Pirates, Privateers, and the DAR Distraction
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Will shifts the conversation to a lighter topic, asking Josh about the First Lady's alleged pirate ancestor, introducing a comedic subplot.
C.J. joins the conversation, clarifying the distinction between a pirate and a privateer, and the group decides to address the DAR issue with the First Lady.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Controlled urgency — professionally alarmed but refusing to let panic replace process.
Josh delivers an urgent USGS/Coast Guard briefing about a Battletree Lake dam failure, warns of media fallout and preparing C.J., and informs colleagues the President will need briefing; he moves from briefing to hallway coordination.
- • Convey the technical and political urgency of the Alaskan disaster to senior staff.
- • Ensure communications are prepared and the President is briefed without creating avoidable media chaos.
- • Accurate, early briefing is the only way to manage a fast-moving disaster.
- • Media and PR issues will follow the crisis and must be anticipated now.
Mildly exasperated but briskly businesslike — using humor to reset tension while shifting to damage-control posture.
C.J. arrives amid the emergency briefing, receives Will's Globe tip, corrects 'pirate' to 'privateer' with practiced precision, and immediately decides she and Will should visit the First Lady to contain the PR problem.
- • Prevent a small PR flap from becoming a public spectacle.
- • Move the DAR allegation out of the press arena and into a controlled, private conversation with the First Lady.
- • Face-to-face intervention is the quickest way to neutralize a petty media escalation.
- • Language and framing (privateer vs. pirate) matter for public perception and must be corrected immediately.
Not present on-screen; inferred as professional and dutiful via association with Marion's outreach.
Thomas is present in canonical references as Marion's secretary; in this event he is part of the constellation of names that anchor Marion to Marblehead and the Globe call, contributing to the complaint's credibility.
- • Support Marion's public complaint logistics.
- • Lend administrative weight to the boycott effort.
- • Procedural correctness and delegation strengthen Marion's public posture.
- • Institutional channels are the right way to amplify grievances.
Not present, but inferred concern — staff anticipate he will be briefed and must authorize response.
President Bartlet is invoked as the official who will need briefing and potentially to authorize mutual assistance; his presence is felt institutionally though he is not on-screen in this moment.
- • Be kept informed of the Alaska emergency through an orderly chain of briefings.
- • Preserve presidential credibility by ensuring measured, coordinated action.
- • The President must be briefed before major policy or international coordination decisions.
- • Accurate information and timing are crucial to presidential action.
Outraged/performatively offended — inferred from her action of calling the Globe and organizing a boycott.
Marion Cotesworth-Haye is referenced as the caller who has publicly denounced the First Lady's DAR eligibility and is organizing a boycott of the White House DAR reception, supplying the kernel of the Globe story.
- • Publicly delegitimize the First Lady's DAR credentials.
- • Mobilize fellow DAR members to boycott the White House reception.
- • Her interpretation of lineage purity is a public value worth policing.
- • Media exposure will amplify her complaint and compel institutional response.
Not present in scene; represented as objective and fact-focused through Josh's relaying of his report.
David Elsin is cited by Josh as the USGS author of the Battletree Lake briefing; his report supplies the scientific facts that precipitate the staff's emergency posture.
- • Provide an accurate scientific account of the glacial lake outburst.
- • Ensure federal responders understand the scale and cause of the event.
- • Clear scientific data must guide emergency response.
- • The magnitude of the physical event will drive political priorities.
Not present; inferred operational gravity conveyed through the briefing's tone.
Commander Dennis Travis is cited as co-reporting with the USGS; his operational authority frames the outburst as an active emergency requiring coordinated rescue.
- • Inform policy staff of immediate rescue and evacuation needs.
- • Ensure federal resources and international assistance are considered promptly.
- • Operational facts about rescue needs should drive White House response.
- • Interagency coordination is necessary for effective relief.
Not applicable — historical figure invoked as a rhetorical device to reframe controversy.
