Object

Joey's Polling Break Doughnut

Joey breaks from polling screens in the humming National Strategies Group, striding off for the doughnut—a compact, grease-shined pastry ring, its powdered or glazed surface beading under harsh lights, soft chew yielding to first bite. The snack swings in her trajectory, a fleeting prop that fractures tension, drawing eyes from scandal whispers and stalled numbers to simple, sugar-rimed escape.

2 appearances

Purpose

Handheld snack for momentary relief during intense late-night polling session

Significance

Injects levity into scandal-fueled chaos—Joey's grab halts Josh's poll hounding and Donna's matchmaking jabs, anchoring high-stakes strategy in everyday hunger and human pause.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S2E13 · Bartlet's Third State of the Union

Josh Drops Sloane's Excessive Force Bombshell

Joey seizes the doughnut as tension-relief prop, announcing her break from Josh's barrage to fetch it and walk off—narrative pivot injecting mundane levity into scandal-poll maelstrom, humanizing the data war and underscoring fatigue.

Before: Available in break area amid operations

After: Targeted for Joey's retrieval, symbolizing brief respite

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S2E13 · Bartlet's Third State of the Union

Josh's Polling Impatience Clashes with Donna's Matchmaking

Joey invokes the doughnut as her excuse to escape Josh's relentless poll demands, announcing she's getting one before walking off; it functions as a levity prop, humanizing the high-pressure polling grind and punctuating her playful rebuff with everyday normalcy.

Before: Available in the break area of the National Strategies Group

After: Targeted by Joey for imminent retrieval

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