Dial Down the Rhetoric
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Leo interrupts C.J. and Danny's exchange, shifting the scene's focus as he instructs C.J. to dial back her rhetoric on hate crimes, highlighting the administration's internal conflict.
C.J. pushes back on Leo's directive, passionately defending the need to address hate crimes, exposing the moral versus political dilemma within the White House.
The scene ends with a shift to personal conversation as C.J. offers to cook for Leo on Christmas, briefly softening the tension before Leo departs.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Righteously indignant and grief‑charged while arguing; afterward more conciliatory and quietly concerned—anger gives way to weary care.
Leaning against her desk, she moves from playfulness (reading her list, ripping open a tiny gift) into a pitched moral argument: she names the killing in vivid terms, broadens it into a cultural diagnosis, then, after Leo's request, softens into an intimate offer to cook for him at Christmas.
- • To publicly name and condemn the moral depravity behind the murder and demand moral clarity.
- • To resist institutional smoothing that would sanitize or minimize the crime's significance.
- • To preserve her credibility and moral voice as Press Secretary while navigating Leo's command.
- • That rhetoric matters and public language should call out hate explicitly.
- • That the murder is symptomatic of deeper social pathologies that must be named, not minimized.
- • That political caution often silences urgent moral truths.
Playful and hopeful at first, then slightly awkward and deferential as he exits to give space to senior staff.
Begins the scene seated and amused, offers a small, intimate gift and a confession, then collects his coat and leaves when Carol announces Leo's arrival—a private witness to the tonal shift but not an active participant in the policy dispute.
- • To create a private, affectionate moment with C.J. via a small gift and confession.
- • To avoid interfering with White House business once senior staff arrive.
- • To leave gracefully without escalating the developing policy exchange.
- • That personal connections and small gestures matter, even amid political life.
- • That the H.W. workplace has boundaries that should be respected when leadership intervenes.
Calm, controlled, slightly weary; exercising steady authority while masking the weight of political risk.
Enters from the doorway, intercepts the private exchange, and delivers a measured, authoritative instruction to 'dial down the rhetoric.' He frames his request as operational caution, refuses to be drawn into moral grandstanding, then departs after a brief, almost paternal, moment of banter with C.J.
- • To manage institutional and political risk by damping incendiary public language.
- • To keep options open while testing public reaction ('float a test balloon').
- • To protect the President and staff from polarizing fallout.
- • That measured rhetoric preserves political maneuverability.
- • That legislation or public posture must consider a divided audience, including internal staff.
- • That leadership sometimes requires tempering moral outrage to avoid unintended consequences.
Businesslike and focused; neutral emotionally but attentive to the needs of workflow and chain of command.
Appears in the doorway to interrupt the private moment, calmly informs C.J. that Leo is present, functioning as the pragmatic conduit of information that shifts the scene toward formal business.
- • To ensure C.J. is aware of Leo's presence so the conversation can be appropriately redirected.
- • To maintain orderly flow of information into C.J.'s office during a sensitive night.
- • To protect her principal from surprises and preserve professional protocol.
- • That prompt, clear information-sharing keeps the communications operation functioning.
- • That senior staff presence changes conversational stakes and must be signaled quickly.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Crinkled wrapping paper functions as the reveal device: C.J. rips it open to disclose the trivial gift, heightening intimacy and levity; the torn paper visually marks the transition from private play to professional interruption.
A palm-sized cylinder (goldfish food) is produced from Danny's coat as a small, intimate Christmas gift. It punctures the night's seriousness with domestic humor and prompts a private, human moment before Leo's arrival shifts the tone to policy.
The visitor chair holds Danny while he listens and flirts; its occupation frames the intimacy of the moment and its subsequent vacancy marks the room's transition once he leaves for Leo's entrance.
C.J.'s press office desk anchors the beat: she leans against it while reading the list, it holds the unwrapped gift and any stray papers, and it becomes the physical stage where playfulness and policy collide — hands, lists, and the goldfish container share its surface.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Night pools at C.J.'s office doorway: Carol stands in the jamb to announce Leo's arrival, the doorway operates as the hinge between private levity and institutional authority, and orchestrates exits/entrances that change tone and control access to the office's intimate space.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"The news of Lowell Lydell's hate crime motivates C.J.'s passionate advocacy for hate-crime legislation, which Leo then attempts to temper, creating a direct cause-and-effect chain."
Key Dialogue
"LEO: Listen, dial down the rhetoric on hate crimes would you?"
"C.J.: They made him say 'Hail Mary's' as they beat him to death. This was a crime of entertainment."
"C.J.: Want me to come cook you something? / LEO: What are you my mother?"