Abbey Deflects; Bartlet Reframes the Stakes
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Abbey Bartlet exits the voting booth, drawing applause from the crowd and engages with reporters with witty remarks about her voting choices.
Abbey Bartlet deflects questions about her vote with humor, then discusses the day’s activities and the broader electoral stakes beyond the presidency.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Controlled and slightly amused; authoritative in public, using humor to contain risk while delivering substantive policy support.
President Bartlet exits the booth amid applause, snipes with witty legalese to fend off a direct question, then pivots to a plain, substantive endorsement of the bond issue—turning a procedural dodge into a small policy moment.
- • To avoid being cornered by a procedural or local framing that could distract from national messaging
- • To publicly endorse the bond issue in a way that demonstrates substance and moral clarity
- • To reassure supporters and signal command of both law and policy
- • Tone and framing can convert a potentially awkward question into a moral-political statement
- • Public office requires both legal awareness and plainspoken leadership
- • Winning the nation’s trust matters more than parochial home-state tallies
Warm and approving; their applause creates a permissive environment for light banter and political framing.
The crowd applauds both Abbey and the President as they exit the booth, providing supportive noise that legitimizes the exchange and amplifies the Bartlets’ casual, confident tone.
- • To express approval and encouragement for the Bartlets
- • To provide positive, performative feedback that shapes media coverage
- • Applause signals legitimacy and boosts candidate confidence
- • Visible public support aids media optics
Professionally inquisitive and slightly opportunistic, seeking a headline or an angle from the candidates' answers.
The reporter rapidly fires a sequence of probing, direct questions about who the Bartlets voted for, suspense in the election, daily plans, and the bond issue—serving as the catalyst for the Bartlets’ controlled responses.
- • To elicit a newsworthy quote about voting choices or election suspense
- • To press the President for a clear position on the bond issue
- • To capture a reaction that frames the night's narrative
- • Direct questioning yields quotable material
- • The electorate and viewers want clarity about leaders’ votes and posture
- • Confrontational or pointed questions can generate stories
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The curtained voting booth functions as the physical origin of the sequence: both Bartlets exit it, which triggers applause and reporters' questions. It is the staging device that turns a private civic act into a public media moment.
Abbey references 'filling out Chicago ballots' as a rhetorical prop—an invocation of campaign hustle that signals cross-state engagement and grassroots effort rather than a literal focus on her New Hampshire vote.
The $600 million school bond issue is explicitly named and becomes the substantive pivot: reporters press about it, Abbey cites it among key races, and Bartlet publicly endorses it, turning a local ballot measure into a policy talking point.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
First Emmanuel Episcopal Church (the polling space) is the immediate, tangible setting where private voting becomes a public performance; its converted nave, curtained booths, and congregational presence turn the civic ritual into campaign theater.
New Hampshire is invoked as the battleground jurisdiction whose local results and ballot measures (including the bond) carry outsized symbolic weight; Bartlet reframes home-state victory versus national duty in this locale's terms.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
First Emmanuel Episcopal Church functions as the institutional host for voting; its presence legitimizes the civic act, provides space for voters and media, and creates a community backdrop that the Bartlets use for positive optics.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
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Key Dialogue
"ABBEY: "Nobody. I was just fixing my makeup.""
"ABBEY: "Filling out Chicago ballots; just pitching in. He's going to be flying around thanking supporters.""
"BARTLET: "Better than if I won my home state but lost my home country. The only poll that matters closes in 17 hours.""