Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman who, after provocation by Christian activist Mary Marsh on a televised debate, quips "Lady, the God you pray to is too busy being indicted for tax fraud." Also, Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn meets and spends an evening with Laurie (Lisa Edelstein), not knowing she is a call girl, and then accidentally tells White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry's daughter, Mallory O'Brien, about it.
The Vice President refuses to fall in line with Bartlet; Sam discusses the problem of Laurie with Josh and Toby; the plane carrying President Bartlet's doctor, a naval officer, is shot down en route to Jordan; Bartlet hires Mandy as his consultant.
After a passenger plane is downed by Syrian forces, the President meets with the Joint Chiefs to determine the best course of action. Sam discusses his recently acquired friend with CJ, who tries to protect him. And Josh interviews a new aide for the President, Charlie. Leo takes 5 minutes to calm the President down prior to his Address to the Nation.
The week of a crucial gun control vote, the staff gets word that 5 votes have flipped. All resources are used to get them back. Meanwhile, Leo faces a huge personal challenge, and an adversary becomes an unlikely friend. The President has a bad day with his back, and his prescription medications throw him for a loop. Meanwhile, the staff is under for the annual economic scrutiny, and there are some items for which an answer is needed.
Josh is offered a once in a lifetime opportunity, but it causes more anguish than comfort. Leo has one annual day when any special interest group can visit with any top staffer to promote their cause; Sam get a UFO group, and CJ is approached by wildlife activists. Toby and the President butt heads about policy during a press conference rehearsal.
Toby and Mandy push for a commerce bill with a census-counting provision, with three votes as the deciding factor; Sam tutors C.J. on the finer points of the census; Josh & Sam take Charlie out for a beer and are joined by Zoey and Mallory. Zoey faces a potentially dangerous situation when she goes out for the evening.
The president of Indonesia is honored at a state dinner; the staff deals with Hurricane Sarah, a potential teamster strike, and a raid involving children in Idaho; a reporter flirts with C.J.
Bartlet and Hoynes argue in front of the Cabinet; C.J. fends off Danny's advances when she suspects he's after a big story; Mallory asks Sam out; the staff leaps hurdles to pass a banking bill.
Bartlet struggles to name a nominee to the Supreme Court when the perfect nominee turns out to be not so perfect; A congressman attacks the staff, claiming that 1 in 3 use drugs.
Toby tries to arrange a proper funeral for a homeless veteran; Josh and Sam try to set up a preemptive strike against Lillienfield, who is attacking Leo because of his prior drug and alcohol problem; CJ tries to get the staff to revisit the hate crimes issue; Bartlet sneaks out to do some last minute shopping.
War breaks out between India and Pakistan and Bartlet consults with Lord John Marbury; Toby accuses C.J. of being too friendly with the press when she objects to being kept in the dark; the staff realizes that Lillienfield's efforts to bring down Leo are going to get ugly when Josh gets a subpoena.
Bartlet collapses before his first State of the Union address; Leo publicly admits to his former alcoholism and drug abuse; things get interesting romantically for both Sam and C.J.; Lord John Marbury helps the staff negotiate an agreement between India and Pakistan.
Josh and Sam are able to make a bargain to keep Leo from going through a hearing, at the expense of a new sex education report. Mandy doesn't think a couple should be present at the signing of a new hate crimes bill instigated by the death of their son. Toby contends with some of PBS's detractors.
All the staffers have a moment of conscience when the President is asked to spare a man from execution.Toby speaks to his rabbi, and the President seeks advice from a Quaker and a priest. Marlee Matlin has a guest appearance.
Josh is invited to be the guest speaker at an (apparent) college theater; he is asked to relate a typical day at the White House, while still being notified of a current difficult situation. Josh recounts an angry outburst by the head of HUD and his own sarcastic response in a press briefing, as CJ had a dental emergency and is unable to speak clearly.Toby handles the difficult situation expertly.
Bartlet and the senior staff fly to California to attend an important fundraiser; Hoynes must decide whether he will support Bartlet's stance or go with his convictions when the Senate is deadlocked on an ethanol tax bill.
Abbey keeps the staff busy with the fallout when she leaks her personal preference for a Federal Reserve Board appointment and discusses child labor on a talk show, prompting a Congresswoman to offer an amendment which could shoot down the entire international tariff bill; Charlie's date with Zoey is cancelled because of threats by a white supremacist group.
Mendoza is confirmed by the Senate; Mandy needs Toby's help to replace a dead panda bear; Sam angers Mallory when she reads a position paper that he wrote supporting school vouchers; Josh meets with Jeff Breckenridge, who is irritating certain Congressmen with his stance on slavery reparations.
Mandy's old memo about Bartlet administration weaknesses surfaces; Josh tries to get administration nominees appointed to the Federal Elections Committee; Sam works to get a better policy on gays in the military.
Andrea Wyatt insists that mandatory minimums be added to a new drug policy the staff is developing; C.J. makes a mistake and sets them back.
Bartlet gets closer to making the FEC campaign finance reform-friendly, but his opponents strike back by making Sam's former dalliance with the call girl public knowledge; CJ waits anxiously for the administration's approval rating.
The staff deals with the crisis of an American pilot who was shot down in Iraq; Toby's brother is in danger on a space shuttle whose doors won't close; Bartlet and the senior staff walk into trouble as they leave a town meeting.
While the staff awaits news regarding the injuries to Jed and Josh, they recall how Josh, Sam, and Toby became involved in the campaign three years earlier; Leo, Toby, and C.J. deal with inquiries on Secret Service protection policies, as well as the absence of executive authority while Jed was in surgery.
With the accomplice in custody, it's revealed that the intended target was Charlie, not Bartlet. The staff still awaits news about Josh, and recalls how C.J. and Donna came to join the Bartlet campaign.
Bartlet's decision about Haiti falls under scrutiny; C.J. makes a horrible blunder in a press conference and is hounded about the president's health by reporters; the staff disagrees about whether Bartlet should apologize for not revealing his medical condition; Abbey is angry that Jed has decided to run for reelection.
The senior staff clash with the consultants who are to work on Bartlet's reelection campaign; C.J. is concerned that the press senses the Bartlets' marriage could be in trouble; Josh asks Leo to let him use his connection to postpone the FDA's drug announcement; the situation on Haiti comes to a head.
