Unwavering Loyalty
Leo's steely resolve shines as he rebuffs Josh's insistent extraction amid arson chaos, absorbs President Bartlet's jocular yet fiercely protective banter via Margaret's determined interruption into the hearing room—defying Jordan's irritated objections and the Chairman's procedural summons to oath—revealing the surrogate family's bonds that humanize vulnerability like relapse secrets while fortifying defiance against congressional scrutiny born of devotion to Bartlet's concealed MS crisis.
Events Exemplifying This Theme
Emerging from the elevator into the opulent, brightly lit Rayburn House hallway at 10:45 PM, Leo McGarry and Jordan Kendall stride forward with unwavering focus, passing sculptures and portraits. The …
In a tense midnight negotiation, Cliff Calley offers to halt the damaging hearings—including Gibson's explosive testimony—in exchange for a historic censure of President Bartlet. Leo McGarry vehemently rejects the deal, …
Jordan confronts Leo for abruptly leaving her after the congressional meeting, then aggressively pitches the censure as a toothless, non-binding resolution by citing trivial examples like support for Little League …
Jordan relentlessly pressures Leo to accept the censure deal by mocking Congress's trivial resolutions—honoring Austrian-Americans and George Washington—to underscore their opinion's weight and the peril to his reputation. Leo signals …
In the empty White House Mess at night, Josh tracks down Leo for a covert talk about Cliff Calley's congressional offer of a historic censure to halt the damaging hearings. …
In the Oval Office at night, President Bartlet summons Leo McGarry and resolute confesses his deceit regarding his MS, declaring 'I was wrong' and rejecting government's culture of obfuscation and …