Tone, Optics, and an Unsettling Exit Poll
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Larry reports the availability of Bartlet-Hoynes banners, but Sam rejects them, insisting on non-partisan American flags for the event.
Sam and C.J. debate the tone of the event, with Sam advocating for restraint and C.J. pushing for celebration.
Toby reveals he has prepared both a victory and a concession speech, emphasizing the uncertainty of the election outcome.
Josh enters and joins in the superstition about avoiding bad luck, reinforcing the team's anxiety about the election.
Sam takes a call from Will Bailey in California, who reports unusual exit poll results, adding to the day's uncertainties.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Amused and slightly flippant; uses humor to diffuse anxiety and connect with colleagues.
Josh supplies light election-day banter about concessions and trades quips with Toby and C.J., easing tension with humor while observing the debate about optics.
- • Keep atmosphere from becoming unbearably tense.
- • Contribute to team morale with levity.
- • A little humor can defuse high-stress moments.
- • Contingency planning (like writing a concession speech) is sensible and expected.
Concerned and brisk—professionally composed while privately alarmed about the consequences for Andy and the campaign.
C.J. argues for more celebratory signage and visual messaging, then pulls Toby aside to disclose the Roll Call leak about Andy's pregnancy, urging proactive damage control and coordination.
- • Contain the privacy breach and advise Toby on an immediate communications response.
- • Ensure visual messaging supports the broader political narrative without exposing vulnerabilities.
- • Leaks will be exploited by the press and must be neutralized quickly.
- • Personal crises of staff can become political liabilities if not handled proactively.
Practical and focused—responding to logistical needs without dramatics.
Bonnie notifies Sam that Will Bailey is calling from California and answers Sam's procedural questions about whether Democrats vote early, facilitating the rapid flow of field information into the Roosevelt Room.
- • Ensure Sam stays connected to field data (Will Bailey's calls).
- • Provide accurate, timely answers to procedural questions about voter behavior.
- • Timely transmission of field data is essential on election night.
- • Operational clarity helps senior staff make quick decisions.
Guarded, mildly exasperated on the surface; anxious about ritual and optics beneath the stern posture.
Sam enforces tonal discipline—cuts off banners and party trappings, rejects triumphalism, verbally exits the room in protest, then takes Will Bailey's call and issues an instruction to monitor exit polls hourly.
- • Keep the event non-partisan and visually unifying (American flag only).
- • Prevent gloating or partisan pandering that could undermine the presidency's dignity.
- • Public ceremonies should emphasize national unity over partisan celebration.
- • Early returns and exit polls are unreliable and must be monitored carefully.
Anxious and pragmatic—calmly prepared for contingency but visibly unsettled by the personal implications of the leak.
Toby deflates triumphalism by revealing he prepared both victory and concession speeches; he is then briefed by C.J. about the Andy pregnancy leak and acknowledges the need to manage the personal fallout.
- • Ensure readiness for any electoral outcome with prepared messaging.
- • Protect Andy (and his relationship with her) from damaging press exposure.
- • Good communications planning requires contingency (concession) preparation.
- • Personal information leaked to the press can quickly escalate into political damage.
Calmly helpful—provides short factual confirmation without emotional involvement.
Ginger confirms Sam's assertion that Democrats and diehards vote early, supporting Sam's reading of exit-poll variance and helping him calibrate instructions to Will Bailey.
- • Provide accurate background information to Sam.
- • Support rapid decision-making with quick factual confirmations.
- • Election-night field patterns (early voting by diehards) matter for interpreting exit polls.
- • Clear, factual confirmation aids strategic judgment.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Bartlet-Hoynes banners are the focal props in the optics debate: Larry reports their availability, C.J. wants to deploy them for celebratory visuals while Sam rejects them as partisan, making the banners represent a clash of tone and messaging strategy.
The idea of Roosevelt Room balloons (party supplies) is invoked by C.J. as a celebratory element; Sam's flat refusal uses them as a shorthand for excess partisanship and poor optics.
Confetti is mentioned as part of the proposed celebratory toolkit; Sam's categorical 'no confetti' makes it a symbol of unwanted triumphalism and is explicitly dismissed as inappropriate for the Roosevelt Room event.
The California exit-poll clipboards are invoked as the raw data source Will's volunteers are using; they symbolize grassroots sampling that contradicts expectations and prompt Sam to order regular check-ins with the field.
Toby's pair of prepared speeches functions narratively as a hedge against surprise outcomes—his revelation that both victory and concession speeches exist punctures celebratory mood and forces professional caution into the optics conversation.
Will Bailey's tracking and exit-poll packet functions as the immediate data trigger—its unexpected Democratic strength converts a planning conversation into a live tactical problem, demanding hourly check-ins and reallocation of attention.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The West Wing hallway functions as the immediate transitional space where C.J. pulls Toby aside; it provides a brief privacy buffer before they move to Toby's office and frames the leak conversation as a hurried, semi-private intervention.
The Communications Office/ bullpen is the operational hub where C.J. re-enters and Sam receives Will Bailey's call; it functions as the nerve center converting field reports into directives and adjusting messaging priorities.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Teachers are invoked as the source of 500 red-and-blue banners, their support providing tangible campaign materials and raising the question of whether union-backed visuals should be used in a White House event.
Roll Call functions as the antagonist in the privacy thread: it has obtained sensitive medical information and its impending story forces the communications team to consider preemption and damage control for Andy and Toby.
The Office of Congress's Attending Physician is the origin point for the leak; its records have been accessed by Roll Call, creating a breach of privacy that triggers immediate communications and ethical concerns for the White House.
Building Trades are cited as supplying 600 Bartlet-Hoynes banners, their logistical contribution intensifying the visuals-versus-restraint clash among staff over appropriate celebratory displays.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"C.J. informs Toby about the leak of Andy's pregnancy, leading directly to Toby discussing it with Andy during their sonogram."
"C.J. informs Toby about the leak of Andy's pregnancy, leading directly to Toby discussing it with Andy during their sonogram."
"Sam's early call with Will Bailey about unexpected exit polls escalates into the dramatic, narrow loss in the California 47th District, underscoring the unpredictability of election outcomes."
"Sam's early call with Will Bailey about unexpected exit polls escalates into the dramatic, narrow loss in the California 47th District, underscoring the unpredictability of election outcomes."
"Toby's preparation of both victory and concession speeches early in the episode mirrors the staff's later return to work on undecided House races, both underscoring the uncertain and ongoing nature of democratic processes."
"Toby's preparation of both victory and concession speeches early in the episode mirrors the staff's later return to work on undecided House races, both underscoring the uncertain and ongoing nature of democratic processes."
Key Dialogue
"SAM: "No. The partisanship's over. We elected a President. This is for everybody. No banners tonight; the American flag.""
"TOBY: "I've got a speech if he wins, I've got a speech if he doesn't.""
"C.J.: "Roll Call's got it from the Office of Congress's Attending Physician that Andy's pregnant.""