Toby, Josh, and Donna learn the hard way about the lack of accessible public transportation in the heartland when they spend a long day trying to get back to Washington after the motorcade leaves them behind during a campaign stop in Indiana; Bartlet interviews potential replacements for Mrs Landingham while C.J. tries to find someone to fill Simon's shoes as Anthony's Big Brother; the Ritchie campaign whips up a furor when Abbey claims to be "just a wife and mother"; Qumar reopens the Shareef investigation; and the Dow takes a dive.
Donna teaches Toby and Josh an important lesson as their trek homeward continues; Sam staffs the President in Josh's absence and welcomes an old friend home; Bartlet hires a secretary and C.J. finds a Big Brother for Anthony; the situation in Qumar continues to escalate; Bartlet gets spooked by a photo op as the Dow continues its dive; and a pipe bomb kills 44 students at a Midwest university swim meet.
As the search for Zoey continues, Walken takes a hard line against the kidnappers that could contribute to her death; Danny releases the Shareef story, and the revelation creates a rift that separates Jed from Abbey and Liz; tensions arise between Walken's staff and Bartlet's staff; the Democratic leadership in Congress assails Leo for allowing Jed to step aside; in retaliation for Shareef's death, a movie theater in Turkey is bombed, and eighty people, including American soldiers, are killed.
Bombs drop on Qumar upon Walken's orders; as the hours pass without any word on Zoey's whereabouts, tensions increase within the Bartlet family; Walken and Leo clash after Josh's suspicion that the opposition is using Walken's tenure in the Oval Office to advance their agenda is confirmed; Andy takes the twins home; Leo inflicts a new intern from a prominent political family on an unwilling Josh; Jed's staff is less than thrilled when they learn who will succeed Walken as Speaker of the House; the search for a new Vice President is accelerated; Zoey is rescued.
With Palestinian leaders surrounded in their compound, Israel is willing to sit down with the US and moderate Palestinians to discuss a peaceful solution to the latest outbreak of fighting. Surprising everyone, however, the Palestinians publicly thank the US for inviting them to the negotiation table. Also, Donna is rushed into surgery for a pulmonary embolism.
Bartlet has convinced Israel and Palestine to visit Camp David for a round of peace negotiations. Leo stays back in order to give the official okay to strike the Ein Hawa terrorist training camp in Syria.
As everyone but Josh causes Santos to question his choice of Leo as his running mate, Bartlet's investigation into the dangerous press leak continues. Also C.J. gets interviewed by Babish and Donna approaches Josh for a job.
Santos and Vinick have to deal with press fallout when it looks like the Bartlet White House is not going to continue the investigation into the press leaks.
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While Josh recovers from bullet wounds there's a noticeable tension among some of the White House Staff. Toby is gung-ho to go after extremist groups in light of the attack. Charlie withdraws from the first family after learning more about the shooting. Bartlet's mind is preoccupied with a small time school election because of an old rivalry. CJ mangles physicist by referring to them as psychics as Josh listens from his sick bed. A subplot involves a reception for radio talk show hosts. Dr. Jenna Jacobs, whose doctorate is in English Lit., is one of those attending. Sam encourages a friend to run for office, unfortunately it doesn't go as he intended.
To investigate the cost and availability of AIDS medication needed in Africa, the White House plays host to representatives of American pharmaceutical companies and the president of an African nation; C.J. accidentally leaks information to a freshman reporter; after Sam is shown up by an amateur Republican operative on a television program, Jed decides to hire her.
Leo tries to make Ainsley's arrival as painless as possible, despite resistance from her new boss and several other White House staffers; Donna helps with the President's weekly radio address; C.J. tries to derail a retiring General's attempt to speak out against Bartlet; Sam gives Josh ideas on how to deal with his insurance company.
The president considers recalling the Senate to push ratification of a nuclear-test-ban treaty. Meanwhile, Donna lobbies new legislation introducing ergonomic standards in the White House; A Ukrainian politician shows up at the White House drunk demanding to see the president.
After ridiculing Notre Dame, C.J. is forced to accompany the President on a trip to Oregon; Toby and Sam struggle to write Jed's education speech for the following day; back at the White House, Josh tries to dissuade a gay Congressman who supports legislation banning same-sex marriages and Leo gets divorce papers, which causes Margaret to worry that he may fall off the wagon.
Toby encourages the President to appoint Leo's controversial sister to a national education post, against Leo's objections; Bartlet must decide what the do with 83 Chinese citizens who stowed away on a freighter ship and seek asylum on the grounds of religious persecution; CJ has to decide which one of two turkeys the President should "pardon" but then tries to save the other from the chopping block; Charlie is tasked with buying the President a new carving knife which is not as easy as it sounds.
On the eve of Jed's participation in a national television conference with thousands of school children as the Galileo probe arrives at Mars, NASA loses the communication link; Leo contends with a Russian ambassador who denies that a fire has broken out in a nuclear missile silo; C.J. and Sam accompany Jed to a concert where they're each faced with people they'd rather not see; Josh and Donna work on the nomination for the next person to appear on a postage stamp; C.J. wrangles a minor controversy ignited by a leak that Jed doesn't like green beans.
Josh investigates the suicide of a pilot with whom he has things in common; Donna tries to get an invitation to the Congressional Christmas party to hear Yo-Yo Ma perform; Jed insists on signing a mountain of Christmas cards himself; after a White House visitor has a strange reaction to a painting, C.J. sets out to discover its provenance; following weeks of volatile behavior and an outburst in the Oval Office, Josh meets with representatives from the America Trauma Victims Association and finally deals with the trauma from his shooting.
To get real issues to be discussed at a bi-partisan breakfast, Toby makes a deal with a former acquaintance who is the majority leader's new Chief of Staff to strike a bargain and put an issue on the agenda, thereby undermining CJ and setting up the administration to ridicule; The possibility of moving the press corps across the street is briefly explored; Leo and Toby start to face harsh realities about Bartlet's re-election; Josh and Sam build a fire with unfortunate consequences; Leo tells Josh to apologize for him after embarrassing himself in front of a columnist. Unfortunately the embarrassment continues with Sam and Donna.
Bartlet has the duty of formally welcoming newly appointed ambassadors from other nations; Leo continues his efforts to get the President to support the "missile shield: defense system", even though the shield doesn't quite work; CJ must ask a popular comedian to turn down an offer to host the Will Rogers dinner; Sam is angered when Toby adds a "drop-in" to Sam's already perfect speech without consulting him.
