What is often understated about this scene is how quickly CJ realized how to take advantage of it. Yes Josh came up with the idea, the President enacted it, but CJ figured out how to exploit it best (and then Haffley screwed it up totally) (don't get me wrong, Josh quickly realized after CJ's comments how to take advantage of it also)
I'm surprised the Secret Service complied to POTUS request to walk, considering what happened at the end of Season 1! Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Secret Service are the only people with the power to tell the POTUS ABSOLUTELY NOT! GET BACK IN THE CAR!
@@tonychan8558 Butterfield said it well. They serve the President. Their job is to figure out how to do what he wants safely. There isn't an imminent danger and an attempt couldn't have been planned for an impromptu trip. They would be able to have agents keep a perimeter and would have vehicles nearby just in case.
Bullshit - the Democrats would consider it as a mandatory. Their (Hollywood) presidents are the good guys which deserve utmost respect (no matter how criminal* and degenrated** they might be), Republicans presidents are the bad guys - always. No matter if Reagan, Bush or Trump now. *like lying under oath in the case of Clinton ** blow jobs in the oval office by an intern And the media get nuts when a member of the Trump team is sitting with bare feets on one of the sofas...but here you go: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2410613/Obama-photo-showing-President-foot-Oval-Offices-storied-desk-brings-online-outrage.html
This shows how over his head Haffley was. Everyone saw on the news that Bartlett was walking to the Hill to then make him wait was political suicide. Haffley lost any public sympathy he may have had.
I never saw the show, so I assume that's how they wrote it, but IRL, and in today's political climate, I don't see something like this being anything except bad for the President. "President waits outside Speaker's office like errant school boy" "President cools his heels waiting for the Speaker", "Speaker humiliates President", "President walks half mile to The Capitol, immediately leaves", etc.
@ Billy W - certainly the right wing press would go with that. Yet, ‘Haffley hides from President’, ‘Republican right-wing bunker stand off’ and ‘Speaker speechless in face of Democrats’ would also be terrible headlines for the GOP. But it’s more than that, the whole scene is Quixotic, a knight fearlessly heading out to do battle for what he considers right and just. Aaron Sorkin seems to be a bit of a Cervantes fan so not such a stretch to imagine Bartlett as the man from La Mancha.
Having lived in the D.C. area for half my life, and having commuted through this very intersection on my way to my Amtrak job at Union Station, I can say with confidence that they shot this sequence on a Sunday morning.
After the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the Secret Service closed the portion of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to all vehicular traffic. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic, however, was still permitted on the sidewalk.
I love that, based on what everyone knew about politics and negotiation at the time, everything about this move seemed like a terrible idea. Toby and Leo weren't wrong. But as was usually the case in this show, Josh's instincts were right on the money.
This was one of my favorite arcs in the whole series. If I remember correctly, Josh was kind of in the doghouse at the time after a few bad decisions. These plans were his masterclass in redemption.
If I remember correctly, he put so much pressure on a Democratic senator (played by Tom Skerritt) that the senator decides to leave the Democratic Party and run for his reelection as a Republican. Leo calls Josh out and calls it 'you rode over him with a TANK'. He puts Josh in the penaltybox and downsizes his portfolio, including not taking part anymore in budgetnegotiations. Angela Blake takes over.
Yet the second Josh suggests this and everyone else is against it, the President immediately goes with his idea. Then when Josh suggests walking, Bartlett is in. He trusts Josh implicitly.
@@jamiestewart48 rewatching the first and second series especially the first and last episodes he calls Josh his ‘son’ . In this episode it was mrs Bartlett coming back and seeing what was going on says ‘where’s Josh?’
While merely going to the Capitol might have been a risky move politically speaking, walking the last part was an inspired idea. It seems like a case of going all in on the original decision, and hoping that the news coverage of the walk would play out in Prez Bartlett's favor.
Bartlett knew exactly where Josh was going with this, and was absolutely down for it. Anything to break the deadlock they all were in; and why not put on a bit of a show while we’re at it?
I love how they set this up after showing us weeks of the Bartlet administration not being Bartletian without Josh. And then the moment Abby drags Josh back into the proceedings, he goes and does this. If Bartlet was the King on the chessboard, Josh was the knight making sure all the pieces were in the right places.
I’d say Josh is the Queen- single strongest and most dangerous piece on the board. That’s why whenever he’s off the board things go to shit, but as soon as he’s put back on they start winning.
Come on.... i mean sam said it best in the last season. Josh.... is the political operator... the one that has to make the president's plans come true.
I agree with the other comments; we need the end! The brilliance of this scene is the Speaker so completely panics & stalls, keeping them waiting for so long, that eventually Bartlett leaves...w/out the Speaker having ever come out of his office. I loved the fact they showed Jed was willing to swallow his pride & step up, even tho it was going to weaken his position more than it already was. What was best for the country mattered more. By playing politics, the Speaker screwed up.
I was so frustrated with Josh being ostracized, and seeing how Bartlet’s administration was fracturing without him. Best part was when Jeb’s wife, who has had her own power struggles with Josh, sees what’s happening and knows immediately that Josh is the vital missing piece. When she looks at Jeb and says “Jeb, where’s Josh?” My favorite part.
Absolutely. Add to this that I agree with Josh's tactics in the debacle that got him benched for this episode. The senator that flipped parties had a point, but it was a point he kept secret. Josh was absolutely in the right. The team punished Josh, and got punished in turn. By bringing him in suddenly they're back on form.
