Commander in Chief: Bartlet's Entrance and Moral Line
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
President Bartlet arrives at the Naval Warfare Center Crane and greets the Captain.
Bartlet begins his speech by humorously introducing himself as the Commander in Chief, eliciting laughter from the crowd.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Focused and brisk—less emotional, more procedural; privately concerned about cascading crises but publicly controlled.
Provides concise, urgent information about market-moving bankruptcies to Bartlet, repeatedly refuses Bruno's pushes backstage, and functions as the managerial voice trying to keep messaging clean amid developing crises.
- • Prevent ill-advised campaign lines that could create legal or PR problems.
- • Keep the President briefed on breaking financial news to inform his remarks.
- • Messy or politically opportunistic lines at a military event can cause reputational and legal damage.
- • The President must be informed of unfolding national-level issues even during campaign events.
Not emotionally depicted; invoked as a factual constraint that generates deference and restraint in others.
Mentioned explicitly by Bartlet as 'DRF-1'—a division-ready army unit deployable in two hours; serves as the factual backbone to Bartlet's legal and ethical refusal to politicize.
- • Fulfill national defense orders when directed.
- • Remain mission-ready, which imposes constraints on political activity around them.
- • Operational readiness supersedes political convenience.
- • Their deployment status must not be exploited for campaign advantage.
Not directly shown; invoked to represent the human cost and restrictions surrounding the speech.
Referenced by Bartlet as sailors who will deploy overseas for six months; their presence and deployment schedule are used to argue against politicizing the event.
- • Carry out assigned deployments.
- • Maintain unit readiness and cohesion amidst public events.
- • Operational commitments require depoliticized treatment by civilian leadership.
- • Public ceremonies should not interfere with service obligations.
Calm, controlled authority with undertones of moral seriousness—affable in public but uncompromising in principle backstage.
Steps from the motorcade, greets the Captain, listens to C.J.'s financial update, rebukes Bruno's attempt to politicize troops, names units and equipment to justify restraint, then proceeds to the podium and opens with a joke.
- • Prevent the campaign from exploiting active-duty troops for political gain.
- • Project composure and command presence to the assembled sailors and the broader public.
- • Receive briefings (financial) while maintaining the event's dignity.
- • Active-duty military may not be used as political props and are subject to legal protections.
- • Maintaining institutional integrity matters more than immediate campaign messaging.
- • Clear, direct statements will neutralize backstage maneuvering and reassure troops.
Enthusiastic and amused, offering immediate positive feedback to the President's performance.
Responds audibly to Bartlet's arrival and opening lines with wild cheering and laughter, providing the public affirmation that Bartlet cues and profits from to reset the mood after backstage tension.
- • Demonstrate visible support for the President.
- • Create a receptive atmosphere for the speech.
- • The President is a figure to cheer and trust.
- • Collective approval legitimizes the speaker's authority onstage.
Eager and slightly embarrassed when checked—practically minded but chastened by Bartlet's moral framing.
Presses for inserting military pay raises, housing, and VA clinic mentions into Bartlet's soundbite, speaks to C.J. and a phone assistant, makes a flippant suggestion when rebuked, then is publicly called out by Bartlet and recasts his comment as joking.
- • Maximize positive campaign messaging using apparent openings at a military event.
- • Ensure the President's crowd will hear administration achievements (pay, housing, VA clinics).
- • Highlighting tangible benefits to troops is politically effective and necessary.
- • Small rhetorical nudges (a wink, a line) can satisfy both policy and campaign needs.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The podium is the focal prop for Bartlet's address: the destination of his walk, the physical platform that transforms his backstage authority into public rhetoric and comedic disarming of tension. It marks the boundary between private staff negotiation and public performance.
Bartlet cites the deployed troops' C-bag as concrete evidence of their readiness—an embodied detail that grounds his ethical argument against politicization, turning abstract rules into a visceral image of families and danger.
The M-16 is invoked by Bartlet as part of the troops' kit to emphasize the lethal seriousness of deployment and to justify refraining from political use of their service—a rhetorical object that raises stakes.
Bartlet references the C-130 transport as the conveyance for troops and their gear to underline logistical reality: these men and their families face orders and movement, so political theater must not compromise them.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Naval Warfare Center Crane is the venue where civilian political theater collides with active military readiness. It's the staging ground for Bartlet's speech, the backdrop for backstage strategic bickering, and the reason Bartlet invokes legal and ethical limits—its institutional status constrains campaign behavior.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
DWA is named alongside Jennings-Pratt as having exposure in the troubled fund; its mention deepens the financial crisis thread and forces staff to weigh messaging against national economic stability.
The U.S. Navy is present in the person of sailors and as the institutional host of the event; Bartlet references navy deployment lengths to contrast with army readiness and to argue against politicization.
The United States Army is invoked indirectly through Bartlet's reference to DRF-1 to establish operational constraints; the Army's readiness profile functions as the legal and moral basis for refusing campaign rhetoric on base.
Gehrman-Driscoll is invoked by C.J. as the first firm to announce a filing before the bell; its corporate trouble is used to quickly shift the backstage focus from local messaging to national financial fallout.
Jennings-Pratt is mentioned as an exposed holder in the same fund an hour after Gehrman-Driscoll's filing; its involvement compounds the economic story C.J. brings the President, making national financial risk part of the day's context.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Bartlet's refusal to exploit military achievements for campaign purposes mirrors his later rebuke of Bryce for overstepping his role in environmental policy."
"Bartlet's refusal to exploit military achievements for campaign purposes mirrors his later rebuke of Bryce for overstepping his role in environmental policy."
"Bartlet's refusal to exploit military achievements for campaign purposes mirrors his later rebuke of Bryce for overstepping his role in environmental policy."
Key Dialogue
"BRUNO: He should remind them about the military pay raise."
"BARTLET: It's against the law to campaign on a military base."
"BARTLET: Good morning. We haven't meet. I'm your Commander in Chief."