The President delivers his 3rd State of the Union address, what critics call "the speech of his political career" and ends up angering Abbey by what he does and doesn't say; Josh must work the polling center with Joey Lucas, but a power outage delays the results; Sam attempts to introduce Ainsley to the President with disastrous results; CJ must juggle a live recording of the show "Capitol Beat" being broadcast within the White House and run damage control when a cop has a (possibly undeserved) black mark on his record; Leo and Bartlet must handle the matter of five DEA officials who are taken hostage by Columbian terrorists.
Bartlet authorizes a special ops team to rescue the five DEA agents only to have them caught in an ambush; CJ arranges for the host of "Capitol Beat" to have an exclusive interview with the wronged police officer; Toby must deal with Senator Gilette who threatens to make a third party run for president due to the tone of the changes on social security reform; Sam gives Ainsley another chance to meet the President, but she still fails to create a good impression; Josh finally gets the poll results from Joey; Abbey and Bartlet discuss his running for a second term.
During an online chat, the Surgeon General comments favorably on the legalization of marijuana. The controversy heightens when Ellie Bartlet tells a reporter that her father would never fire the Surgeon General. Toby asks his ex-wife, a Congresswoman, for her help in strongly persuading Seth Gillette to participate in the Social Security panel.
It's Big Block of Cheese Day again. Toby meets with World Trade Organization protesters, and CJ meets with a group of cartographers who want the standards for maps changed to be a more accurate reflection of geographical and political reality. Donna asks Sam to look into granting a pardon for a friend's deceased grandfather. Bartlet is having problems selecting a site for his Presidential library.
The staff is blindsided when an elderly senator stages a Friday night filibuster to block their Family Wellness bill; Toby is confused when VP Hoynes, a strong supporter of the oil industry, volunteers to give a speech attacking the energy sector; CJ tries to locate a valuable Egyptian cat goddess statue given to the President.
Toby, suspicious that there's something going on with the President, finds out about Bartlet's MS and informs Leo of the legal ramifications; Josh and Donna disagree about the date of their "anniversary"; Sam and Ainsley argue about the necessity of the ERA; staffers struggle to punch-up the speech the President will give at the White House Correspondents Dinner.
Bartlet confers with Babish on the legal ramifications of his MS cover-up; Sam has a personal interest in an oil spill off the coast of Delaware; Josh and Donna argue about a loan to Mexico; Toby orders C.J. to flush out a leak in the White House staff, which is far from easy.
Babish menacingly questions CJ and Abbey about their involvement in the MS cover-up while Josh asks Joey Lucas to create a hypothetical poll the gauge the public's reaction; Sam is happy with a projected smaller-than-expected budget surplus; Donna is the only one worried about a Chinese satellite hurling toward the Earth at 2,000 mph.
The staff prepares for the worst as they make arrangements for the public announcement of the President's condition; Sam and Babish grill Abbey about her medical treatment of the President's MS; a crisis erupts in Haiti; Josh deals with two Democratic senators who won't support the administration's suit against tobacco companies; Mrs. Landingham buys her first new car, with tragic consequences.
On the day of Mrs. Landingham's funeral, the staff deals with a Haitian presidential crisis and the law suit against the big tobacco companies, and Bartlet must decide about running for reelection.
The Special Prosecutor sets his probe in motion; Sam and Bruno are concerned about the loyalty of a powerful labor leader; Toby and Josh are preoccupied with a congressional battle over the estate tax; Ainsley fixes up Donna with a Republican.
When Bartlet vetoes the "death tax", the staff must scramble to keep the veto from being overridden; Josh tries to smooth talk a promising governor who is considering running against the President; Charlie is urged to ask for immunity in his upcoming testimony.
The President has a showdown; Donna lies when she appears before the Congressional committee investigating the President; Leo debates with an old friend about the US future stance regarding the war crimes tribunal; Sam tries to find the logic in a Congressman's proposed legislation to eliminate the penny.
When an American spy submarine suddenly goes silent in hostile North Korea, Bartlet must decide whether to inform the enemy or attempt a secret rescue operation; Abbey learns her past malpractice suits might compromise Bartlet's criminal investigation; Toby meets with a representative from an appropriations committee who wants to funnel money away from Congress's funding of avant-garde artists.
Disgruntled that Abbey has decided that the Bartlet's will be spending the Thanksgiving holiday at Camp David instead of New Hampshire, Bartlet takes out his pique by boring everyone within earshot over his plans to cook Thanksgiving dinner, going so far as to call "The Butterball Hotline" to ask questions about cooking the stuffing. Josh works to expedite the return of a 13 year old Georgia boy whose parents sent him to Italy after he murdered his teacher. When Italy refuses to extradite the boy to a death penalty state, Josh makes a deal with the district attorney prosecuting the case, offering him unlimited financial backing for his reelection campaign in exchange for his not seeking the death penalty.
C.J. is outraged about an arms sale to secure an airbase lease with a Middle-Eastern country which perpetuates atrocities against its women; the staff anxiously awaits test results to determine the possibility of an outbreak of mad-cow disease; Josh debates a woman's group lobbyist over a treaty's wording concerning prostitution; Toby meets with veterans upset about a Pearl Harbor anniversary exhibition at the Smithsonian; Sam explores the idea of a national seat belt law after Bartlet is sued by a woman whose husband died in an automobile accident.
The staff and the F.B.I. work to combat a threat to firebomb black churches in Tennessee on Christmas Eve; accompanied by Jordan, Leo testifies before the House committee probing Bartlet's failure to disclose his M.S. during the presidential campaign; Sam and Josh try unsuccessfully to get Leo out of the line of fire of a Congressman on the committee intent on destroying Leo to advance his own political career; surprisingly, Leo receives a last minute reprieve at the hands of the Majority Counsel and the committee Chair.
Majority Counsel Clifford Calley makes Leo an offer regarding the MS affair he wants very much to refuse; Josh looks for any excuse to see Amy Gardner; a fired White House photographer has written a tell-all book about the Administration that Sam wants to refute point by point; Charlie gives the President a present that touches him and troubles everyone else.
On State of the Union night, Sam is being trailed by a magazine reporter to whom he was once engaged; the President' Congressional censure weighs heavily on staffers' minds as they debate whether to include an anti-cancer initiative in the President's address; Josh can't get Amy Gardner to talk to him.
