Shibboleth (The West Wing)

Infobox Television episode
Title = Shibboleth
Series = The West Wing


Caption =
Season = 2
Episode = 30
Airdate = November 222000
Production = 226208
Writer = Aaron Sorkin (teleplay)
Patrick H. Caddell (story)
Director = Laura Innes
Guests = F. William Parker
Annie Corley
Deborah Hedwall
Kathryn Joosten
NiCole Robinson
Sam Anderson
Henry O
Episode list = List of "The West Wing" episodes
Season list = Infobox The West Wing season 2 episode list
Prev =
Next ="Shibboleth" is the 30th episode of "The West Wing".

Plot

The episode begins with a scene on the California coast, where a group of Chinese Christians have been apprehended by US agents. It turns out that they are seeking asylum in the United States because of what they call "religious persecution," a claim that causes a stir amongst the religious community. Josh and Sam are dispatched to appease the religious leaders, who come to meet with them at the White House.

Leo faces his own policy dilemma when Toby strongly suggests that Leo's sister Josephine be named as a recess appointee (a post that does not have to be confirmed by Congress) because of her very forceful views on the separation of church and state. Leo originally says this is OK, but finds out his sister ordered a group of students in Georgia who began praying at an athletic event to be arrested. This is too much for Leo and he successfully orders his sister to decline the appointment. Toby earns respect from Leo for offering a more pragmatic reason to keep prayer out of public schools, and his own personal experiences are written clearly enough that Leo asks sadly "What did they do to you, anyway?". Toby doesn't answer.

Meanwhile, C.J. is given the responsibility of choosing the national Thanksgiving day turkey to be pardoned, which she has considerable difficulty doing. Ultimately she chooses from between two hearty birds named Eric and Troy, but begs the President to pardon a second turkey when she discovers that the non-pardoned turkey will be slaughtered and eaten for dinner. This leads to a funny scene in the Oval Office where President Bartlet announces that he has pardoned the turkey, and then launches into a tirade about how he cannot actually pardon a turkey and how the young man who thinks that he can should ask his teachers for a better education.

Meanwhile, President Bartlet has sent Charlie on a never-ending hunt for a carving knife. Unbeknownst to Charlie, President Bartlet is replacing his own personal knife, which he gives to Charlie. A touching scene in the Oval Office occurs when Charlie receives the knife and asks the President about the markings from the manufacturer—a P.R.—and is told that the knife was made for the Bartlet family by a silversmith named Paul Revere.

The episode concludes with the President meeting with a dignitary of the Chinese refugees who convinces him of their need for asylum by answering considerable Bible trivia and then admonishing President Bartlet that "faith is the true Shibboleth", wherein the President is convinced the group is sincere. President Bartlet notifies the Red Cross and asks the Governor of California to have the National Guard stand down, and the Chinese government is told that the refugees "overpowered and escaped" from the United States military.

Title

The title, Shibboleth, is a word commonly used to mean any language usage indicative of one's social or regional origin. It originates from the Book of Judges in the Bible, where the pronunciation of the word was used to test those claiming to be from Gilead.

External links

* [http://epguides.com/WestWing/ The West Wing Episode Guide]