Bear Story and the Big Sky Plan
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet educates Charlie on grizzly bears in Glacier Park, revealing his deep knowledge of national parks.
Josh interrupts with the 45th park statistic, establishing his presence and shared exhaustion with Charlie.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Calmly professional — focused on duty and maintaining protective communications without intruding on the conversational moment.
The unnamed Secret Service agent remains professionally unobtrusive, whispering into the President's wrist wireless mike as Bartlet moves toward the residence, signaling operational continuity and protective attention during the transition.
- • To maintain secure communications and the President's safety during movement to the residence.
- • To ensure transitions follow protocol without disrupting the Oval's work rhythm.
- • Constant vigilance and protocol are necessary even during informal Oval interactions.
- • Physical proximity and secure channels are essential to protect the President and institutional continuity.
Bemused and resigned — mildly amused by the anecdote but carrying an emotional weight that leads to a terse, decisive exit.
Charlie listens to the President's story with bemused disbelief, asks clarifying questions, hands the President's jacket to Josh, announces 'I quit,' and departs — a short, quietly charged exit that punctures the moment and hints at personal agency.
- • To complete his duties (listen, accept the jacket) and signal a personal decision by leaving.
- • To keep the exchange proper and respectful while asserting his own boundary.
- • Professional duties require courtesy even when one is stepping away.
- • Small rituals (like handing over a jacket) mark transitions in service and personal responsibility.
Warm, amused and quietly curious — relaxed by the anecdote but open to tactical persuasion; a public man allowing a private, human moment before returning to duty.
Bartlet tells a warm, slightly self‑deprecating Glacier Park anecdote, receives Josh's abrupt policy pitch with a laugh, asks a clarifying 'What have you got?', then accepts the proposal with amused curiosity and heads toward the residence.
- • To unwind briefly and connect personally with a junior aide (Charlie) through an anecdote.
- • To evaluate Josh's proposal with his usual mix of curiosity and institutional judgment.
- • Personal moments can humanize the office and matter politically.
- • Executive action (if legitimate) can be used to protect public goods and provide public treat experiences.
Determined and brisk — impatient for action, willing to interrupt warmth with policy urgency, confident in the legal workaround he proposes.
Josh arrives abruptly, punctuates the warmth with '45', and quickly converts the congenial moment into a tactical briefing: invoke the Antiquities Act to create Big Sky National Park. He affirms feasibility, deflects the President's teasing, and frames the idea as executable and politically useful.
- • To present a viable, fast executive tool to protect contested land.
- • To persuade the President quickly, moving from idea to tacit approval before the moment dissipates.
- • The Antiquities Act is a usable instrument for immediate land protection.
- • Political wins sometimes require decisive, creatively framed executive moves rather than protracted legislative fights.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Antiquities Act is invoked verbally by Josh as a concrete legal lever: he proposes using it immediately to designate 'Big Sky National Park.' In the scene it functions as a policy sledgehammer that converts a convivial anecdote into an executable protection strategy.
Black bears are named in the opening anecdote to nuance the wildlife of Glacier Park; they amplify the intimacy of the story and reinforce the emotional rationale for protecting public lands via the Antiquities Act.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Oval Office provides a warm, late‑night domestic stage where institutional authority and human intimacy coexist. It allows an anecdotal moment to feel private and believable while remaining the site where policy decisions are seeded and sealed.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Bartlet's passion for national parks in the opening scene sets up Josh's later realization that the Antiquities Act can be used to circumvent the land-use rider."
"Toby's attempt to regain control with administrative tasks parallels Bartlet's negotiation of national park preservation versus political practicality."
Key Dialogue
"Bartlet: Both black and grizzly bears inhabit Glacier Park, Charlie. And hikers are told to talk or sing along the trail to keep them at bay."
"Josh: 45."
"Josh: The antiquities act. You're gonna establish Big Sky National Park. Bartlet: More than a right, Josh. It's a treat."