A Quiet Call, A Loud Projection
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
C.J. receives a mysterious phone call, hinting at upcoming news, and leaves the room, adding suspense.
C.J. and Leo enter the Oval Office to deliver news to President Bartlet, who is nervous about his upcoming speech.
Leo announces that Bartlet is projected to win New Hampshire, a significant early victory.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Energetic and keyed up — outwardly celebratory but alert to nuance in the returns.
Standing in the Communications Office, watching coverage closely; reacts to the 9:00 call with excitement and the room's cheer, asks C.J. about her phone call before she slips out.
- • Read the returns accurately to plan messaging
- • Keep the bullpen focused and morale high
- • Understand any off-screen developments (curiosity about C.J.'s call)
- • Network pivots and early returns materially affect campaign momentum
- • Quick, confident reactions from staff shape public perception
- • Every small advantage (like New Hampshire) shifts the night
Private apprehension under a professional mask — outwardly composed while carrying an unstated personal or operational tension.
Takes a brief mysterious phone call, leaves the crowded Communications Office, meets with senior staff in the hallway and Oval, delivers a composed greeting to the President, presents him with a drink and conveys that they have important news.
- • Deliver sensitive information discreetly
- • Manage the President's immediate optics and morale
- • Control the flow of information between press operations and the Oval
- • Certain information must be handled privately before the bullpen reacts
- • Calm, authoritative presentation preserves the President's poise
- • Her role includes absorbing personal strain to protect institutional stability
Focused and brisk — intent on operational clarity and timing.
Proactively managing phone lines: calls C.J. to draw her attention, cues the 9:00 chant and helps trigger the office-wide celebration.
- • Ensure phone coverage and key lines are answered
- • Coordinate the team's timing around the networks' pivot
- • Keep communications traffic flowing smoothly
- • Timing and line management are crucial on election night
- • A single missed call can lead to misinformation or missed opportunities
Controlled, mildly sardonic — analytical detachment over excitement.
Watching the screens and making analytical remarks about voting patterns (union vs. non-union households) while resisting theatrics; remains focused as the room erupts and as C.J. departs.
- • Interpret returns with skeptical rigor
- • Temper over-exuberant readings of early results
- • Protect messaging integrity from premature celebration
- • Early returns are noisy and need context
- • Campaign narratives should be disciplined and evidence-based
Thoughtful and guarded — trying to calibrate levity against the seriousness of a victory moment.
In the Oval, weighing tone and delivery of remarks, notices C.J. mixing a drink, receives the drink, asks what is happening, and reacts to the New Hampshire projection with quiet attention.
- • Find an appropriate tone for public remarks
- • Absorb and internalize the strategic significance of the projection
- • Maintain composure and readiness for any onstage appearance
- • Words and tone matter more than mere celebration
- • Even good news must be framed carefully for political effect
Neutral, professional — delivering facts that move the room.
Appears on the Communications Office televisions reporting early Delaware returns and the network's readiness to declare electoral votes; functions as the on-screen source of immediate, shaping information.
- • Provide timely, authoritative election coverage
- • Signal network calls that influence viewers and political actors
- • Network projections materially influence public and campaign reactions
- • Precision and speed in reporting are the reporter's currency
From taut anxiety to buoyant relief — the room briefly lightens.
As a collective, the bullpen erupts in cheers at 9:00 and later applauds when the New Hampshire projection is announced; their reaction converts anxiety into relief.
- • Celebrate a tactical win for morale
- • Project confidence outwardly to media and colleagues
- • Re-energize for the long night of returns
- • Public displays of morale strengthen the campaign's image
- • Small victories compound into broader momentum
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
C.J.'s cell phone catalyzes the private beat: she answers a line in the Communications Office, speaks briefly, hangs up, and then departs. The phone is the physical trigger that severs her from the bullpen and sets up the hallway/Oval exchange.
C.J. mixes and/or presents a drink to the President in the Oval — a small, informal prop that punctuates the private exchange and underscores a moment of human steadiness before public-facing remarks.
Television sets in the Communications Office display live network coverage and reporters whose calls (Delaware, Maryland, etc.) structure the room's timing; they provide the sensory and informational backdrop that makes the 9:00 pivot and subsequent cheer possible.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The West Wing hallway serves as the liminal space where C.J.'s private call transforms into a controlled institutional handoff; it's the corridor that carries private information from the bullpen into the Oval's decision-making core.
The Mural Room provides the immediate audience for the Oval's announcement: after receiving the New Hampshire projection, staff and guests move into the Mural Room and offer applause, converting private confirmation into a semi-public celebration.
The Communications Office functions as the noisy operational hub where staff monitor TVs, manage phone lines, and react in real time. It is the public-facing nerve center whose cheer at the 9:00 pivot contrasts with C.J.'s private withdrawal.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
CBS, via its on-screen reporter and broadcast feed, furnishes immediate data (Delaware returns) that structures the Communications Office's timing and contributes to the 9:00 pivot. The network's call materially influences the bullpen's perception of momentum.
NBC's on-air projection (putting Maryland in the President's column) contributes to the cumulative sense of momentum displayed on the Communications Office screens; network reporting aggregates into a narrative of advantage for the campaign.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
No narrative connections mapped yet
This event is currently isolated in the narrative graph
Key Dialogue
"C.J.: You'll see in a minute."
"BARTLET: What are you doing?"
"C.J.: We've got some news."
"LEO: You're going to win New Hampshire."