Bartlet Engineers Cochran's Exit
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet orchestrates Cochran's forced resignation by confronting him about his affair, leveraging Charlie's past encounter to underline Cochran's hypocrisy, and securing a corporate exit for him.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Calmly professional with a hint of private satisfaction; slightly amused but respectful when past connection surfaces.
Charlie Young sits with Cochran in the Mural Room, is recognized by Cochran from a past service job, answers politely and deflects status tension; his quiet familiarity helps humanize the exchange and undercuts Cochran's hauteur.
- • Support the President by holding the room and managing the social interaction with Cochran.
- • Maintain professional composure and prevent the encounter from escalating.
- • Aides are conduits of presidential will and should handle awkward social moments with discretion.
- • Personal history can deflate pomp and shift power subtly in favor of the President.
Coolly decisive; measured public warmth masks a transactional, utilitarian resolve to protect institutional interests at personal cost.
President Bartlet executes a deliberate, private political maneuver: he instructs Ted Mitchell to recruit Cochran, then confronts Cochran in the Mural Room, demands his resignation, offers a cushioned corporate exit, and threatens the social consequences for Cochran's wife to secure compliance.
- • Remove Ken Cochran swiftly and quietly from his ambassadorial post.
- • Protect the administration's reputation and clear a path for FEC/strategic maneuvering.
- • The administration's political survival justifies private, face‑saving trades.
- • Personal reputations and marriages can be leveraged to achieve necessary political outcomes.
Agitated and indignant on the surface, then unsettled and chastened as the President shifts from factual accusation to implicit social threat.
Ken Cochran arrives in the Mural Room defensive and visibly shaken; he protests outrage, dabs his face with a handkerchief, initially tries social bluster, then hears Bartlet's demand to resign and is offered a corporate seat as a consolation while being reminded of potential humiliation for his wife.
- • Avoid public disgrace and preserve his personal and professional reputation.
- • Negotiate or protest the forced resignation to minimize personal loss.
- • His status as U.S. Ambassador should protect him from crude political removal.
- • Social reputation and his wife's dignity are paramount and vulnerable to scandal.
Slightly puzzled but cooperative; accepts the favor request with the demeanor of a pragmatic intermediary.
Ted Mitchell sits in the Oval/outer office waiting for the President; he receives Bartlet's curt instruction to hire Cochran and absorbs the request with polite puzzlement and immediate willingness to be used as the administration's placement conduit.
- • Comply with the President's request to place Cochran on a corporate board.
- • Preserve his social and corporate standing while executing the President's directive.
- • Bartlet's asks are to be carried out without public fuss.
- • Corporate board seats can be used as tools for political problem‑solving.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Ken Cochran repeatedly dabs his face and hands with a small handkerchief during the confrontation, a tactile indicator of his nervousness and humiliation; the handkerchief visually punctuates his loss of composure and underscores the personal stakes Bartlet invokes.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Mural Room serves as the intimate, ceremonial chamber where Bartlet summons Cochran and conducts the surgical removal: a private yet formal setting that concentrates reputational pressure and facilitates a quick, controlled confrontation.
The Outer Oval Office functions as the transitional corridor where Bartlet moves between interviews, erecting a rhythm of controlled encounters and enabling quick tactical pivots — he stops briefly to summon Ted and to sign an item before proceeding.
The Northwest Lobby Hallway acts as the connective tissue between the Oval, the Mural Room, and the Roosevelt Room — Bartlet moves through it with purposeful gait, turning spatial movement into narrative momentum that carries the Cochran decision into a policy negotiation.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Sam's frustration about Laurie's past being used against her echoes President Bartlet's later compassionate support for Sam and Laurie."
"Sam's frustration about Laurie's past being used against her echoes President Bartlet's later compassionate support for Sam and Laurie."
"Leo's ambush of Barry Haskel with documented evidence parallels Bartlet's negotiation with Max Lobell, both instances of using leverage to achieve policy objectives."
"Leo's ambush of Barry Haskel with documented evidence parallels Bartlet's negotiation with Max Lobell, both instances of using leverage to achieve policy objectives."
"Leo's ambush of Barry Haskel with documented evidence parallels Bartlet's negotiation with Max Lobell, both instances of using leverage to achieve policy objectives."
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: "Resign.""
"BARTLET: "It's done Ken. Ted Mitchell's going to put you on the Board of Directors, and please remember that I have a lot of affection for your wife, and I would hate to see her be made a fool of.""
"COCHRAN: "I never voted for you.""