On the day of the Democratic Caucus, Bartlet, Toby and C.J. go to Iowa to kick off the presidential race, and disagree over Bartlet's making a statement about affirmative action. Back in Washington, Leo forces Josh to intercede with an old friend leading a protest against Navy arms testing at Vieques, Puerto Rico. Sam meets with Bob Engler again, who is now acting on behalf of two congressmen who want an inventory of Fort Knox because they believe that most of the gold bullion has been replaced with alien bodies recovered from Area 51 in Roswell, New Mexico. After Josh rebuffs her request, Donna seeks Sam's help in getting out of jury duty. Josh brings a little bit of Tahiti to his relationship with Amy Gardner.
Stanley Keyworth revisits the White House to uncover the reason Bartlet hasn't been able to sleep since the night of the Iowa caucus; C.J. enlists Leo's help in freeing a White House reporter kidnapped while on assignment in the Congo; Toby and Andy joust over an upcoming presidential speech condemning Islamic fanaticism by name; Donna is offered a lucrative dot.com job by an old friend; Sam sparks an exchange on radical versus lipstick feminism when he comments on Ainsley's evening attire immediately after asking her to review language in Bartlet's U.N. address.
On the day before the New Hampshire primary, Josh drafts Donna as his frontwoman to ensure that Bartlet wins the nation's first primary in the small town of Hartsfield's Landing; C.J. and Charlie play an ever-escalating game of practical jokes; Jed plays simultaneous chess games with Sam and Toby while he plays delicate diplomatic and military games with the Chinese government over Taiwan.
Concern arises over the medical board's decision on Abbey's actions in treating Jed's M.S.; Sam tries to get a Senator he doesn't like to pass a bill for a super-conducter that he doesn't even understand; Amy tries to influence Josh; Lord Marbury explains to Toby why a member of the IRA cannot be invited to the White House; Donna receives shocking news when the Secret Service won't give her clearance to attend Abbey's birthday party.
Toby looks forward to meeting the new U.S. Poet Laureate; Jed fires the first salvo of his reelection campaign when he calls his likely opponent less than brilliant, and the national press just can't get enough of it; Ainsley gets promoted; Josh overreacts to posts on the message board of a website devoted to "all things Josh".
Hoynes and Bartlet each make an unexpected announcement about Hoynes' place on the ticket; fears of a terrorist attack arise when a truck carrying depleted uranium-fuel rods is involved in a head-on collision in an Idaho tunnel; Donna seeks a Presidential Proclamation to honor her high-school teacher/mentor who's retiring; and Bartlet's insistence on helping Charlie with his tax return sparks a discussion on the true nature of a tax rebate.
The revelation that a Russian company may be building a heavy water reactor in Iran puts Jed in a difficult position as he prepares to meet with the new Russian president; Jed orders the Secret Service to protect C.J. when she receives death threats after making a comment at a press conference about the deaths of Saudi girls; Leo wants to find a way to help a major campaign contributor whose company is faced with a massive product recall; Charlie ponders the mystery of a strangely out of context letter written to the President.
Bartlet and the staff are on high alert when they receive reports of an impending attack on a military installation; Josh is furious when he discovers that a gift he passed on to Donna, who in turn passed in on to an unpaid intern, ends up for sale on eBay; C.J. takes her niece shopping for a prom dress while the threats on her life continue, and her stalker manages to get close to her despite the protection of the Secret Service.
While Jed, Leo and Fitzwallace grapple with terrorism and moral absolutes, Josh and Amy grapple with each other over a welfare-reform bill; Donna represents the White House at a North Dakota state-party caucus whose goal is to remove the word "North" from the state's name; Toby doesn't want Jed to attend a New York fund-raiser because Ritchie will be there; Charlie is assigned the responsibility of finding Jed a new secretary; C.J. discovers that Simon Donovan is a very straight shooter.
Bartlet continues to struggle over the wisdom of assassinating the terrorist Qumari defense minister; after Ritchie declines to meet Bartlet, Sam and Toby play a dirty trick; as the search for Mrs. Landingham's replacement continues, Charlie finds the perfect candidate, who makes less than a stellar first impression on Bartlet; Josh's determination to pass a welfare bill costs Amy; as C.J.'s stalker is finally captured, the night ends in tragedy.
Bartlet decides he needs a lawyer when Qumar goes after Israel; Josh is disturbed to learn that Stackhouse might not endorse Bartlet; a comment Deborah made years ago comes back to haunt her during a security check.
Leo meets with the Israeli Foreign Minister to enlist Israel's assistance with the Shareef investigation, but is ultimately foiled by the Qumari; the debate about the Ritchie debates rages on until the staff comes up with a brilliant tactic; Josh and Amy argue over whether Stackhouse is siphoning votes from Bartlet; Ritchie tries to bait Bartlet on needle exchange programs; Bartlet is faced with resolving an 11 day standoff with the KSU bombers in Iowa who are holding an injured child; Josh sends Donna undercover to a seminar held by one of Ritchie's advisors in an effort to expose the "fortune cookie candidacy"; Stackhouse comes to a momentous decision about his campaign and provides inspiration for Bartlet.
As the staff prepares for the presidential debates at a North Carolina conference center, a vexing question about a failed attorney-general nomination (amid charges of racial profiling) leads to flashbacks of the administration's first weeks in office. Back then, Toby's marriage to Andrea Wyatt was about to end; now Sam and Charlie are helping him in his effort to reconcile with her. Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force weighs in on the Qumari matter, and Joey Lucas reports that the president is likely to lose New Hampshire.
Bartlet, Leo, Josh, Sam and C.J. pull a practical joke on Toby; Sam's mission to end the Wilde campaign leads him to make a career-altering decision; Jordan backs up Leo as he deals with the Qumari; Toby continues to press his case with a resistant Andrea; and Bartlet cleans Ritchie's clock in their debate.
Election day finally arrives with the staff eagerly anticipating the outcome; Sam is increasingly concerned about the Wilde campaign in Orange County; Toby worries about the effect of Andy's pregnancy on the voters; Donna accidentally votes for Richie and tries to rectify the situation by trying to find someone who will vote-swap; Josh resists Deborah's new office rules until she reveals their basis; Bartlet has some new health issues to worry about.
The staff celebrates election night and encourages Sam to run for the seat in Orange County; Toby continues to worry about how Andrea's pregnancy will play politically for both of them; a coup develops in Venezuela; Jed and Abbey endure some interruptions at their private celebration.
The 15-year old son of an Iranian leader needs a heart transplant in the U.S. Problem is, the only man who could do it is an enemy of the Iranian government; The Senate minority leader threatens to thwart the President's legislative agenda when he believes that Hoynes is doing some political maneuvering for the next Presidential election; Toby offers a Congresswoman a Cabinet position but is forced to take back the offer.
