Organizational triage: the Bartlet administration must manage multiple simultaneous crises (Hurricane Sarah/fleet, Teamsters strike, Idaho siege, diplomatic incidents) and prioritize optics versus action.

What opens as a practiced, image-first press moment—C.J. calmly enumerating the First Lady's gown, shoes and jewels while Sondra needles for more fashion minutiae—shifts abruptly when Josh forces the room …

At a state dinner's reception, Josh receives a terse dispatch: the FBI has taken the Idaho house, but the negotiator has been shot and lies critically wounded. Josh delivers the …