Object
Sam's Locked Copy of the State of the Union Speech
Sam thrusts the locked copy—pages etched with Toby's softened phrasing, 'abandoning our ideological entrenchment' pulsing as Bartlet's moderated core—into the staffer's clenched fist amid Capitol hallway clamor. Fingers fly to phone it to the prompter, ink-sharp revisions racing ahead of the entourage's surge; Toby mirrors the handoff, snapping the leather portfolio brimming with identical finality toward Bartlet's grip, edges taut under applause's building roar.
2 appearances
Purpose
Finalized speech draft phoned to the House chamber promppter for President Bartlet's live delivery and held in portfolio for his reference during the address.
Significance
Anchors the administration's pivot to tempered rhetoric amid cascading crises, its handoff sealing revisions in a heartbeat of vulnerability—shoelace-tied pause shattering into regal entrance, anxiety yielding to thunderous applause.
Appearances in the Narrative
When this object appears and how it's used