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Recapped by LTG · Aired 03-29-2005

Bingo Bob is sitting in a hotel room, watching the Republican Convention on television. On screen, Congressman Gibson of Michigan is giving a speech attacking the Bartlet administration's handling of the economy. One of the best things about this episode is how well they nailed the look and sound of these convention speeches. Speakers at political conventions have adopted a style that you rarely see in other political contexts, and never outside of politics. It generally involves stretching a metaphor until it screams, usually accompanied by either a single line repeated periodically, or a call-and-response with the audience. (And if you're Al Gore in 1992, all three.) Politicians on this show often give great speeches, but they rarely sound like real politicians when they do so. But these convention speeches are spot-on. Donna knocks on the door to let Bingo Bob know that the governor is there to see him. Bob tells her to let him in, and Governor Bundy enters the room. After some chit-chat, Bob and Bundy sit down to talk. Bob tells Bundy that he thinks it's crucial that, after the first ballot at the Democratic convention, people come together around a consensus nominee. Bundy and I both think that's pretty unlikely. Russell thinks that the right ticket could create consensus. Bundy points out that there's press speculation that Bob will offer the Veep spot to Santos. Russell agrees that it would make sense, but also thinks they need to think about regional balance. Which is code for having someone from the northeast on the ticket, since Russell is from Colorado. Bundy thinks that Pennsylvania could be in play because Vinick is popular there. From what I read in the forums, Vinick is pretty popular everywhere. Bob tells Bundy that he wants to do everything he can to make sure the state sticks with the Dems. They leave that hanging in the air while Bob gets a drink for Bundy. On the television, Governor Reed of Ohio has taken the podium. He's punctuating his speech with cries of "eight is enough."

Josh is watching the same speech as he sits at the bar of a hotel. Will walks up behind him. They critique the speech, Josh accusing the speaker of "boiling [his] message down to the title of a bad TV show." Will cautions Josh against criticizing the show -- apparently, he had a crush on the mom: "She seemed knowing." Josh points out that she had eight kids, and Will thinks she may not have been too knowing about birth control. So wait, did Will have a crush on Diana Hyland, the original mother who only appeared in four episodes before dying of cancer, or did he have a crush on Betty Buckley, who was the stepmother? And now all the other recappers are going to mock me for knowing so much about the show. (By the way, I just checked the IMDb entry on the show, and the eight kids have only three acting credits between them since 1989. Mark Hamill was lucky he dodged that bullet.) Josh claims that he hasn't really been watching the speeches.

C.J. is working at her desk while watching the speech on television. The conventioneers are chanting "eight is enough" in response to the speaker's questions.

We get a quick shot of Annabeth and Toby also watching the speech. The chanting continues.

Leo and Charlie are watching in Leo's office. You know, if they're all just going to sit around and watch this, they should at least get together and do it in a more comfortable place. Maybe pop some corn, mix up a pitcher of margaritas. Just because some jackholes are criticizing your boss is no reason to make yourselves miserable. Charlie's cell phone rings, although he doesn't actually answer it -- he just reads the text message that pops up on the screen. (Which, with my crappy reception, looks like "????.") Charlie tells Leo that it's someone he's meeting later. Leo suggests that it's not good to keep a lady waiting, and Charlie tells him, "It's good for her." Oh man, Charlie's turned into a Rules Boy. Charlie still has that static on his face. (I'm told by the cable company that I will definitely have cable by fall, so I only have to suffer through the static for one more episode. Because once I get rid of the rabbit ears, there will definitely be none of that shit on Charlie's face. Right? Right?)

Back at the hotel bar, Josh and Will are sitting together and watching the speech. Josh asks why Will wanted to see him. Will says, "I have a proposition."