When a celebrated female fighter pilot is threatened with a dishonorable discharge for refusing to end her affair with an enlisted man, the staff, though full of opinions, agrees that the White House should not get involved; Donna asks Josh to find out if Jack Reese likes her, and is horrified to discover some of the anecdotes about her that Josh has shared with Jack; Sam heads out to California to begin his election campaign, and sends Will Bailey to the White House to help Toby with the inaugural address; despite the best efforts of Leo and Charlie to keep him out of it, Bartlet blows a gasket over complaints from U.N. diplomats about parking enforcement in New York City; and Josh takes issue with a temporary worker's choice in accessories.
It's December 23, and the holiday brings several visitors to the White House: Zoey comes home with her new French boyfriend in tow; aided by Josh, Toby's father seeks a reconciliation; and Danny arrives bearing gifts of gold and a heads-up for C.J. about Shareef's death. Will moves into Sam's office at Toby's insistence, and is treated to some good-natured ribbing by the rest of the staff. Bartlet and Leo try to exorcise their guilt about Shareef by adding eleventh hour funding to combat infant mortality in the federal budget, and promoting peace in the Mideast, respectively.
Josh, determined to make sure a foreign aid bill passes even though it's a hopeless cause, sends Donna out to track down a reluctant senator; in an attempt to impress Zoey's new boyfriend, Charlie unwittingly gets over his head with the Department of Defense; Danny continues to pursue the Shareef matter; a Bartlet photo op with Heifer International creates unexpected opportunities -- for C.J. to perfect her spin-doctoring techniques, and for the staff once again to test Will's mettle and sense of humor.
While Toby unsuccessfully attempts to fill her shoes in the briefing room, C.J. returns to Dayton, where she gives a speech at her high school reunion, reconnects with an old friend, and struggles with her father's worsening Alzheimer's.
The staff wrangles with the State Department over language in the inaugural address; a genocidal war breaks out in Kundu, and Bartlet weighs his options as Will pushes for American military involvement based on Bartlet's statements in the past; the Chief Justice's increased propensity for writing opinions in verse causes concern about his competence; Bartlet keeps Charlie busy on the hunt for the perfect Bible for the inauguration; Donna becomes upset when Jack is transferred out of the White House and reassigned to Italy after getting caught in a squeeze play between the Oval Office and the Pentagon.
Toby discovers that Will's frankness, stubbornness, and commitment to ideals is much like his own; Charlie remains on the hunt for an inaugural Bible; Bartlet and the staff continue to debate over sending American troops into Kundu to stop a genocidal war until Laurel and Hardy provide some needed inspiration; Bartlet appoints Will Deputy Communications Director; Donna takes one for Jack when a comment he thinks he is making off the record is included in a "Post" article by Danny's editor.
Bartlet plays hardball to end the genocide in Kundu; after the entire speechwriting staff quits, Will is forced to rely on Elsie and some inexperienced interns to write tax policy remarks; the trip to California to help Sam's campaign gets off to a rocky start; Sam refuses to let Bartlet hold off the Democratic response to the Republican tax plan because it might hurt the campaign; Toby and Charlie get arrested coming to Andy's defense after a drunk accosts her; Bartlet fires Sam's campaign manager and replaces him with Toby.
While Toby and C.J. are in California working on Sam's campaign, Josh drops Abbey's agenda in favor of his own, Jed deals with a military hostage situation, and Will runs his intern writing staff ragged.
Toby's old friend approaches him ready to blow the whistle on his employer's violations of environmental laws; staff pranks abound on Amy's first day at the office; Abbey charges Amy with the task of convincing the President to threaten a veto on a foreign aid bill containing an abortion gag rule provision; claiming that Abbey's ancestor was a pirate rather than a privateer, a prominent member threatens to mount a boycott of the D.A.R. dinner at which Zoey will be inducted until Will, C.J. and Amy devise a plan to defuse the situation; at the behest of Jean Paul, Zoey sends Charlie a "Dear John" email, but Charlie refuses to accept the brushoff and declares his love for Zoey; Donna is less than thrilled when Josh assigns her the job of shadowing a possible security risk at Zoey's D.A.R. induction; Will takes one for the team in putting an environmental and political face on the destruction and deaths which resulted from the melting of an Alaskan glacier.
As Air Force One begins its descent into Andrews Air Force Base at the end of an 18-hour return trip to Manila, a cockpit indicator light leads the crew to believe that the landing gear might not be locked in place. The aircraft stays in the air while the problem can be examined by an F16 fly by. Concern grows on board Air Force One and on the ground as people become increasingly worried that someone may have tampered with the airplane. Former Friends star, Matthew Perry, guest stars as Joe Quincy, a well-qualified, confident and personable candidate Josh interviews for the associate counsel position.
After a gunman fires three shots at the press room windows, the White House is locked down. Meanwhile, Bartlet negotiates with the Russian president for the return of an unmanned US spy plane that's crashed in Russia. A spirited late-night poker game allows the hard-working staffers to relieve the tensions of the day.
On his first day at work, Joe Quincy pieces together three news leaks and uncovers a scandal which forces Hoynes to resign.
Bartlet finally tells the staff the truth about the death of Shareef; Danny agrees to hold off on the story after five alleged terrorists go missing; Andy goes into labor after once again refusing Toby's marriage proposal; Zoey is kidnapped from a nightclub on the night of her college graduation.
When Bartlet learns that Zoey's kidnapping is the work of Qumari terrorists, he invokes the 25th amendment to diminish their leverage and eliminate any conflict of interest; since there's no Vice President, the power of the Presidency passes to Bartlet's chief political rival and the most powerful Republican in the country, the Speaker of the House, who immediately takes a very hard line; now that twins Huck and Molly have arrived, Toby wonders if he's capable of loving them enough.
When he realizes that his first choice for Vice President faces an uphill fight for nomination, Jed nominates a congressman that none of the staff can get excited about; Josh is less than thrilled with his new intern.
Josh fails to sway an unruly congressman who insists on voting against the administration on the vice presidential confirmation, but Ryan reaches out to get him to change his mind; Leo fears that the potential defection of a prominent North Korean pianist will jeopardize secret nuclear disarmament talks; Will and Toby are humiliated when an early draft of a speech outlining their struggle to laud Bob Russell's confirmation is erroneously substituted for the final version; Donna's aunt and uncle from Wisconsin pay a visit, testing Josh's ability to refrain from bad cheesehead jokes during their tour of the White House; the staff struggles over how to language the state of the economy; fearing that the administration is drifting off-course, Toby wants to hand over more responsibilities to Will in order to focus on getting back to their core message.
