Plot

Amy Gardner

Amy Gardner

Amelia "Amy" Gardner is a fictional character on the American television series The West Wing, portrayed by Mary-Louise Parker. Politically skilled and a strong advocate on feminist causes, the character holds various jobs throughout the timeline depicted on The West Wing, both in public-advocacy...

 begins her first day as Chief of Staff to First Lady

First Lady

First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...

 Abigail Bartlet. Her day is crazy enough, with Josh

Josh Lyman

Joshua "Josh" Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he was White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet administration...

 playing pranks on her, but she is also forced to help the First Lady stop a controversial bill that will include a "gag rule," meaning funding can only be given to hospitals that will not speak about their abortion practices. Amy gets dragged into a mild fight between the President and the First Lady because the gag rule is noxious to Dr. Bartlet, but the President needs to resolve the budget issue and get funding to Foreign Operations.

Toby Ziegler

Toby Ziegler

Tobias Zachary 'Toby' Ziegler is played by Richard Schiff on the television serial drama The West Wing. For most of the series' duration he is White House Communications Director.-Creation and development:...

 and Josh must get involved with a man who is involved in high-profile Senate hearings, and wants to turn into an informant on the illegal, environmentally-damaging, practices of his employer. Toby and Josh are surprised and angry to find out that the man isn't just a whistle-blower, but someone who is angling for immunity because he helped in these practices and their cover-up before deciding to do the right thing. Toby sarcastically tells the informant he'll get his immunity and makes it clear that he's not a hero to anyone.

Leo McGarry

Leo McGarry

Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White...

 and President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Bartlet

Josiah Bartlet

Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character played by Martin Sheen on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is President of the United States for the entire series until the last episode, when his successor is inaugurated...

 deal with a situation involving a glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

 that melted in Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

 and caused a sudden flood that killed over a dozen people. It's clear that global warming played a part, but there appears to be no way to state this without drawing criticism for politicizing the tragedy. Will Bailey volunteers to be the fall guy and call for a large reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions, then accept censure for doing so, and the President is pleased.

Zoey Bartlet

Zoey Bartlet

Zoey Patricia Bartlet is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Moss on the television serial drama The West Wing. Zoey is the youngest of President Josiah Bartlet and Abbey Bartlet's three daughters, and is more prominently featured in the series than either of her sisters.Zoey and...

 is being initiated into the DAR

Daughters of the American Revolution

The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....

 and Charlie Young

Charlie Young

Charles 'Charlie' Young is a fictional character played by Dulé Hill on the television serial drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he is the Personal Aide to President Josiah Bartlet.-Creation and development:...

 attempts to flirt with her, while also dealing with her drug-taking boyfriend. Zoey is more civil to Charlie than she has been of late and Charlie doesn't emphasize how little he likes her boyfriend.

Will Bailey

Will Bailey

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, Office of the Vice President and a backbencher Congressman .-Character biography:Will grew up in Belgium, as his...

, CJ Cregg and Amy, meanwhile, must deal with a woman who wants to boycott the DAR reception, because Mrs. Bartlet's relative – who qualifies her for entry into the DAR – was a privateer

Privateer

A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...

, or a hired pirate. CJ is finding it difficult to keep a straight face, but Amy and Will come up with a solution.

External links

• The West Wing Episode Guide