Strike Today — Bartlet's Fury and the Missing Glasses
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet vents frustration over the delayed response to the attack, accusing Cashman and Berryhill of dragging their feet.
Leo reminds Bartlet of the procedural constraints, but Bartlet insists on immediate action, demanding a response scenario be drawn up today.
Bartlet's frustration escalates as he vents about the 72-hour delay since the attack, declaring they will strike back today.
Leo cautions Bartlet to avoid personalizing the attack when speaking with the Chiefs, but Bartlet questions why he shouldn't take it personally.
Bartlet dismisses Leo's concern about personalizing the victim, emphasizing it's about Americans, not just one individual.
Leo concedes the argument, indicating a strategic retreat as Bartlet prepares for his next meeting.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Professionally neutral and welcoming
Positioned in the Outer Oval Office, Nancy offers a brief, polite morning greeting to the entering President and Leo, facilitating smooth transition into the inner Oval.
- • Greet and acknowledge President's arrival
- • Support seamless office flow
- • Polite protocol eases high-stress entries
- • Small courtesies sustain daily operations
Boiling fury laced with personal grief and defensive resolve
Striding angrily toward the Oval Office with Leo, Bartlet vocally accuses Cashman and Berryhill of sabotage-like delays, demands same-day response planning and strikes inside at his desk, yells repeatedly for missing glasses, snaps defensively about personalizing Morris Tolliver's death, and squints at his watch before holding a file.
- • Force immediate drafting and execution of military retaliation
- • Reassert unchallenged presidential authority over advisors
- • Military advisors are intentionally stonewalling to undermine him
- • Personal connection to victim justifies accelerated, aggressive action
Steadfast calm veiling urgent concern for protocol and optics
Walking alongside Bartlet outside and into the Oval Office, Leo methodically explains interagency process with State and Chiefs, firmly warns against using 'him' for Morris Tolliver in front of military leaders, absorbs Bartlet's defensiveness without escalating, and quietly exits for staff meeting.
- • Temper Bartlet's personalization to preserve command credibility
- • Insist on deliberate process amid crisis pressure
- • Procedural caution prevents political and operational disaster
- • Public depersonalization strengthens executive position with military
Serene composure anchoring routine amid chaos
Already stationed in the Oval Office, Mrs. Landingham greets Bartlet warmly, hands him a paper, efficiently agrees to search for his glasses twice amid his outbursts, and calmly reminds him the director awaits before exiting again.
- • Resolve President's immediate practical need for glasses
- • Maintain schedule by prompting next appointment
- • Domestic steadiness supports executive function
- • Routine tasks persist regardless of crisis intensity
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The President's metal‑rim reading glasses are explicitly missing and become a recurring, domestic prop: Bartlet calls for Mrs. Landingham to find them, the absence interrupts his ability to read a file and undercuts the display of seamless command, humanizing him in front of staff.
The President glances at his wristwatch as a pacing device; attempting to read it without his glasses emphasizes distraction and impatience, compressing the scene's tempo while signaling the President’s need for temporal control amid emotional chaos.
A briefing file is held up by Bartlet as he tries to read it to ground his demands in actionable options; the trembling, unreadable paper amplifies his frustration and symbolizes the tension between grief‑driven urgency and procedural documentation.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The White House portico functions as the initial threshold where private grief hardens into public rage. Bartlet and Leo walk it together, giving the eruption a semi‑public theatricality before they enter the Oval Office, establishing a crossing from personal to institutional.
Leo's office is referenced as the place Leo departs to ('I got staff') — a pragmatic workspace the President will return to later; it functions as the operational hub where staff will be marshaled to convert rage into plans.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Charlie helping Bartlet find his glasses (in beat_e61c9a8ac467882a) recalls Bartlet's earlier frustration over missing glasses (in beat_eb7cbb5ee5d4e923), showing Charlie's attention to detail."
"Charlie helping Bartlet find his glasses (in beat_e61c9a8ac467882a) recalls Bartlet's earlier frustration over missing glasses (in beat_eb7cbb5ee5d4e923), showing Charlie's attention to detail."
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: "This is crap. It's been three days. This is amateur hour.""
"BARTLET: "We are going to draw up a response scenario today, I'm going to give the order today, we're going to strike back today.""
"LEO: "I wish you wouldn't say 'him', Mr. President.""