“The President likes smart people who disagree with him.” I first heard this line when I was 18 or 19, and I have to say it's had a significant effect on my life. Talking with smart people who disagree with you is one of the best ways to sharpen your arguments and figure out what's true. The tribalist times in which we currently live are pathetic.
This is so true and not for the faint of heart. But it is the best way to learn, to understand the people on the other side, to figure out where they’re coming from and that they too are human beings trying to figure things out. As the Greeks knew, but we’ve forgotten - hubris is the most dangerous sin. Anyone who is sure of anything is a charlatan or a salesman.
One of the great tragedies of this show is that we didn't get way more of Ainsley. Every conversation she took part in was so much fun, regardless of politics.
@@gabrielabagalaIt wasn't about cutting costs. it was about the fact that they already had 7 very strong leading cast members and he didn't think there was a spot for on ongoing recurring role.
@@Bustermax01 It was surely a question of money. That show had many protagonists and many secondary characters who must, no matter what, be recurring, such as the commander in chief, the director of the NSA, or the assistants of the protagonists. They didn't have the money to pay more permanent secondary characters. Sorkin said it himself, and he was particularly sorry for Ainsley.
"Mr. McGarry." "Leo." "Yes, sir." That exchange repeated 3 or 4 times during the interview is a priceless piece of writing. The repetition of it was perfect.
@@AngelPerezComedy Indeed, there are parts of the country (not just the South) where adults consider it a point of pride to not be familiar with a superior to the point of being almost insubordinate...
"I used to have a nervous condition" "How did yours manifest itself?" "I drank a lot of Scotch" "I get sick when I drink too much" "I get drunk when I drink too much" So freakin' classic!!!!
She was such a good foil for the other characters, and wasn't a straw-man conservative but made legitimate arguments that made the other characters try really hard to defend their positions.
His performance was just so gracious and understated. I particularly enjoyed the scene with Liza Weil. Much similar in tone and understanding. Thanks for posting! 🎬
+PlasmaCoolantLeak I come back to watch this particular scene many many times....funny...exhilarating...AND...just plain enjoyable!!! My personal favorite part is when Leo says "You Go Girl"....Cheers!
I love that the exact moment she accuses the administration of being smug and patronizing, Leo becomes just a little smug and patronizing. One of the best comedic scenes in the series.
+wchase62 - great observation, though I can't be sure of precisely what line you mean. I'm going with him saying CJ Cregg thinks you kill your pets. I love the balance of how she's then able to observe CJ across the 2 days, discern the problem and completely rectify it before going to see Leo to not accept the job.
I love the stuff with Margaret. "she seems to be a very good secretary. . . . She'll be happy to hear that, she's standing right outside the door. . ." BAM! . . ."OW!!"
I love this scene. Ainsley probably rehearsed the conversation she was sure Leo wanted to have with her so much that when it turned out he wanted something else entirely it took a while for her brain to register that fact. I love her face when it sinks in. Classic television brilliantly written and played.
The most important trait for a leader to have is the ability to surround oneself with smart people and listen to them. If you find yourself in a position of leadership and you're the smartest person in the room, you need to find a new room.
"The President is asking you to serve, and everything else is crap." It's going to take us a while to restore this. Reverence for the highest level of public-service is worth the effort though.
And that’s trump’s fault? Yeah because you guys totally gave him a chance. Sorry he was rude while crushing isis, improving North Korean relations and enforcing red lines with Syria. Unlike obama who charmed you while he let the world burn.
We've messed it up so badly that it may take a generation to achieve a rational kind of governance again. And I'm not saying the downfall started with Trump, it most certainly did not, although he clearly accelerated the decline. Our problem is that powerful wealthy elites benefit from a divided country, whether it be corporate elites, media elites or political elites, the age old 'divide and conquer' strategy still works. By conquer I mean hoard all the wealth and power for themselves while millions of working class Americans suffer.
@@jimmy2k4o I don't recall anyone storming the capitol or a pandemic being ignored when he was in office. Go sit down somewhere, MAGA cult follower. You lot divorced from reality long ago.
Has anyone besides me noticed how much more literate the replies are here? I mean, there's punctuation and everything! It makes me want to stay here and talk to you people all night.
@Adam Love I don't think he's talking about everything devolving into a political pissing contest. More that people here seem to have a strong grasp of grammatical consistency that seems to be lacking in most RU-vid videos comment section. I could be wrong, though.
@Richard Darlington - I totally agree. Even though I won't complain about someone who makes grammar and spelling mistakes, so long as I understand their intent. I do wish they would take a few seconds to read their comment before they press reply.
Eric Jackson Absolutely! And this scene was a big part of why I loved this show. This is how bipartisanship is supposed to work... "The President likes smart people who disagree with him".... Classic.... Our real life government could learn a LOT from watching this show, for the record
This scene is exceptional. Ainsley Hayes (Emily Procter) was such a great addition to the WW cast. She is so great at delivering that fast paced dialogue of Aaron Sorkin. Both in WW and Newsroom, they managed to get some of the greatest ensemble casts of all time.
