Character

Marcus Tullius Cicero

eloquent intellectually rigorous principled

Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman statesman and orator, anchors President Bartlet's rhetoric on substantive discourse. Will Bailey highlights Bartlet's draft quoting Cicero alongside Thomas Aquinas and Rudy Vallee in a commencement address, blending classical wisdom with diverse voices. Earlier, Bartlet invoked Cicero amid rants on debate formats, pairing him with Caesar and Cato to champion rigorous questioning over spectacle. These citations cast Cicero as a pillar of eloquence and intellectual depth, shaping White House arguments for principled public engagement.

3 appearances

Also known as: Cicero

Marcus Tullius …'s Journey

A timeline through the narrative

3 moments

S4E4 · The Red Mass

Redefining the Debate: Trading Quantity for Substance

Not present; functions as rhetorical authority in Bartlet's reasoning.

Invoked by Bartlet as the exemplar of exhaustive, accountable public debate — Cicero's example supplies the moral and rhetorical backbone of Bartlet's argument.

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S4E4 · The Red Mass

Rewriting the Red Mass / Debate Format Trade

Not present; functions as moral and rhetorical authority.

Referenced by Bartlet as the exemplar of Roman deliberation — used to justify demanding more rigorous debate rules and follow‑up questioning.

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S4E22 · Commencement

Pearls Before the Podium

Not emotional—serves as a named rhetorical authority referenced to lend weight to the speech's intellectual frame.

Marcus Tullius Cicero is invoked by Will as one of the quotations in the draft; his name functions as rhetorical ballast for the speech Bartlet will alter.

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Affiliation

Roman Senate