Cut to Josh bursting into the Santos suite. He's there to confess, I know it. Look, Josh, as long as nothing happened, you don't have to feel guilty about someone other than Santos coming on to you. In the suite, Ronna is watching the speech. Josh walks up to the door of the bedroom, and Ronna tries to stop him just as he throws open the door and walks into the bedroom. Where Santos and Helen are just starting to get busy. First of all, lock the door. Second of all, why did Ronna know what was going on? Did they announce before they left the room that they needed fifteen minutes alone? And third of all, the door to the bedroom is just frosted glass. How desperate do Santos and Helen have to be to start going at it while the campaign staff is just on the other side of that door? Or maybe that's what it takes for them to get going. Maybe they want to get caught. I'll definitely be hoping for a Santos victory if it means we'll be treated to scenes of the two of them going at it in the Cabinet Room or the Rose Garden.

Helen climbs out from under Santos as Josh walks in the room. He apologizes, but Santos tells him, "My time is your time." Certainly your make-out time is Josh's time. And don't you forget it. Helen starts to leave (as she's buttoning up her blouse), but Josh tells her to stick around. Josh tells them both that Russell is prepared to name Santos as the Veep nominee if he will release his convention delegates. Credits.

We return to the same scene. Santos and Helen both seem a bit dumsquizzled by the offer. Josh tells them that the Santos campaign has been given until Thursday to make a decision. Helen immediately says, "We don't need it. Tell them we pass." Santos is less certain. Santos asks Josh what he thinks, and Josh points out that Russell is trying to act like the front-runner. Santos points out that Russell is the front-runner, but Helen thinks that Bob's seventy-eight delegate lead is not so impressive. She tells Santos, "You've got all the momentum." Just be thankful that he doesn't have Joe-mentum. Because that stuff will kill a campaign faster than you can say "accommodationist." They hash through the various arguments for and against accepting the offer. It would avoid a messy floor fight, but would also make the convention dull and...well, conventional. Josh thinks that the best argument in favor is that it would set Santos up as the front-runner in four or eight years. Helen thinks that if Vinick destroys Russell, Santos would be tainted by association. She thinks he wouldn't be able to "run for dogcatcher." Josh doesn't think that anyone runs for dogcatcher anymore, and Helen tells him her "dad ran for dogcatcher." Josh asks if that's really true, and Santos looks at Helen and loudly says, "No!" Heh. I love how she's gotten so into it that she's willing to invent stuff just to make Josh look wrong. Santos and Helen are pretty much arguing with each other by now, ignoring Josh. He tells them that he'll let them sleep on it. As he walks out of the room, Santos asks him, "It's getting pretty real now, isn't it?" What, winning California wasn't real enough for you? Josh thinks this is as real as it gets.

Russell's on the phone in his suite when Will enters. He quickly hangs up and asks how the conversation went. Will points out that the Santos camp hasn't responded yet, but Russell wants to know how Josh reacted to the offer, and what he might recommend to Santos. Will asks Donna what she thinks, and she looks surprised until a Sphinx-like smile forms on her face. Will tells her, "I'm not asking you to betray king and country." No, he's asking her to betray lust and desire. I think. I mean, I have a vague recollection that Josh and Donna used to be into each other, but it's been so long since they even shared a scene that I might be misremembering. She shrugs and tells them that she has no idea. Bob and Will both think Santos would be a fool not to take the offer, and then they discuss Russell's conversation with Bundy. I love how Will is not at all subtle as he checks to make sure that Russell did not explicitly offer the Veep spot to Bundy. He has absolutely no faith in his own candidate's abilities. Donna thinks that they have a win-win situation, and Bob pronounces it "a good day."

Morning in the West Wing. C.J. is pedeconferencing with Charlie. She tells him to get all of the economics-related government agencies (Treasury, Commerce, OMB, etc.) to respond to the bashing of Bartlet's economic record in the night's speeches. As they walk, Kate slides up behind them and says, "Hey." C.J. calls back, "is for horses." Wow, I didn't realize that my eleven-year-old niece got a job on the show's writing staff. Way to go, Jaime! Kate is there to tell them that something is wrong with the International Space Station: "It's losing oxygen." Kate tells C.J. that she has "a" NASA administrator who wants to see Jed. I think that there is only one NASA Administrator, because it's an Administration. C.J. tells her that Jed is unavailable, so Kate should bring "the" administrator to her office. Kate leaves, with C.J. telling her that she'll see her later, alligator.

