Plot

Leo

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...

 tries to convince President 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...

 of the importance of supporting a missile defense plan. The episode begins with an important test where all of the technical systems work but the interceptor system misses the target missile--by 137 miles. This further sours President Bartlet on the notion of missile defense work while pro-missile defense Leo continues to push for the program to move forward. As the President meets with appointed Ambassadors from Thailand, Sweden and Argentina in the Oval Office, Lord John Marbury

Lord John Marbury

Lord John Marbury is a recurring fictional character on the television show The West Wing, played by Roger Rees. The character appeared in five episodes, first as an informal aide to President Josiah Bartlet during a foreign relations crisis, and later within the show as the United Kingdom's...

 is appointed British ambassador to the United States, much to Leo's horror. Lord Marbury is anti-missile defense and outlines his objections (violates the 1972 ABM treaty, costs a fortune, and doesn't work) but Leo's comments as well as his own military experience earn respect from Marbury. In the end, the issue is not settled.

Sam

Sam Seaborn

Samuel Norman "Sam" Seaborn is a fictional character portrayed by Rob Lowe on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is best known for being Deputy White House Communications Director in the Josiah Bartlet administration throughout the first four seasons of the series.-Creation and...

 and Toby

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:...

 end up having a clash over an environmental speech. Sam has been working especially hard on the address to a major natural defense lobbying group, but Toby and Leo decide to add a segment without informing Sam: a section where the President strongly condemns eco-terrorism

Eco-terrorism

Eco-terrorism usually refers to acts of violence or sabotage committed in support of ecological, environmental, or animal rights causes against persons or their property....

. Sam is aghast at the "drop in" and says it ruined the speech. He confronts Toby about this, and Toby is unusually kind in not pointing out that he both outranks Sam and has Leo's support. Sam says that Toby feels bad about attacking a friendly group for political gain and Toby doesn't really deny it. In the end, the issue is also not settled.

C.J.

C. J. Cregg

Claudia Jean "C. J." Cregg is a fictional character played by Allison Janney on the television serial drama The West Wing. From the beginning of the series until the sixth season, she is White House Press Secretary in the administration of President Josiah Bartlet...

 has to get a controversial comedian to turn down an invitation to host a dinner the President will be attending. The comedian, who was a huge supporter of the first run for President by Jed Bartlet, was branded a typical Hollywood sleaze when he made a joke about cops shooting black men that the President denied laughing at. C.J. gets him to not blast the President to the press, then later admits that the President did laugh at the joke. In the end this issue is settled.

Trivia

Aaron Sorkin

Aaron Sorkin

Aaron Benjamin Sorkin is an Academy and Emmy award winning American screenwriter, producer, and playwright, whose works include A Few Good Men, The American President, The West Wing, Sports Night, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The Social Network, and Moneyball.After graduating from Syracuse...

 previously used the Global Defense Council, the fictitious environmental group Bartlet speaks at, as Annette Bening

Annette Bening

Annette Carol Bening is an American actress. Bening is a four-time Oscar nominee for her roles in The Grifters, American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right, winning Golden Globe Awards for the latter two films...

's employers in The American President

The American President (film)

The American President is a 1995 romantic comedy film directed by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin. It stars Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox and Richard Dreyfuss...

.

C.J. mentions the Saudi

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

 Ambassador to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, as the longest-serving diplomat

Diplomat

A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

 in Washington

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. At the time the episode aired in 2001, that was fact. Prince Bandar has since left the ambassadorship and returned to the Kingdom.

When characters refer to Queen Elizabeth II, they say 'Her Royal Majesty'. However, this is grammatically incorrect. 'Her Majesty' is most commonly used, with 'Her Britannic Majesty' being the title used to refer to her in overseas countries, and 'Her Most Gracious Majesty' being the official full term.

External links

• The West Wing Episode Guide