Toby Forces Consensus on Urgent New Poll as Drenched Pollsters Reinforce Plea
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Toby demands an immediate new poll, sparking a debate among the staff about the validity of the previous poll and Bartlet's public perception.
Joey and Kenny arrive drenched, interrupting the debate, with Joey passionately insisting on a new poll despite the others already agreeing.
Josh humorously deflects Joey's anger, lightening the mood before the group reaffirms the need for a new poll.
The scene concludes with Kenny and Joey leaving after the team reaches consensus on the necessity of a new poll.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Assured confidence in data-driven rebuttal
Sam dives in explaining the prior poll's bogus nature, highlights Bartlet's trustworthiness highs and MS non-fatality reveal, affirms Joey's points succinctly to reinforce emerging unity.
- • Expose Michigan poll's statistical weaknesses
- • Bolster Bartlet's image via trustworthiness metrics
- • MS disclosure enhances public trust
- • Trust scores insulate against scandal fallout
Quiet solidarity amid wet discomfort
Kenny enters drenched alongside Joey, silently supports her poll plea via signing before they depart, embodying the pollsters' soaked frontline urgency.
- • Reinforce Joey's polling imperative
- • Align with staff on data refresh
- • Fresh polls capture post-MS shift
- • Team consensus drives campaign wins
Skeptical amusement turning to resolute optimism
Josh probes skeptically with 'Yeah?', debates governor dynamics and motorcade abandonment playfully, absorbs Joey's rant lightheartedly, then decisively seals consensus by ordering the new poll into the field.
- • Validate poll flaws to build team buy-in
- • Humorously defuse tension from Joey's arrival
- • Incumbent presidents outpoll governors
- • Comic mishaps strengthen group bonds
Urgent frustration laced with wry sarcasm
Toby kicks off the debate by demanding a new poll, presides over the group's dissection of Michigan flaws with sharp impatience, delivers sarcastic thanks upon consensus, then rises invoking DuPont Circle analogy to punctuate the gridlock-breaking unity.
- • Force immediate agreement on new polling
- • Cut through staff skepticism to advance re-election data
- • Michigan poll is fundamentally invalid
- • Bartlet's post-MS strength demands fresh metrics
Rain-fueled frustration masking fervent conviction
Joey bursts in soaking wet with Kenny, demands another poll passionately, reiterates governor-president and sample flaws, blasts Josh as an 'idiot' for the motorcade snub while praising Bartlet's TV poise, exits after signing exchange.
- • Amplify urgency for new poll data
- • Vent motorcade betrayal for accountability
- • Bartlet's TV performance boosts viability
- • Michigan flaws invalidate prior results
agreeable
Explains voter preference for incumbent president if country is on right track, notes Bartlet's high trustworthiness scores, admits mistaking Joey's waving for happiness.
- • Highlight reasons to discount previous poll
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Toby analogizes the poll deadlock to DuPont Circle's honking gridlock as he rises, cleverly framing the breakthrough consensus as escaped urban snarl, injecting wry levity before Joey's rain complaint echoes the chaos.
Michigan is dissected as the flawed poll's origin—its 1,170 industrial voters skewing national views on Bartlet versus governors—serving as the debate's punching bag, its weaknesses catalyzing consensus for broader sampling.
The White House Mess serves as the gritty subterranean crucible where staffers huddle amid coffee steam and newspapers, debating poll flaws with rising energy; Joey and Kenny's rain-soaked entrance heightens the chaotic intimacy, transforming it into a forge for re-election resolve amid MS tremors.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Toby's demand for a new poll sets the stage for C.J.'s subsequent exhaustion and press conference blunder."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"TOBY: "We need a new poll in the field right now.""
"TOBY: "Thank you all for coming around to the self-evident point I made five minutes ago.""
"JOSH: "Put a poll in the field.""