Will Bailey receives an offer to become Vice President Russell's top aide. Amy Parker does some skillful lobbying for domestic violence prevention which gets the wrath of Bartlett. A conservative democratic senator switches parties.
The fallout on the Hill from Carrick's switch to the Republican party exiles Josh deep into a White House doghouse, so C.J. gives Donna some tips on how she can support him; Jed gets a harsh reality check from C.J. when he lingers too long in a small Oklahoma town devastated by a deadly tornado; in Jed's absence, Leo juggles an impending war between Albania and Greece, a visit from the German chancellor, a tussle over tax cuts, and an over-reaching Secretary of Defense; Josh and Toby are less than thrilled when Leo brings Angela on board to assume some of Josh's responsibilities.
As Chief Justice Ashland's health problems continue to mount, Joe Quincy, Ashland's former clerk, is pressed into service to persuade him to retire; as C.J. prepares Zoey for a sit-down interview about her kidnapping, Abbey reveals that her relationship with her husband is still strained; Jed refuses to be held hostage by the Republican in the budget negotiations.
Jed's decision not to be held hostage by Haffley shuts down the federal government; unable to get through to Jed and fearing the worst, Leo calls in the reinforcements, and Abbey returns to Washington to deliver a message and provide her husband with a little perspective; after being benched from the staff meetings, Josh gets put back in the game by Jed and sets the stage for victory; disregarding the advice of more seasoned colleagues, Haffley makes a major misstep and loses his advantage over the White House; Jed and Haffley meet and reach an accord on the budget.
The Bartet clan attempts to gather for a holiday dinner. Jed must deal with a hostage situation in Sudan, an assisted suicide in Oregon, his son-in-law's yearn to run for the House of Representatives, and his grandson's want to spend time with his grandpa. C.J. takes a stand on the assisted suicide because of her father's worsening condition.
President Bartlet attends the funeral of a former president with other former presidents Glenallen Walken and D. Wire Newman, while monitoring a possible situation in Saudi Arabia. Josh Lyman mediates an argument between a representative from Connecticut and one from North Carolina who wants her state's copy of the Bill of Rights returned. CJ is concerned about a scientist's invention which could interfere with privacy.
In the days leading up to the State of the Union address, Toby gets crucial voter feedback when he accompanies Joey as she mall-tests the speech around the nation; Jed and the staff wrestle with the issues of presidential pardons and mandatory minimums; Charlie dates an attractive woman who's not what she seems; Joey Lucas derails Josh's plans when she arrives at the White House carrying a surprise; Jed and Abbey reach out to an old friend on the eve of his ex-wife's remarriage.
Toby gets Jed's support to seize a controversial window of opportunity to save Social Security, but is hampered by Jed's mandate to keep the operation under wraps; desperate to feed the press corps beast on a glacially slow news day, C.J. meets with an attaché to discuss cabbage imports, and has a little fun with a particularly dense reporter; Josh's brainstorm to help Will burnish Bob Russell's presentation problems and a persistent reporter endanger Toby's attempts to broker a deal on the Hill; Rina finds a friend in Donna, and Josh isn't too happy about it; Toby is saved from having to fall on his sword when Josh and Jed devise a plan to rescue his deal from certain disaster.
An unlikely party comes to the aid of the administration as it seeks to discover the party responsible for nuclear testing in the Indian Ocean; Will is unhappy, but his boss doesn't seem to mind, when a request to beef up the Vice President's issue profile results in Toby's handing him boring, low-level minutae; Josh dismisses a NASA proposal for a manned Mars mission until an agency staffer shows him the error of his ways; a conservative talk show host makes a pathetic attempt to bait C.J. into appearing on his show.
When five navy E-2C Hawkeye crew members are stranded in North Korea, Bartlet orders a risky Navy Seal rescue attempt. C.J. agrees to one on one with a motormouth conservative talk show host.
He's back, Former VP John Hoynes, who resigned in sex scandal, makes a bid for political resurrection by trashing Barlet and Leo in a tell-all book. But it's C.J. who's taking the news the hardest.
When a conservative Republican Congresswoman targets Ellie's research project in an effort to discredit Jed, Toby discovers that the source of the leak is uncomfortably close to home, and Will realizes that they've all greatly underestimated his boss; Josh investigates the wisdom of a recess appointment as he tries to convince an old friend to be patient with the Sixth Circuit judicial nomination process and keep his hat in the ring; C.J. completely misreads Ben's intentions; Donna tracks down an AWOL Ryan; an opening is created on the Supreme Court; in an effort to redefine Abbey's image with the press, C.J. sets her up to do a public service announcement with the Muppets, which inspires Ellie to stand up before the press in defense of scientific research unhampered by politics.
Jed and the staff vet potential Supreme Court appointees; Toby and Andy don't see eye-to-eye on her fact-finding trip to the Middle East; Donna's parents are the unlikely inspiration for the resolution to the problems arising from the judicial confirmation process.
A documentary camera crew follows C.J. around for a not-so-typical day in the White House.
Hail the conquering hero. Josh returns after nailing down details for a trade agreement. But the devil in the detail, including information kept from Josh. C.J. fights megamedia ownership of local TV.
An airborne contamination alert locks down the West Wing, forcing staffers to stay put until the all-clear is sounded; Toby and Will face off over Will's working for the vice president; C.J. tells Donna some things she's rather not hear about Josh and her career prospects; Leo confronts Abbey about the dangers of her recent coping mechanisms; Jed, Debbie, and Charlie are poked, prodded, and sent to the decontamination showers; Kate is initially reluctant to give Josh any information on a personal or professional level as they sit out the alert together.
Donna Moss, Percy Fitzwallace, Andrea Wyatt and a couple of congressmen are in the Middle East on a fact finding mission when their cars are blown up. President Bartlet considers possible military targets to bomb in retaliation. In flashbacks, we see Donna becoming attracted to British photojournalist Colin Ayres.
Jed weighs his options for responding to the bombing as Israeli and Palestinian forces face off against each other; Josh has an interesting reaction when Colin arrives at the hospital to visit Donna; Kate and Leo clash over the advice she's giving Jed; Josh assumes a diplomatic role when the Palestinians approach him to initiate settlement discussions; Toby and Charlie prepare a reluctant Jed for throwing out the first ball at Camden Yards; Donna's life is threatened when she develops a pulmonary embolism; Jed reflects on the days prior to his first inauguration.
