A clip from Season Five Episode Eight "Shutdown". After budget talks break down with Speaker Haffley, Josh Lyman convinces President Jed Bartlet to walk to the US Capitol Building to meet with the Speaker.
I'm surprised the Secret Service complied to POTUS request to walk, considering what happened at the end of Season 1! Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Secret Service are the only people with the power to tell the POTUS ABSOLUTELY NOT! GET BACK IN THE CAR!
@@tonychan8558 Butterfield said it well. They serve the President. Their job is to figure out how to do what he wants safely. There isn't an imminent danger and an attempt couldn't have been planned for an impromptu trip. They would be able to have agents keep a perimeter and would have vehicles nearby just in case.
While merely going to the Capitol might have been a risky move politically speaking, walking the last part was an inspired idea. It seems like a case of going all in on the original decision, and hoping that the news coverage of the walk would play out in Prez Bartlett's favor.
Bartlett knew exactly where Josh was going with this, and was absolutely down for it. Anything to break the deadlock they all were in; and why not put on a bit of a show while we’re at it?
Having lived in the D.C. area for half my life, and having commuted through this very intersection on my way to my Amtrak job at Union Station, I can say with confidence that they shot this sequence on a Sunday morning.
This shows how over his head Haffley was. Everyone saw on the news that Bartlett was walking to the Hill to then make him wait was political suicide. Haffley lost any public sympathy he may have had.
I never saw the show, so I assume that's how they wrote it, but IRL, and in today's political climate, I don't see something like this being anything except bad for the President. "President waits outside Speaker's office like errant school boy" "President cools his heels waiting for the Speaker", "Speaker humiliates President", "President walks half mile to The Capitol, immediately leaves", etc.
@ Billy W - certainly the right wing press would go with that. Yet, ‘Haffley hides from President’, ‘Republican right-wing bunker stand off’ and ‘Speaker speechless in face of Democrats’ would also be terrible headlines for the GOP. But it’s more than that, the whole scene is Quixotic, a knight fearlessly heading out to do battle for what he considers right and just. Aaron Sorkin seems to be a bit of a Cervantes fan so not such a stretch to imagine Bartlett as the man from La Mancha.
After the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the Secret Service closed the portion of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to all vehicular traffic. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic, however, was still permitted on the sidewalk.
This was one of my favorite arcs in the whole series. If I remember correctly, Josh was kind of in the doghouse at the time after a few bad decisions. These plans were his masterclass in redemption.
If I remember correctly, he put so much pressure on a Democratic senator (played by Tom Skerritt) that the senator decides to leave the Democratic Party and run for his reelection as a Republican. Leo calls Josh out and calls it 'you rode over him with a TANK'. He puts Josh in the penaltybox and downsizes his portfolio, including not taking part anymore in budgetnegotiations. Angela Blake takes over.
Yet the second Josh suggests this and everyone else is against it, the President immediately goes with his idea. Then when Josh suggests walking, Bartlett is in. He trusts Josh implicitly.
@@jamiestewart48 rewatching the first and second series especially the first and last episodes he calls Josh his ‘son’ . In this episode it was mrs Bartlett coming back and seeing what was going on says ‘where’s Josh?’
@@jonatnry6197he didn’t start a deadly riot bad stuff happened but he wanted peace and told his supporters what don’t you ask BLM and Antifia they ruined their cities .
I love how they set this up after showing us weeks of the Bartlet administration not being Bartletian without Josh. And then the moment Abby drags Josh back into the proceedings, he goes and does this. If Bartlet was the King on the chessboard, Josh was the knight making sure all the pieces were in the right places.
I’d say Josh is the Queen- single strongest and most dangerous piece on the board. That’s why whenever he’s off the board things go to shit, but as soon as he’s put back on they start winning.
Come on.... i mean sam said it best in the last season. Josh.... is the political operator... the one that has to make the president's plans come true.
