Bibles, Freemasons and a Warning Across the Bow
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet informs Charlie he is changing his mind about the Bible for the inauguration, leading to a discussion about logistics.
Bartlet jokingly threatens Charlie, who responds by asking about the specific Bible preferences, shifting the conversation.
Charlie explains the complications with the Freemasons and the Washington Bible, revealing bureaucratic hurdles.
Bartlet questions whether the Freemasons dislike him, to which Charlie responds diplomatically, ending their discussion.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Bemused and professionally concerned—lightly amused by the absurdity but aware of the need to solve the logistical problem without embarrassing the President.
Provides the factual, slightly comic logistical reality: explains the New York Freemasons' transport rules for the Washington Bible, offers pragmatic alternatives (plane, train, tickets) and defuses tension with respect and mild exasperation.
- • Inform the President accurately about the Bible's transportation constraints
- • Prevent a public or ceremonial embarrassment before the inauguration
- • Calm the President and close the conversation so he can rest
- • Traditional custodianship rules (Freemasons) are real and must be respected
- • Practical problem-solving can resolve ceremonial obstacles
- • The President prefers to be briefed with a mix of candor and levity
Playful and irreverent at first, quickly shifting to guarded defensiveness and tired bemusement when confronted with possible political attack.
Begins playful and authoritative—changes his mind about which Bible to use, banters with Charlie about logistics, then walks onto the portico and receives Leo's urgent political warning, shifting toward concern and defensiveness.
- • Secure an appropriate, symbolic Bible for his inauguration ritual
- • Avoid letting logistical details derail ceremonial dignity
- • Assess and downplay the political threat being reported by Leo
- • Withdraw to rest and protect his private life (go to bed)
- • Ceremony and symbolic choices matter and should be honored
- • Staff will handle logistics and protect the presidency from petty obstacles
- • The NSC technicality is a bureaucratic difference, not a political weapon (initially)
Urgent, worried, and politically fierce—he's protective of the President and agitated at what he interprets as deliberate opposition tactics.
Intercepts Bartlet on the portico and delivers a blunt, urgent briefing: he explains the difference between an Executive Order and an NSC Presidential Decision Directive and warns that opponents have exploited that distinction as a political hit given to Danny Concannon.
- • Alert the President to a concrete political vulnerability
- • Ensure the President understands the seriousness of the leak
- • Frame the narrative so staff can rebut press claims
- • Prevent complacency or naive dismissal of the threat
- • Opponents will weaponize technicalities for political advantage
- • The administration is under deliberate attack and must respond aggressively
- • The President can be too trusting and needs a realist to steady him
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The George Washington Bible is the instigating prop: Bartlet's ceremonial choice sparks a comic-but-real logistical problem when Charlie explains the New York Freemasons' transport rules, turning a ritual flourish into a practical annoyance that punctures inauguration levity.
The Forced Depletion Report is referenced by Bartlet as the document that could be used in a damaging byline; it functions narratively as the tangible evidence that opponents might leak to frame Bartlet's policy choices as costly and politically reckless.
Executive Orders (specifically 11905/12333 referenced by Leo) are the legal touchstone around which staff posture their public denial; Leo uses 11905 as the anchor in conversations with C.J. and the press to argue the President did not rescind banned policies.
The NSC Presidential Decision Directive is invoked by Leo as the crucial documentary technicality. Its routing difference (versus an Executive Order) is what produced plausible deniability that opponents handed to the press, turning bureaucratic form into political ammunition.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Outer Office and the portico function as the transitional space where Leo intercepts Bartlet; the threshold amplifies the urgency of Leo's interruption—public protocol collides with a private admonition delivered in the cool night air.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The National Security Council is central indirectly: its routing protocols (Presidential Decision Directives vs. Executive Orders) create the technical distinction Leo cites, and that procedural nuance has been exploited by political actors to create a damaging press narrative.
The New York Freemasons enter the scene through their custodianship rules: their institutional regulation (no air travel, escorted transport) creates a comic logistical constraint that briefly displaces inauguration theater with arcane protocol, showing how civic traditions can complicate modern state rituals.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Leo's warning about political threats and NSC directives directly leads to his later discussion with Bartlet about Pentagon leaks and potential casualties, showing the escalating stakes of their decisions."
"Leo's warning about political threats and NSC directives directly leads to his later discussion with Bartlet about Pentagon leaks and potential casualties, showing the escalating stakes of their decisions."
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: "Let's go with the Washington Bible.""
"CHARLIE: "The Freemasons won't let it travel by plane.""
"LEO: "You're being unbelievably naive, sir.""