FIREWORKS AND CONFIRMATION OF VICE PRESIDENT CANDIDATE LIGHT UP WHITE HOUSE; GARY COLE AND WILLIAM DEVANE GUEST-STAR -- As a White House Fourth of July ceremony nears following a harrowing chapter in the nation's history, Bartlet (Martin Sheen) endures the painful process of nominating a proper candidate for vice president -- but his first choice is his secretary of state (guest star William Devane, "Knots Landing") who faces a nasty uphill fight for approval. Elsewhere, Amy (Mary-Louise Parker) champions the reclusive First Lady's (Stockard Channing) violence prevention provisions for an upcoming bill while Abby (Stockard Channing) withdraws from her husband after the Qumari assassination is exposed. In addition, a frustrated Josh (Bradley Whitford) reacts when he is confronted by Amy (Mary-Louise Parker) and Donna (Janel Moloney) is appalled by the new intern Ryan (Jesse Bradford).
Summary[]
Opening[]
President Bartlet is dreaming about Zoey. He wakes, gets out of bed, and goes into the other room, where Zoey is lying down with her head in her mother's lap.
Downstairs, Leo and Josh are walking to Leo's office for a meeting with Secretary of State Berryhill. It is their plan to nominate Berryhill for the Vice Presidency.
Act I[]
In the residence, Bartlet is getting coffee when Zoey comes in, followed shortly by Abbey. In the West Wing the Senior Staff are discussing strategies to get Berryhill confirmed as VP. C.J. is getting ready to brief the Press and discusses with Toby and others about things to avoid talking about. Later in the day, Zoey and her father will walk before the Press for photos only.
Donna tells Josh that Speaker Haffley is coming over to discuss the upcoming agenda, including the selection of a new VP - Josh is dismissive of the Speaker. Amy comes to see Josh about the CDC budget being cut - she knows the First Lady would be upset about it - but Abbey's priorities are elsewhere.
In the Oval Office, the President is being briefed on July Fourth activities around the country. After the advisors leave, Bartlet asks Leo when he gets to sit down with Berryhill. He leaves the Oval Office to go and meet up with Zoey to take her outside to face the media. She is hesitant at first - but then stops, turns, and waves.
Leo, Toby, and Josh are meeting with Republican leadership, including Speaker Haffley and Majority Leader Robert Royce. They inform the leadership that they intend to nominate Berryhill as VP. Royce has no problems with Berryhill - but Haffley tells them that he doesn't have the votes in the House to confirm him. He pulls out a list of names and passes it over to Leo.
Act II[]
Leo, Toby, and Josh walk out of the Roosevelt Room, stunned by what has just happened. They head for the Oval Office, grabbing the other Senior Staff along the way. In the Oval Office, the President is listening to Senior Staff discuss what to do, and to also begin to discuss the names on Haffley's list. The President is not prepared to give up on Berryhill, yet. Leo tells Josh and Toby to hold meetings with the names on the list.
Josh comes to Donna with the list and tells her to arrange 20 minute meetings with each of them, stressing they are not considered candidates for VP. Leo and C.J. are talking about her briefing from that morning, when Leo is struck by something, turns and walks off. Abbey and Amy walk into the White House and Amy tells the First Lady about the HHS budget cuts - Abbey tells Amy that she is going to need to continue handling things for a while longer.
In the Residence, Charlie and Zoey are looking over the thousands of letters received. Will arrives to talk with Zoey about a letter Zoey wants to release to the public. In the Mural Room, Toby and Josh are sitting with Senator Starkey, who was one of the individuals on Haffley's list. They get up to bring Starkey in to meet with the President and go into the next meeting, with Congressman Robert Russell (D-CO).
The President is meeting with Berryhill and they are talking about the possibility of an uphill fight to get Berryhill confirmed. In the Residence, Abbey is meeting with Ron Butterfield about Zoey's protection. She wants it increased to near the same levels as the President's. Leo arrives as the meeting is breaking up. He and Abbey argue, as she didn't want him at the meeting. She is also thinking about taking Zoey to the farm in New Hampshire.
