A White House in the Intersection | The West Wing

“Should we be thinking about postponing the peace signing?”
Season 6 Episode 3: Third-Day Story
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[@JustMe-gh7ib]

RIP John Spencer.

[@sukorileakbatt294]

Amen

[@ianboyle1026]

"I fired him." One of the most heartbreaking lines delivered in the whole 7 seasons. Which means one of the most heartbreaking lines ever delivered in on television.

[@chaspfrank]

Ironically tragic that within 13 months of this episode John Spencer would die in a very similar way.

[@mikejewpants4099]

Ironically? Princess Bride, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

[@timeimp]

"Time is muscle." Well done Mr. President, well done. 🤣

[@untexan]

This was thankfully the end of the "yelling at each other as character development" phase of the show

[@Gredddfe]

And the beginning of the "We're going to add new characters, give existing ones less screen time and completely upset the dynamic we've carefully built over the past 5 seasons" phase.

[@untexan]

@@GredddfeAlso known as the “budget cuts” phase

[@sukorileakbatt294]

man I Miss that show

[@penelopelgoss2520]

Thank goodness for online streaming episodes 😊

[@dirdib69]

Abbey is just stunned to hear that Jed fired Leo, and now she gets that he's directly blaming himself - and that there is some justification. But she also knows that Leo got to where he was through a lifetime of high stress, booze, etc..

[@jasonkoch3182]

The heart attack story line was ok, but it was absurd that the post-Sorkin writing team thought it made any sense to: 1. Have Bartlet fire Leo. That would just never happen. 2. Think Toby should try to jump out in front of Josh to be "in charge." Toby knew his place better than anyone. 3. Have Toby leak the classified info. Toby would never have betrayed the president like that. Season 6 was marginally better than season 5, but it still completely ignored the character development that had occurred through season 4.

[@Lepidopray]

The show definitely took a hit when Sorkin left. In a sitcom when they run out of ideas they would write in C.J. having a baby. Of course, they had Toby and his partner having a baby, which is somewhat better I guess.

[@dirdib69]

1. Agreed. The Jed/Leo dynamic was too strong, so they just HAD to throw a wrench into it. It always felt forced to me, though the stress of it triggering a heart attack did make sense, given the (faulty) premise. I always thought Jed would have changed his mind anyway. 2. As Deputy Chief of Staff, Josh was supposed to be Leo's successor of sorts. Agreed that Toby wouldn't have done it. CJ was the most likely of the three to be able to step up, though. 3. The actor always maintained that he felt it didn't make sense and that he felt it was a lie to cover for someone else. But of course it was a way to have Bartlett hit him with the "you always thought you were morally superior to me" business. It would have made more sense I think if CJ had actually done it.

[@andrewgundy3045]

Didn’t Tobey legit say it should be Josh? He was just trying to keep everyone organized

[@firstname4337]

correct except for the leak -- that is exactly what Toby would have done -- he was the most steadfast in his morality and beliefs of anyone on the show -- his blowup when he found out about the MS shows that he had no problem arguing and disrespecting the president -- he would never tolerate hiding the existence of a shuttle and letting astronauts die just to keep the shuttle secret

[@christopherweber9464]

I do not think the members of the Marine Corps, who stand guard at the White House ever get their fair share of accolades.

[@pbdye1607]

Indeed, they have to wait *hours* for their Crayola ration.

[@ScootsFromNewCastle]

They only stand there while POTUS is in the west wing.

[@BackToTheBas1cs]

@@pbdye1607 and they probably don't even get the red ones

[@RustyPetterson]

Accolades for what? Standing there in a nice shiny uniform?

[@jbuster9]

Josh acting so unphased (at best) by Leo's heart attack, merely to justify CJ becoming Chief of Staff over the course of a single episode, was utterly ridiculous. (Everyone's reactions were wrong, but Josh in particular would -- should -- have been devastated.

[@ProntoReseller]

totally agree. IT was a stretch, and bad writing. Josh should have taken it hard! Writer made it look like it was just a normal day at the office when it should have have been.

[@ReaverLordTonus]

You can tell they were setting up CJ to become Chief of Staff with how she had to take charge and in the end Leo ends up naming her as his successor.

[@dirdib69]

Yes, they are showing that she's the adult in the room.

[@georgeniebling6566]

Stockard Channing looks more like Rizzo in this episode than in any other ….

