The Great West Wing Rewatch: 4.7 "Election Night"

Joel: It’s interesting that by this point in the story, there’s not really a question as to who is going to win the election. We know going into the episode that it is all but certain that Bartlet will have a second term. There is even some talk about not bothering to write a concession speech, he is that far ahead in the polls. It’s not that an election with that wide of a margin for victory isn’t possible, or even very likely, I know that it’s happened plenty of times in the past, but this is a TV show after all. This episode was written well after the 2000 election as well, so the idea of an entire presidential election coming down to a handful of votes in a single state, is a very real possibility. But instead, a TV show, where we would expect a dramatic, down to the wire election, instead portrays it as little more than a routine thing that just has to be gotten out of the way.

Fortunately, we have the other election to bring drama to the episode. I’ll have more to say about the character of Will Bailey in upcoming episodes since he’ll be here for a while, but what I want to look at in this episode is the election in California. As we approach this election this year, almost everything you hear will be about the race for the White House. There will be less about whoever is running for governor or for senate in your home state. Even less for local representatives such as town counsel or school board. The people who have the ability to impact your day to day life the most often seem to be the ones the voters are least informed about when it comes to the polls. I love that the local election is where all of the drama is in this race. It would be nice if a little bit more attention was paid to the local elections in the real world as well.

Chris: There’s something heartbreaking about the president and Abby’s conversation at the end after they come off the stage of his victory speech. In a moment of that should feel like a huge accomplishment and relief, they’re faced with the looming dark cloud of MS that never really left but the president had enough good days that it took a backseat. The president has a moment of childlike vulnerability, almost as if he’s asking for permission to be able to enjoy this one night and the first lady put aside her displeasure about him running again, reassures him that he’s up to the task of the next four years. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a person so such great intellect to have moments without the ability to do certain simple things.

A good president has a lot of good nights.