Toby Presses Leo on Rumors of Dropping Hoynes
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Toby confronts Leo in his dimly lit office, probing about Vice President Hoynes' recent actions and the possibility of him being dropped from the 2002 ticket.
Leo dismisses Toby's concerns with a casual remark about Hoynes' egomania, but Toby presses further, drawing a parallel to the Eisenhower-Nixon situation.
Leo firmly denies any discussion about dropping Hoynes, urging Toby not to dwell on it, but Toby's lingering doubt is evident as he walks out.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Implied ambition-driven calculation
Hoynes looms as spectral antagonist in Toby-Leo exchange, invoked repeatedly for his polling-spurred Big Oil slapdown and potential 2002 ticket vulnerability, fueling Toby's accusations without physical presence.
- • Boost personal polling via targeted attacks
- • Position for presidential contention
- • Public opinion polls dictate strategic public stances
- • Administration vulnerabilities create ticket opportunities
Building frustration laced with urgent suspicion and disbelief
Toby cycles through nights of solitary frenzy—throwing rubber ball against wall, pausing at TV report, crumpling legal pads into wastebasket, typing furiously on laptop before abruptly halting and storming to Leo's office; confronts with probing questions on Hoynes' motives and ticket rumors, sighing skeptically before exiting.
- • Uncover the truth behind Hoynes' anti-Big Oil attack and polling
- • Confirm or dispel rumors of dropping Hoynes from the 2002 ticket
- • Hoynes' actions signal a deeper betrayal or administration plot
- • Leo's deflections hide critical information about party fractures
Measured urgency underscoring societal crisis
The TV Autism Expert broadcasts urgently from Toby's office screen, citing one-in-500 prevalence and funding shortfalls, momentarily halting Toby's ball-throwing ritual and injecting public health gravity into his private obsession.
- • Highlight autism epidemic's scale and underfunding
- • Press policymakers via public broadcast
- • Autism demands urgent federal intervention despite neglect
- • Prevalence statistics compel immediate awareness
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Toby's Office Television drones from desk edge, broadcasting the Autism Expert's alarming stats on prevalence and funding—abruptly freezing Toby's stress-throwing rhythm, serving as narrative pivot yanking personal fixation toward external crisis before his Leo confrontation.
Crumpled legal pad sheets materialize from Toby's failed drafts two nights post-TV interruption, viciously wadded and heaved into overflowing wastebasket—tangible debris of unraveling theories on Hoynes, amplifying visual frenzy propelling his office exodus.
Toby's overflowing wastebasket sags in office corner, already avalanche-buried in prior crumpled failures, receiving fresh salvos of balled legal sheets two nights after TV halt—mirroring escalating defeat and obsessive dead-ends before laptop surge to Leo.
Toby's laptop glows amid two nights after paper fury, enduring rapid keystrokes chasing Hoynes intel until sudden freeze mid-thought, abandoned humming on desk as Toby bolts to Leo—digital proxy for his data-diving paranoia fueling direct confrontation.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Big Oil emerges as flashpoint in Toby's interrogation, dissected as improbable target of Hoynes' volunteered assault—polling-fueled 'slapdown' dissected as anomalous theater masking ticket ambitions, crystallizing Toby's betrayal suspicions amid Leo's deflections.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"The unresolved tension in both scenes is echoed by the sound of Toby's rubber ball hitting the wall."
"Toby's initial confrontation with Leo about Hoynes' actions leads to his more direct accusation about Hoynes challenging Bartlet."
"Toby's restless energy and obsessive behavior are consistently shown through his repeated action of throwing the rubber ball against the wall."
"Leo's discomfort and deflection in both scenes indicate his unease about Toby's probing into Hoynes' actions."
"The sound of Toby's rubber ball hitting the wall symbolizes his unresolved tension and obsession, which escalates as he decodes Hoynes' political moves."
"The sound of Toby's rubber ball hitting the wall symbolizes his unresolved tension and obsession, which escalates as he decodes Hoynes' political moves."
"The sound of Toby's rubber ball hitting the wall symbolizes his unresolved tension and obsession, which escalates as he decodes Hoynes' political moves."
Key Dialogue
"TOBY: Leo, has there been a discussion in some room, some place, anywhere on any level about Hoynes being dropped from the ticket in 2002?"
"LEO: No."
"TOBY: You sure?"
"LEO: Yep."
"TOBY: Cause I thought maybe it was an Eisenhower-Nixon..."
"LEO: No, Toby, I wouldn't give it a lot of thought."