The Great West Wing Rewatch: 4.1 "20 Hours in America" Pt.1

Joel: In most cases on The West Wing when a two hour special episode is split into two hour long episodes for rerun purposes, there is a clear line in the story where one episode is supposed to end and the next is supposed to begin. Maybe a B or C level storyline that only exists in one half of the episode, or two separate lessons are learned by a character, one in the first part and one in the second. In this case however we have what is clearly a two hour long episode that has no clear split between Parts I and II.

What I really like about this two parter is that it does take time ( A good bit of time. Two episodes worth of time.) to go outside The White House and the setting of Washington. Josh and Toby are fixated on winning. It’s so much their number one goal, that it has become their only goal. And for people running a national campaign for the presidency, that’s understandable, but there are multiple occasions where someone, an average american, is trying to discuss a real problem that is having an impact on their life in a serious way. The farmers are the biggest example here, and John and Toby are flat out told that there are things that need to be addressed, but they have no problem casting those issues aside, because they are not “vote grabbing” issues.

John and Toby have a bet in this episode where Toby ends up having to say “I work at the White House.” every time he introduces himself. It’s done to be funny. It makes Toby look pompous. But this episode also cleverly uses it to make both Josh and Toby look silly, and out of touch with the people they’re supposed to be theoretically representing. At the end of the episode however (And yes it’s in Part II, but it all ties in when talking about these two episodes.) Toby says the same words to someone but they have an entirely different meaning. For the first time in two episodes, Josh and Toby actually discuss an issue. Not a poll. Not strategies on how to secure votes or the game of politics, but an actual issue that genuinely impacts Americans.

Obviously I watch this show for all of the political games that the characters play, it’s one of the biggest appeals However, I’m glad that in the heat of the big election storyline, we do have a reminder of exactly what everyone in Washington is theoretically there to do.

Chris: We start off the season just a few months later in the campaign, mere weeks from the election itself and the President is going about his business as if he didn’t approve the assassination of a foreign leader. However, if you were to do that in secrecy, it’s probably best that you act like it never happened. This is why I’m a writer and not a secret agent...that you know of. Crap, that would’ve definitely blown my cover. Either way, Josh, Toby and Donna are stuck in Indiana and nobody likes them while Toby keeps his end of a bet way better than most of us would. Seriously, I would’ve stopped after I said it the one time and told Josh to suck it. And it is weird to think that after almost 4 years in the White House, the president’s administration wouldn’t know what all the job entailed of their coworkers but I suppose with everything as hectic as it can be, everyone is laser-focused on their own jobs and sure that their coworkers are doing the same.

People we know: Amy Adams, John Gallagher Jr. (also in Sorkin’s show “The Newsroom”)

A Good President knows when someone is sensitive about fishing for a bad Florida baseball team.