The West Wing
S4E7
· Election Night

The Tremor: An Unsigned Signature

On the church steps, a public farewell—a quick kiss with Abbey, reporters clamoring—masks a private failure of control. Charlie hands Bartlet paperwork; Bartlet jokes about aspirin, insists he’s fine and will sign in the car. Once inside the limousine, his hand trembles visibly as he tries to sign. He closes the folder without signing, steadies his hand with the other, and orders the motorcade to go. The moment quietly reveals a physical lapse that raises stakes about the President’s health and the administration’s steadiness, functioning as a quiet but significant turning point and a setup for later concern.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

4

Charlie hands Bartlet papers for signature, and Bartlet asks for aspirin, revealing he has a headache.

affectionate to concerned

Bartlet dismisses Charlie's concern about his headache, insisting he's fine and will sign the papers in the car.

concerned to dismissive

Bartlet gets into the limousine and attempts to sign the papers, but his hand trembles, forcing him to stop.

dismissive to frustrated ['limousine']

Bartlet closes the folder without signing and instructs the motorcade to go, visibly struggling to control his trembling hand.

frustrated to resigned ['limousine']

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Charlie Young
primary

Concerned and alert; balancing duty to preserve the President's privacy with instinct to ensure his wellbeing.

Presents the folder of papers to the President, offers to fetch aspirin and call the doctor, stands by deferentially as Bartlet declines and says he'll sign in the car, observes Bartlet's tremor discreetly as he enters the limousine.

Goals in this moment
  • • Ensure the President's health is monitored and get medical help if needed.
  • • Complete administrative tasks (get documents signed) while following Bartlet's instructions.
  • • Protect the President from embarrassment or public exposure of vulnerability.
Active beliefs
  • • The President's physical condition should be handled discreetly to avoid political damage.
  • • Small medical issues can escalate and should be observed.
  • • Following the President's lead demonstrates loyalty and preserves stability.
Character traits
attentive protective efficient loyal
Follow Charlie Young's journey
Josiah Bartlet
primary

Feigned calm masking anxiety and a practical worry about concealment—projecting competence while privately startled by physical lapse.

Performs a public-facing exit: answers a reporter, kisses Abbey, accepts Charlie's folder, jokes about aspirin, insists he'll sign in the car. Inside the limo he reveals a visible hand tremor, closes the folder unsigned, steadies his hand and orders the motorcade to go.

Goals in this moment
  • • Preserve public confidence and avoid signaling weakness to the press.
  • • Complete necessary paperwork while minimizing exposure of any medical problem.
  • • Protect Abbey and staff from unnecessary alarm or scrutiny.
  • • Maintain command of the moment and the schedule (get moving).
Active beliefs
  • • Revealing a physical problem would harm the campaign and public trust.
  • • He can control the narrative by staying composed and postponing disclosure.
  • • His aides (Charlie) will handle logistics and discretion.
  • • A small symptom is manageable and not worth immediate medical escalation in public.
Character traits
controlled disciplined evasive private
Follow Josiah Bartlet's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

3
Bartlet's Aspirin

Bartlet asks Charlie to 'score me a couple of aspirin'—the aspirin functions as a shorthand for an otherwise unnamed physical complaint. It is invoked but never procured, serving narratively as a small, domestic attempt to treat a symptom while avoiding medicalization or spectacle.

Before: Not in Bartlet's possession; referenced as something Charlie …
After: Unfetched and unconsumed at the scene's end; the …
Before: Not in Bartlet's possession; referenced as something Charlie could obtain imminently.
After: Unfetched and unconsumed at the scene's end; the symptom remains untreated publicly.
Abbey's Next Plane

Mentioned by Bartlet as Abbey 'taking the next plane,' the plane operates as a logistical object that explains Abbey's quick exit and compresses the farewell, increasing the urgency of the moment and limiting time for private remediation.

Before: Scheduled; Abbey preparing to board as the public …
After: Abbey departs (implied); the plane leaves her from …
Before: Scheduled; Abbey preparing to board as the public farewell occurs.
After: Abbey departs (implied); the plane leaves her from the church steps, removing her from immediate capacity to intervene.
Bartlet's Limousine at Church Steps

The limousine's enclosed folder and interior become the site of revelation: Bartlet opens the folder to sign, his hand trembles, he snaps it closed without signing. The object (the limo as a contained space) facilitates a private exposure of physical frailty away from cameras.

Before: Parked at the church steps with Bartlet approaching …
After: Door closed; vehicle pulls off with Bartlet inside, …
Before: Parked at the church steps with Bartlet approaching and Charlie handing over paperwork at the threshold.
After: Door closed; vehicle pulls off with Bartlet inside, the folder remaining unsigned and the tremor still evident.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

3
President Bartlet's Motorcade

The motorcade functions as the transitional conduit that moves Bartlet away from public scrutiny toward seclusion. It is the mechanism by which the unsigned paperwork and the revealed tremor are carried into ongoing narrative consequence.

Atmosphere Mechanical urgency—engines running, tires rolling, a sense of ordered movement.
Function Transport conduit and buffer between public stage and secure locations.
Symbolism Represents an institutional motion that can hide or defer problems rather than resolve them.
Access Heavily guarded and restricted to authorized personnel; closed convoy formation.
Line of black limousines and security vehicles. Engine rumble and formation pull-off sounds. Quick, choreographed departure sequence.
Presidential Rope Line Event

The presidential limousine (interior) is the sealed, intimate setting where the President's tremor is revealed. Its tinted windows and leather cabin turn it into a confessional and a place for undisclosed vulnerabilities, separating public performance from private reality.

Atmosphere Sealed, tense, quiet except for engine hum; claustrophobic with a charged intimacy.
Function Private refuge and operational command space—also the reveal location for the President's physical lapse.
Symbolism Embodies the isolation of power and the secrecy that can surround a leader's health.
Access Strictly limited to principal staff and security; physically inaccessible to press.
Door slams shut, creating an audible cut from the outside world. Leather seats and tinted windows that obscure interior actions. Engine hum and muffled city/road sounds.
Front Steps of the Church

The church's broad front steps operate as the public stage where press scrutiny, ritual farewell, and political theater converge. Reporters shout questions, the kiss is exchanged and the handoff of paperwork occurs here, creating a public pressure-cooker that forces composure.

Atmosphere Noisy and expectant—clamorous reporters, public bustle, ceremonial overspill into partisan tension.
Function Stage for public farewell and press accountability; an exposure point where private matters must be …
Symbolism Represents the collision of private life and public office—faith's sanctity compromised by political scrutiny.
Access Open to public and press but monitored by security; effectively a public thoroughfare in this …
Broad stone steps used as a raised platform. Reporters shouting questions, creating a clamoring soundscape. Crowd noise and the visible line of black security vehicles below.

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What this causes 2
Emotional Echo

"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."

After the Win: Abbey's Quiet Reassurance
S4E7 · Election Night
Emotional Echo

"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."

The Encore — Public Optics, Private Concern
S4E7 · Election Night

Key Dialogue

"CHARLIE: These are for your signature. BARTLET: Yeah. Listen, you think you could score me a couple of aspirin? CHARLIE: Yes, sir. You got a headache? BARTLET: I'm fine. CHARLIE: Should I ask the doctor...? BARTLET: No, it's just a headache. Just me and you today, okay. I'm fine."
"BARTLET: I'll sign these in the car."
"BARTLET: Okay, this can wait. Let's go."