D. Wire Newman

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D. Wire Newman was the last Democratic President of the United States prior to Josiah Bartlet.

[edit] Presidency

President Newman maintained close ties with Saudi Arabia and its royal family, something he would regret years later. He had many meetings and "lunches" with the Saudi prince promising a variety of military arms to maintain a stable region. The Newman administration spent an estimated $200 billion on foreign oil imports and $100 billion on protecting Middle Eastern states. Newman used the same plane for Air Force One as later Presidents Lassiter and Bartlet. It was reconditioned and reconfigured after his presidency.

Newman only served one term and lost in his reelection bid to his Republican successor, presumably Owen Lassiter.

[edit] Post-Presidency

As a former President, Newman kept a close eye on intelligence matters and received NSC briefings every morning. Newman maintained close contact with former President Lassiter after his presidency. During the MS scandal, Lassiter advised Newman not to go on CNN denouncing President Bartlet for hiding his multiple sclerosis. After former President Lassiter's death, Newman chose to fly with Lassiter's aging staff to Washington, DC before travelling on Air Force One with Presidents Bartlet and Walken to the Lassiter Library in Costa Mesa.

During the Bartlet Administration, Newman was a silent critic of the President, feeling that his commitment to liberal policies and Democratic ideals was not strong enough, though he followed the advice of his successor, Lassiter, in not openly criticizing a sitting President. In private, however, Newman would give Bartlet a vicious tongue lashing if he disagreed with his performance, particularly in matters of foreign policy, which Bartlet himself admitted was never his greatest strength. Newman was equally critical of Republican presidents, whose foreign policies he felt were reactionary and war-mongering.

[edit] Notes

All information about President Newman comes from the episode The Stormy Present.

Presidents of the United States

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