Leo enters the Communications pool and says hello to Toby. They discuss the Bartlet bashing at the Convention. Toby rightly points out that the Republicans are confident that the nominee will be Russell, and they're trying to tie him to Bartlet's record. There's a little bit of discussion about how organized the Republicans seem in comparison to the Democrats. As Leo leaves, he tells Toby, "Four nights of Swiss-watch precision. We get a pie fight." In a while, crocodile.

Jed is in the Office of O, meeting with the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. The DNC Chair is played by total "Hey! It's that Guy!" Mark Taylor, who I most often see in movies on the Disney Channel. Maybe Jaime got him the gig. And if you're a fan of Mr. Taylor, you can see him twice this coming week. According to IMDb, on Friday he'll be appearing on Joan of Arcadia, and on Sunday he can be seen on Desperate Housewives in the role of Mrs. Steinberg. Really, that's what it says. Mrs. Steinberg is complaining to Jed about the behavior of the Democratic candidates and their representatives, calling them children and infants who throw tantrums, and complaining that he's been reduced to babysitting. The bit dialogue clearly came from Jaime's own personal experience, as Mrs. Steinberg repeats the litany of whining he's getting from the different camps: "They have more floor passes. We need a bigger room in the hall. We don't like this hotel, we want their hotel." Jed clearly thinks that Mrs. Steinberg is whining himself. Mrs. Steinberg tells Jed that he's reached the end of his power as the nanny. Jed: "We may be in danger of overextending the metaphor." Mrs. Steinberg looks him square in the eye and says, "We need daddy to step in." Jed looks like he'd like to take his cane to Mrs. Steinberg's backside. And not in a good way.

C.J. is getting a briefing on the space station situation from the NASA Administrator and Kate. The basic problem is that the station will run out of oxygen in about three weeks, and there is no way that either NASA nor the Russian space agency can put together a launch in that amount of time. This is where they could have told us that something had gone wrong with the Soyuz space capsule that is always docked with the space station as an emergency escape vehicle. But they didn't. So we just have to assume the writers didn't do the tiniest bit of research. As the Administrator discusses the reasons that the shuttle can't be gotten ready in time, he refers to it as "the civilian shuttle." C.J. wonders what the hell he's talking about. Kate gives him a death glance, and he asks if they can speak with Jed.

In the Santos suite, Josh, Ronna, and Santos are eating takeout while they work. And I'm sorry, but is the campaign so broke that they couldn't afford a little room service? Josh tells Santos that if he accepts Russell's offer, they would announce it immediately after the Republican convention, as a way to "blunt the bounce" (as Santos puts it). Santos thinks that's pretty smart, and wonders why they're not so smart. By which I think he means, why isn't Josh so smart. Josh says that he's kicking himself for not thinking to offer the Veep spot to Russell first. Ronna thinks they didn't offer it to him because they want someone better than Russell, and Santos points out that Russell does have more delegates than they do. May I point out the real reason they didn't offer Russell the Veep spot? He's already the Vice-President! How insulting would it be to offer him the same crappy job he's had for the last three years? I can't imagine any circumstances under which a current Vice-President would accept the nomination to be the running mate of someone else. ["Don't make me go get your collar, L." -- Wing Chun] Ronna starts to run through all the things that might have happened slightly differently that would have put Santos in the lead by a few delegates, and Josh cuts her off, saying "If wishes, horses, etc." Ronna goes off on him, asking if that comes from a Bob Dylan song: "Guys your age have this thing about Dylan." I want to go off on Ronna for not knowing that it's a nursery rhyme, but I'm too happy with her for reminding Josh that he's a guy his age. Santos points out that they're offering him a bird in the hand (and Josh asks Ronna if she knows that reference), and I think it's a pretty crappy bird. Santos is being given the absolute chance to be the running mate of a man who is absolutely guaranteed to lose. Ronna wonders why they don't try to work something out with Hoynes, but Josh thinks he still harbors fantasies of getting the nomination for himself: "Somewhere in the back of his deeply deluded political mind he imagines, 'deadlocked convention. Nation turns its lonely eyes to Hoynes.'" Well, I would turn my lonely eyes to him. (And Santos informs Ronna that the line comes from Simon and Garfunkel.) Josh thinks that Hoynes is "a wounded animal. He could wind up doing anything."