This is another of the West Wing episodes that has reverberated through me all these years. The President of the United States WALKS to the Capitol, the symbol of our government. As he walked through those lush gilded halls, I could see where the Congress could forget about the rest of us, seeing the money and power that is there. But that building belongs to ALL of us, not just those who work there, and I wish more of the Congress would remember that. It seems to me that many members of the Congress have forgotten that Federal anything means it belongs to all of us, not just those privileged few that make laws, or not, as the case may be.
We all have an opportunity to change the House every 2 years and terms in the Senate can end for any of them at 6 years. But the PEOPLE are apparently happy enough to re-elect the vast majority of them. It's not as though we don't have a voice. The problem is that so many are silent or influenced too greatly by superficiality (as Hamilton said). Even worse, most don't bother to vote in (local or) state elections. Real power lies in the state legislatures where federal electoral districts are drawn. How many don't bother to VOTE?
Lately tho, the Capitol (and the Congress) have been over taken by imbeciles, thugs, & terrorists. The previous president had about as much in common with responsible governing and statesmanship as a duck has to a pavement roller.
The payoff is that Haffley makes the president wait, and wait, and then Bartlett leaves with an "I tried" shrug, a clear message to the American people that Haffley is the problem, not Bartlett.
This series made me proud to be American - not an American by birth but an American who chose to be an American - the precepts highlighted by this series should be a guiding light for all Americans no matter their ethnicity!
I love the look on the President's face. The initial "Are you kidding me, it was your idea to come." And then the contemplation as he works through the political calculus and realizes it genius.
You missed the punch line. President Bartlett leaves before the Speaker and crew can get their act together, which in turn leaves them weakened and with less power.
Tears come to my eyes when I see scenes like this on the West Wing because I wish that we had an America that looked like the one that was shown on the series...closer to what we had, but not at all resembling the one that we currently have.
@@rona4960 You wish :) I don't like bullies, right wing voting morons, egotistical twatwaffles, and those that have nothing better to do than try and laugh at their betters. More to the point, I'm more than happy to ping them on their unwanted and uncalled for commentary. Sound oddly familiar to you, trollish one?
Exactly! That was when the Speaker and his cronies realized they had blown it. With that move, Bartlett showed that he had been willing to deal, but they weren't. They let their pride get in the way and ended up looking like the stubborn fools they were!
@@jaberwocky4009 It was a calculated embarrassment on Bartlett's part; he walks away, and the Speaker gets splashed all over the news for making the *President of the United States* --wait in the lobby--.
Agreed. First, they looked terrible, right there, sitting out waiting. Then they walked off, because the Republicans didn't come to the door and it completely turned things around. Shouldn't have cut the scene here.
...and (agreeing with most of you), the scene of President Bartlett and his staff walking away TAKING WITH THEM the entire press contingent, is just another example of Sorkin’s genius. God, I miss this show. It doesn’t matter where you stand concerning politics, this show was incredibly entertaining.
@@Celtic2Realms No, this was a huge win for him. The risk of the government shutdown was that it would look like he was being stubborn. The public gets exasperated with shutdowns. Notice how CJ is talking at the beginning about how they're not even negotiating, but "talking about negotiating". The politics of a shutdown are all about making yourself seem reasonable and willing to compromise and making the other side seem unreasonable - like its their fault. And the problem they were dealing with was that there was so little movement that both sides were looking stubborn and unreasonable. Going to the Hill was a massive, unprecedented gesture of his willingness to compromise. Even Leo knew it would play extremely well - he was just worried that it would set a precedent for the President to be the one to reach out first and potentially capitulate in the future. But it turned out that Bartlett didn't even have to capitulate. He looked good by showing he was willing to step up to the plate and compromise, and when the Speaker delayed and he left, it became an even stronger win: he looked good for going to the Hill to reach a compromise, and he got to do it without setting the precedent Leo was worried about, and he also made the Speaker look even more unwilling to compromise, even more to blame for the shutdown.
@@jonatnry6197he didn’t start a deadly riot bad stuff happened but he wanted peace and told his supporters what don’t you ask BLM and Antifia they ruined their cities .
"We'll just have to wait" reminds me of the time I'd arranged to meet a college friend of mine at her chiropractic office. I'd donned my floor-length wool cloak (Phoenix, middle of summer), hood up & shades, and walked up to her receptionist (who was unaware of our plans) and intoned, in my best and mellowest radio voice, "Hello, I'm Brother Daniel and I'm here to see Dr. Howell." A bit flustered, she said, "I'm sorry, but the doctor is on vacation and won't be back for two weeks." I smiled and replied, "I'll wait," and turned and sat down.
This cuts off too soon, but when you watch the full scene, you can FEEL the national public opinion shifting away from the Republicans' argument toward supporting Bartlet's. When Haffley finally shows his face in the hallway, it's too late, and he has to go begging to the White House with a weaker position.
The was such a boss move of Bartlett... he got the high ground nothing the soth could do make him look good....position sometimes trumps a win lol pun not intented.
@@Milanesium This could be done, as long as the Secret Service had more time to prepare, you couldn't do it at the drop of a hat most likely. But if they where notified 30 minutes to an hour before hand they could easily set this up.
@@shadow435100 there's usually a short walking after the inauguration. But the Secret service have huge time in advance to prepare. They have also to secure the nearby buildings from an snipers and cars on the sideways are removed. Now if there's a short notice for a surprise walk anywhere, the preparation could be less complicated because no one can prepare an attack on POTUS. It's better for POTUS not make the lives of Secret Service harder. 👨💼
every episode had a 'moment' from "GW Blue!! Blue!!' to "my father gave it to me, his father gave it to him, i'm giving it to you" to this clip (if it was 2 minutes longer) from the "what kind of a name is potus?" to "eas in crucem" and everything before after and inbetween i have watched this show start to finish 6+ times and am about to go again
That is because the modern day politician is a politician. They go to school to become a politician or a lawyer, and when they make policies it is only in the best interest of their corporate backers and to earn votes next election, not for the greater good of the country.
porpus99 IF you don't like it do something about it, Run yourself, try to get in office, start or join a pressure group, take part in politics to expand the views in it.
jacksonjasonj1975 It's not our citizens who murder their fellow citizens by the tens of thousands with guns every year. You may want to take a look at who are really the stupid ones. Start by looking in the mirror.
