Lessons To Be Learned From The West Wing

If you are lucky enough to be home with ample time to kill this Thanksgiving week, chances are some channel somewhere deep in your cable package is playing a West Wing marathon. What was viewed by some at the time it aired as liberal propaganda and by others as a saving grace against the Star Report and the subsequent W. Bush years, has become a monument to patriotism, artfully delivered civics lessons, and an exceptionally well written love letter to a time that is foreign now to so many people. The show features occasionally heavy handed lessons in civics and government, via questions asked by the audience proxy characters, but the occasional overdone exposition is forgiven in the face of viewers having to do less googling, and the charming relatability of these characters, some of whom are fresh out of college. In other words, The West Wing reads less like a Liberal Democrat greatest hits album now. It is a fantastical showcase of how two parties comport themselves in pursuit of one goal- running the country, not running each other into the ground. These are the overarching themes from The West Wing, but there are specific aspects, in specific episodes, that should be paid attention to.

Crackpots, and These Women: The wonders of this episode blow me away each and every time I watch it. Not only does it show the intricacies of conducting friendships with people in the workplace with different clearance and prioritization levels, it features the first of many of what I like to call “The Great Bartlet Soliloquies.” It is the first “Big Block Of Cheese Day” (you’ll have to watch, I’m not explaining it), which displays the vital importance of hearing from the American people, no matter at what level of government. In this episode, the humanity of those working in government and why they are in public service is on full display. The writing is top notch, and the lessons that unfold from this one episode are truly invaluable. This is one of my favorite episodes in the entire series, and it comes early on, in the first half of season 1. It’s the perfect episode to hook you in and keep you sticking around for the blatant civics lessons. 

The Leadership Breakfast: In this season 2 episode, context is key but I’ll try to avoid going into too much detail. The episode focuses on a breakfast hosted at the White House for the leadership from both parties to come together for a meal and bipartisan discussion of the issues facing Americans today. The first astounding thing to take away from this is the notion that such a breakfast could exist. Groundbreaking, is what that is, but the real lesson is actually offered in the aftermath of the spirit of bipartisan cooperation the breakfast was intended to foster. The Majority Leader’s chief of staff catches Bartlet’s communications director saying something he shouldn’t about a much disputed amendment to a bill that is going to be voted on. The chief of staff gives the quote to a reporter, and during the press following the breakfast, Bartlet and his staff look like amateurs. The staff behaves, as they should for the time in which the show was made, as though the underhandedness is the dirtiest form of playing dirty, that it was sneaky, and manipulative. Their outrage is portrayed as justified, and there is the lesson. That kind of backstabbing is about as sneaky and competitive as American politics should get. If this fictional staff heard the personal attacks, childish nicknames, and absolutely foul remarks coming from the President-Elect, they would be shocked to their core. The episode provides insight on how dirty politics should be, if politics requires playing dirty at all. There were no personal remarks, only publishing for the world to hear something a staffer cannot honestly deny that he said. Sneaky, but providing transparency. Wouldn’t it be a different world if that was the very sharpest knife our political parties could point at each other? 

Indians in The Lobby: I suppose it’s only fitting that for the week of Thanksgiving, I would recommend the viewing of the episode entitled “The Indians In The Lobby.” The episode uses some dated language to discuss America’s indigenous peoples, but other than that, it is a perfect encapsulation of what we all need to remember when we gather together around a big table full of delicious food and carve a turkey. Two members of a remaining tribe come to the White House for a meeting with the head of the Department of the Interior. They’ve been waiting 15 years for approval to make use of some of the land the government had given back to them, and when they arrived for the meeting, the Department of the Interior canceled on them after they arrived. The White House Press Secretary, played by the incomparable Allison Janney, ends up spending her Thanksgiving trying to get the two tribe members a meeting with someone so that they may feel heard until she can personally see to it that they get the meeting they were supposed to have sometime after the Holiday. The dialog between the Press Secretary and the tribe members highlights the political hoops that Indigenous tribes have to jump through and how complicated the politics of Native Relations can be. As if that weren’t already the perfect makings of a Thanksgiving episode, you get to watch the President call the Butterball hotline to get instructions on how to cook stuffing without killing anyone who eats it. It balances the sobering realities of indigenous people living in America with the humor of a President who’s really just an extra smart version of a dad at a barbecue. What more could you want?

