The Great West Wing Rewatch: 2.4 "In This White House"

Joel: In many ways, this episode is everything that I love about this show. It’s no secret that the show has a very strong liberal leaning. However, just because a character is conservative, that doesn’t mean that the show views that character as backwards or dumb. Case in point, Ainsley Hayes is a character that despite being a Republican is able to go back and forth with any member of the White House Staff. She is a smart, confident, and capable character and is able to hold her own opinions and back them up with facts just as well as any liberal character in the show. But what’s even better is how the show makes a point of having both a republican (Ainsley) and a democrat (Bartlet) talk about what it means to work in the white house. Despite the fact that they had very different ideals about what is best for the country, the both have the best interests of the American people in mind when they say how they feel. There is a moment where President Bartlet talks about how they should hire Ainsley because she is smart. As far as he is concerned the discussion doesn’t need to go beyond that. She is smart. She has well thought out ideas, and she is capable of expressing those ideas clearly. The issue of her republican ideas never even comes into play as far as he’s concerned.

Alexa: This episode introduces one of my favorite recurring characters on The West Wing, lawyer Ainsley Hayes. Though the central characters are all democrats, we’ve written previously about the show’s presentation of some well-rounded republican characters with a greater purpose than merely serving as “the bad guy” standing in our favorite staffers’ way. Ainsley is perhaps the pinnacle of that type of character. Leo says that President Bartlet likes intelligent people that disagree with him, and Ainsley proves to be a whip-smart, charming foil to the rest of the staff. Sorkin and Emily Procter craft a character that could easily be a walking stereotype and elevate her as an equally worthy member of Bartlet’s White House despite her position on the other side of the aisle. Though her approach to most issues is the polar opposite of the rest of the staff’s, she shares their passion for public service. Like Bartlet, I would rather watch Ainsley and Sam engage in an intelligent and well-argued sparring match any day over a fight in which everything is black and white. The shades of gray are far more interesting.

The “Oh hey, I know that person” award: Sam Jaeger, aka Joel from NBC’s “Parenthood,” as the reporter whose question leads C.J. to inadvertently reveal information about a grand jury investigation.

Chris: I mean, what more is there to say about Ainsley Hayes that hasn’t been said already by Joel and Alexa? She’s a further example for how Sorkin decides to portray the other side of the argument. There is no intention in this show to put down the conservative right or Republicans in general, the show is more concerned to put down to the ill-informed and the ignorant. You’ll see more of this in the final season of the series but for now, enjoy Ainsley, another well-informed intelligent woman that serves as an equally viable opposing view.

A good president hires Ainsley Hayes