Leo and Ainsley had wonderful chemistry, but then again, Leo is quite fatherly to everyone he likes.... And it was nice to see Ainsley at Leo's funeral all those years later. It's nice of Emily Proctor to come back to honor John Spencer.
@@dspf68 Someone born when that post was made would be close to entering high school by the time you corrected his spelling. From a post on youtube 13 years later. I don't know why, but that's very amusing to me.
My favorite Leo moment is that within about two seconds of her accusing the administration of being smug and patronizing, Leo is being a little smug and patronizing. I love that.
It reinforces that service is service irrespective of party affiliation. I love the bit at the end of the episode when she chides her friends for calling people they don't even know (just because they are democrats) worthless.
At that moment, you see the little girl inside her that dreamed of working in the White House come right to the front, her eyes tell it all. This is the moment she'd been waiting her whole life for, a fairy tale come true, and she's utterly in shock. So well portrayed.
Ah Ainsley Hayes, the Southern linguistic version of Yoda. The repeated delivery of "Leo..." "Yes, Sir" in the exact same pitch and tone each time was just perfect. A standout character in a show packed full of wonderfully written parts, and Emily Procter nailed every syllable of every line.
"I do not think it's fair that I be expected to play the role of the mouse to the White House's cat in the game of. . . erm, you know the game." "Cat and mouse?"
When we lost John Spencer the actor, we lost one heck of a man. When Leo had his heart attack at Camp David, it was a nightmare but to know that it really was going to happen, killed my soul. I love this particular scene. Go North Carolinians! Leo, you're the best!
I loved that line. :D I was cracking up, listening to her rant on, with the job offer clearly not having sunk in, yet, and Leo clearly recognizing the exact same thing that I was. :D
Before I heard the rest of this dialogue, I assumed that Leo's response to the question "It has to be in THIS White House?" would be something like "It's the only White House I have any pull in", but this line was at least as good if not better.
I think The West Wing was the greatest series ever made. Although, I too, am a Republican, I loved this show. Ainsley was one of the best characters they created. Aaron Sorkin is so talented and one of the best writers of his time. I loved The Newsroom too.
"When I was young, I was a Young Republican"... "You have my FBI file? I have an FBI file?!"... "I'm not going anywhere, I'm standing up, which is how one speaks in opposition in a civilised world"... "Well you go girl" All genious lines
See Sports Night. "If you're dumb, hire smart people. If you're smart, hire smart people who disagree with you." I don't mind when Mr. Sorkin steals from himself at all.
"She seems to be a very good secretary." "She'll be happy to hear that; she's standing right outside the door." Bangs door. "Ow!" These little slapsticks thrown into the dialogue of West Wing were one of the things I liked the most. It seems so effortless and of course with good actors like John Spencer it makes it seem so natural and organic.
I always looked forward to Ainsley's scenes. She had great chemistry with everyone on the show, and I particularly enjoyed her exchanges with Leo and Sam. Emily Proctor brought this character a truly appealing balance of competence, wit, determination and sincere idealism. I wish she had appeared in more episodes.
I loved her banter with Lionel Tribbey about which musical the quote was from. Tribbey was full of useless knowledge that no one else knew except for Ainsley. And her basement office, when they decorated it for her & gave her a little impromptu welcome party was wonderful. And of course, the "Blame It On The Bossa Nova" scene when Bartlet appears- hysterical. I really liked that Sam was incensed by the disgusting note the two guys wrote, anonymously, to Ainsley, & immediately fired them with Tribbey right behind him in full support. That's the way it should be done in the workplace, no BS, period.
Likewise and agreed. I saw it all when it originally aired and am watching it again with my wife on Netflix and we are both amazed at how well it holds up and how topical it remains even today.
I only have about a hundred favourite scenes from this show. This one would be considered outstanding in any other show and it's not even in my own top ten West Wing moments.
I still can't absorb how amazing (and enjoyable) it was to watch Emily Procter fire off her fast pace dialogue lines with clear cadence that was countered with the intentional methodic tempo John Spencer played - in a single take! This had to be one hell of an intense scene to film. I'm curious how many takes they required. I'm betting very few.
I would have loved an episode with all the assistants getting together to save the day. Margaret, Donna, Carol Fitzpatrick, and Mrs. Landingham teamed up and kicking political ass.
I disagree. 'Margaret' was written as stupid, nosy, incompetent.. had the job because she was someone's relative - and, she caused major problems. The same can be said for the 'Donna' character. And, much of the time, CJ's character. I think Sorkin did not continue with 'Ainsley' because he knew the script would have to be changed so that 'Ainsley' got 'Margaret' and 'Donna' sent to unemployment. And, could anyone stand 'Zoey'? Or, the clueless Secret Service agent? 'Mrs. Bartlett' was barely allowed to show her smarts.
