United States of America (sovereign nation)
Detailed Involvements
Events with rich location context
Invoked rhetorically by Bartlet when he self‑identifies as 'President of the United States,' the nation functions as the symbolic mantle he wears during public performance and as the institutional source of his duty to call grieving parents.
Warmly patriotic in its invocation — a public, ceremonial pride that is quickly tempered by the sober reality of death.
Symbolic anchor for the President's public identity and the institutional duty he must perform.
Embodies institutional responsibility and the tension between public role and private sorrow.
The United States of America is invoked by Bartlet as the correct, anchoring identity he holds while kneeling before children; the phrase turns the intimate exchange into a civic act and tempers private grief with public duty.
Patriotic warmth that quickly becomes solemn when private tragedy intrudes.
Declarative anchor transforming the personal encounter into an expression of national leadership.
Embodies the institutional weight that compels the President to balance human feeling with national representation.
Events at This Location
Everything that happens here
C.J. marshals a gaggle of schoolchildren for a White House visit; President Bartlet disarms them with warm, improvisational banter — feigning confusion about his title, teasing a boy about his …
During a bright, public moment—C.J. shepherding schoolchildren and President Bartlet trading playful banter—the mood is shattered when Charlie quietly tells Bartlet that Lowell Lydell has died. Bartlet swallows the news, …