The Two Bartlets

Infobox Television episode
Title = The Two Bartlets
Series = The West Wing


Caption =
Season = 3
Episode = 56
Airdate = January 302002
Production = 227213
Writer = Kevin Falls and Aaron Sorkin (teleplay)
Gene Sperling (story)
Director = Alex Graves
Guests = Mary-Louise Parker
Sam Lloyd
NiCole Robinson
Renee Estevez
Episode list = List of "The West Wing" episodes
Season list = Infobox The West Wing season 3 episode list
Prev =
Next ="The Two Bartlets" is episode 56 of "The West Wing".

Plot

President Bartlet and his staff ponder whether to counter a fast-rising Republican presidential candidate's verbal assault on affirmative action, deciding at the end to make a very bland statement that does not stand up strongly for its merits. C.J. debates with Toby over the merits of affirmative action; she points out that their parents were immigrants and they went to college, but Toby is shocked that she is not in favor of affirmative action. C.J. admits that her opposition is personal: she believes that her father's career growth was stunted by affirmative action. She is feeling particularly sensitive as her father is suffering serious memory lapses and she is worried about his health.

Josh impulsively plans a romantic vacation to Tahiti with women's rights advocate Amy Gardner, but must postpone the trip in order to defuse a risky situation in Vieques, Puerto Rico, an area that serves as a U.S. Navy firing range. As he prepares to remove protesters who have put themselves in harm's way on the island, Josh telephones his longtime friend, a popular Latino actor who is leading the group. Josh tells Leo that he agrees with the protestors, but Leo makes it clear that Josh must get in line with the government's need to certify ships and bombers at Vieques so that they can head to the Persian Gulf. A compromise is reached, and Josh later finds a way to make things up to Amy: she arrives at his apartment to find it decorated with a tropical theme.

Meanwhile, Sam meets with an eccentric conspiracy theorist, Robert Engle, who believes that Ft. Knox is missing a fortune in gold bullion. Sam is annoyed by the abrasive activist but feels sorry for him because he is carrying on his father's life work; he later makes it clear that Engel can continue his quest but can't expect any help from the White House.

Toby confronts the President over his weak response to the affirmative action issue, expressing concerns about the electorate's views of his GOP opponent as more masculine than the President. Toby tells the President that there are "two Bartlets": one, a hard-driving realist, and the other, a vacillating idealist. At first, the President listens, but Toby crosses the line when he pushes the President on his relationship with his abusive father.

External links

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