Object

Situation Room military/intel briefing packet (for President Bartlet)

A slim, letter‑size packet of briefing pages — loose sheets with tight typed lines, a few soft creases at the corners and the faint thumb‑marks of hurried handling. In the Situation Room an aide presses the packet into Bartlet’s hands: the first exposed page lists divisions, carriers, troop counts and an intelligence timeline. Bartlet tightens his grip, thumbs the edge, and uses the physical packet as an immediate cue to pivot from incredulous questioning to command, issuing orders and directing the Crisis Task Force.

2 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S1E3 · A Proportional Response

Strike Today — Bartlet's Fury and the Missing Glasses

A briefing file is held up by Bartlet as he tries to read it to ground his demands in actionable options; the trembling, unreadable paper amplifies his frustration and symbolizes the tension between grief‑driven urgency and procedural documentation.

Before: In the President's hand as he lifts it to read.

After: Still in his hand at scene’s close as Leo departs; unread fully because of missing glasses.

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S1E3 · A Proportional Response

Glasses, Grief, and the Demand to Strike

A slim briefing file Bartlet holds up and tries to read without glasses; it functions as a tactile prop that underscores his impaired authority when he cannot see details, symbolically showing grief interfering with command.

Before: In the President's hand as he storms into the Oval; folded and ready to be read.

After: Still in his hand when he fails to read it; no resolution provided in the scene.

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