Slow News Day
Encyclopedia
Plot
Toby watches a replay of the latest State of the Union address and notices that a powerful Republican Senator (Josef SommerJosef Sommer
Josef Sommer is an American film actor.He was born Maximilian Josef Sommer in Greifswald, Germany and was raised in North Carolina, the son of Elisabeth and Clemons Sommer, a professor of art history at the University of North Carolina. He studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology...
) broke party ranks and applauded along with Democrats during President Bartlet's call for a higher minimum wage
Minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
. Toby talks to Josh and finds out that the Senator, Steve Gaines, has basically stopped fund raising; he believes that the longtime advocate of saving Social Security may be receptive to a bipartisan deal. The President's not wild about spending political capital on the notion but allows for a very stealthy approach by Toby that involves not talking to Leo or Josh about it. Unfortunately, Toby's efforts light up the radar of a Wall Street Journal reporter very quickly, and he finds hostility from both Gaines and a high-profile female Democratic Senator who don't trust each other or Toby to get the concessions needed on both sides to make the process work.
Josh has separately decided to engage in some political games in Gaines' home state of Illinois and becomes suspicious of Toby's secret mission, later enlisting Donna in a fruitless spy mission to learn what he's talking about. News of Toby's efforts gets to C.J. and then to Leo, who is furious at Toby, as is the President because Toby's stealth mission is now visible to everyone. Toby decides to draft a resignation letter and Leo tells the President (who looks and sounds guilty because he agrees with Toby and left his senior aide dangling alone) that he has to accept it.
Josh also confronts Toby but has no argument to Toby's simple statements of fact, but then Josh has a brainwave – the name of a Democratic Senator named Turner who is a huge advocate of Social Security reform. The two Senators agree on the adjustments needed and both say they can carry a majority to get the measures enacted, but hit a wall when both want to take credit for the initiative. Bartlet then has the key idea: the White House will pretend it had no role in the process and the public and Congress will be informed it was a joint effort by Gaines and Turner. Toby watches the entire process with quiet satisfaction, tells C.J. they can work on Medicare now, smokes a triumphant cigar and heads home for the night.