One of my absolute favourite scenes of The West Wing. Josh gets back in the War Room and concocts this absolute blow to Haffley and is back in the game with a thunderous clap. I always fantasized at the end of the scene that just a couple of miles away, at DNC Headquarters (been there once) the head of the DNC and all staffers got glued to a tv and erupted in cheers when Bartlet walks out of the Capitol building, with the head of the DNC calling 'That's our boy, that's Josh Lyman!' and Josh seeing his phone explode with hundreds of congratulatory texts from all top-level Democrats all over the country! Ofcourse this was fiction, but it could have happened.
no his ABT 2020 is showing.... or having a president who has 'security concerns' in a foreign country for fear this hair style might melt in the RAIN!!!
Isn't that the truth? If he speaks for more than 2 minutes he has to hang onto the podium! He's talking about how old and infirm dividing is he cannot walk why do you think he needs that golf
+Peter Ross The thing most people, especially those who didn't watch this episode and ones preceding, miss out on is that Josh is the brainchild of this entire turn-around. He screwed up, causing a moderate-conservative Democrat to jumpship to the GOP, forcing him to the sidelines and bringing in the woman in the scene above to help run the domestic agenda. The end result=they flail and fall to pieces. It takes Abby coming back in and asking Jed "Where's Josh?" to have Leo bring Josh back into the fold and he then flips the script on the Speaker. There's a reason Josh was such a valuable political asset since the Hoynes Campaign.
+hjpop that's exactly right, and when I binged on this show a couple of years back, I noticed that my least favourite episodes were the ones where Bartlett's administration were on the back foot. Could it be that when people say the show "lost its way" halfway through its run, it was simply because the fans didn't like it when the Republicans appeared to be "winning", rather than a decline in the quality of writing? just a thought...
+awakeningcry That is probably part of it, but more so is that somewhere around then Rob Lowe / Sam Seaborn left the show and it turned from "his" show into the second election campaign in seven years. Just not that of Bartlett or Seaborn or Josh but that of Bail Organa, sorry Senator Matthew Santos... he surely grew on the audience, but the switch was hard to swallow. And of course the speeches, they also went mostly away, not just because "Sam" wasn't there anymore, but even more so because Sorkin left too... If you started to love the show because Jed and his "sons in spirit" Josh, Sam and half daughter CJ was the most dominant dynamic and the speeches were gorgeous whenever they were allowed to appear then it surely did change around the start of Season 5 or so... Toby is okay and had some strong episodes and the last big arc that ultimately cost him his job and "Lieutenant Will" also became a good personality in the wholle team, but it was no longer the show the audience knew and loved. A fate a lot of shows have to live through when the cast goes through major changes after the first few successful seasons.
There were plenty of times in the later half where they were winning, and plenty of times in the early half where they were losing. The real problem really is that there was a drop in the quality of the dialogue, character development and plots in the show.
TonkarzOfSolSystem maybe Real Life wrote the plot. Just been watching it again and the administration had said "We haven't had a message since the election, let alone Zoey". The main writers left and the administration had nothing to talk about!
Had he really been the President, the image of him sitting on a bench would have been painted and later have made its way into the National Portrait Gallery.
@@kulaak-krii In this specific case, Josh got shut out because he tried to "handle" a US Senator, and that Senator decided to jump ship to the other party. Josh was right on the issue, but Leo benched him anyways.
"That's a long way to travel to find a 'CLOSED' sign." They drove there from Kansas, the place was closed, they must have been frustrated, but they got a chance to meet the head honcho, take some pictures and go home with a great story. Cue Lindsay Buckingham's "Holiday Road," these people are living National Lampoon's Vacation!
Leo is the best political mind & strategist in this series but its with his years of experience. The things Josh achieved in this age with less than half experience of Leo makes Josh the best "political mind & strategist".
I know there is a lot to criticise about Season 5 but this arc, especially the ep Shutdown and the episode Supremes are two of my top 10 best episodes in the whole show.
This is one of the scenes that you would think was written by Aaron Sorkin, but was not. Not to take away from the quality of other writers, but Sorkin is a modern day Shakespeare. This was an amazing arc of a story.
Oh no this cuts the best part. After weighting a while he just ups and leaves like a president. And the pressure is on congress who refused to even see him in the eye of the media (they were ready for him just after he left)
Love the look on Josh's face when the Speaker says basically "The President? Yeah well just tell him to wait- we're doing something important"?/ Excuse me ??
They should've realized once they saw the President getting out of his limo on TV 10 minutes earlier, that it was about to be on :D Honestly it's downright realistic they would still be totally unprepared.
It's a pity there is not the part where President Bartlet leave. the face of the senate leader when he opened the door and saw only President's back is priceless
The president ended up waiting for 7m and he left without meeting with the speaker and the rest of the republicans, making the republicans look like they refused to speak with the president, which made them look responsible for the govenment shutdown, forcing the speaker to go to the president at the white house later that day and speak with him, where the speaker was forced to do the original 1% deal because the president still refused anything higher and if he didnt get a deal, the speaker knew he would be screwed.