The phone rings, and Ronna answers it. I would love to see a scene on this show in which there are a man and a woman in a room when a phone rings and the man answers it. Because I'm not sure it ever happens. In any case, the call is for Josh -- it's Will, calling to check in. Will is sitting down to a full room-service meal. He suggests that Santos might want to meet with Bingo Bob, and Josh tells him that they'll get back to him on that. The call ends, and there's some quick cutting back and forth between the two suites. Donna and Santos each ask what happened. Will tells Donna that they're going to want to stay in touch with Baker's staff. Josh tells Santos that Will was calling to take their temperature.

Jed asks C.J. how long the astronauts have. C.J. tells him that they have less than three weeks, and then she tells him that the NASA Administrator "alluded to a non-civilian shuttle." Jed changes the subject by making a joke about Werner von Braun, and then tells C.J. that he wants hourly updates on the situation. She gets the hint, and leaves the Oval.

Santos suite. Ronna and Santos are both speaking on the phone while some staffers stand around in the background. There's a convention speaker in the background whose shtick revolves around repeating the word "left" over and over again. Josh enters the suite, gives Santos the eye, and they both saunter out. In my freshman year of college I briefly dated this closeted guy who lived in my dorm, and we used to do the same thing. It didn't fool anybody.

Out in the hotel corridor, Josh asks Santos how he's feeling. Santos tells him, "It's hard to say no to the Vice-Presidency." But perhaps easier to say no to going down in a flaming ball of defeat. ["It's all going down and flaming balls with you, isn't it?" -- Wing Chun] Santos thinks that nobody runs to come in second place, and Josh can't believe that Santos is still so naïve. But Santos points out that they didn't run to come in second place. Josh tells him that he doesn't have to respond to the offer for a couple of more days. Josh puts his hand on Santos's shoulder and they wish each other goodnight. And then they walk off in opposite directions. As Josh walks away, Santos turns and checks out Josh's ass one last time before going back into the suite. Commercials.

Josh is in the hotel bar, watching Governor Sullivan, the Republican Veep nominee, give a convention speech. Sullivan starts talking about how "the body politic is ailing," and Josh says to himself, "You're not going there." Sullivan continues, talking about how U.S. business is paralyzed. Donna walks up behind Josh as Sullivan says that the U.S. possesses "just a shadow of [its] former strength." So once again two campaigns just happen to be staying at the same hotel. What a contrivance. Uh, I mean "coincidence." She asks Josh if Sullivan is doing what she thinks he is, and as Sullivan says that the U.S. is "stumbling from foreign crisis to foreign crisis," she answers her own question: "He's invoking the MS." Josh thinks it will backfire (just like I once thought nobody would vote for a moron who looks like a chimp), and Donna thinks that people might not get the reference. And then Sullivan says that "[something] is so clogged with complications, it's positively sclerotic." Donna thinks that people will get that. Sullivan goes into the call-and-response portion of the speech, telling the crowd, "I am sick and tired of being sick and tired." Josh practically launches himself across the bar as he shouts out to Sullivan, "You're going to hell!" Jaime better not have written that line -- her mother would wash her mouth out with soap for using that kind of language. Donna suggests that they go sit some place where everyone won't be staring at them. By which she means, staring at him.

