Staff Press Leo for Covert MS Polling Amid Paranoia
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Toby and Josh confront Leo in his office, demanding polling data to navigate the fallout of Bartlet's concealed MS diagnosis.
Leo resists the idea, arguing that public opinion can't be gauged until the press reacts to the MS revelation.
Josh proposes using Joey Lucas for a covert poll under the guise of a study on subsurface agricultural products.
Toby expresses his distrust in everyone, underscoring the paranoia gripping the staff.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Professionally urgent amid routine frenzy
Donna calls out off-screen to Josh about a NASA fax to the Press Office, pulling him from the polling debate toward external distraction as he responds and exits.
- • Alert Josh to incoming external crisis
- • Maintain operational flow despite inner chaos
- • Timely information prevents escalation
- • West Wing demands constant vigilance
Skeptical caution masking controlled anxiety over leaks
Leo sits on his desk, fielding urgent polling demands from Toby and Josh with measured resistance, dismissing Margaret's interrupting notes twice while reluctantly greenlighting Josh's covert beets poll after probing its secrecy.
- • Minimize risk of exposure through overt polling
- • Validate a secure method to gauge public reaction
- • Press reaction will dictate public opinion formation
- • Internal staff cannot be trusted amid crisis
Calmly dutiful under pressure
Margaret knocks and enters Leo's office twice with notes, silently delivering them for Leo to read and return with 'We'll call back,' punctuating the polling debate with rhythmic interruptions.
- • Deliver urgent messages without delay
- • Preserve meeting flow through quick exchanges
- • Discretion sustains command structure
- • Interruptions channel external urgency inward
Frustrated paranoia boiling under urgent insistence
Toby urgently pitches polling need, debates MS perception pitfalls, endorses Josh's Joey Lucas trust despite his own paranoia, sighing through interruptions before declaring blanket distrust and walking off.
- • Force polling to clarify next crisis steps
- • Reinforce team vigilance against internal betrayal
- • Unknowable public reaction blocks strategy
- • No one in the White House is trustworthy now
referenced as trusted pollster from California flying in, commissioned by Josh for blind MS poll disguised as subsurface agricultural products survey
- • conduct covert blind poll on attitudes toward President's MS
referenced extensively in discussion of polling on perceptions of his physical fitness and MS deception cover-up
approached by Josh in the lobby
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Ed's prank fax from NASA's Byron Talmadge on the Chinese satellite is referenced by Donna OS, alerting Josh and foreshadowing tonal whiplash from political crisis to absurd external panic, yanking focus as he exits the polling huddle.
Margaret's note interrupts the polling debate twice: delivered to Leo who reads it swiftly, instructs a callback, and returns it, heightening tension and underscoring the relentless external pressures fracturing internal strategy sessions amid MS cover-up paranoia.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Northwest Lobby serves as abrupt transition endpoint where Josh approaches Martin Connelly post-polling approval, shifting from office paranoia to DOJ crisis ambush amid echoing guards and prank-fueled distractions, amplifying layered White House frays.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Press Office receives NASA's fax, positioning it as communication hub targeted by external alerts, implicitly tying into Leo's polling rationale that press reaction shapes MS scandal opinion, heightening leak paranoia in the debate.
NASA's fax originates from its Office of Space Flight, referenced as source of satellite alert to Press Office, pulling staff from cover-up strategy into farcical space panic and underscoring relentless external demands on besieged Oval orbit.
Office of Space Flight at NASA sends urgent fax to Press Office about Chinese satellite, invoked by Donna to interrupt Josh, injecting cosmic bureaucratic panic into MS polling crisis and exemplifying external chaos diverting political focus.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Josh's insistence on polling reflects his proactive nature and concern for the political fallout, consistent across both beats."
"Josh's insistence on polling reflects his proactive nature and concern for the political fallout, consistent across both beats."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"TOBY: We want to see some polling. LEO: Why? TOBY: Cause we need to know what to do next."
"TOBY: ...the perception that he's not physically up to the job or that he lied about it. LEO: There's no way to gauge public opinion on this until the issue occurs."
"JOSH: I told her we were commissioning a poll to explore attitudes towards subsurface agricultural products. LEO: Subsurface agricultural... what the hell...? JOSH: Underground. We think Americans are eating more beats. LEO: Beats? JOSH: Yeah."
"TOBY: You trust this person? JOSH: [beat] I gotta trust somebody, right? TOBY: Good, 'cause I don't trust anybody right now."