What is often understated about this scene is how quickly CJ realized how to take advantage of it. Yes Josh came up with the idea, the President enacted it, but CJ figured out how to exploit it best (and then Haffley screwed it up totally) (don't get me wrong, Josh quickly realized after CJ's comments how to take advantage of it also)
100% but only when Josh tells her to get back to the press
"Kansas plates. That's a long way to travel for a closed sign" good guy Bartlet 🥺
"The Secret Service is gonna love this." Josh is the best political mind in the show, if not always the most moral.
I'm surprised the Secret Service complied to POTUS request to walk, considering what happened at the end of Season 1!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Secret Service are the only people with the power to tell the POTUS ABSOLUTELY NOT! GET BACK IN THE CAR!
@@tonychan8558 Well it was a spontaneous situation so no assasins could plot out in advance any vantage points or anything like that.
@@tonychan8558 Butterfield said it well. They serve the President. Their job is to figure out how to do what he wants safely.
There isn't an imminent danger and an attempt couldn't have been planned for an impromptu trip. They would be able to have agents keep a perimeter and would have vehicles nearby just in case.
@@tonychan8558they can tell him that. But normally they try to make everything happen that the president wishes for.
@@tonychan8558although the President was hurt in In the Shadow of Two Gunman, it's confirmed the target was Charlie not Bartlet.
The best program that was ever aired on TV. Bring it back.
Martin Sheen is 84, and John Spencer has been dead for 20 years. Plus, too much has changed in the past eight years. It would seem quaint.
Fuck-Up Number #1- NEVER keep the President waiting.
Bullshit - the Democrats would consider it as a mandatory.
Their (Hollywood) presidents are the good guys which deserve utmost respect (no matter how criminal* and degenrated** they might be), Republicans presidents are the bad guys - always.
No matter if Reagan, Bush or Trump now.
*like lying under oath in the case of Clinton
** blow jobs in the oval office by an intern
And the media get nuts when a member of the Trump team is sitting with bare feets on one of the sofas...but here you go:
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2410613/Obama-photo-showing-President-foot-Oval-Offices-storied-desk-brings-online-outrage.html
and they're MORE representative of what a POTUS is and should ALWAYS be. Certainly much more than the current IDIOT.
I remember watching this when it first aired and my dad said almost the same thing.
Add to that the fact that he WALKED to the Capitol from the National Archives.
This shows how over his head Haffley was. Everyone saw on the news that Bartlett was walking to the Hill to then make him wait was political suicide. Haffley lost any public sympathy he may have had.
I never saw the show, so I assume that's how they wrote it, but IRL, and in today's political climate, I don't see something like this being anything except bad for the President. "President waits outside Speaker's office like errant school boy" "President cools his heels waiting for the Speaker", "Speaker humiliates President", "President walks half mile to The Capitol, immediately leaves", etc.
Wish real world was like this.
You so realize this was scripted ?😄
@ Billy W - certainly the right wing press would go with that. Yet, ‘Haffley hides from President’, ‘Republican right-wing bunker stand off’ and ‘Speaker speechless in face of Democrats’ would also be terrible headlines for the GOP. But it’s more than that, the whole scene is Quixotic, a knight fearlessly heading out to do battle for what he considers right and just. Aaron Sorkin seems to be a bit of a Cervantes fan so not such a stretch to imagine Bartlett as the man from La Mancha.
@@billyw8186 depends on the spin. Like most things.
Having lived in the D.C. area for half my life, and having commuted through this very intersection on my way to my Amtrak job at Union Station, I can say with confidence that they shot this sequence on a Sunday morning.
EARLY probably during summer recess.
I wish they had the scene where the president leaves.
Definitely
This was the best ever tv show and I miss it !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wish our government would watch it and act like President Bartlet did ! With integrity !
its terrifying that Biden and Trump are/were doing the same job as Bartlet does. The Chief of Staff is the person running America under those guys.
One of the best parts the president be all like "fuck the sidewalk, im walking in the middle of the god damn street bitches!"
+t ru
Secret Service prolly had the road closed. So entire road is empty
Yes. whenever the President travels the road is always closed for security reasons.
After the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the Secret Service closed the portion of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to all vehicular traffic. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic, however, was still permitted on the sidewalk.
Jai Shah, doesn't make it any less badass.
@@danielshaver4517 That explains "POTUS in a bicycle accident".
I love that, based on what everyone knew about politics and negotiation at the time, everything about this move seemed like a terrible idea. Toby and Leo weren't wrong. But as was usually the case in this show, Josh's instincts were right on the money.
This was one of my favorite arcs in the whole series. If I remember correctly, Josh was kind of in the doghouse at the time after a few bad decisions. These plans were his masterclass in redemption.
If I remember correctly, he put so much pressure on a Democratic senator (played by Tom Skerritt) that the senator decides to leave the Democratic Party and run for his reelection as a Republican. Leo calls Josh out and calls it 'you rode over him with a TANK'. He puts Josh in the penaltybox and downsizes his portfolio, including not taking part anymore in budgetnegotiations. Angela Blake takes over.
That’s right!
Yet the second Josh suggests this and everyone else is against it, the President immediately goes with his idea. Then when Josh suggests walking, Bartlett is in. He trusts Josh implicitly.
@@jamiestewart48 rewatching the first and second series especially the first and last episodes he calls Josh his ‘son’ . In this episode it was mrs Bartlett coming back and seeing what was going on says ‘where’s Josh?’
@@Dirk-van-den-Berg I think Josh was still dealing with some PTSD issues from being shot as well.
Oh my goodness, Bartlett's smile when Josh says, "Care to stretch your legs?" Priceless.
While merely going to the Capitol might have been a risky move politically speaking, walking the last part was an inspired idea. It seems like a case of going all in on the original decision, and hoping that the news coverage of the walk would play out in Prez Bartlett's favor.