By LTG

It's morning in the Sit Room. C.J. asks for an update on the space station. Essentially, things are unchanged, and engineers on the ground are working hard to find a way to locate and stop the oxygen leak. C.J. tells them, "Should these efforts fail, I don't particularly relish the idea of dead astronauts floating weightless in some spaceship sarcophagus." She looks square at Secretary of Defense Hutchinson as she asks what options there are for rescue. He not-so-deftly passes the question on to NASA. C.J.'s not giving up, though -- she points out that Department of Defense space program expenditures for the year came to $22.9 billion ($7 billion more than NASA's budget). Kate and Hutchinson start running down a list of rinky-dink projects they claim ate up that entire sum. C.J. comes out and asks Hutchinson if there's a military space shuttle, and he rephrases it as a "reusable launch vehicle." He and Kate review the theoretical benefits of a theoretical space bomber that theoretically might or might not exist. I think C.J. should theoretically kick Hutchinson's ass.

Annabeth is having a little coffee klatch with some reporters. Someone asks if there's a contingency plan to rescue the astronauts, and Annabeth tells them that the question should be raised with NASA. Someone else asks if there's a response to all the Bartlet-bashing going on at the Republican convention, and Annabeth says that she's not sure anyone is watching it. This claim is met with some skepticism, and Annabeth tells them, "We have a country to misrun." She tells them that she got the gist of the speeches, which was "Republican good, Democrat bad." Our old pal Greg Brock (who seems to have visited Bingo Bob's barber -- he's sporting a very unfortunate haircut) asks if there's any comment on the contrast between the Republican's well-oiled machine and the expected chaos at the Democratic convention. Annabeth tells him that it will give the voters a chance to decide whether "they want to be governed by people who are animated, or animatronic." I'm sorry, I just started thinking of a potential government made up of people who are animated. Iron Giant for Secretary of Defense!

Non-Debbie tells Jed that Abbey has returned from her trip, and that Leo is there to see him. Leo enters and asks Jed how he's feeling. Jed's been using his vocabulary builder flash cards -- he tells Leo that he's "vexed, riled, irked....Ticked, honked, pissed." Leo tells him he can't take the Republican convention personally. Jed tells Leo that Mrs. Steinberg needs help corralling in the Democrats in advance of their convention. And then Jed dumps the job on Leo. He tells him to get representatives of all three candidates in to lay down some ground rules and set the tone: "A floor fight doesn't have to devolve into a brawl." They talk about the rumors of a Russell/Santos ticket. Leo thinks it would be good for the Democrats, because having a Latino from Texas on the ticket could put some states into play that might otherwise be considered a sure thing for the Republicans. Jed tells him that he would like it if, by the end of the convention, it doesn't just seem as though the Democratic nominee is "the last clown standing."

By LTG

The White House, late at night. A door opens into a dark space, and Zoey sticks her head out to look around. And then she opens the door all the way to reveal Charlie standing there in her bedroom, mostly dressed (his shirt is untucked, and he's holding his jacket in his arm). May I just say, woohoo! They wish each other goodnight, and give each other an appropriately lengthy and moist-sounding kiss. Charlie steps out into the hallway of the Residence, and Zoey's door shuts. And then Charlie hears the voice of doom. Or at least, the voice of Jed: "Evening, Charlie." Charlie turns around and sees Jed standing in the corridor in his pajamas and bathrobe. Charlie is speechless. Jed, of course, is not. He tells Charlie that hearing all the Republican bullshit left him unable to sleep, which made him want to take a late-night stroll: "So it's really the Republicans' fault that we're caught in this terribly embarrassing situation." See, that's a sharp political mind at work -- everything is the Republicans' fault, if you think about it hard enough. Jed thinks that they should just pretend the whole thing never happened, and Charlie's not sure how he would be able to do that. Jed tells him they should give it a shot. They wish each other goodnight (no long wet kiss, though). And then Jed hobbles off back to bed.