Bullshit - the Democrats would consider it as a mandatory. Their (Hollywood) presidents are the good guys which deserve utmost respect (no matter how criminal* and degenrated** they might be), Republicans presidents are the bad guys - always. No matter if Reagan, Bush or Trump now. *like lying under oath in the case of Clinton ** blow jobs in the oval office by an intern And the media get nuts when a member of the Trump team is sitting with bare feets on one of the sofas...but here you go: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2410613/Obama-photo-showing-President-foot-Oval-Offices-storied-desk-brings-online-outrage.html
I love that, based on what everyone knew about politics and negotiation at the time, everything about this move seemed like a terrible idea. Toby and Leo weren't wrong. But as was usually the case in this show, Josh's instincts were right on the money.
I was so frustrated with Josh being ostracized, and seeing how Bartlet’s administration was fracturing without him. Best part was when Jeb’s wife, who has had her own power struggles with Josh, sees what’s happening and knows immediately that Josh is the vital missing piece. When she looks at Jeb and says “Jeb, where’s Josh?” My favorite part.
Absolutely. Add to this that I agree with Josh's tactics in the debacle that got him benched for this episode. The senator that flipped parties had a point, but it was a point he kept secret. Josh was absolutely in the right. The team punished Josh, and got punished in turn. By bringing him in suddenly they're back on form.
This is another of the West Wing episodes that has reverberated through me all these years. The President of the United States WALKS to the Capitol, the symbol of our government. As he walked through those lush gilded halls, I could see where the Congress could forget about the rest of us, seeing the money and power that is there. But that building belongs to ALL of us, not just those who work there, and I wish more of the Congress would remember that. It seems to me that many members of the Congress have forgotten that Federal anything means it belongs to all of us, not just those privileged few that make laws, or not, as the case may be.
We all have an opportunity to change the House every 2 years and terms in the Senate can end for any of them at 6 years. But the PEOPLE are apparently happy enough to re-elect the vast majority of them. It's not as though we don't have a voice. The problem is that so many are silent or influenced too greatly by superficiality (as Hamilton said). Even worse, most don't bother to vote in (local or) state elections. Real power lies in the state legislatures where federal electoral districts are drawn. How many don't bother to VOTE?
Lately tho, the Capitol (and the Congress) have been over taken by imbeciles, thugs, & terrorists. The previous president had about as much in common with responsible governing and statesmanship as a duck has to a pavement roller.
I love the look on the President's face. The initial "Are you kidding me, it was your idea to come." And then the contemplation as he works through the political calculus and realizes it genius.
@@Celtic2Realms No, this was a huge win for him. The risk of the government shutdown was that it would look like he was being stubborn. The public gets exasperated with shutdowns. Notice how CJ is talking at the beginning about how they're not even negotiating, but "talking about negotiating". The politics of a shutdown are all about making yourself seem reasonable and willing to compromise and making the other side seem unreasonable - like its their fault. And the problem they were dealing with was that there was so little movement that both sides were looking stubborn and unreasonable. Going to the Hill was a massive, unprecedented gesture of his willingness to compromise. Even Leo knew it would play extremely well - he was just worried that it would set a precedent for the President to be the one to reach out first and potentially capitulate in the future. But it turned out that Bartlett didn't even have to capitulate. He looked good by showing he was willing to step up to the plate and compromise, and when the Speaker delayed and he left, it became an even stronger win: he looked good for going to the Hill to reach a compromise, and he got to do it without setting the precedent Leo was worried about, and he also made the Speaker look even more unwilling to compromise, even more to blame for the shutdown.
Agreed. First, they looked terrible, right there, sitting out waiting. Then they walked off, because the Republicans didn't come to the door and it completely turned things around. Shouldn't have cut the scene here.
...and (agreeing with most of you), the scene of President Bartlett and his staff walking away TAKING WITH THEM the entire press contingent, is just another example of Sorkin’s genius. God, I miss this show. It doesn’t matter where you stand concerning politics, this show was incredibly entertaining.
Exactly! That was when the Speaker and his cronies realized they had blown it. With that move, Bartlett showed that he had been willing to deal, but they weren't. They let their pride get in the way and ended up looking like the stubborn fools they were!
@@jaberwocky4009 It was a calculated embarrassment on Bartlett's part; he walks away, and the Speaker gets splashed all over the news for making the *President of the United States* --wait in the lobby--.
Tears come to my eyes when I see scenes like this on the West Wing because I wish that we had an America that looked like the one that was shown on the series...closer to what we had, but not at all resembling the one that we currently have.