Act III[]
Toby and Josh are meeting with the Democratic Leadership to see about the support for Berryhill. The Democrats are not convinced they have the votes to confirm him. In the Oval Office, Bartlet is having an excruciating meeting with Senator Adair, another of the people on Haffley's List. Toby and Josh walk into Josh's office and come to the realization they are not going to be able to confirm Berryhill. C.J. comes in to tell them that Haffley leaked the list to the Press.
Charlie comes to see the President to tell him that Zoey had trouble talking with Will and that Abbey's plan to take Zoey to New Hampshire for a while may be a good plan. Amy comes to see Josh about the HHS budget - he begs her to stop talking about that - as he is upset they are going to lose Berryhill.
In the Residence - the President is helping Zoey to pack for New Hampshire. Abbey comes in and listens to the President and Zoey talk and then leaves.
Act IV[]
Leo and the President come in from the portico, where they have been talking about Secretary Berryhill. Debbie comes in to tell the President that Congressman Russell is waiting. The meeting takes a few strange turns for Bartlet - as it is the first meeting he has after the list was made public.
Later, the President comes to Leo to tell him that he has called Berryhill to tell him that it's not going to work out and that he has selected Bob Russell to be the new VP. Before Leo lets him go, he brings the President to an auditorium to swear in a new group of American citizens, who had to relocate after their first site was threatened to be bombed.
The President leads the new citizens in the pledge of allegiance as we see Abbey and Zoey leave the White House for New Hampshire - Leo comes to tell Toby and Will that the President has made a choice on VP - C.J. is in her office thinking about Shareef and how the President could have done this - and Josh and Amy share a private moment.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Stockard Channing as Abigail Bartlet
- Dulé Hill as Charlie Young
- Allison Janney as C.J. Cregg
- Joshua Malina as Will Bailey
- Janel Moloney as Donna Moss
- Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler
- John Spencer as Leo McGarry
- Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman
- and Martin Sheen as President Jed Bartlet
Special Guest Stars[]
- Mary-Louise Parker as Amy Gardner
- Jesse Bradford as Ryan Pierce
- William Devane as Lewis Berryhill
- Gary Cole as Bob Russell
- and Lily Tomlin as Deborah Fiderer
Guest Starring[]
- Elisabeth Moss as Zoey Bartlet
- Michael O'Neill as Ron Butterfield
- Steven Culp as Speaker of the House Jeff Haffley
- H. Richard Greene as Sen. Robert Royce
- Geoff Pierson as Senator Tripplehorn
- NiCole Robinson as Margaret Hooper
- J. Patrick McCormack as General Jimmy Wendall
- Charlotte Colavin as Sheila Fields
- H.M. Wynant as Senator Starkey
- Robert Arce as Senator August Adair
Co-Starring[]
- Melissa Fitzgerald as Carol Fitzpatrick
- Timothy Davis-Reed as Mark O'Donnell
- Kris Murphy as Katie Witt
- Margaret Bacon as Young Zoey
- Donald Sage Mackay as Ellis
- Tom W. Chick as Gordon
- Marc Antonio Pritchett as Reporter #2
- Rebecca Avery as Reporter Anna
- Hugh Dane as Judge
Quotes[]
- Toby Ziegler: He was confirmed by the Senate, not by the House. We've got 24 hours to make this happen. Right out of the gate, even a whiff of a whiff of a rumor, we're ready to bat it down.
- C.J. Cregg: Smart offense.
- Will Bailey: Error-free ball.
- Josh Lyman: Knock yourselves out, but he's a slam-dunk.
- Toby Ziegler: Okay, that's one too many sports metaphors. I want all of his public statements, his activity on behalf of the party, his financial disclosure forms, his video rentals, his post-its.
- Josh Lyman; Call 'em in; 20 minutes apiece. Make it clear this is not about the Vice Presidency. They are not candidates for jobs, you know, listed in the Constitution.
- Congressman Russell: I'm sure that my name came up because some see me as the bland candidate. Nobody's nightmare. The triumph of mediocrity. If I were to take the job, I'd mean to confound those expectations, and I'd want you to know that.
Trivia[]
ERRORS
- It is stated in the episode that John Adams' last words were: "Thomas Jefferson lives", when in reality it was "Thomas Jefferson survives".
CONTINUITY
- The events of Zoe Bartlet's kidnapping are clearly dated as happening between May 8th and May 10th 2003. But it is just 72 hours since Zoe was rescued and it is now July 4th.
Photos[]
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