The West Wing
S2E7
· The Portland Trip

Bartlet Grills Leo on Tanker Strike Catastrophe Risks

Margaret enters Leo's office with evident concern over his divorce and alcoholism, relaying an urgent call from President Bartlet. On the phone, Bartlet demands clarity on the tanker's seizure goal and sharply interrogates the F-18 strike plan's perils—warning of potential crude oil explosion if pilots miss the propeller. Leo briefs tersely while glaring at and whispering to Margaret to stop her pitying look, blending personal fragility with crisis escalation to heighten command tensions and foreshadow deeper vulnerabilities.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

5

Margaret enters Leo's office and hesitantly informs him of a phone call, hinting at her concern for his personal struggles.

hesitation to concern ["Leo's office"]

Leo learns the call is from President Bartlet, shifting his focus abruptly from personal matters to urgent presidential business.

personal to professional ["Leo's office"]

President Bartlet demands clarity on the mission objective regarding the oil tanker, pressing Leo for specifics.

urgency to focus ["Leo's office"]

Leo briefs Bartlet on the potential military actions against the tanker, including F-18s firing warning shots.

focus to tension ["Leo's office"]

Bartlet expresses concern about the risks of striking a crude oil tanker, revealing the high stakes of the military operation.

tension to apprehension ["Leo's office"]

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

3
Josiah Edward 'Jed' Bartlet (President of the United States)
President of the United States
 primary

demanding

calls Leo (voice over phone), demands clarity on seizure goal, questions F-18 pilots' plan, warns sharply about explosion risks if propeller is missed on crude oil tanker

Goals in this moment
  • • to interrogate Leo on operational goals and strike perils
  • • to ensure awareness of catastrophe risks
Character traits
politically pragmatic jocular policy‑driven paternal commands institutional authority relational — centers staff and family centralizing (commands staff attention and schedules) centralized authority figure strategically vital intelligent politically consequential (actions and associations create immediate risk) protocol-driven calculating principled in public rhetoric vulnerable emotionally forceful institutionally minded performative control of public optics candid principled politically vulnerable (per party strategists and press) strategic witty/jocular under pressure vulnerable-to-proxy-actions collegial poised decisive principled but electorally mindful resolute constitutional protective (paternal focus on family safety) deliberative ruthless burdened decisive when confronted with moral stakes authoritative/managerial paternal/protective regionally grounded politically strategic supportive traditional weary/resolute authoritative public-facing decisive in crisis loyal blunt protective politically consequential measured committed politically shrewd risk‑aware consequential self-aware witty institutional (symbolic center of staff effort) ceremonial
Follow Josiah Edward …'s journey
Leo Thomas McGarry (Chief of Staff)
White House Chief of Staff
 primary

Irritated defensiveness veiling raw personal fragility and fatigue

Leo responds curtly to Margaret's empathy, glares fiercely while snatching the phone to brief Bartlet on tanker seizure and F-18 strike plan, whispers sharply for her to cease her pitying stare, then discloses the personal distraction—divorce papers fueling her concern—to the President amid crisis demands.

Goals in this moment
  • • Provide precise crisis update to President without delay
  • • Suppress Margaret's intrusive concern to reclaim professional composure
Active beliefs
  • • Duty demands compartmentalizing personal pain during national emergencies
  • • Subtle pity undermines a leader's iron command facade
Character traits
stoic irritable authoritative vulnerable
Follow Leo Thomas …'s journey
Margaret Hooper
Personal Secretary to the White House Chief of Staff
 primary

Deep concern laced with hesitant devotion and quiet hurt

Margaret enters hesitantly by Leo's desk, voicing unsolicited empathy over his divorce papers and alcoholism before relaying Bartlet's call; she absorbs his glare, receives a whispered rebuke for her pitying look, and exits swiftly, her concern lingering as catalyst for Leo's vulnerability.

Goals in this moment
  • • Convey urgent presidential call without delay
  • • Offer genuine support for Leo's evident personal struggles
Active beliefs
  • • True loyalty demands addressing a superior's hidden suffering
  • • Alcoholism and divorce warrant compassionate intervention, not silence
Character traits
empathetic loyal persistent submissive
Follow Margaret Hooper's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

3
Cyprus-Flagged Oil Tanker

Leo crisply articulates the tanker's seizure as core operational goal—capture and Bahrain escort—central to Bartlet's demand for clarity, framing the high-stakes enforcement centerpiece that propels the airborne crisis rhythm and underscores presidential impatience with ambiguity.

Before: Cyprus-flagged, evading sanctions in Gulf waters under pursuit
After: Target locked for imminent seizure, no physical change …
Before: Cyprus-flagged, evading sanctions in Gulf waters under pursuit
After: Target locked for imminent seizure, no physical change depicted
Central Command's F-18s

Leo outlines F-18 pilots' contingency—warning shots and propeller disablement—to Bartlet, who interjects with dire crude oil explosion warning if they err, injecting lethal peril into the seizure plan and ratcheting tension over precision in sanctions enforcement.

Before: Deployed from Central Command, poised for low-pass and …
After: Plan clarified with presidential caveat, execution pending
Before: Deployed from Central Command, poised for low-pass and strike action
After: Plan clarified with presidential caveat, execution pending
Leo's Divorce Papers

Margaret explicitly invokes Leo's freshly arrived divorce papers in her empathetic plea about alcoholism and divorce recovery needs, triggering his glare and whisper; Leo later cites them to Bartlet as source of Margaret's 'look' and his distraction, piercing his stoic veneer to expose the emotional toll beneath crisis command.

Before: Freshly delivered and present on or near Leo's …
After: Unchanged physically but narratively amplified as confessed vulnerability …
Before: Freshly delivered and present on or near Leo's desk, freshly confronting him
After: Unchanged physically but narratively amplified as confessed vulnerability trigger

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Bahrain

Leo specifies Bahrain as the tanker's escorted endpoint post-seizure, invoked in his briefing to Bartlet as geopolitical anchor for sanctions triumph—defended harbors symbolizing enforcement closure amid swelling Gulf crisis, heightening stakes of flawless Navy ops.

Atmosphere Implied tense harbor vigilance with salt-whipped decks and humming customs labs
Function Strategic interdiction terminus for contraband tanker
Symbolism Geopolitical clamp enforcing Bartlet administration's resolve
Access Heavily secured for U.S. naval/customs operations
Floodlit docks under naval escort Labs probing oil sanctions origins

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What led here 1
Character Continuity medium

"Josh's clipped urgency about Bartlet's fatigue connects to Leo revealing his personal struggles with divorce papers, showing how personal and professional stresses are intertwined for the staff."

Josh Urgently Probes Bartlet's Fatigue
S2E7 · The Portland Trip

Part of Larger Arcs

Leo McGarry's raw personal fragility from impending divorce erupts amid professional crises, deflecting concern from Margaret and Donna while confiding selectively in President Bartlet, straining his authoritative facade.

Key Dialogue

"BARTLET (VO): What's our goal?"
"LEO: We're trying to seize the ship and escort it to Bahrain."
"BARTLET: Leo, just so they know--it's a tanker full of crude oil. If they miss the propeller and hit something else---"
"LEO: My divorce papers came today. She thinks I'm going to drink"