Don't Take the Bait: Stackhouse Teased into Restraint
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Stackhouse redirects the conversation to the AMA speech and Ritchie's attack on needle-exchange programs.
Amy identifies Ritchie's strategy as bait for the President, advising Stackhouse not to take the bait.
Amy humorously acknowledges Josh Lyman's political acumen, lightening the mood but reinforcing her point.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Absent; described as reliably alert and strategic (implied by others).
Josh Lyman is invoked as the rapid political detector who would see through Ritchie's tactic; he is offstage but functions as the yardstick for political savvy in the room's calculus.
- • Detect and neutralize political traps quickly (inferred).
- • Protect the President's political position by anticipating opponent tactics (inferred).
- • That opponents will attempt to manufacture responses and must be preempted.
- • That staff vigilance (Donna, Josh) is crucial to rapid counter-strategy.
Absent but intentionally provocative—acting through leaked rhetoric to force responses.
Governor Ritchie is not present but is the architect of the advanced AMA text under discussion; his voice and strategy drive the tactical debate and frame the moral question.
- • Provoke opponents into making politically damaging responses.
- • Define the public debate on needle exchange toward conservative messaging.
- • That political bait can draw out opponents and create exploitable moments.
- • That framing the issue around abstinence and personal responsibility will resonate with his base.
Absent; symbolically represents White House influence in Susan's critique.
C.J. Cregg is mentioned by Susan as part of Stackhouse's network; she is not present but invoked to highlight perceived White House alignment and conflicts of loyalty.
- • As a White House figure, implicitly to manage press and optics (inferred).
- • Serve as part of the institutional link Susan fears Stackhouse is beholden to (inferred).
- • That proximity to the White House implies political considerations beyond pure policy.
- • That media/press operations can shape the fallout from public remarks.
Controlled and strategic—focused on preventing an emotional misstep that would harm broader political goals.
Amy reframes the advanced AMA text as deliberate bait from Ritchie, calmly argues that the trap is intended for the President rather than Stackhouse, and defuses the impulse to retaliate; she also points out the chain of detection (Donna/Josh) to underline the futility of the move.
- • Prevent Stackhouse from being used as a tool to force the President into a damaging response.
- • Preserve Stackhouse's credibility by advising restraint and reading the opponent's strategy.
- • That Ritchie is intentionally baiting opponents to manufacture a political crisis.
- • That the White House and its operatives will quickly neutralize or exploit any impulsive response.
Righteous and frustrated—driven by moral urgency and impatient with perceived hedging.
Susan Thomas presses Stackhouse to seize the AMA as a platform for federal needle-exchange funding, apologizes for an earlier awkward moment, and accuses Amy (and by extension White House ties) of divided loyalties.
- • Force the needle-exchange issue onto the national stage via Stackhouse's AMA speech.
- • Expose or neutralize the influence of White House-affiliated figures that she sees as diluting the cause.
- • That policy urgency (AIDS in five cities) demands immediate public action.
- • That proximity to the White House compromises independent candidates' ability to speak plainly.
Absent; implicitly placed at political risk by opponents' tactics.
President Bartlet is referenced as the ultimate target of Ritchie's bait; he is not present but his potential forced response frames the strategic caution advised by Amy.
- • Maintain institutional dignity and avoid being lured into reactive politics (inferred).
- • Protect the administration's broader electoral and policy interests (inferred).
- • That manufactured controversies can damage presidential standing (inferred).
- • That staff should shield the President from tactical provocations (inferred).
Absent but represented as reliable and swift in response.
Donna is referenced as Josh's assistant who would spot the leak quickly; she functions as the practical, on-the-ground quick-scan for political danger even though offstage.
- • Rapidly surface incoming political threats to senior staff (inferred).
- • Support Josh's quick-reaction posture through information-gathering (inferred).
- • That early detection of tactical leaks matters.
- • That assistants and junior staff are integral to rapid political response.
Torn and impatient—tempted by the chance to speak to policy but anxious about optics and being manipulated.
Senator Stackhouse listens, interjects, and vacillates between seizing a public policy moment and worrying about being used as a political pawn; he verbally tests the idea of responding at the AMA and expresses exasperation with his advisers.
- • Find an opportunity to discuss needle-exchange policy and raise his profile on a substantive issue.
- • Determine whether responding will advance his independence rather than play into others' agendas.
- • He believes he has a duty to speak on issues few are addressing.
- • He believes political context and timing can make or ruin the impact of a speech.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The advance copy of Ritchie's AMA remarks functions as the pivotal clue and catalytic object: Susan cites its language to argue for an immediate, forceful response while Amy points to the very existence of the advance copy as evidence the remarks were leaked as bait to provoke a reaction.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The AMA is referenced as the public stage where Stackhouse might respond; as a professional medical venue it amplifies policy arguments and shapes audiences (doctors, press), making it a high-leverage site for rhetorical theater or political traps.
Stackhouse's offices serve as the intimate battleground where strategy, accusation, and loyalty intersect; the close quarters intensify personal exchanges and force a private airing of political and ethical choices away from cameras.
The 'five cities with the highest incidence of AIDS' are invoked as the concrete policy target Susan wants highlighted at the AMA; naming them grounds the abstract debate in human consequences and gives moral urgency to her tactical push.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The American Medical Association functions as the venue-owner and implicit audience for the proposed intervention; its platform lends professional legitimacy to policy claims and creates a media-friendly moment that both invites substantive discussion and the risk of political theater.
The Committee to Re-Elect is invoked implicitly as a stakeholder whose optics and electoral interests would be affected by any public response; Susan complains about 'protecting' them, making the Committee an offstage power whose needs partially drive caution.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Toby's passionate critique of Ritchie's stance on needle exchange echoes Amy's earlier warning about Ritchie baiting the President, both highlighting the hypocrisy and political maneuvering around public health policy."
"Toby's passionate critique of Ritchie's stance on needle exchange echoes Amy's earlier warning about Ritchie baiting the President, both highlighting the hypocrisy and political maneuvering around public health policy."
"Toby's passionate critique of Ritchie's stance on needle exchange echoes Amy's earlier warning about Ritchie baiting the President, both highlighting the hypocrisy and political maneuvering around public health policy."
"Amy's identification of Ritchie's strategy as bait directly leads to Josh raising the issue of potential political fallout if Stackhouse responds, showing the immediate cause-and-effect chain in political strategy."
"Amy's identification of Ritchie's strategy as bait directly leads to Josh raising the issue of potential political fallout if Stackhouse responds, showing the immediate cause-and-effect chain in political strategy."
"Amy's identification of Ritchie's strategy as bait directly leads to Josh raising the issue of potential political fallout if Stackhouse responds, showing the immediate cause-and-effect chain in political strategy."
Key Dialogue
"SUSAN: "You should call for federal funding of needle exchange in the five cities with the highest incidence of AIDS. Ritchie has given you a perfect opening.""
"AMY: "It's baiting the hook. That's why they sent an advanced copy.""
"STACKHOUSE: "Yeah. But didn't I get in it to talk about things like this? Why not take the bait?" AMY: "The bait's not for you. It's for the President. Ritchie wants you to respond so the President has to.""