Bartlett knew exactly where Josh was going with this, and was absolutely down for it. Anything to break the deadlock they all were in; and why not put on a bit of a show while we’re at it?
I love how they set this up after showing us weeks of the Bartlet administration not being Bartletian without Josh. And then the moment Abby drags Josh back into the proceedings, he goes and does this. If Bartlet was the King on the chessboard, Josh was the knight making sure all the pieces were in the right places.
geniusfollower Well said
I’d say Josh is the Queen- single strongest and most dangerous piece on the board. That’s why whenever he’s off the board things go to shit, but as soon as he’s put back on they start winning.
"You know what the difference is between you and me? I want to be the guy. You want to be the guy the guy counts on."
He was right all along. But one mistake and they were quick to write him off.
Come on.... i mean sam said it best in the last season. Josh.... is the political operator... the one that has to make the president's plans come true.
YOU CAN'T STOP THE CLIP THERE!
I agree with the other comments; we need the end! The brilliance of this scene is the Speaker so completely panics & stalls, keeping them waiting for so long, that eventually Bartlett leaves...w/out the Speaker having ever come out of his office. I loved the fact they showed Jed was willing to swallow his pride & step up, even tho it was going to weaken his position more than it already was. What was best for the country mattered more. By playing politics, the Speaker screwed up.
I was so frustrated with Josh being ostracized, and seeing how Bartlet’s administration was fracturing without him. Best part was when Jeb’s wife, who has had her own power struggles with Josh, sees what’s happening and knows immediately that Josh is the vital missing piece. When she looks at Jeb and says “Jeb, where’s Josh?” My favorite part.
Totally agree except it’s JED not Jeb
@@katcot947 Jed commands every room he walks into. Jeb has to beg people to clap for him. Nobody should ever confuse the 2
Absolutely. Add to this that I agree with Josh's tactics in the debacle that got him benched for this episode. The senator that flipped parties had a point, but it was a point he kept secret. Josh was absolutely in the right.
The team punished Josh, and got punished in turn. By bringing him in suddenly they're back on form.
@@jkacvbhijfn fantastic 😂😂
100% the same. It’s why I love this show
This is another of the West Wing episodes that has reverberated through me all these years. The President of the United States WALKS to the Capitol, the symbol of our government. As he walked through those lush gilded halls, I could see where the Congress could forget about the rest of us, seeing the money and power that is there.
But that building belongs to ALL of us, not just those who work there, and I wish more of the Congress would remember that. It seems to me that many members of the Congress have forgotten that Federal anything means it belongs to all of us, not just those privileged few that make laws, or not, as the case may be.
+Nancy N (Megalodon) Send this as an E-mail to your congressman. It's well done!
Nancy N I
Nancy N It doesn't belong to you.
We all have an opportunity to change the House every 2 years and terms in the Senate can end for any of them at 6 years. But the PEOPLE are apparently happy enough to re-elect the vast majority of them. It's not as though we don't have a voice. The problem is that so many are silent or influenced too greatly by superficiality (as Hamilton said). Even worse, most don't bother to vote in (local or) state elections. Real power lies in the state legislatures where federal electoral districts are drawn. How many don't bother to VOTE?
Lately tho, the Capitol (and the Congress) have been over taken by imbeciles, thugs, & terrorists. The previous president had about as much in common with responsible governing and statesmanship as a duck has to a pavement roller.
The payoff is that Haffley makes the president wait, and wait, and then Bartlett leaves with an "I tried" shrug, a clear message to the American people that Haffley is the problem, not Bartlett.
Thanks for the mansplain
This series made me proud to be American - not an American by birth but an American who chose to be an American - the precepts highlighted by this series should be a guiding light for all Americans no matter their ethnicity!
Its tv mate... America is sadly not governed this way
Love when Josh tells the President "Let's go" as they are waiting outside the Speakers office.
I love the look on the President's face. The initial "Are you kidding me, it was your idea to come." And then the contemplation as he works through the political calculus and realizes it genius.
I wish that wasn't cut out
Overwhelmingly good! - West Wing what a show, drama, script, actors everything top notch. 10 points out of 10.
Michael Haller .... best thing EVER on the tele. Breaking Bad solid second.
I'd add "The Wire".
Yes..fantastic ..
The difference between Leave it to Beaver and West Wing.
Agreed! On holiday and I'm binge watching it. With a lil golf and grilling in between. 🙂
You left off the best part - when he leaves and they come out of the room and don't find him there.
You missed the punch line. President Bartlett leaves before the Speaker and crew can get their act together, which in turn leaves them weakened and with less power.
Right!
Tears come to my eyes when I see scenes like this on the West Wing because I wish that we had an America that looked like the one that was shown on the series...closer to what we had, but not at all resembling the one that we currently have.
@@rona4960 You're mocking someone for wishing for a strong, principled, rational, effective government? Think about that for a moment would you.
@@rona4960 You're still mocking someone. My point still stands.
@@rona4960 Alrighty, o judgmental one, I guess that means you're also fair game for mockery, right?
@@rona4960 You wish :) I don't like bullies, right wing voting morons, egotistical twatwaffles, and those that have nothing better to do than try and laugh at their betters. More to the point, I'm more than happy to ping them on their unwanted and uncalled for commentary. Sound oddly familiar to you, trollish one?
@@rona4960 Again, you wish :) There are, unfortunately, thousands of the delusional and self-entitled out there. Next!
Honestly, this is the first moment in this season that I think matches the Sorkin years. A moment of genuine, true greatness.
This and "The Supremes" are the high points of the season, yeah.
The Executive came to a Legislative that was accusing it of inaction, and the Legislative responded by saying "please hold".