Great scene. Both actors really showed soul. The character of Leo really did speak to me. A person with many faults. A person who made many mistakes but yet found his way back and was able to show kindness as well as patience. Traits which I try to incorporate into my own personality. The character of Ainsley Hayes also was well developed. Strong, feminine as well as caring. Really quite beautiful.
"And everything else is crap." The Founding Father found a way to compromise even when creating the Constitution. We need to once again except that compromise is part of governance.
Aaron Sorkin is the best dialog writer who ever lived. He might have some problems with storytelling here and there, but the energy of his dialogs would wake up a catatonic.
LiamHaHaX "AARON SORKIN: I made a mistake with Emily Proctor. I loved her on the show and when I had a chance to lock her up as a series regular I didn't take it. Being conscious that I already had eight mouths to feed I didn't want to be obligated to have the character in every episode, which I know now wouldn't have been an obligation, it would have been a gift. And of course Emily was snatched up right away by another show - CSI: Miami - and of course it was a giant hit. I made plenty of mistakes on the show but none of them that big."
Margaret, Lionel Tribbey, Oliver Babish, Lord John Marbury, Leo and Mrs. Landingham were my favorite characters on the West Wing. They brought so much to their respective roles.
Ainsley: Yackety, yak yak yak, yackety yackety... Leo: Here it comes... Ainsley: Wait, what? You want to offer me a job? Leo: Yes. Ainsley: What? Leo: Would you like that scotch now? Ainsley: Yes. Love it, best writing ever.
Patrick Stivers I never got that either; there are so many small, but great moments, starting with when she got lost leaving the White House the second time, she saw President Bartlett consol that African President, who was there to bargan with the heads of giant pharmaceutical companies to lower the cost of drugs to treat HIV in his country. As Toby said, the reason why he came in person is because the man had no staff; he was holding the country together with both hands, so he had no one to send but himself. But whilst he was gone, a coup toppled his government; his personal family were either killed, missing, or escaped. Through the doors between the Oval Office and Leo's, she saw Bartlett consol the poor man ('sit with me awhile'), no doubt throwing his schedule in the bin, because right there, and right then, politics be damned; here was a man who lost his country, his people, and his family, all at once. At the same time, she saw President Bartlett in his true light, a man of infinite compassion and empathy. So later, when she sat with her friends, and they both were gloating over what Leo might have said, and looked like, when she would have said no, she remembers that moment, and realised that actually that somethings exist above mere partisanship; at that exact moment, she changed her mind ... Then that moment when Sam, when entering her basement office, saw that 'nice' gift those two numbskulls upstairs sent her; I wish she was there to see his righteous indignation as he fired them on the spot. Then the whole 'He is an Englishman' running gag (yes, it is from 'H.M.S. Pinafore', and, no, I am not a girl ...), and so forth ... As she said to Lionel Tribby, she was there out of a sense of duty ... and why not ...
Aaron Sorkin has said that the biggest regret he had was not getting Emily/Ainsley as a permanent star. But with the show only in its second season and already having a large main cast all they could offer was a recurring guest role. When CSI Miami was in the works she was approached by the writers and offered a permanent leading role for that show. And with a lead role comes more job security and more money. Realistically, at the time, she made the right decision and still came back throughout the series as a guest star. But I think the show would have benefited greatly having her as a lead. Her chemistry with the cast, Rob Lowe especially, was astounding. My favourite scene between the two of them will always be Blame It On The BossaNova. But there are brilliant scenes thrown in there too. Emily herself has even said that she would have loved to stay on The West Wing but she needed something with more security so she ended up going with CSI.
When I first saw Ainsley Hayes (Emily Procter) on West Wing, I thought she was perfect at delivering Aaron Sorkin's rapid fire dialogue. I can't even imagine how this show managed to always bring in the right actors to build this great ensemble cast. They rarely if ever made a mistake. The result, is one of the greatest shows in TV history. And, the "Two Cathedrals" plays more like a great theatrical movie than a TV episode.
Go sometime and listen to the episode of the podcast West Wing Weekly where they interview EP about getting this job. It's fascinating and hilarious, down to the discussion of wardrobe choices.
I can't even imagine how this show managed to have real personalities on for a short "background' scene. I mean Yo Yo Ma for 1 minute!! That was incredible.
@@Loveoldies50 It's quite obvious what I meant. Hollywood is filled with group-think liberals who don't want to reinforce any non-liberal ideas - hence removing Ainsley from the show.
When people speak intelligently and people listen with open minds, even differing views can be appreciated. Too may people today jump to conclusions, dig for unintended meanings, and argue with closed minds rather than debate with open ones.
*Ainsley stands* Leo: Where you going? Ainsley: I'm not going anywhere, I'm stand up which is how one speaks in opposition in a civilized world Leo: Well you go girl I love this scene such great writing and really funny