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Previously, on The West Wing -- the whole last season. But we finished with Santos and Leo as the Democratic nominees for President and Vice-President, and Arnold Vinick as the Republican nominee. Oh, and somebody in the White House leaked the existence of a top-secret military space shuttle to the press, presumably in an effort to guilt Jed into ordering that the shuttle be used to rescue some astronauts and cosmonauts who are stranded in space. But you already knew that.
A subtitle welcomes us to "three years later." Ooooh, the future. Maybe there'll be some flying cars or personal jet packs. Well, maybe not in just three years. But I bet clothing and hair styles have changed some. We see a distinguished, white-haired gentlemen walking (with the aid of a cane) through an empty but utterly gorgeous library reading room. Another subtitle informs us that we're at the "Dedication to the Josiah Bartlet Presidential Library." Wait, "dedication to?" Doesn't anyone edit these things? The white-haired gentleman is Jed, by the way. He's followed in Bill Clinton's footsteps and lost the Just for Men look he's been sporting in the last couple of seasons. I had thought that Jed was planning on installing his library in an abandoned mill building, but the ornate ceiling in that reading room doesn't look like it was ever part of a factory. And then Jed walks up to some of the old gang. We see Danny (standing with his hand on C.J.'s back), C.J., Toby, Kate, Charlie, and Will. Not only have clothing styles not changed, but every character (other than Jed) has exactly the same hairstyle as in the present. C.J. greets Jed with a kiss on the cheek, and we learn that she's living in Santa Monica. Jed looks at C.J. and Danny and tells them that Abby wants a picture of the baby. Danny points out that he emailed one, but Jed wants one that he can stick on the refrigerator. Jed greets Toby, who thanks Jed for the invitation. Toby is apparently teaching at Columbia University. Or running drugs in Colombia. Or maybe he's playing forward for the Fighting Gamecocks at the University of South Carolina (in Columbia, natch). Any of those could be true from the context. Jed has read Kate's recently published book, but Charlie dismisses the book as a load of hogwash. Charlie also congratulates Jed on something he recently did in Jakarta. And Will is now a member of Congress. And that's the wrap-up on "Where are they now." And then Josh walks up to let everyone know that "the President" has arrived.
Outside the library, the presidential motorcade pulls up. Jed and company emerge to greet the unnamed leader of the free world. The President steps out of his limo, but before we can see anything, we cut to credits.
After the commercials, a subtitle welcomes us to Brayburn College, in Michigan, where a large crowd has gathered and is waiving Santos/McGarry signs. Another title tells us that it's "three years earlier." In other words, the present. It's also 105 days until election day, which puts us in late July. A motorcade pulls up, and Santos and Helen emerge from an SUV and start working the rope line. Josh is standing outside a building toward which Santos and Helen are slowly making their way. Bram (sigh) welcomes Josh back and hands him a few copies of Time magazine with Santos on the cover (along with the caption "President Santos?"). Bram also asks, "Is it out yet?" "It" is not yet out. Bram gives Josh an update on the past day's activity: apparently, reporters keep asking questions about Leo, which is pissing Santos off. Josh thinks Bram has been slacking off because he has so little to report, but Bram reminds Josh that Santos is basically just giving the same speech over and over again.
Another motorcade, at the Port of Philadelphia. This time it's Leo who emerges from an SUV, accompanied by Annabeth. They go over some schedule changes (the purpose of which is to inform us that Leo is being cut out of a policy phone call in order to make another campaign appearance). Annabeth also corrects Leo on the pronunciation of Santos's name. Leo's been pronouncing it with an "ah" sound, which Annabeth tells him would be correct in Mexico. But Santos (as we've all heard over and over) pronounces it with a flatter, more American "a" sound (kind of like the cities of San Diego and San Antonio). They do a little more vowel sound comedy (which sounds similar to, but is quite unlike, bowel sound comedy), and then Annabeth tells Leo that "it's" not out yet. He points out that he hadn't asked, and she responds, "No, but you wanted to." But Leo reminds her that she wouldn't have told him even if it were out: "Because I'm about to go on stage and you feel it's your responsibility to manage my mood, which it isn't." Man, I wish I had somebody who would follow me around and manage my mood. Annabeth reminds him that she left a great job in order to follow him around and be abused. Leo thinks that, with all of his experience, he doesn't need her to babysit him. Annabeth: "You most certainly do. Just because you've trained a Preakness jockey doesn't mean you know how to sit a horse."
Back in Michigan, Ronna asks Josh if "it's" out yet. It still isn't. And then Ned walks up and asks the same thing. Maybe it's just this scene, with Bram, Ronna, and Ned all having practically the same lines, but the writers have got to start doing something to make these three characters more distinctive. You can take any line from any one of them and give it to any other without changing the episode in the tiniest bit. If they're going to be with us in every campaign episode, they need real personalities. In any case, faced with their persistent demand for "it," Josh gives them all a lecture: "This is one poll. Yes, it is a Gallup poll. Yes, it is our first public polling data. Absolutely, it will shape our message and our strategy. But it will not change the fact that four days out of the convention, the Santos/McGarry ticket is incredibly strong and poised for victory. The Congressman's not worried about it, I'm not worried about it: everybody should just stop worrying about it." And then Santos walks up to them and asks, "Is it out yet?" Heh. Josh tells him that it's not out yet, and then they go over the schedule for the day. They're heading to D.C. for a one-day visit the new headquarters so that Santos can meet the department heads. While they're there, Josh will be interviewing for new staff. Helen asks how many positions he has to fill. Oh, Helen, behave. Josh surprises even me when he tells her "ninety." Josh points out a restroom to Santos, who decides that it would be a good idea to hit the head. Helen asks Josh if he doesn't think he's micromanaging. I think she's talking about the fact that Josh is doing all of the interviews himself, but Josh thinks she's talking about telling Santos when it's time to go potty, because he responds, "He went, didn't he?" Josh's hair, by the way, is enormously poofy -- he's approaching Ronald McDonald proportions. He's also wearing sunglasses that have clear plastic frames and dark lenses. It's not a good look.