Polling Meltdown — Let Bartlet Be Bartlet
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Toby delivers devastating polling numbers to Leo, showing a five-point drop in approval and unfavorable ratings surpassing favorables for the first time.
Leo confesses his worry about the administration's direction, prompting Toby to passionately defend their purpose and challenge leadership's hesitation.
C.J. reveals the Mandy memo will be published alongside their poor polling numbers, compounding the administration's crisis.
The demoralized staff gathers in Leo's office, expressing defeat over poll numbers and legislative roadblocks, while Josh argues for aggressive action.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Businesslike concern; she is brisk and slightly wry while understanding the political consequences.
C.J. delivers news that the President is reading Mandy's memo and that Danny will publish it; she functions as the operational connector between press and Oval and drops the detonating fact that the memo will run alongside the poll.
- • Inform leadership of imminent media exposure so the administration can act
- • Manage fallout by providing accurate situational awareness
- • Timely information about press moves can change tactical response
- • Transparency to the President and Leo is necessary for credible reaction
Respectful attentiveness; quietly proud and apprehensive given personal vulnerability referenced by Leo.
Charlie briefly interrupts to indicate the Oval Office is in use, closes the door, and stands as a silent witness—his presence humanizes stakes (Leo references his risks) and grounds Leo's moral argument.
- • Perform his role faithfully and protect presidential privacy
- • Be present as the administration wrestles with its direction
- • Loyalty requires personal risk at times
- • The President's choices directly affect staff welfare
Disciplined urgency with an undercurrent of resentful exhaustion—he's angry at the administration's timidity while trying to remain factual.
Toby shifts the scene from joke to crisis: he delivers the poll numbers to Leo, translates statistics into moral weight, and answers procedural questions in the Oval; he remains syntactically precise while emotionally compressed.
- • Ensure the senior staff recognizes the political reality the polls represent
- • Prevent complacency by forcing the administration to confront failure to seize opportunities
- • Facts and numbers must drive political honesty
- • Timidity in leadership wastes the chance to enact meaningful policy
Irritated and indignant about being accused; lightly amused and defensive in the face of Toby's mockery.
Margaret opens the scene with a domestic, comic complaint about a raisin muffin and alleged IT accusations; she supplies the comic relief that lightens tension before the poll news lands and remains the origin point for the muffin/glove exchange.
- • Defend her competence and reputation against absurd IT accusations
- • Preserve small domestic order (e.g., the muffin matter) and assert common-sense standards
- • Small indignities matter and reflect on institutional competence
- • Practical, tangible proof (a muffin tested) will vindicate her
Frustrated and restless—he wants boldness and resents institutional timidity that stalls action.
Josh bursts in protesting strategic inertia and arguing for a more combative agenda; he's energetic and abrasive, advocating for offense on issues the staff has been avoiding.
- • Push the administration to take policy stands that energize the base
- • Convert the F.E.C. nominations and political attacks into opportunities
- • Bold moves can shift the political dynamic even at short-term cost
- • Fear of losing has prevented them from winning consequential fights
Subdued disappointment that gives way to guarded resolve when the team commits to action.
Sam reports his meeting as unchanged but visibly drained; he listens as Leo outlines the new approach and affirms his willingness to serve—he's quietly shaken by the realization of institutional caution.
- • Support a strategy that allows substantive debate
- • Maintain personal integrity while aligning with the President's voice
- • Message discipline matters but must be in service of principles
- • Staff morale depends on authentic presidential leadership
Danny is an off-stage but active force: named as the reporter who will publish Mandy's memo, his planned article functions …
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Leo's clipboard/pad receives the bold, block-lettered message 'LET BARTLET BE BARTLET'—it becomes the physical manifesto of the night's strategic shift and is shown to the President and staff as a concrete order.
Margaret's raisin muffin is the comic prop that opens the scene: discussed as the subject of an email and a lab test. Its triviality contrasts with looming crisis, punctuating tone and easing into seriousness.
Leo's strategy pen is the decisive instrument he grabs to write the administration's new posture; its quick, bold strokes produce the rallying slogan that crystallizes the pivot from defensiveness to confrontation.
A plastic bag is referenced as the suggested container to send the muffin to the lab; it functions as a small domestic detail that humanizes the staff and undercuts the high stakes of ensuing political talk.
Disposable gloves are advised for handling the muffin—another small, absurd prop that punctuates the scene's early levity and underscores Margaret's practical mindset before the crisis escalates.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Oval Office is the scene's moral battleground: Bartlet sits reading the memo; Leo enters to confront the President directly, and the location's intimacy enhances the weight of the decision to prioritize principle over reelection.
Leo's office functions as the command teahouse where staff convene, where Toby delivers polling numbers, and where tactical orders are forged. It's the operational heart that transforms anger into mobilization.
Margaret's office opens the scene with domestic, comic detail (muffin, I.T. joke). Its intimate, cluttered atmosphere humanizes staff and sets tonal contrast that makes the shift to crisis sharper when Toby brings the polling news.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"The devastating polling numbers prompt Leo's raw confrontation with Bartlet about the administration's direction."
"The devastating polling numbers prompt Leo's raw confrontation with Bartlet about the administration's direction."
"Bartlet's early frustration with his staff carries through to Leo's later confrontation about his self-sabotaging caution."
"Bartlet's early frustration with his staff carries through to Leo's later confrontation about his self-sabotaging caution."
"Leo's confrontation escalates to Bartlet's breakthrough declaration of prioritizing principle over re-election."
"Leo's confrontation escalates to Bartlet's breakthrough declaration of prioritizing principle over re-election."
"Danny's confirmation of the memo's publication is followed by C.J. informing Leo about the impending crisis."
"Bartlet's humiliating 'magnificent vista' line symbolizes his disconnect from reality, later resolved by his declaration to speak freely."
"Bartlet's humiliating 'magnificent vista' line symbolizes his disconnect from reality, later resolved by his declaration to speak freely."
"Fitzwallace's blunt reality check about Presidential resolve echoes Leo's later confrontation with Bartlet about reclaiming his voice."
"Fitzwallace's blunt reality check about Presidential resolve echoes Leo's later confrontation with Bartlet about reclaiming his voice."
"Fitzwallace's blunt reality check about Presidential resolve echoes Leo's later confrontation with Bartlet about reclaiming his voice."
"The devastating polling numbers prompt Leo's raw confrontation with Bartlet about the administration's direction."
"The devastating polling numbers prompt Leo's raw confrontation with Bartlet about the administration's direction."
"Leo's confrontation escalates to Bartlet's breakthrough declaration of prioritizing principle over re-election."
"Leo's confrontation escalates to Bartlet's breakthrough declaration of prioritizing principle over re-election."
Key Dialogue
"C.J.: "The President's reading Mandy's memo. I just gave it to him.""
"LEO: "We're stuck in neutral because that's where you tell me to stay.""
"BARTLET: "This is more important than reelection. I want to speak now.""