Razor Margin, Kiefer's Shadow
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet enters Air Force One and informs Sam about the impending 50-50 Senate vote on the ethanol tax credit.
Sam insists on making last-minute calls to sway the vote, but Bartlet dismisses the effort as futile.
Toby and Josh approach Bartlet to discuss the Al Kiefer meeting, revealing their anxiety about the encounter.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Calmly watchful—concerned about how a 50-50 outcome and Kiefer issue will land publicly, but professionally restrained.
Following the president into the cabin, C.J. is present and attentive though silent, positioned to monitor consequences for press and message; she absorbs the decision and prepares for fallout management.
- • To anticipate and prepare press/message implications of the president's decision
- • To support the president and preserve message discipline
- • That public narrative must be managed tightly to avoid damage
- • That swift, controlled action reduces media chaos
Steady and focused—no visible panic, prepared to follow orders and maintain executive tempo.
Present behind Bartlet, silent and attentive; as the presidential aide he performs the quiet function of escort and logistical support while the President consolidates authority.
- • To ensure the President's logistical needs are met without distraction
- • To keep the flow of materials and personnel ordered during a tense moment
- • That maintaining procedure calms operations
- • That his role is to enable, not to intervene in policy choices
Weary and wryly amused on the surface; quietly resolute and determined to close debate and reassert control beneath the humor.
Walking down the Air Force One aisle, Bartlet delivers the 50-50 verdict, rebuffs attempts to keep fighting, physically picks up the cabin intercom and issues the order to depart, converting debate into motion.
- • To shut down frantic last-minute panic and prevent chaotic tactical improvisation
- • To reassert presidential authority and finalize an operational decision (departure)
- • To manage political fallout by signaling confidence and control
- • That the legislative math is fixed and further calls won't change the outcome
- • That as president he has the prerogative to end internal debates and set the pace
- • That decisive, visible action (engines start) stabilizes staff anxiety
Uneasy and urgent—trying to contain private panic beneath an insistence on doing the right rhetorical thing.
Steps up alongside Josh to request an opportunity to discuss Al Kiefer, acting as the administration's conscience about messaging and moral consequence; is met with Bartlet's dismissive, authoritative response.
- • To force a conversation about the moral implications of the Kiefer meeting
- • To control public messaging and avoid a damaging rhetorical compromise
- • That language and messaging are moral acts that shape the presidency's character
- • That donor pressure can corrupt policy if left unchecked
Professionally composed and prompt—focused on duty, not on the political content of the order.
Receives the President's intercom command and executes the technical response—engines fire up—translating a verbal order into airborne motion and enforcing operational protocol.
- • To carry out the president's order swiftly and safely
- • To maintain proper aviation protocol and coordination with crew
- • That presidential commands on Air Force One must be executed without delay
- • That protocol and safety are paramount even amid political tension
Frustrated and apprehensive—angry at the prospect of a political compromise and fearful of donor-driven moral erosion.
Joins Bartlet in the aisle to press for discussion about Al Kiefer, signaling urgent concern about political and moral stakes; is spoken to directly and partially dismissed by the President.
- • To secure at least a private discussion about the Al Kiefer meeting strategy
- • To prevent the administration from ceding moral ground to donors or tactics
- • That the Kiefer meeting poses a substantive moral and political threat
- • That failing to address it now risks long‑term damage to integrity and messaging
Anxious but hopeful; energized by the possibility of tactical action, undermined by Bartlet's calm dismissal.
Responds immediately to the 50-50 news with tactical energy, offering to make 'a couple of calls'—the classic political operator trying to buy time or swing votes at the eleventh hour.
- • To flip undecided or wavering votes through last‑minute phone calls
- • To avoid a 50-50 tie and the political exposure that comes with it
- • That personal calls and political pressure can still change outcomes
- • That every vote is worth one more effort
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The intercom handset mounted on the cabin wall is seized by Bartlet, translating his private motion into an immediate operational command; it functions as the literal instrument that converts rhetorical authority into flight action, precipitating the engines firing.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The tight, humming passenger cabin of Air Force One is the event’s crucible: narrow aisles force proximity, turning private staff consultations into public theater. It frames the exchange as both intimate family‑work drama and institutional procedure while the plane literally transitions from conversation to action.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Sam's insistence on making last-minute calls to sway the ethanol vote foreshadows his later passionate argument for releasing pressured senators and taking Hoynes off the hook."
"Sam's insistence on making last-minute calls to sway the ethanol vote foreshadows his later passionate argument for releasing pressured senators and taking Hoynes off the hook."
"Josh and Toby's anxiety about the Al Kiefer meeting sets up Kiefer's aggressive pitch about the flag-burning amendment during lunch."
"Josh and Toby's anxiety about the Al Kiefer meeting sets up Kiefer's aggressive pitch about the flag-burning amendment during lunch."
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: "Morning, Everyone. Sam, it's going to be 50-50 on the ethanol tax credit.""
"SAM: "I can still make a couple of calls.""
"BARTLET: "Make all the calls you want, it's going to be 50-50.""