You upload a 6 minute clip but decide to leave off the last minute that redeems Josh and owns Congress all in one move?? *argh!*
@@louiserasmussen3105 Thank you.
Right?!! 🤦🏾♀️🙆🏾♀️
@@louiserasmussen3105 thank you! Just watched. Put a smile on my face. 🤩
Ugh. That link doesn't work any more.
The whole series is on Netflix’s
i'd like to see the second part, when Bartlett walks away.
man, that was a scene!
Exactly! That was when the Speaker and his cronies realized they had blown it. With that move, Bartlett showed that he had been willing to deal, but they weren't. They let their pride get in the way and ended up looking like the stubborn fools they were!
I thought that was a very powerful scene & made the others look like the asses!
@@jaberwocky4009 It was a calculated embarrassment on Bartlett's part; he walks away, and the Speaker gets splashed all over the news for making the *President of the United States* --wait in the lobby--.
Shame this scene is cut short.... the President's next move is walking out without having the meeting.
Johnboydownunder I love that. The delegation goes into the hallway and *not a soul* is there.
Agreed. First, they looked terrible, right there, sitting out waiting. Then they walked off, because the Republicans didn't come to the door and it completely turned things around. Shouldn't have cut the scene here.
carloss Loss, typical for republicans???
And yet, in real life, it's the act of a petulant child.
...and (agreeing with most of you), the scene of President Bartlett and his staff walking away TAKING WITH THEM the entire press contingent, is just another example of Sorkin’s genius.
God, I miss this show. It doesn’t matter where you stand concerning politics, this show was incredibly entertaining.
President: you feel like a walk?
Secret Service: sure sir. Counter assault team deploy.
2:24 - I love how Josh's old school ring tone never changes through the course of the series.
I've watched this series from beginning to end and never caught that. Nice one!
I always loved this episode...not just for this scene but for Donna and the Bartletts' solution to the state dinner!
Uploaded by someone who probably cuts off the guitar solo at the end of Sultans Of Swing on all his playlists
The Alchemy video is my favorite "go to" on RUclips. You just don't see real musicians anymore.
Hahahaha
Don't ever say that out loud. Are you trying to start a riot on RUclips?
There’s a guitar solo at the end of Sultans of Swing?
George Washington....that is fucking funny.....
So great to watch this show where even a ficticious president and his staff seem to at least try to to know what they are doing!
President Bartlet: "Randy? What say we walk the rest of the way?"
Randy: "Yes sir, Mr. President"
*internal screaming
No.
"Yes sir."
*switches to Merlin from Top Gun*
"YOU'RE GONNA DO WHAT?!"
This would be every future history teacher's favorite story about the Bartlett Presidency.
yep, and also the speech in the very first episode, the "your fat asses out of MY white house" speech :-)
I realize that. Thus the "would be" as opposed to "will be". Try and keep up.
I think it would be the Congressional sleep-in in season 6.
Yeah, that was fun too.
Good show
The best part was when Bartlett walks out after waiting.
Yeah, it is a little sad that he didn’t include that part, and I’m not able to find it anywhere on RUclips.
Thanks for the info. I was with Leo on this one. Shouldn't have gone up to the Hill and come back down with nothing.
@@Celtic2Realms No, this was a huge win for him. The risk of the government shutdown was that it would look like he was being stubborn. The public gets exasperated with shutdowns. Notice how CJ is talking at the beginning about how they're not even negotiating, but "talking about negotiating". The politics of a shutdown are all about making yourself seem reasonable and willing to compromise and making the other side seem unreasonable - like its their fault. And the problem they were dealing with was that there was so little movement that both sides were looking stubborn and unreasonable.
Going to the Hill was a massive, unprecedented gesture of his willingness to compromise. Even Leo knew it would play extremely well - he was just worried that it would set a precedent for the President to be the one to reach out first and potentially capitulate in the future. But it turned out that Bartlett didn't even have to capitulate. He looked good by showing he was willing to step up to the plate and compromise, and when the Speaker delayed and he left, it became an even stronger win: he looked good for going to the Hill to reach a compromise, and he got to do it without setting the precedent Leo was worried about, and he also made the Speaker look even more unwilling to compromise, even more to blame for the shutdown.
Nah, best bit is how Josh says 'hello' after he knocks on the door
Spoiler much? Jeez.
If ONLY America had a President like this.
Bartlet actually walked to the Capitol, and he didn't instigate a deadly riot either.
Poor writing…
Unlike Trump in both ways.
@@jonatnry6197he didn’t start a deadly riot bad stuff happened but he wanted peace and told his supporters what don’t you ask BLM and Antifia they ruined their cities .
And neither did trump.
@@williamwest9204true. He couldn’t lumber that far.
"We'll just have to wait" reminds me of the time I'd arranged to meet a college friend of mine at her chiropractic office. I'd donned my floor-length wool cloak (Phoenix, middle of summer), hood up & shades, and walked up to her receptionist (who was unaware of our plans) and intoned, in my best and mellowest radio voice, "Hello, I'm Brother Daniel and I'm here to see Dr. Howell." A bit flustered, she said, "I'm sorry, but the doctor is on vacation and won't be back for two weeks." I smiled and replied, "I'll wait," and turned and sat down.
Could image POTUS coming to your office and having the balls to say hold please 😂
This cuts off too soon, but when you watch the full scene, you can FEEL the national public opinion shifting away from the Republicans' argument toward supporting Bartlet's. When Haffley finally shows his face in the hallway, it's too late, and he has to go begging to the White House with a weaker position.
2:27
Dear God ! I haven't heard that ringtone in ages ! 😁
It brings back memories
It is Gareth's ringtone in the UK Office.