Feathersworth is referenced as the First Lady's ancestor brought up by the Globe tip; his privateering past becomes the semantic pivot (privateer vs. pirate) that C.J. seizes to defuse the complaint.
- • Serve as the factual basis to rebut the pirate allegation.
- • Allow staff to reframe the story away from scandal.
- • Historical nuance can neutralize moralistic attacks.
- • Framing matters more than the raw fact in a public spat about ancestry.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Alaska Glacier functions as the implied causal agent in Josh's briefing: its melting is described as the upstream process that weakened the natural dam and precipitated the outburst. It is the scientific backdrop against which staff must balance policy, rescue, and PR.
The Battletree Lake Natural Dam is invoked as the immediate physical trigger for the catastrophe. Josh's description of the dam's failure supplies the dramatic image (a 300-foot-wide surge) that sets the room's urgent tone, creating the pressure valve that Will's levity later relieves.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The West Wing Hallway is the connective space where the tone shifts physically: Josh exits Leo's office into the hallway, collides with Will, and moves the Alaska briefing into conversational flow; it's the space of transition where crisis and petty scandal meet.
The First Lady's Office is established as the immediate destination for containment. C.J. and Will decide to take the DAR allegation there in person, converting a public-media irritant into a private management problem for the First Lady to handle with staff support.
Kachadee is cited as the downstream town being devastated by the outburst; its mention localizes human impact and raises the moral stakes behind the briefing Josh delivers.
Battletree Lake (canonical as location) is the geographical focal point of the emergency; its natural dam's failure is the narrative engine that creates urgency and forces staff to triage policy, rescue, and messaging simultaneously.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Coast Guard is referenced as co-reporting and operationally responsible for on-scene rescue; its commander (Dennis Travis) anchors the briefing in immediate rescue capability and logistics.
Russia is invoked as another signatory to the Arctic mutual assistance pact, listed as a potential partner in the rescue operation — its mention underscores the geopolitical breadth of emergency logistics.
The Boston Globe appears as the media actor that received Marion's call and phoned White House staff, generating the DAR/ancestry angle that threatens a PR headache amid the larger crisis.
The White House is the institutional stage where competing demands collide: emergency rescue and media-driven ceremonial controversy intersect, forcing staff to triage and perform internal damage control while managing presidential briefings.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) supplies the scientific report Josh cites; its data provides the factual backbone for the White House's emergency posture and justifies international assistance and rescue planning.
The Daughters of the American Revolution is the institutional target of Marion's complaint; its membership rules and local leadership create the framework for a social-heritage dispute that the White House must handle delicately.
Canada is named as a ready signatory able to send Pavehawk helicopters and support Arctic rescue; cited as an available partner in the mutual assistance arrangement.
The Mutual Assistance Agreement (Arctic Airborne Rescue) is invoked by Josh as the legal/institutional channel enabling Canada and Russia to assist in airlifting survivors; it frames the scope of possible international cooperation.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Will's initial mention of Abbey's 'pirate' ancestor is later resolved by Amy's creative solution involving the 'Francis Scott Key key' award."
"Will's initial mention of Abbey's 'pirate' ancestor is later resolved by Amy's creative solution involving the 'Francis Scott Key key' award."
"Will's initial mention of Abbey's 'pirate' ancestor is later resolved by Amy's creative solution involving the 'Francis Scott Key key' award."
"Josh's briefing on the Alaskan disaster leads to Leo's meeting with Hillary Toobin, who labels the event as 'global warming fatalities,' escalating the political stakes."
"Josh's briefing on the Alaskan disaster leads to Leo's meeting with Hillary Toobin, who labels the event as 'global warming fatalities,' escalating the political stakes."
Key Dialogue
"WILL: The Boston Globe."
"C.J.: He wasn't a pirate, he was a privateer."
"C.J.: All right, I think it's time for a visit to the First Lady's office."