Will is in the Roosevelt Room. Josh enters the room and sits to him, telling him that the Post has the story about Russell's offer to Santos. They each accuse the other of having leaks in their campaigns. Leo enters and thanks them for coming, telling them that Jed has asked him to take the lead in organizing the campaign in the absence of a nominee. And then he asks if the rumors that he's heard that there might be a nominee soon are true. Will: "We hope so." Josh: "It's under respectful consideration." Leo tells them that the White House is neutral, but that nobody "would be opposed to avoiding a primetime display of disharmony and dysfunction." Leo tells them that they'll wait for the Hoynes representative, and Will wonders why they even invited him. Josh points out that Hoynes has 956 delegates, and Will responds that he still has no chance for the nomination. At that exact moment (of course), Dylan Clark, the Hoynes representative, enters the room. He thanks Will for the "dispassionate assessment" of the Hoynes campaign. Clark asks Josh if Santos is going to accept Russell's offer, and Josh tells him that they're mulling it over. Clark tells him that being Veep sucks, as both Russell and Hoynes would probably agree. Leo cuts them off and tells them, "This is exactly what we don't want on prime-time TV."

Leo tells the campaign managers that they need to select a convention chair. He hands them a list of candidates from which they have to find someone who is mutually acceptable. Jaime clearly wrote this scene after a long car ride with her sisters -- the three of them immediately start picking at each other over the names on the list. Pick, pick, pick. Poke, poke, poke. Pinch, pinch, pinch. Leo threatens to turn the car right around, and tells them that they should shut up and just cross off the names that their campaign would reject. Will asks for a day, and Leo threatens to get his belt. After a few seconds of furious crossing out, Josh and Clark give their sheets back to Leo. Will takes his time, and only gives it back when Leo gives the kind of deep sigh that suggests that grounding might be in the future. Leo tells them that he'll look over the lists and see if there are any names they all decided to keep. He's prepared to end the meeting when Josh says that they need to discuss the issue of floor position. If you're going to do it on the floor, I recommend avoiding any position that involves being on your hands and knees, because those rug burns are murd-- Oh, that's not what he meant, is it? Josh wants California near the front, to counteract the notion that Vinick has the state locked up. Will rejects that idea, because Santos won California. And it goes on from there. Snip, snip, snip. Snipe, snipe, snipe. Snape, Snape, Snape. Well, no Snape -- but I kind of wish that he had shown up to whip the three of them into shape. I think Leo would just like it if Snape showed up and turned him into a frog so he could skip the rest of the meeting.

Charlie and the static enter the Office of O. Jed has asked to see him. Jed tells him that Charlie was right, and that they can't just ignore what happened the night. Charlie tells Jed that he doesn't want to sneak around the White House anymore -- he wants to see more of Zoey: "More...time with her. Spent together. Being together. And such." Jed tells Charlie that the President's daughter can't move in with somebody, and that Charlie certainly can't move into the White House. Charlie says that he was already aware of that, and Jed is confused -- he's not sure what Charlie is trying to suggest. And then Jed gets a look on his face and asks, "Are you, uh, talking about...?" Charlie slowly says, "Ah, yes sir?" Jed: "You want to make an honest woman out of her?" Charlie immediately says, "No, Mr. President. That's not it at all." Well then, what the hell is it? Charlie goes on, telling Jed, "We've been sleeping together for kind of a while." Smooth, Mr. Young. Very smooth. Jed suggests that Charlie quit while he's ahead, and Charlie starts to walk out. He turns back, looks thoughtful for a second, and asks Jed, "Sir, would I have your blessing?" This is where I was hoping that Jed would tell him that if he wanted his blessing, he was going to have to shave of that facial hair. I mean, static. But no go. Jed tells Charlie that he's not the Bartlet whose opinion matters at the moment.