The was such a boss move of Bartlett... he got the high ground nothing the soth could do make him look good....position sometimes trumps a win lol pun not intented.
My birth country could use many real life counterparts to President Bartlett. He rocks😊
So could mine ..USA
This clip ends about 2 minutes too soon.
"The secret service is gonna LOVE this...."
It is pretty unthinkable in a country where everyone got a gun.
My thought is that they would definitely not like this. I amsurpried no one had a complete fit over this stunt.
@@Milanesium This could be done, as long as the Secret Service had more time to prepare, you couldn't do it at the drop of a hat most likely. But if they where notified 30 minutes to an hour before hand they could easily set this up.
@@shadow435100 there's usually a short walking after the inauguration. But the Secret service have huge time in advance to prepare. They have also to secure the nearby buildings from an snipers and cars on the sideways are removed. Now if there's a short notice for a surprise walk anywhere, the preparation could be less complicated because no one can prepare an attack on POTUS. It's better for POTUS not make the lives of Secret Service harder. 👨💼
@@HusseinDoha I know all that but I am saying it could be possible and safe given enough time.
This is one of my favorite scenes in my favorite series. Extremely well written !!
I want my President to be Jed Bartlett
roguestoryteller I dont
@@bojangles3147 Cool.
Didn’t we all!
The President gets out of the Motorcade unannounced and unscheduled. The Secret Service looses their minds!
Loses, not looses*
Yeah, first it's an unscheduled motorcade (so they can't setup along or even plan a route), then it's a walkabout.
yeah why he says "secret service is gonna love this", cause he knows their gonna be clenching the entire way
Unscheduled and unannounced is actually safer as a nut job would have no opportunity to plan an attack...
Archeduke Ferdinand had the assasin sitting in a cafe. The planned attack failed and only succeeded by random happenstance.
We need Jed Bartlett back in the white house more than ever !!!!!!
You know this wasn’t real right?
every episode had a 'moment' from "GW Blue!! Blue!!' to "my father gave it to me, his father gave it to him, i'm giving it to you" to this clip (if it was 2 minutes longer)
from the "what kind of a name is potus?" to "eas in crucem" and everything before after and inbetween
i have watched this show start to finish 6+ times and am about to go again
.aaaand 8 YEARS later, I’m about to do the same. I think you’re at least one up on me tho.. 🙃
This. This is the type of stuff our politicians would never do. Walk among the people and show even an ounce of humility.
That is because the modern day politician is a politician. They go to school to become a politician or a lawyer, and when they make policies it is only in the best interest of their corporate backers and to earn votes next election, not for the greater good of the country.
porpus99 IF you don't like it do something about it, Run yourself, try to get in office, start or join a pressure group, take part in politics to expand the views in it.
Jack Donaldson I think he was pointing out a fault in the system since it is really rather designed for career politicians...
JWA8402 They might if every other person wasn't packing a gun.
jacksonjasonj1975 It's not our citizens who murder their fellow citizens by the tens of thousands with guns every year. You may want to take a look at who are really the stupid ones. Start by looking in the mirror.
This was so totally brilliant! Can't imagine anything like this happening for real.
One of my absolute favourite scenes of The West Wing. Josh gets back in the War Room and concocts this absolute blow to Haffley and is back in the game with a thunderous clap.
I always fantasized at the end of the scene that just a couple of miles away, at DNC Headquarters (been there once) the head of the DNC and all staffers got glued to a tv and erupted in cheers when Bartlet walks out of the Capitol building, with the head of the DNC calling 'That's our boy, that's Josh Lyman!' and Josh seeing his phone explode with hundreds of congratulatory texts from all top-level Democrats all over the country!
Ofcourse this was fiction, but it could have happened.
It probably did. It’s not every day you see a flex this hard.
😌
I love that 😊
I didn’t always agree with his positions in the show, but damn we need a president like this right now. Even his adversaries could respect him.
There isn’t a single scene is this series that I don’t want to see again. And again, and again…
I can't believe the end is missing! It's the key part!
I love how everyone is obsessing over strategy and it's Josh - Josh! - who says 'What do you want, Mr President?'
I miss having a president who could walk 10 minutes without the need for a golf cart. 😉
no his ABT 2020 is showing.... or having a president who has 'security concerns' in a foreign country for fear this hair style might melt in the RAIN!!!
I miss sanity
Isn't that the truth? If he speaks for more than 2 minutes he has to hang onto the podium! He's talking about how old and infirm dividing is he cannot walk why do you think he needs that golf
I miss having a "PRESIDENT"
Only a few more days 🥳
This ends too soon....
+Peter Ross The thing most people, especially those who didn't watch this episode and ones preceding, miss out on is that Josh is the brainchild of this entire turn-around. He screwed up, causing a moderate-conservative Democrat to jumpship to the GOP, forcing him to the sidelines and bringing in the woman in the scene above to help run the domestic agenda. The end result=they flail and fall to pieces. It takes Abby coming back in and asking Jed "Where's Josh?" to have Leo bring Josh back into the fold and he then flips the script on the Speaker. There's a reason Josh was such a valuable political asset since the Hoynes Campaign.
+hjpop that's exactly right, and when I binged on this show a couple of years back, I noticed that my least favourite episodes were the ones where Bartlett's administration were on the back foot. Could it be that when people say the show "lost its way" halfway through its run, it was simply because the fans didn't like it when the Republicans appeared to be "winning", rather than a decline in the quality of writing? just a thought...
+awakeningcry That is probably part of it, but more so is that somewhere around then Rob Lowe / Sam Seaborn left the show and it turned from "his" show into the second election campaign in seven years. Just not that of Bartlett or Seaborn or Josh but that of Bail Organa, sorry Senator Matthew Santos... he surely grew on the audience, but the switch was hard to swallow.
