Public Farewell, Private Tremor
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Reporters call out to President Bartlet, and Katie asks if he has a message for Governor Ritchie.
Bartlet responds to Katie's question by suggesting he and Ritchie will talk later and mentions Abbey is taking the next plane.
Bartlet kisses Abbey and starts walking toward the motorcade.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Absent from the scene, his presence functions as a political pressure rather than an emotional actor in the moment.
Governor Ritchie is invoked by the reporter as the subject of the question; he is not physically present but operates as the political adversary referenced in the exchange.
- • As a rival, to be positioned in the public narrative against Bartlet
- • To gain advantage from any apparent weakness or misstep
- • Political contests are opportunities to exploit opponent vulnerability
- • Media moments shape public perception of the race
Concerned and responsible — balancing respect for the President's wishes with a readiness to intervene if needed.
Charlie presents paperwork for signature, offers to fetch aspirin and to call the doctor, and answers the President respectfully; he is deferential but clearly concerned about Bartlet's headache and wellbeing.
- • Ensure the President's immediate medical needs are addressed
- • Make sure essential paperwork is signed
- • Prevent any public incident or embarrassment
- • Follow chain-of-command while advocating for care
- • Small interventions (aspirin, doctor) can avert escalation
- • He should defer to the President's directives unless risk is clear
- • Protecting the President's dignity is part of his duty
Feigned calm masking physical vulnerability and private anxiety — projecting steadiness while privately unsettled and constrained by duty.
President Bartlet deflects a reporter's question, gives Abbey a quick public kiss, accepts Charlie's paperwork, requests aspirin, then retreats into the limousine where his hand trembles as he attempts to sign and he closes the folder unsigned.
- • Maintain public composure and campaign momentum
- • Avoid exposing any personal health problem to press or staff
- • Complete necessary paperwork without causing alarm
- • Protect Abbey from public scrutiny and keep the farewell brief
- • Any sign of weakness will be politically damaging
- • He is responsible for carrying on regardless of personal discomfort
- • Staff will manage logistics if he keeps control outwardly
- • Some matters (his health) are private and must be contained
Professional neutrality with a probing edge — focused on getting a soundbite rather than sensing private vulnerability.
A reporter vocally presses the President for comment about Governor Ritchie, performing the public role of extracting a political line while the President maneuvers away from the question.
- • Elicit a direct comment or reaction about Governor Ritchie
- • Capture a quotable moment for the press
- • Maintain pressure on public figures for accountability
- • The public deserves immediate answers to political questions
- • Direct questioning yields accountability and copy
- • The President will provide at least a guarded response
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Bartlet asks Charlie if he can 'score a couple of aspirin'; the object is invoked as a small, immediate remedy and a test of whether to escalate medical attention. The aspirin functions narratively as a mundane touchstone highlighting the President's attempt to minimize a physical symptom.
Abbey's 'next plane' is named in Bartlet's deflecting line as her scheduled transport, serving as the narrative reason for the brief public farewell and the temporal pressure that keeps the moment short and contained.
The limousine's interior becomes the container for private truth: Bartlet slips inside, opens the folder Charlie handed him, produces a pen, and the confined leather cabin exposes his hand tremor when he attempts to sign. The folder snaps shut unsigned, the door seals the scene from the public eye, and the object functions as both refuge and revealing chamber.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The motorcade functions as the transitional mechanism that moves the President from the public church steps into secure seclusion; its departure marks the closing of the public moment and the initiation of private consequence as the convoy pulls away.
The presidential limousine provides tinted, leather-seated seclusion where the President believes he can tend to paperwork and himself away from cameras. It instead becomes the site where the tremor is revealed, turning a protected conveyance into a crucible for private vulnerability.
The church's front steps function as the public stage where reporters gather, questions are posed, Abbey and Bartlet exchange a ceremonial kiss, and the choreography of departure is initiated. It frames the juxtaposition between ceremonial performance and the private business that follows.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Bartlet's private struggle with his trembling hand in the motorcade echoes Abbey's later concern about his health during the victory speech, both highlighting his underlying physical challenges."
"Bartlet's private struggle with his trembling hand in the motorcade echoes Abbey's later concern about his health during the victory speech, both highlighting his underlying physical challenges."
Key Dialogue
"KATIE: "Mr. President, do you have anything to say to Governor Ritchie today?""
"BARTLET: "Well, one way or another I imagine we'll be talking tonight. I got to get back. You can hockle Abbey for awhile. She's taking the next plane.""
"CHARLIE: "Should I ask the doctor...?" / BARTLET: "No, it's just a headache. Just me and you today, okay. I'm fine.""