Bartlet For America: This episode comes roughly in the middle of season 3, shortly after the Indians in the Lobby, and it takes place at Christmas. Long story short, Bartlet does something he should not have done and there is an investigation from the Republicans in the House of Representatives, chiefly the oversight committee. Leo McGarry, the wonderful chief of staff, is testifying, and one of the committee members calls a recess to the hearing before one of his colleagues can ask McGarry a question that would force him to break his anonymity and discuss the details of his addiction and recovery. The Republican who calls the recess takes his colleague to task, telling him that there is no way that McGarry has been prepared by his counsel to answer questions about that, and he should never have to answer those questions even if he is prepared. The key takeaways in this current climate is that in this instance, a Democrat president was in the wrong, and a Republican congressman sticks up for his staff’s right to privacy even as an investigation is ongoing. This is such a shining example of two parties, with opposing goals, working together for the good of the country and the American people, and giving each other grace in the process. I was reminded of this moment when I saw how Congresswoman Cheney treated the staffers testifying throughout the January 6th hearings. This is something to strive for, and the friendship between McGarry and Bartlet is heartwarming on a level that may require a box of tissues. 

Posse Comitatus: This is yet another episode of the West Wing that is laden with context, not the least of which being that this episode is the season three finale, meaning 22 episodes preceding it are being wrapped up in this 48-minute period. The world building of the West Wing is significant to the end of the third season, especially given that the central figure of the episode is a foreign defense minister from a country that is a fictional amalgamation of several Middle Eastern countries that serves as a stand in to incorporate the political conflicts the United States continues to experience in that region. That aside, this episode is the first one that includes Lily Tomlin as Debbie Fiderer, the President’s secretary after the passing of Dolores Landingham (apologies for the spoiler, but it was necessary for the storyline). This episode is excellent on multiple levels, but the quirky but endearing presence that Tomlin commands in the role takes the cake. This is saying something because there is so much going on in the episode, but finding out why Debbie Fiderer was fired from the White House (events predating the pilot episode) and why Charlie is so insistent on hiring her for the position is absolutely hysterical and heartwarming in equal measure. I can’t really share why the episode is such an important one to watch without spoiling the whole thing, but the storyline displays how small acts of bravery play out in a system that is designed to be a democracy on paper but carries norms that are inescapably hierarchical in nature. Debbie Fiderer comes in for multiple interviews, at Charlie’s insistence, and lands the job after displaying a quality that is very important to Bartlet, and her journey back to the job is an excellent showcase of why doing things “the way they are supposed to be done” is not necessarily a good reason to fall in line. Additionally, Mark Harmon of NCIS fame makes a cameo, so look out for that. 

Red Mass: This episode, early in the 4th season, is another good episode for Charlie, the President’s personal aide. By unfortunate circumstance, he becomes a Big Brother (Big Brothers Big Sisters is a very cool, very real organization, by the way) to a young man named Anthony. Anthony is struggling with the loss of his former Big Brother, and displays contempt for Charlie and the staff of the White House for this reason. In spite of this, Charlie gets through to the young man and teaches him a valuable lesson about Constitutional law. All of this is unfolding as the Bartlet administration prepares for the Red Mass, a Catholic service held for members of the Supreme Court to mark the beginning of the annual term of the courts. Although it is a tradition that has been historically well attended and honored, questions of church and state, faith and policy, morality and reality separation swirl in the air throughout the episode. Mary Louise Parker makes another appearance as the driven and occasionally divisive activist Amy Gardner. 

These episodes are all on my “must catch” list any time there is a marathon on, and I will give honorable mention to the episode “Two Cathedrals.” There is not really a political lesson in the episode, but it is a very important chapter in the life of President Bartlet, and there are a few scenes where Martin Sheen’s performance in that role takes shape and soars. Sheen’s acting,  which is already top notch, is truly exceptional in this episode. For those of you who pay attention to the opening credits, you might notice MSNBC anchor Lawrence O’Donnell’s name listed as an executive producer throughout the series. In flashback scenes offered in “Two Cathedrals”, O’Donnell steps to the other side of the camera to play Bartlet’s father. If you are lucky enough to find a West Wing marathon, or if you turn to streaming services to get through the events of the day, these are just the top of the list for me in the best and most insightful of what The West Wing has to offer the modern lens we have on politics and presidents. Enjoy!