@@rona4960 You wish :) I don't like bullies, right wing voting morons, egotistical twatwaffles, and those that have nothing better to do than try and laugh at their betters. More to the point, I'm more than happy to ping them on their unwanted and uncalled for commentary. Sound oddly familiar to you, trollish one?
I agree with the other comments; we need the end! The brilliance of this scene is the Speaker so completely panics & stalls, keeping them waiting for so long, that eventually Bartlett leaves...w/out the Speaker having ever come out of his office. I loved the fact they showed Jed was willing to swallow his pride & step up, even tho it was going to weaken his position more than it already was. What was best for the country mattered more. By playing politics, the Speaker screwed up.
You missed the punch line. President Bartlett leaves before the Speaker and crew can get their act together, which in turn leaves them weakened and with less power.
@@Milanesium This could be done, as long as the Secret Service had more time to prepare, you couldn't do it at the drop of a hat most likely. But if they where notified 30 minutes to an hour before hand they could easily set this up.
@@shadow435100 there's usually a short walking after the inauguration. But the Secret service have huge time in advance to prepare. They have also to secure the nearby buildings from an snipers and cars on the sideways are removed. Now if there's a short notice for a surprise walk anywhere, the preparation could be less complicated because no one can prepare an attack on POTUS. It's better for POTUS not make the lives of Secret Service harder. 👨💼
every episode had a 'moment' from "GW Blue!! Blue!!' to "my father gave it to me, his father gave it to him, i'm giving it to you" to this clip (if it was 2 minutes longer) from the "what kind of a name is potus?" to "eas in crucem" and everything before after and inbetween i have watched this show start to finish 6+ times and am about to go again
"We'll just have to wait" reminds me of the time I'd arranged to meet a college friend of mine at her chiropractic office. I'd donned my floor-length wool cloak (Phoenix, middle of summer), hood up & shades, and walked up to her receptionist (who was unaware of our plans) and intoned, in my best and mellowest radio voice, "Hello, I'm Brother Daniel and I'm here to see Dr. Howell." A bit flustered, she said, "I'm sorry, but the doctor is on vacation and won't be back for two weeks." I smiled and replied, "I'll wait," and turned and sat down.
One of my absolute favourite scenes of The West Wing. Josh gets back in the War Room and concocts this absolute blow to Haffley and is back in the game with a thunderous clap. I always fantasized at the end of the scene that just a couple of miles away, at DNC Headquarters (been there once) the head of the DNC and all staffers got glued to a tv and erupted in cheers when Bartlet walks out of the Capitol building, with the head of the DNC calling 'That's our boy, that's Josh Lyman!' and Josh seeing his phone explode with hundreds of congratulatory texts from all top-level Democrats all over the country! Ofcourse this was fiction, but it could have happened.
That is because the modern day politician is a politician. They go to school to become a politician or a lawyer, and when they make policies it is only in the best interest of their corporate backers and to earn votes next election, not for the greater good of the country.
porpus99 IF you don't like it do something about it, Run yourself, try to get in office, start or join a pressure group, take part in politics to expand the views in it.
jacksonjasonj1975 It's not our citizens who murder their fellow citizens by the tens of thousands with guns every year. You may want to take a look at who are really the stupid ones. Start by looking in the mirror.
This series made me proud to be American - not an American by birth but an American who chose to be an American - the precepts highlighted by this series should be a guiding light for all Americans no matter their ethnicity!
This cuts off too soon, but when you watch the full scene, you can FEEL the national public opinion shifting away from the Republicans' argument toward supporting Bartlet's. When Haffley finally shows his face in the hallway, it's too late, and he has to go begging to the White House with a weaker position.
The was such a boss move of Bartlett... he got the high ground nothing the soth could do make him look good....position sometimes trumps a win lol pun not intented.
