Will Bailey

Infobox character |name = William Bailey
series = "The West Wing"


caption = Joshua Malina as Will Bailey
portrayer = Joshua Malina
creator = Aaron Sorkin and Paul Redford
first = Game On
last = Tomorrow
cause = End of series
gender = Male
occupation = Wilde Campaign Manager (Season 4), Deputy White House Communications Director (Seasons 4-5), Chief of Staff to the Vice President (Seasons 5-6, briefly 7), Russell Campaign Manager (Season 6), White House Communications Director and Press Secretary (Season 7), U.S. Congressman (D-OR 4th) (Season 7, set 3 years later)
title =
familly = Tom Bailey (father), Elsie Snuffin (half-sister)
spouse =
children =
relatives =
nationality = American
footnotes =

William 'Will' Bailey, is a fictional character played by Joshua Malina on the television serial drama "The West Wing", holding various posts in the White House Office of Communications and Office of the Vice President.

Character biography

Will grew up in Belgium, as his father was the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Thomas Bailey, in whose ideological footsteps he seems to follow while making a name for himself with quiet resolve. Will is also an Air Force reservist, a fact that President Josiah Bartlet applauds, serving in the JAG Corps. He may have attended Carnegie Mellon University, since he was seen wearing a Carnegie Mellon shirt while jogging at Camp David. He appears also to have attended the University of Cambridge, England, since he claims he was "President of Cambridge Union Society" on a Marshall Scholarship. He mentions in one episode that he was valedictorian at Eton College although in reality no such award exists at the famous British institution.

Will was originally introduced as the manager of the Horton Wilde campaign to represent California's 47th Congressional District, and gained notoriety for winning the election despite Wilde's death, Sam Seaborn arriving to tell him to shut down the "embarrassing campaign" (Will ignored him and Sam was won over by his efforts), and the seat traditionally being a very safe Republican seat in the conservative Orange County area. Sam Seaborn later ran in Wilde's place in a special election and recommended Will as his replacement as Deputy White House Communications Director with a note to Toby Ziegler that read: "Toby — He's one of us." Toby, after first meeting him, characterized Will as "deeply schooled in Eastern philosophy", but was won over by a 500-word "test essay" Will wrote about America's future foreign policy needs.

When Will moved into Sam's old office for a temporary three-week contract to help with Bartlet's second inaugural address, he had to endure the requisite amount of hazing from the White House senior staff, including "Seaborn For Congress" posters plastered on the walls and people parking their bicycles in his office. CJ Cregg even left a goat in his office at one point. He slowly began to win everyone over, and Bartlet eventually appointed him to replace Sam as Deputy White House Communications Director, although all of the staff writers quit afterwards and he had to turn a group of young female staffers into a crack writing staff with help from his sister Elsie Snuffin.

Will left President Bartlet's staff soon after the appointment of Representative Bob Russell (D-Colo.) as Vice President of the United States, when he accepted Russell's offer to become his chief of staff. The main reasons for his move to Russell's office were Toby's gruff attitude as his direct superior, and more significantly, a belief that Toby's tendency to personally take charge of challenges for the Communications Office would result in zero potential for Will's own job growth. Bob Russell's offer, in contrast, came with the explicit challenge to prepare the Vice President for a possible presidential campaign in 2006. When Leo McGarry looked unable to serve as Chief of Staff, following his heart attack at Camp David, White House reporter Greg Brock suggested that Will might be appointed as Bartlet's new Chief of Staff. This was due to a rare meeting between Bartlet and Will about NATO peacekeeping, Will's experience with the military and his proven ability to "manage up", qualities that perhaps made him a better choice for the role than Josh or Toby. Ultimately, however, C.J. Cregg was chosen for the job and Will remained Chief of Staff and Campaign Manager for Vice President Russell.

When Russell lost the Democratic nomination to U.S. Rep. Matt Santos (D-Tex.), Bailey remained on Russell's staff until White House Chief of Staff C.J. Cregg "dragooned" him on very short notice to become White House Communications Director after the firing of Toby Ziegler for his role in the military space shuttle leak. Since Toby had also been serving as de facto White House Press Secretary, Will also inherited that role.

In the seventh season he dated Deputy National Security Advisor Kate Harper, whom he had initially clashed with over Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking but later became friendly with. This began when she asked him to Ellie Bartlet's wedding, but their first real date together was in Running Mates. Their relationship was touched on again in "The Cold", where they seemed awkward together.

On Election Day, with the Bartlet Administration soon to be replaced, Will reveals that he is considering returning to election campaigning, citing a the overseeing of Californian mayoral contest as the kind of job he may be interested in. This would mean leaving Washington, D.C. and cause problems in his relationship with Kate. In the penultimate episode Institutional Memory, Will considers taking a job as the Chief Executive of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, but becomes preoccupied with task of finding a candidate to challenge incumbent Republican Congressman John Heffinger in the Oregon 4th in 2008. Kate realizes that he would be the perfect candidate, and insists that he move to Oregon (in time to gain residency status there under Oregon election law) and run for the seat.

By the time of the dedication of the Bartlet Presidential Library in New Hampshire three years later, Will is a Congressman representing the Oregon 4th and sits on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. He describes himself as a "back bencher who may have a shot at chairman in 32 years." It is not revealed what happens to his relationship with Kate.

See also

*"The West Wing"
*List of characters on The West Wing
*List of politicians on The West Wing
*List of The West Wing episodes