Leo exits the meeting in the Roosevelt Room. In the hallway, he sees Josh walking in the opposite direction and calls out for him. As they walk toward Leo's office, Leo tells him that the kind of fighting he just witnessed is exactly what they don’t want. Josh tells him that it will be entertaining, but Leo thinks that entertaining is not what they're going for. By this time, they've arrived at Leo's office. As he closes the door, he tells Josh, "You need to take the VP deal." Josh tells him that they're considering it, but Leo tells him that they've got to take it. Leo thinks that helping the party now will ensure that Santos gets a lot of support in the future. Josh: "That future could be now." Leo thinks the idea of a three-term Congressman beating Vinick is ludicrous. Josh doesn't think Russell could do any better, and Leo doesn't disagree with him. But he does think that Santos will be shooting himself in the foot if people come out of this race thinking that Santos contributed to Russell's loss by making the convention chaotic.

Office of O. Jed is getting a briefing on the space station. The spacewalk was not successful, and it depleted overall oxygen reserves by a couple of hours (based on the high level of exertion of the astronauts performing the spacewalk). Jed says that there's a decision to be made, and Hutchinson thinks that "the security concerns outweigh the consequences." C.J. wonders if they can't use the military vehicle without necessarily revealing its existence. The flaw with that plan is that one of the astronauts on board the station is actually a cosmonaut, and if he (or she) were rescued by the top-secret vehicle, he would reveal its existence to his own government. So I guess I should stop calling them "astronauts." How about spacemen? No, that's no good -- they may very well be women. Spacepeople it is, then. C.J. thinks that they should own up to the fact that everyone else assumes the U.S. has some kind of military space vehicle, so there would be no great harm in confirming that assumption. Hutchinson gets snippy, suggesting that we should give a formal tour to the Chinese and the Russians and then see if Israel wants to let Iran tour its nuclear weapons facilities. Jed shuts him up, and then says that he needs more time. The meeting ends.

By LTG

Santos and Josh are in an elevator, going down. I mean, the elevator is going down. Not, you know, the other thing. Santos asks Josh, "Mad at me?" Josh tells him he's not. Santos asks, "Disappointed?" Josh looks at him, love in his eyes (I know you all saw it), and says, "Proud, I think." Santos reminds Josh that he's got a tough conversation coming, but Josh doesn't think it will be so tough. And then he says, "Yeah, I do." You know, I think these two crazy kids might just make it after all.

Toby watches Sullivan introduce Vinick on a monitor. Annabeth joins him. We see a shot of C.J. watching, and then Leo and Jed watching in the Residence. Vinick accepts the nomination, and then he goes on to talk about how great Jed Bartlet is, and how much the nation owes to him. Leo looks at Jed and says, "Nice, what he said about you." Jed: "Yeah, the bastard." I think Jed's kind of joking when he calls Vinick a bastard, but I'm kind of not. He's the undisputed nominee of his party -- if he thought it was wrong to personally attack Bartlet, he could easily have made sure the other speakers toed the line. If they felt free to go ahead and bash the man, it was because the person at the top of their ticket gave them, at the very least, tacit approval. By the way, there's a newscrawl on the bottom of the screen during the speech. Let's see what else is going on in the world today: Swedish women rejecting motherhood; Hungary welcomes new Prime Minister; South Africa ignores threats for mass political boycotts; China confirms bird flu in pigs; India develops non-lethal skunk bomb; more accurate colon cancer test found; Europe pitches in against western fires; and Bali terror suspect pleads not guilty. There was also something about a Scottish serial killer, but we never got to see the end of it. So the Haggis Slayer was either apprehended, or is still on the loose. Be careful, all you bonnie lads and lassies.

The speech has apparently finished, making it the shortest acceptance speech in known history. Toby and Annabeth are still in his office. He thinks that Vinick has positioned himself as Bartlet's heir, and that he managed to make Santos and Russell both look like puny dwarves.

In the Residence, the phone rings. Jed answers, and then tells Leo that Josh is there to see him. The two men stand up, and as Leo prepares to leave, Jed tells him, "We start working to beat this guy right now."