[@GinaSanchez_]

I'm pretty sure the deputy chief of staff outranks the communications director therefore Toby suggesting that he being charge was a little ridiculous.

[@ProdCritic]

Drumpf might be an outlier but based on the Obama+Bush organizational flowchart their Press Secretaries & Comms Directors outrank the Deputy CoS

[@georgeniebling6566]

This may have been a play on Alexander Hegg saying he was in charge here at the White House when Reagan was shot, even though that was clearly not constitutional

[@eyeofthescar6890]

Didn't like how they totally ignored Margaret

[@mikemesser4326]

Who?

[@sarahswomley2580]

@@mikemesser4326 Leo's assistant and right hand.

[@Valehass]

Fired the guy that put him in the Whitehouse, what a guy.

[@48retrop]

Well, at least he fired him in person. That is in stark contrast to the way Donald Trump used to fire people.

[@rickglass2433]

Bartlett for President!

[@IOSARBX]

The West Wing, Yay! I liked this video so much, it made me smile!

[@estherross1]

I wish he was president now

[@MichaelCNJ113]

Ive said it hundreds of times. We need Jed Bartlet

[@frankhardin8124]

I wish he'd been President in 2016.

[@TIB1973]

The character, not the actor. Sadly, we ran out of real leaders and now we have sound bites and KZbin.

[@JohnSmith-gb5vg]

Well gee who’s going to be writing the scripts?

[@TIB1973]

@JohnSmith-gb5vg good point. Since most of what we see IRL is part of a plan, not really scripted. I don't think the actor will be as successful.

[@SilverCyan]

is that Fred Willard I hear on the news

[@Mackinstyle]

I dunno if this is intentional but does anyone notice how Bartlet kind of acts ridiculous when he doesn't know things? He just repeats, almost authoritatively, some grade school-level understanding of the issue. "Time being muscle." Or basically everything he says to Hal Holbrook about the lost submarine in North Korea. Not being the smartest man in the room is subtly uncomfortable for him.

[@pbdye1607]

Being the smartest man in the room is a way for him to feel "greater" than his father, who used to beat him because he was intimidated and threatened by his son, whom he knew would grow into a better man than him.

[@georgeniebling6566]

It’s how he grasps at understanding when he doesn’t have understanding

[@Partstim]

Human nature .... when you don't know much, you hang on dearly to the few things you DO know. Or, rather, that you think you know ....

[@NerdSutra]

I think he connected what his wife said on the way to the hospital, with what the doctor explained - the penny dropped, and he repeated ‘time being muscle’ because of that. I do that all the time when learning details about things - ‘Oh so that’s why they said X back then’. Happens when you get a small window into an experts knowledge. Doesn’t make you an expert yourself, but you understand a little more than a layperson. It doesn’t mean ‘pretending to be smart’. It’s just a thinking person processing what they’re seeing and hearing.

[@LordOfNothingreally]

Its interesting how, in retrospect, they were setting CJ up as CoS by showing how she mediates and delegates with Josh and Toby without them even really realizing it, and how she doesn't actually need their advice and has come to the same conclusion before them. That being said, it is a departure from her previous characterization, usually coming to a perception problem long after Toby even when he points her in the right direction and often never understanding a political/legislative problem that Josh would understand intrinsically. Still, Josh was going to take center stage with Santos and Toby makes a better lieutenant than a captain (to say nothing of the weaker writing of the later seasons) so I understand why they went with CJ

[@willsherman1049]

Well dressed doormen. The real security is the Secret Service. Their patient discretion and constant adaptability deserves the accolades.

[@michaelmuldowney8]

Jed feeling guilty - but then later bullied Leo into being running mate for Santos.

[@mobatyoutube]

What effect does being fired have on the coronary artery? If being fired eliminates the stress of responsibility, it would have a very positive effect.

[@georgeniebling6566]

Or it could put you in such a resounding state of shock that you have a coronary event

[@rogerw-interested]

4 months after being fired from a job with 24 yrs in, i had a heart attack, also had a young family. doesnt have to be an overnight thing

[@warrenwills3251]

Whats that xavier? Stealing other peoples creative production?

[@aaa-444]

Trump 2024

[@rustybear5125]

Yes, for prison!

[@karenp4667]

Trumpo? Make sure you donate him your paycheck.

[@votemonty1815]

"Time is Muscle" belongs on a gym wall. 🧱