And of course the speeches, they also went mostly away, not just because "Sam" wasn't there anymore, but even more so because Sorkin left too...
If you started to love the show because Jed and his "sons in spirit" Josh, Sam and half daughter CJ was the most dominant dynamic and the speeches were gorgeous whenever they were allowed to appear then it surely did change around the start of Season 5 or so... Toby is okay and had some strong episodes and the last big arc that ultimately cost him his job and "Lieutenant Will" also became a good personality in the wholle team, but it was no longer the show the audience knew and loved.
A fate a lot of shows have to live through when the cast goes through major changes after the first few successful seasons.
There were plenty of times in the later half where they were winning, and plenty of times in the early half where they were losing.
The real problem really is that there was a drop in the quality of the dialogue, character development and plots in the show.
TonkarzOfSolSystem maybe Real Life wrote the plot. Just been watching it again and the administration had said "We haven't had a message since the election, let alone Zoey". The main writers left and the administration had nothing to talk about!
Had he really been the President, the image of him sitting on a bench would have been painted and later have made its way into the National Portrait Gallery.
This. Was. Brilliant.
Show the world which side wants to govern, and which wants to control.
Josh gets shut out, white house falls apart. Josh comes back and we get this act of genius haha.
@@kulaak-krii In this specific case, Josh got shut out because he tried to "handle" a US Senator, and that Senator decided to jump ship to the other party. Josh was right on the issue, but Leo benched him anyways.
One of the many moments where Josh showed he was ready to be a chief of staff and not just deputy.
It shows how Josh is a savvy political operator.
"Then we'll just have to wait . . ." This is why I hate our government, and why I love our government.
I work in politics and this is how I feel too. It's exhausting and exhilarating all at the same time.
"That's a long way to travel to find a 'CLOSED' sign." They drove there from Kansas, the place was closed, they must have been frustrated, but they got a chance to meet the head honcho, take some pictures and go home with a great story. Cue Lindsay Buckingham's "Holiday Road," these people are living National Lampoon's Vacation!
Cut the best part where Bartlet got up and left for keeping the prez waiting.
this clip is so good, I made me go back and watch the episode.
"Where will the president and the prime minister be dining?" "I don't know. IHOP." LOL
They’re going to interrupt Days of Our Lives.....Love CJ
Where will the President and Prime Minister be dining then?
I don't know. IHOP?
Love CJ!
So heroic. Walking 5 or 10 minutes to save the country. Washington would be so proud. Sorkin kills me sometimes.
Deep State what in Gods name is a Dick Troll? Sounds more like Steven Moffat than Aaron Sorkin.
they really had the audacity to make the president wait
like imagine being that bold (but not in a good way)
I know this isn't real, but man. If a president did this. Their points would easily go up 10%.
Still one of the greatest TV shows of all time
THE GREATEST.
This was such a sensible program, there's nothing close nowadays
Leo is the best political mind & strategist in this series but its with his years of experience. The things Josh achieved in this age with less than half experience of Leo makes Josh the best "political mind & strategist".
I know there is a lot to criticise about Season 5 but this arc, especially the ep Shutdown and the episode Supremes are two of my top 10 best episodes in the whole show.
I love Supremes, it’s my go-to episode for a 45 minutes I need to kill.
Josh's WTF right after the door closes ... Priceless
This is one of the scenes that you would think was written by Aaron Sorkin, but was not. Not to take away from the quality of other writers, but Sorkin is a modern day Shakespeare. This was an amazing arc of a story.
This was a great scene. I agree the full scene was cut and should not have been.
Haffley actually could have come out ahead, but he blinked. You don't keep the President waiting.
Oh no this cuts the best part. After weighting a while he just ups and leaves like a president. And the pressure is on congress who refused to even see him in the eye of the media (they were ready for him just after he left)
Love the look on Josh's face when the Speaker says basically "The President? Yeah well just tell him to wait- we're doing something important"?/ Excuse me ??
Definitely an element of a high level chess player looking at the opponent's move going "wait...surely that can't be right" haha.
That moment when you not only choose the Thug Life, but you get your boss to choose it too.
My favorite episode in the entire series is TWO CATHEDRALS where Jed meets Mrs. Landingham for the first time and they become fast friends.
They should've realized once they saw Josh was on the other side of the door, it was ON!
They should've realized once they saw the President getting out of his limo on TV 10 minutes earlier, that it was about to be on :D Honestly it's downright realistic they would still be totally unprepared.
He should have invited the Kansas tourists to walk with him and let the crowd grow bigger and bigger as he walks.
LOVE the idea of this as an illustration of intent.
Loved this show.
It's a pity there is not the part where President Bartlet leave. the face of the senate leader when he opened the door and saw only President's back is priceless
The BEST show EVER❣️❣️❣️
I want a President like THAT ☺️
Looking back at days when there was hope in the land
You didn’t show the best part, when they walked out.
Fucckkkkk....I hate these little clips. I want to know what happened next !
What a great show. Better than movies.
Totally agree with everything you just said.
The president ended up waiting for 7m and he left without meeting with the speaker and the rest of the republicans, making the republicans look like they refused to speak with the president, which made them look responsible for the govenment shutdown, forcing the speaker to go to the president at the white house later that day and speak with him, where the speaker was forced to do the original 1% deal because the president still refused anything higher and if he didnt get a deal, the speaker knew he would be screwed.
Monkonmunky thanks
I actually think it was more because Jed Bartlett is a bowssss!
the whole series is on netflix : )
Seriously. Where is the clip where they walk away. That completes this.
The comments below are correct. The payoff is cut out.
Where's the end??? You cut out the best part!
The best show that was ever put on tv...