Before signing the peace accord, Bartlet tells his staff to go after the support of the House and the U.N. Josh and Toby are assigned the task of getting congressional support. Meanwhile, CJ works to confirm international support with the U.N. Security Council. Donna returns to work and Charlie resists taking a college swimming exam that would allow him to graduate.
The Bartlet Administration must devise a plan of action when an emissary from the Republic of Georgia walks into the White House and offers them weapons-grade uranium that's in a research reactor the Russians left behind when they pulled out of Georgia. Meanwhile, Josh goes looking for support of the tax cut from the DCCC and along the way meets with Matthew Santos, a bright and enigmatic congressman from Texas.
Josh test drives an oversized SUV and crashes into a hybrid car resulting in bad publicity for The White House. Annabeth, the new Press Secretary, has been on the job for only a week and is preparing to face the press corps for the first time. Toby is concerned that she looks too young and may not be prepared for their probing questions.
The US Peacekeeping compound is attacked and American soldiers are killed. As the White House struggles to contain the story, the father of one of the slain soldiers speaks out against the mission. Meanwhile, Democratic Congressman Santos attaches his Patients Bill of Rights to a Republican piece of legislation and effectively keeps the Democratic elements while maintaining a Republican agenda. Also, Leo gets a lesson in life and business from his nurse.
Final preparation goes into President Bartlet's visit to China when he accepts a flag from the Taiwanese delegation representing the Taiwanese Independence Movement, prompting China to prepare for military action.
At a Bartlet family birthday, Penn and Teller burn an American flag in the White House, prompting a political and publicity nightmare. Aboard Air Force One, Bartlet is stricken by a paralyzing episode of MS. Josh is approached to run the Vice President's presidential campaign.
As Bartlet and his staff arrive in China for a critical summit, he is still suffering from the paralyzing side-effects of MS. Meanwhile, an asteroid is headed for the U.S., leaving Josh and Leo to deal with the potential consequences.
The internet press is running with a story that questions CJ's sexual orientation. CJ refuses to put out a statement, which only makes the media press harder. The effects of MS are becoming more pronounced on President Bartlet. Meanwhile, Santos declares that he will run for President but only if Josh will run his campaign.
Josh goes to New Hampshire with Santos to set up their campaign headquarters. From the very beginning, there are problems with setting up the office in an abandoned shack and personal differences about the campaign's goals are immediately evident. Meanwhile, as Donna and Will work together on Russell's campaign, Will makes it clear to Donna that in order for their partnership to work, she needs to acknowledge that Josh is gone.
It's the day after the State of the Union and there's no time to rest.The staff is busy dealing with emrgency situations while Leo starts his first day in his new position by watching old State of the Union addresses to find inspiration. Kate spends her day working on a situation in Bolivia; CJ on a situation in North Korea; Toby on unemployment.
Vice President Russell is the first to give his speech at the Iowa Corn Growers' Expo. Matthew Santos and Arnold Vinick follow and the differences in these candidates become very clear. Josh struggles to understand how he can possibly guide Santos in this race.
Valentine's Day starts badly when the Iranian air force shoots down a British airliner, killing 100 passengers. The U.K. Prime Minister threatens to retaliate by bombing nuclear reactor sites, which could doom future support for political reformers in Iran. But C.J. has made an agreement with Abbey to allow the President to get more rest, and she is reluctant to awaken him at 5 A.M. to deal with the crisis. Meanwhile, Toby and a visiting law professor answer questions from a foreign delegation that is trying to write a new constitution for the former Soviet Republic of Belarus, and harried staffers pass the buck of Leo's traditional meeting with the new Miss World.
It's five days before the New Hampshire primary, and Josh is desperately trying to find a "silver bullet" that will get his candidate into the local debate between the two front-runners, Vice President Russell and former Vice President Hoynes. Then, Josh and Santos's disagreements over how to run the campaign come to a head when Santos hires Josh's ex-girlfriend Amy Gardner to help him prepare for the debate he may never be in. And Donna has a memorable encounter with a chicken.
A new candidate for president, Senator Rafferty, has garnered much media attention with a ground-breaking speech about health care. But her words contain interesting echoes of President Bartlet's original health plan, which is known only to White House insiders, and reporter Greg Brock suspects that Rafferty is being secretly supported by the incumbent. Meanwhile, Toby is more than usually morose after the death of his brother. A bill to combat drought conditions in the western U.S. gives C.J. problems, particularly in dealing with lobbyist Clifford Calley. And Charlie tells Kate Harper that a man from his gym asked if she was dating anyone.
Santos engineers a plot to get a stalled stem-cell bill scheduled for a vote in the House. President Bartlet has an uncomfortable reunion with a rival economist with whom he split the Nobel Prize. A group of underage kids tries to convince Toby they deserve the right to vote. Kate tries to resolve a silly border dispute with Canada before there is bloodshed.
Santos is campaigning in California during the last few days before the all-important "Super Tuesday" primary elections, but he is out of money and he trails both Russell and Hoynes in the polls. When even "La Palabra", a Latino voters group, is all set to endorse Hoynes instead of Santos, Josh urges Santos to take a stand on the new bill that denies driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, Donna tries to figure out why Hoynes suddenly isn't campaigning in California, and advances her position in the Russell campaign by becoming the Vice President's official spokesperson.
New rumors about Fidel Castro's health cause the President to re-examine the economic sanctions against Cuba that haven't worked for 40 years, and he sends Leo McGarry to meet secretly with the Cuban dictator. The occasion causes C.J. to check into Kate Harper's past with the C.I.A., but she is unaware of a past encounter between Kate and Leo. Meanwhile, Charlie discovers the complexities of dealing with a termite invasion of the White House.
Senator Vinick, now the Republican Presidential nominee, receives advice from former Bartlet political consultant Bruno Gianelli on how to win all 50 states in the general election, and more specifically in the near term how to present his religious views to the public and pick a running mate. Meanwhile, Bartlet wrestles with getting a minimum wage hike passed by attaching it to a bill necessary to raise the debt ceiling, and with how to unify his party in the face of a three-way race for the Democratic nomination.
