Choosing Family — The Card and the Toast
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
C.J. humorously defends wildlife protection, drawing unexpected emotional connection to Pluie the wolf while discussing vending machines with Bartlet and Leo.
Bartlet expresses admiration for his staff's camaraderie, specifically highlighting 'these women' including C.J., Mandy, Mrs. Landingham, and Donna.
Bartlet delivers a poignant toast celebrating Zoey's future and the staff's achievements, culminating in a tribute to 'absent friends and the ones that are here now'.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Calmly dutiful—focused on completing a household task and supporting the flow of the gathering.
Charlie enters the room with Zoey and discreetly signals to the President that the chili is done, providing a practical beat that allows Bartlet to shift into his closing remarks and toast.
- • Notify the President that the chili is ready so the evening may proceed smoothly.
- • Maintain the domestic rhythms of the residence without interrupting the emotional moment.
- • Small logistical actions help sustain group morale.
- • Aide duties are to ensure the President and household function seamlessly amid emotional moments.
Affectionately proud and slightly amused; his mood shifts from lighthearted cataloguing to solemn, communal solidarity as he raises his glass.
President Bartlet listens, pats Josh on the back in a paternal gesture, then moves into an affectionate, public litany celebrating staff before issuing a unifying toast—turning Josh's private refusal into a communal moment.
- • Absorb and honor Josh's declaration without embarrassing him.
- • Reframe the moment as an affirmation of team unity and pride.
- • Lift the room's spirits and consolidate group cohesion through celebration.
- • The West Wing staff functions as a family whose bonds matter as much as policy.
- • Ceremony and small convivial rituals (a toast, cataloguing names) are useful tools for maintaining morale.
- • Public acknowledgement of individuals' character reinforces institutional loyalty.
Pleased and slightly embarrassed by the attention—comfortable in the familial spotlight.
Zoey enters with Charlie and is briefly the pleasant subject of the President's praise; she receives applause and occupies the role of familial warmth in the room as Bartlet pivots to a toast.
- • Be present with family and staff.
- • Support her father and participate in the communal moment.
- • Family presence provides emotional stabilization within the Residence.
- • Being publicly acknowledged by her father is meaningful and supportive.
Unified and uplifted—momentarily reassured and bonded by the ritual of the toast.
The assembled staff respond to Bartlet's closing by lifting glasses in unison and cheering, converting Josh's personal refusal into a collective affirmation and shared morale-lifting ritual.
- • Demonstrate solidarity with colleagues publicly.
- • Reinforce group cohesion in the face of external anxieties hinted at by earlier events.
- • Collective rituals (toasts) strengthen interpersonal bonds and morale.
- • Public shows of unity help buffer the team against outside crises.
Concerned but controlled—privately aware of risk and the implications, publicly composed and respectful of Josh's decision.
Leo listens attentively as Josh produces the card; he receives the gesture with steady composure, neither arguing nor celebrating, signaling managerial acceptance and quiet support.
- • Protect the President's interests while respecting staff morale.
- • Contain any fallout from Josh's public refusal.
- • Support Josh personally without forcing his own view.
- • Operational protocols have purpose, but morale and personal choice must be weighed.
- • A staff's cohesion is as important to leadership as immediate security protocols.
- • Decisions made publicly by staff must be honored to maintain trust.
Resolute and plaintive: outwardly firm in choice, inwardly unsettled by buried trauma and the moral weight of accepting special protection.
Joshua Lyman physically withdraws his worn leather wallet, withdraws and displays a thin green evacuation card, states he cannot accept it, and articulates a public vow to remain emotionally and physically present with his colleagues.
- • Refuse the special evacuation protection represented by the green card.
- • Affirm solidarity with colleagues and be allowed to share in both their grief and triumph.
- • Preserve personal integrity—be able to look colleagues in the eye without secret advantage.
- • Accepting exceptional protection is morally compromising and tantamount to surrender.
- • True loyalty requires visibly sharing risk and presence with friends and staff.
- • Personal honor matters more than bureaucratic safety when it separates you from your community.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Josh's worn leather wallet is the container from which he withdraws the green evacuation card; the wallet's daily-worn quality underscores intimacy and the smallness of the gesture that becomes morally consequential in public.
Zoey's chili operates as the tactile center of the Residence gathering — Charlie signals its readiness, and Bartlet uses the meal to anchor convivial ritual and restore normalcy after Josh's emotional revelation.
Bartlet lifts a glass of red wine to lead the final toast; the wine glass functions as the ceremonial prop that converts private warmth into a formal moment of unity and closure.
C.J.'s Polaroid is glimpsed in her hand and used as a conversational flourish earlier in the gathering; it visually reinforces the light, domestic tone of the event and helps contrast levity with Josh's heavier disclosure.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Bartlet’s announcement of chili night leads to the final communal toast."
"Bartlet’s announcement of chili night leads to the final communal toast."
"Bartlet’s announcement of chili night leads to the final communal toast."
"Josh’s confrontation with his past trauma propels his decision to reject the N.S.C. card."
"Josh’s confrontation with his past trauma propels his decision to reject the N.S.C. card."
"C.J.’s attempt to ground Josh with chili parallels the communal affirmation he later seeks."
"Pluie’s death and C.J.’s emotional connection to it later influence her defense of wildlife."
"Pluie’s death and C.J.’s emotional connection to it later influence her defense of wildlife."
"C.J.’s attempt to ground Josh with chili parallels the communal affirmation he later seeks."
Key Dialogue
"JOSH: Mr. President, there's something that's been bothering me for most of the day, and while I know that this is an inappropriate time... I serve at the pleasure of the President, and it's a great privilege that I will never forget. [takes out the card from his wallet, a card that has bothered him for the whole day. He shows it to Leo and the President.] I can't keep this. I think it's a white flag of surrender. I want to be a comfort to my friends in tragedy. And I want to be able to celebrate with them in triumph. And for all the times in between, I just want to be able to look them in the eye. Leo, it's not for me. I want to be with my friends, my family, and these women."
"BARTLET: ...Here's to absent friends, and the ones that are here now."