Toby Ambushes Leo Over Hoynes' Suspicious Polling
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Leo enters his office, startled to find Toby waiting for him in the dark.
Toby immediately confronts Leo about Hoynes' suspicious polling activity.
Leo deflects Toby's concerns about Hoynes' polling as routine political activity.
Toby challenges Leo's explanation, pointing out the illogical timing of Hoynes' polling.
Leo admits ignorance about Hoynes' motives, physically distancing himself from Toby.
Toby accepts Leo's answer with visible skepticism, setting up continued investigation.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Presumed opportunistic confidence from afar
Absent but centrally invoked in Toby's accusations and Leo's deflections as the architect of the suspicious recent poll, fueling the ambush's core conflict over premature electoral maneuvering.
- • Test re-election viability through covert polling
- • Position for 2002 presidential contention
- • Early polling secures strategic advantage
- • Bartlet's vulnerabilities enable Hoynes' ascent
Terrified jolt shifting to feigned casualness masking guarded unease
Enters office routinely picking up mail and turning on light, recoils terrified at Toby's ambush, raises head defensively, deflects poll query by rationalizing Hoynes' future needs and claiming ignorance, physically bypasses Toby to create distance amid rising tension.
- • Shut down Toby's probe to protect secrets
- • Normalize Hoynes' actions as routine politics
- • Hoynes' polling is standard long-term preparation
- • Revealing more risks unraveling fragile unity
Intensely skeptical and frustrated, veiled by calculated restraint
Lurking silently on the couch in pre-lit shadows, Toby initiates with a casual 'Hey' to startle Leo, rises aggressively to confront him on Hoynes' poll timing, presses skepticism on its futility six years out, concedes with reluctant 'Okay,' and narrates voice-over doubt amplifying unresolved suspicions.
- • Force Leo to reveal knowledge of Hoynes' polling motives
- • Validate suspicions of premature disloyalty amid re-election fragility
- • Poll's timing signals Hoynes' active challenge to Bartlet
- • Leo's deflections hide deeper administration fractures
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Leo snatches the crisp, dog-eared bundle from desk or entry upon entering, a mundane bureaucratic anchor grounding his routine before Toby's ambush erupts; it subtly splays under accusation's weight, contrasting normalcy with the brewing betrayal storm and Hoynes probe.
Toby wields the unseen poll as accusatory weapon, hammering its 'last week's' timing against six-year election horizon to expose Hoynes' ambitions; Leo rationalizes it away, but it lingers as spectral clue sharpening fractures, propelling Toby's obsession toward MS revelation.
Leo flips the switch post-mail grab, igniting harsh overhead or desk illumination that slashes shadows, glaring unforgivingly on Toby's couch ambush and clenched confrontation—heightening stark exposure of loyalty strains amid poll deflections.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Toby's initial questioning about Hoynes' polling leads to his deeper investigation into Hoynes' itinerary and political maneuvering."
"Leo's consistent deflection and discomfort when questioned about Hoynes' actions."
"Toby's challenge to Leo's explanation escalates to his direct linking of Hoynes' 'camping trip' to political campaigning."
"Toby's ambush of Leo in the dark office follows his earlier confrontation about Hoynes' polling activity."
"Toby's voice-over questioning the historical precedent of a Vice President challenging a sitting President parallels his decoding of Hoynes' political moves."
"Toby's voice-over questioning the historical precedent of a Vice President challenging a sitting President parallels his decoding of Hoynes' political moves."
"Toby's voice-over questioning the historical precedent of a Vice President challenging a sitting President parallels his decoding of Hoynes' political moves."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"TOBY: "The poll that Hoynes put in the field...""
"LEO: "Hoynes is going to run for President one day. Why shouldn't he do his own polling?""
"TOBY: "He's going to run for President six years from now, what good does last weeks' do?" LEO: "I really don't know.""