What is often understated about this scene is how quickly CJ realized how to take advantage of it. Yes Josh came up with the idea, the President enacted it, but CJ figured out how to exploit it best (and then Haffley screwed it up totally) (don't get me wrong, Josh quickly realized after CJ's comments how to take advantage of it also)
+Peter Ross The thing most people, especially those who didn't watch this episode and ones preceding, miss out on is that Josh is the brainchild of this entire turn-around. He screwed up, causing a moderate-conservative Democrat to jumpship to the GOP, forcing him to the sidelines and bringing in the woman in the scene above to help run the domestic agenda. The end result=they flail and fall to pieces. It takes Abby coming back in and asking Jed "Where's Josh?" to have Leo bring Josh back into the fold and he then flips the script on the Speaker. There's a reason Josh was such a valuable political asset since the Hoynes Campaign.
+hjpop that's exactly right, and when I binged on this show a couple of years back, I noticed that my least favourite episodes were the ones where Bartlett's administration were on the back foot. Could it be that when people say the show "lost its way" halfway through its run, it was simply because the fans didn't like it when the Republicans appeared to be "winning", rather than a decline in the quality of writing? just a thought...
+awakeningcry That is probably part of it, but more so is that somewhere around then Rob Lowe / Sam Seaborn left the show and it turned from "his" show into the second election campaign in seven years. Just not that of Bartlett or Seaborn or Josh but that of Bail Organa, sorry Senator Matthew Santos... he surely grew on the audience, but the switch was hard to swallow. And of course the speeches, they also went mostly away, not just because "Sam" wasn't there anymore, but even more so because Sorkin left too... If you started to love the show because Jed and his "sons in spirit" Josh, Sam and half daughter CJ was the most dominant dynamic and the speeches were gorgeous whenever they were allowed to appear then it surely did change around the start of Season 5 or so... Toby is okay and had some strong episodes and the last big arc that ultimately cost him his job and "Lieutenant Will" also became a good personality in the wholle team, but it was no longer the show the audience knew and loved. A fate a lot of shows have to live through when the cast goes through major changes after the first few successful seasons.
There were plenty of times in the later half where they were winning, and plenty of times in the early half where they were losing. The real problem really is that there was a drop in the quality of the dialogue, character development and plots in the show.
TonkarzOfSolSystem maybe Real Life wrote the plot. Just been watching it again and the administration had said "We haven't had a message since the election, let alone Zoey". The main writers left and the administration had nothing to talk about!
no his ABT 2020 is showing.... or having a president who has 'security concerns' in a foreign country for fear this hair style might melt in the RAIN!!!
Isn't that the truth? If he speaks for more than 2 minutes he has to hang onto the podium! He's talking about how old and infirm dividing is he cannot walk why do you think he needs that golf
@@kulaak-krii In this specific case, Josh got shut out because he tried to "handle" a US Senator, and that Senator decided to jump ship to the other party. Josh was right on the issue, but Leo benched him anyways.
Love the look on Josh's face when the Speaker says basically "The President? Yeah well just tell him to wait- we're doing something important"?/ Excuse me ??
They should've realized once they saw the President getting out of his limo on TV 10 minutes earlier, that it was about to be on :D Honestly it's downright realistic they would still be totally unprepared.
It's a pity there is not the part where President Bartlet leave. the face of the senate leader when he opened the door and saw only President's back is priceless
"That's a long way to travel to find a 'CLOSED' sign." They drove there from Kansas, the place was closed, they must have been frustrated, but they got a chance to meet the head honcho, take some pictures and go home with a great story. Cue Lindsay Buckingham's "Holiday Road," these people are living National Lampoon's Vacation!
I know there is a lot to criticise about Season 5 but this arc, especially the ep Shutdown and the episode Supremes are two of my top 10 best episodes in the whole show.
Leo is the best political mind & strategist in this series but its with his years of experience. The things Josh achieved in this age with less than half experience of Leo makes Josh the best "political mind & strategist".
Had he really been the President, the image of him sitting on a bench would have been painted and later have made its way into the National Portrait Gallery.
The payoff is that Haffley makes the president wait, and wait, and then Bartlett leaves with an "I tried" shrug, a clear message to the American people that Haffley is the problem, not Bartlett.
The president ended up waiting for 7m and he left without meeting with the speaker and the rest of the republicans, making the republicans look like they refused to speak with the president, which made them look responsible for the govenment shutdown, forcing the speaker to go to the president at the white house later that day and speak with him, where the speaker was forced to do the original 1% deal because the president still refused anything higher and if he didnt get a deal, the speaker knew he would be screwed.
