Edwards' Bible — Small Symbol, Large Consequence
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet changes his mind about the Bible for the inauguration, opting for one used by Johnathon Edwards in North Hampton, Massachusetts.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Not present; implied seriousness and responsibility for crafting language that reconciles moral urgency with political risk.
Toby is referenced by Leo as the staffer 'working on new foreign policy language;' he is offstage but directly implicated in how the report's findings will be translated into rhetoric.
- • Draft foreign‑policy language that responds to Khundu while balancing realism.
- • Protect the administration from naive or rhetorically harmful statements.
- • Words shape policy and public expectation; precise language matters.
- • Rhetoric must be informed by operational realities and intelligence.
Accommodating and neutral on the surface, quietly supportive of the president's small domestic tasks while giving space for heavier conversation.
Charlie is at Bartlet's desk fixing papers, receives Bartlet's Bible decision, acknowledges it politely, then exits when Leo arrives; he performs the routine physical work that frames the president's private briefing.
- • Support the President's immediate logistical needs (papers, errands).
- • Maintain the Oval Office's order so senior staff can focus on substance.
- • The president's domestic rituals must be handled smoothly.
- • Entry/exit protocol matters to maintain decorum during sensitive discussions.
Implied eccentric authority — the office's gravitas is tinged with concern through subtext of age and judgement.
The Chief Justice is invoked by Leo through a recited concurring opinion in Stiles v. Rhode Island; he functions as a rhetorical foil and source of awkward, poetic gravity in the Oval Office conversation.
- • As an institutional figure, maintain judicial voice (through opinions) that shapes public legal discourse.
- • Exert moral and intellectual influence on national conversation indirectly via written opinions.
- • Legal reasoning can carry rhetorical and sometimes poetic weight.
- • The Court's opinions will influence public perception and executive decision‑making.
Contemplative and concerned: making a symbolic choice but quickly displaced by sober anxiety about human costs and political consequence.
President Bartlet enters from the portico, announces a change of mind about the inauguration Bible, instructs retrieval of Jonathan Edwards' Bible, then reveals he has ordered a forced‑depletion report and summarizes its grim findings before handing the report to Leo.
- • Select an inaugural Bible that projects the presidency's desired image and moral lineage.
- • Acquire immediate, accurate analysis of potential U.S. costs related to intervention in Khundu to inform policy and speech decisions.
- • Symbolic acts (which Bible) matter to public perception and moral clarity.
- • Policy language and ceremony cannot be divorced from the real human costs of intervention.
Dryly amused at judicial eccentricity but shifting to practical concern and focus when the report and casualty risks are introduced.
Leo enters, greets the president, delivers a wry recital of the Chief Justice's concurring cinquain, expresses concern about the Chief Justice, notes Toby's work on policy language, asks to see the forced‑depletion report and accepts it when handed over.
- • Gauge the stakes and political hazards of a possible Khundu intervention.
- • Secure access to classified analysis to brief others and manage the administration's response.
- • Institutional behavior (Supreme Court verse) can become political optics that matter to the White House.
- • Accurate, tangible intelligence/reporting is essential before making public or policy commitments.
Not onstage; implied professional diligence in producing a sobering casualty model.
Commander Jack Reese is referenced as the military aide who produced the forced‑depletion report; his analysis is central to the event's policy revelation though he is not physically present.
- • Deliver accurate, candid military estimates to inform civilian leadership.
- • Preserve operational discretion while fulfilling classified tasking.
- • Military analysis must be frank about risks and casualties.
- • Honest assessments are necessary even if politically awkward.
Not present; mentioned neutrally as the conduit who executed the president's order.
Bob Slattery is referenced by Bartlet as the National Security Advisor who 'got Jack Reese' to prepare the forced‑depletion report; he is an off‑stage enabler of the classified analysis.
- • Coordinate national security staff to produce needed analysis when directed.
- • Provide the president with military feasibility and casualty estimates through trusted aides.
- • Timely staff work and chain‑of‑command execution are essential in crises.
- • The National Security Advisor must translate presidential intent into actionable tasks.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Charlie's outer Oval desk papers sit on or near Bartlet's desk as he straightens them; they function as staging props that establish routine and domesticity, contrasting with the sudden gravity introduced by the report.
The Forced Depletion Report is introduced as a confidential military analysis commissioned by the president and produced via Slattery and Jack Reese; Bartlet summarizes its blunt conclusion aloud and then physically hands the printed report to Leo, making it the catalytic prop that converts ceremonial talk into policy urgency.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Khundu's capital is the geographic referent for the forced‑depletion report; although not onstage, it is the locus of violence and strategic calculation that reframes the Oval Office conversation from ceremony to crisis.
Northampton, Massachusetts is invoked as the physical provenance of Jonathan Edwards' Bible—the symbolic object Bartlet chooses—linking the inauguration's ceremonial optics to Puritan intellectual history and moral seriousness.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Supreme Court is referenced through Stiles v. Rhode Island and the Chief Justice's poetic concurrence; its opinions provide political texture and a momentary comic/awkward distraction that underscores concerns about institutional optics.
The White House functions as the institutional context for the exchange—its staff, protocols, and optics shape the president's Bible choice and the handling of the forced‑depletion report; it is the locus of decision and the body that will be held accountable for any action in Khundu.
The Arkutu‑directed mob is the violent actor in Khundu whose actions and likely responses to U.S. engagement are central to the forced‑depletion report's projections; their behavior determines casualty estimates and strategic viability.
The Republic of Equatorial Khundu is the failed/fragile state at the heart of the crisis; it is the contextual location that turns an Oval Office ritual into a life‑and‑death policy question for the administration.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Charlie's initial logistical issues with the Bible lead to Bartlet's later decision to change his mind about which Bible to use."
"Charlie's initial logistical issues with the Bible lead to Bartlet's later decision to change his mind about which Bible to use."
"Charlie's initial logistical issues with the Bible lead to Bartlet's later decision to change his mind about which Bible to use."
"Charlie's initial logistical issues with the Bible lead to Bartlet's later decision to change his mind about which Bible to use."
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: Hey, I changed my mind about the Bible."
"LEO: The Chief Justice writes a concurring opinion: Guilty or not guilty, past convictions frustrate the judge who wonders should your fate abate."
"BARTLET: I've asked for a forced depletion report on action in Khundu."