Faced with a Democratic party in disarray in the face of the strongest Republican challenger they have ever had, Bartlet asks Leo to take charge of the potentially chaotic Democratic National Convention, while Santos considers a party-unifying vice-presidential offer from front-runner Russell. Meanwhile, the International Space Station is leaking oxygen and a rescue of the three astronauts will be difficult, and Bartlet catches Charlie leaving Zoey's bedroom after a nighttime visit.
At the Democratic National Convention, Russell, Santos and Baker jockey for the 2162 votes that will give one of them the nomination for President, and the opportunity to lose to the apparently unstoppable Vinick in November. Meanwhile, the President must make a decision before it's too late on whether to deploy a secret rescue mission to the space station, and the FBI is asked to determine who leaked the existence of the military shuttle to the press.
It's three weeks into the presidential campaign and Vinick meets with Frost out on the trail. Santos pulls a stunt which leads to higher approval ratings and jolts the Vinick camp. Vinick and Santos try to kick each other politically while they focus on their messages of the week.
Margaret is interrogated at a hearing held by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence; Santos deflects religious questions onto Vinick; Someone gives C.J. intelligence information; a Palestinian leader is assassinated and Bartlet wants to attend the funeral despite security concerns. Also, we learn Margaret's last name.
The White House is trying to cope with the revelation of the identity of the leaker and Babish's questioning of Toby convinces him that he must get his lawyer. Lou persuades Josh to get Santos to clean house with his campaign staff. Kate finally reaches Charles Frost and confronts him about what he told to C.J. and a few other things about his personality in general. The Bartlets hear Ellie's heapful of "good" and "bad" news.
Donna is back and she's working for the Santos/McGarry campaign, but not for Josh. An attack ad on Santos by a pro-life group puts Vinick in a corner when Santos demands Vinick renounce it but Vinick knows that if he does it will offend the G.O.P. leadership.
Santos and Vinick battle it out in primetime live. Forrest Saywer the moderator poses questions and attempts to ensure that the candidates remain within bounds. Ellen DeGeneres guest hosts the show on behalf of American Express and their new credit card.
Lou and Santos run into trouble on the road when they try to pick up a family's vote; their child was shot by a Latino police officer. Also, CJ must manage a crisis between China and Kazakhstan.
Santos is working on campaign strategy, Ellie's getting married, Abbey is welcoming guests, Bartlet's making jokes, China and Kazahkstan are about to go to war, Carol makes an appearance, and Josh may get fired.
All eyes are looking forward to the Leo McGarry/Ray Sullivan Vice Presidential debate. Meanwhile, Santos is trying not to catch his children's cold and he visits his home in Texas and continues to campaign. Jorge Santos, the Congressman's brother, may cause some problems at a gathering.
The Westins visit Washington and Doug is keeping a secret from Liz that many other senior staffers already know about. C.J. tries to make a deal with the French to try to handle a problem in the Sudan. Gail is in trouble. Josh asks Will for a little help with the campaign. C.J. and Danny go out to dinner and talk like good old friends and C.J. likens men to salmon while dealing with a waitress who is not all that fond of her.
Bartlet must deal with the possibility of a nuclear explosion in California, Kate is keeping a careful watch on the election in Kazakhstan and China's response, Will is acting as the government's voice this week, and Josh is trying to keep his political version of Tourette's in check.
After the near-nuclear disaster at the power plant the polls show surprising, or maybe not so surprising, results for both candidates. The Vinick camp gears up for backlash while the Santos camp hopes for cause to celebrate. Meanwhile Bartlet is still trying to keep the situation in Central Asia under control. Relationships in the Santos campaign, the Vinick campaign, and the West Wing all undergo changes and Vinick and Bartlet attempt to deal with different versions of the cold.
There are only two weeks left before Election Day and both candidates must make difficult choices at a time when they are both extremely tired. Vinick meets a famous athlete who greets him with a welcome that sings possible campaign trouble. Santos doesn't have such trouble with the athlete. Both candidates are campaigning in California with the hopes of stealing the election from the other guy in the hopes of thereby winning the election. Santos' briefcase falls into the hands of the Vinick campaign.
The Santos campaign meets up with Rock the Vote and lots of musicians are around for a star-studded episode. Helen gives a lecture to MANA (a National Latina Organization, formerly Mexican American National Association) but her heritage doesn't help her when trying to deliver part of the Santos campaign message. Toby is being pressured by the Attorney General, Blake, to reveal his source and it's affecting his relationship with his kids. He tries a little psychological warfare of his own to get Blake to back down. Toby is also giving Josh campaign advice which includes plans to increase courtship of the Latino vote. Elsewhere on the campaign trail, it's Halloween and Toby's kids and Santos' kids are dressing up for the occasion.
Election Day finally arrives, and between analyzing exit polls, and mulling over news reports, a few Santos staff members discover the joys of campaign romance. Meanwhile, C.J. ponders life after the White House; and Annabeth makes a tragic discovery.
As the polls close, and results are tallied, emotions run high as the campaign teams make last minute calls to secure undecided votes. The heart-breaking news of Leo's death sends shockwaves through the Santos camp and the Bartlet administration. Meanwhile, Vinick disagrees with his campaign team on a number of issues, including their reaction to Leo's death. The long, razor-thin election campaign is finally over and the new President of the United States of America is declared. It's a sad day for all as Bartlet and his current staff, as well as some friends from the past, come together for Leo's funeral. And now President-Elect Matthew Santos must choose a new Vice President. C.J. and Danny enjoy a touching moment, and Charlie offers Donna career advice.
Former series regulars, including Marlee Matlin, Mary-Louise Parker, Tim Matheson, Anna Deavere Smith and Gary Cole, make guest appearances as Bartlet, Santos and their staff members attend a funeral for one of their own. Also, Josh cautions Santos about getting involved in the vote for Speaker of the House.
Former cast member Rob Lowe returns as a senior political official in this episode, which finds Bartlet and his staff making the transition as easy as possible for the president-elect, who discovers some unpleasant realities about his new job. Meanwhile, a stressed-out Josh realizes that he may need to take some time off after he reaches his breaking point.
While Santos is busy trying to select a new vice president, his wife finds her new responsibilities staggering. Meanwhile, Vinick ponders his next move.
C.J. and Will both face uncertain futures as Bartlet and his staffers prepare to leave the White House to make way for the Santos administration.
After seven seasons of the Award-winning drama series, the Bartlet Administration prepares to leave the White House and The West Wing. While Santos and his winning camp are nervously gearing up for the presidential inauguration, current President Bartlet (Martin Sheen), CJ (Allison Janney) and the others fondly look back as they prepare to leave the White House forever.