Josh is leaning against the wall outside Leo's office. Toby walks by, and through some completely preverbal grunting communicates curiosity at Josh's presence. Josh tells him that he's there to speak with Leo, and Toby just grunts again as he drops a piece of paper on a desk and walks away. As Toby gets to the door, Josh tells him, "Could've used you out there." Toby looks at him and says, "Did okay without me." Josh makes the hurt-puppy-dog eyes he's so good at and tells Toby, "It's not the same." Toby just says "Good luck," and walks away. I found that exchange at least as painful as the fight.

Leo enters through an outside door. He asks if Josh saw Vinick's speech, and when Josh tells him he didn't, remarks that he's probably better off for having missed it. They walk into the Mural Room. Josh rips the bandage off all in one go: "Santos turned Russell down." Leo says, "Okay," and Josh wonders if that's not just a touch too mellow. Leo tells Josh to get Santos to change his mind, and Josh tells him, "It doesn't work like that." Suddenly, Leo has turned into the Emperor from Star Wars. He tells Josh that it does work like that, and when Josh lets Leo know that he told Santos to find a way to say yes, Leo just says, "You find it for him." Josh says, "You're not hearing me," and Leo replies, "You're not hearing me." I think I detect Jaime's hand in this scene. Leo tells Josh that Santos's magical mystery tour is over, and that it's time for him to return to reality and accept the Veep nomination. Josh is mustering up all his will to resist Leo, telling him, "It's not gonna happen." Leo tells him to make it happen, for Jed and for the party. Josh tells him that Santos "is twice the man that Russell is on his best day." And Josh would know. Leo, his dark powers temporarily defeated, tells Josh that he'll let Jed know, and then he walks from the room.

Annabeth runs into Toby's office. He's on the phone, and as he hangs up, he tells her, "You have to quit, and then get rehired. Leo wants you in California..." Presumably to do some kind of campaign or convention-related work. She cuts him off and tells him that Brock is releasing a story in the Times about the military space shuttle that is not being used to rescue the spacepeople. She thinks the paper would never publish the story without assurance that it was supported, which means that whoever leaked it was quite a high mucky-muck.

Cut to C.J., watching the Republican Convention wrap up on a monitor. Ominous music plays as the camera circles around her. I think she's stroking a long-haired white cat. Credits.

By LTG

Santos and Russell sit across from each other at a round table by a window. They congratulate each other on their hard-fought campaigns. Russell tells Santos that he can't think of a better way to take on Vinick than to have both their names on the ticket. Santos agrees, and asks, "So, you want to flip a coin?" Russell freezes up for a second, and then laughs at the preposterous notion that he would agree to be Veep. Bingo Bob tells Santos that if Santos were Bob's Veep, he would have a substantive role, and would be a partner in governing the country. He goes on to say that it's not the relationship he would envision with "a lesser man," but that he thinks he can have that relationship with Santos because Santos is "capable and bright." It's good to know that other potential Veep candidates are either incompetent or stupid (or both). And maybe this is just me, but I think Russell's words here just drip condescension. He confirms my view by going on to tell Santos that he's sure there are things he can learn from Santos, just as he's sure there are things Santos can learn from Russell. I can just see the bile rising in Santos's gorge while Russell is speaking. The music is getting tense, so I suspect something dramatic is about to happen.

And it does! The door of Russell's room opens, and Santos strides out. He thanks Will and Donna and then tells Josh to walk with him. His body language is totally defiant. Russell just stands there in the doorway, and slowly puts his hands in his pockets like a chastised little boy.

By LTG

Cut to C.J., watching the Republican Convention wrap up on a monitor. Ominous music plays as the camera circles around her. I think she's stroking a long-haired white cat. Credits.

West Wing TV Show - Stop Slouching! Stand Up Straight! - West Wing Photos &amp; Videos, West Wing Reviews &amp; West Wing Recaps | TWoP

West Wing TV Show - Stop Slouching! Stand Up Straight! - West Wing Photos & Videos, West Wing Reviews & West Wing Recaps | TWoP