The Great West Wing Rewatch: 6.22 "2162 Votes"

Joel: The two episodes that focus on the conventions here seem to take the stance that going into the convention without a clear nominee for president is a terrible thing for the party. They talk about how the democrats are going to look like an out of control circus compared to the well oiled machine that is the Republican Party here. But watching this storyline unfold just makes me want to see a contested convention in real life all the more. This current presidential election is the closest we’ve come in a long time in both parties. And watching this, you have to wonder what a real life impact might be of a convention like this. When Bartlet was running for his second term, there was a brief storyline where television stations were considering very limited coverage of both conventions because frankly, both conventions are predictable and boring. But here we have television coverage lasting well past prime time. Even with the complaints of how long the first round of voting was, there was never a consideration of not cutting back in to cover the convention once the second round of voting began.

This episode is a free for all. It seems like the whole thing is nonstop from the moment the episode starts to the time that Santos gets to speak onstage. And it feels like anything that could happen in a situation like this ends up happening. It’s summed up nicely when Bartlet has to catch Abby up on what’s been going on where he remarks “It’s a free for all. I think Aaron Burr got twenty votes.”

I don’t know if I’ll ever see this happen in real life. But seeing it unfold in this fictional world, it sure would be a thing to see.

Chris: This is in my top 5 favorite episodes simply because I love the unpredictable chaos of it all and what all had to fall into place for Santos to get the nomination but ultimately, it was himself and expressing his own convictions that won him over with the delegates. Also, what was an underplayed moment in the grand scheme was Santos winning over President Bartlet it wasn't something I realized I needed to see until it happened especially when he remained silent anytime someone asked who he wanted his successor to be. And the pairing of Santos with Leo works kinda in the same way Obama and Biden work, the young senator brings on the elder statesman to quell any "inexperience" discussion while also appealing to the democrat base. But the chaos of it all, including Baker throwing his name in the hat on the floor even when we should've seen it coming, all of it was intoxicating and after seeing this episode as well as a brokered convention episode on the most recent season of House of Cards, it makes me want to see this for real in my lifetime. Maybe next election.

A good president picks a successor and gifts said successor the state of New York.