Josh Urges CJ Damage Control, Stunned by Ellie's Public Defiance
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Josh urgently alerts CJ about the need to address the Surgeon General situation.
Josh insists that Leo will need to intervene and advises CJ to retract some of her earlier statements.
CJ reveals an even more impactful issue—that Ellie Bartlet publicly declared her father would never fire the Surgeon General.
Josh expresses disbelief, first thinking it was Zoey, then realizing it was Eleanor.
Josh reacts with a mix of surprise and exasperation, sighing deeply.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Implied embattled resilience amid referenced threats
Surgeon General Millicent Griffith is referenced as the controversy's core—target of CJ's press support Josh seeks to retract and object of Ellie's quoted defense—her fate anchoring the exchange's political-to-personal escalation.
- • Maintain her position through principled stance
- • Her defense of marijuana policy is scientifically sound
Neutral, as absent but emblematic of family vulnerability
Zoey Bartlet is mistakenly invoked by Josh as the source of the quote, immediately corrected by CJ to Eleanor, amplifying Josh's surprise and underscoring the chaotic personal stakes rippling through staff confusion.
- • None directly; serves as red herring in confusion
- • Family dynamics complicate political crises
Professionally aggressive in pursuit, implied through his quoted amplification
Danny Concannon is invoked by CJ as the reporter actively quoting Eleanor Bartlet's defiant statement on the Surgeon General, thrusting the family rift into public scrutiny and fueling the bullpen's escalating urgency.
- • Extract and publish insider quotes to advance his story on the crisis
- • Pressure the administration via Ellie's revelation
- • Public access to Bartlet family statements serves journalistic accountability
- • The Surgeon General controversy warrants aggressive coverage
Urgently concerned yet professionally steady, balancing alarm with damage-control poise
CJ stands firm in the bullpen exchange, countering Josh's directive to retract her support by revealing Danny's explosive quote from Ellie Bartlet, swiftly correcting Josh's sibling mix-up between Ellie and Zoey to sharpen the crisis focus.
- • Escalate awareness of the family betrayal complicating the Surgeon General crisis
- • Ensure Josh grasps the full severity to coordinate response accurately
- • Ellie's public statement escalates the scandal beyond mere policy support
- • Precise facts about the leak are essential for effective containment
mistaken by Josh for Eleanor Bartlet
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Josh's West Wing Bullpen serves as the frantic hub where CJ and Josh collide in rapid dialogue, the open desks and daylight fostering urgent, unfiltered crisis processing that exposes the Surgeon General scandal's intimate family fracture amid administrative chaos.
Narrative Connections
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Key Dialogue
"JOSH: "Leo's gonna need to talk to her. In the meantime, you should start to walk back some of what you said in the press room, all right?""
"C.J.: "Danny Concannon's quoting Eleanor Bartlet. She said, 'My father won't fire the Surgeon General. He would never do that.'""
"JOSH: "Eleanor?" C.J.: "Yeah." JOSH: "You mean Zoey." C.J.: "No. It was Eleanor.""