In the third episode of the third season of The West Wing, C.J. begins to set up a complicated manipulation of the press to gain sympathy for the White House, while the rest of the staff deals with their own risky moves. And Donna goes on a surprisingly pleasant date! Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The West Wing.
OH GOD, WHAT A GREAT EPISODE.
C.J.
She is so deliciously Slytherin here, and it was incredible to watch. C.J.’s behavior here is distinctly for political gain. I don’t think that means I condone what happens here, though I’m not even sure if I know what this is going to turn into. But I understand what she does by deliberately feeding specific information to the press, by planting clues that the media so predictably eats up. Not only that, but Ainsley plays the game as well, and all that made me want was Ainsley and C.J. in a buddy cop/lawyer drama or something. THEY WORK SO WELL TOGETHER.
Like many of the plots in this episode, what C.J. does comes with a great risk of failure. She’s aware of this, but she figures that it’ll be in the White House’s best interest if she can fool the Republican party into showing their worst side. It’s a tactic that the Republicans might not pick up on in time, especially given what we learn about their push against the Estate Tax. They’re opportunists in this sense, and I think they’ll take the bait because it’s a political chance. It’s interesting to see this political contest take place since C.J. is just as much an opportunist as the Republicans. Oh god, I just don’t want this to backfire! Still, I’ll always appreciate the look on C.J.’s face as she drank that beer, watching the Republicans fall right into the trap she set. It’s true that C.J.’s gotten a rough lot in this MS drama, so I guess it’s nice to see her have some positivity in her life.
ALSO I HAVE NEVER SEEN A DEPICTION OF A GRAND JURY ROOM. IS THAT WHAT THEY REALLY LOOK LIKE?
Donna
You know, I thought that Donna’s plot had no resolution until I realized where Cliff said that he had been transferred. I missed it the first time around because Donna and Cliff were going back and forth so quickly, so I had to go back and re-watch the scene again. Which was also nice because holy shit, Cliff and Donna have so much chemistry. I really enjoyed the portrayal of two people on opposite ends of the political spectrum enjoying their time with one another like this. Both Donna and Cliff are joyously witty, and IT’S TOO MUCH CUTENESS.
Which is why I am so sad at how this ended. I want to know who set Cliff up for this, because they obviously did it because of where Cliff was being transferred to: the House Government Oversight committee. Fuck, they probably wanted him to spy through Donna. NO. DON’T YOU DARE TREAT DONNA MOSS LIKE THIS. NO. NOT FAIR. NO. Ugh, I just want Donna to be happy. 🙁
The Estate Tax/Campos/Sam Being a Jerk
Man, Sam is kind of a huge sexist jerk in this episode, and it’s really grating. I understand what is at stake here, and I get that it’s a huge deal that the House Republicans have decided to take on the White House on the estate tax repeal. They see a sign of weakness, and they’re going to go after it. In fact, that’s also why we see Campos do what he does in “Ways and Means.” I was totally intrigued by how these events played out because it’s clear that multiple parties think the Bartlet White House is on its way out, so they’re going to take what they can get while they still can. I know this is strange to say, considering the topic of the show, but “Ways and Means” gives us two of the most explicitly political plots in the show’s run. This is how the game is played a lot of the time in American politics. Sure, we’ve seen a lot worked out behind closed doors and in private, but here, the White House team decides in multiple scenes to take the opposing party to task, while Campos uses the White House’s moment of weakness to get what he wants.
So, Campos! Bless his heart. It was so rad to see a man of color on this show with power who gets what he wants by using that power. But there was another subplot to Campos’s determination: Sam is a jerk. We’ve actually seen him treat women around him with a flippant and dismissive attitude, and here, he ramps that up to a revolting degree around Connie. Sure, he was upset that Bruno insisted on one of his people coming with him to talk to Campos, but then he very rudely pulls her out of the room once she contradicts him. Despite that she was educated AT OXFORD, and despite that she’s clearly fucking brilliant, his behavior here sends a very clear message: I am in control, you are not, sit there and be quiet. Yeah, no. No! Her advice is clearly correct, and your attitude helps no one. Look, he doesn’t need to say that he’s a sexist or anything because his actions speak real loud and clear here, and I’m glad Connie got to argue him down. BLEH.
Toby and Josh spend a great deal of time in this episode learning of the political fight they are going to have to deal with in the near future. That comes in the form of the estate tax, a tax that specifically effects only those with a higher income than others, and only in cases of inheritance. I know that on a federal level, the limit for who is affected by the estate tax appears to have gone up in recent years, so much so that if someone dies in 2013, you don’t have to file for the tax unless your gross assets equal $5,250,000. I can’t even fathom that number. Now, it’s no secret that I am in favor of taxing the rich, and my experience this year with doing my own taxes on a self-employed income pretty much cements that. I have only once had a job that paid me a living wage, so I’ve spent most of my life in poverty or distinctly lower class. (That includes the last year and a half, too.) I know some of you are well aware of this, but when you don’t make much money, the taxes you do have to pay often feel brutal and unfair, and so when I hear about millionaires and billionaires getting tax cuts, it just makes me angry. So I understand Toby and Josh’s fury here, especially since they know that the Republicans are most certainly going to try and repeal the estate tax.
Which is why it’s so exciting that we get what I’m calling a Let Bartlet Be Bartlet moment: They decide to push for a presidential veto of the repeal on the recommendation of Doug. Doug! They agree with Doug! And I also loved that the writers took time to address how the estate tax would unfairly affect the first generation of black millionaires. It was surprising to see because most other mediums would never explore the complexities of such a situation.
Oh god, I was actually having a conversation a couple of days ago that was strangely relevant to this idea. I was trying to explain to someone the idea of upward mobility, about why the bootstraps theory of economics is a pile of horse shit, and I had to honestly introduce this person to the concept that poor people do not get inheritances. This guy was shocked that some people have never had savings, that they never had a safety net in an economic sense, that they couldn’t just “borrow money from their parents.” This is only tangentially related to what Congressman Richardson brings up, and I think it was vital that the show acknowledge that the affects of slavery and racism are still being felt in the black community. What happened in this country – just over 150 years ago, mind you – has had a long-lasting ripple effect that manifests in different ways in our modern American culture and society. So when Congressman Richardson mentions the first generation of black millionaires, he’s not exaggerating. That’s literally how long it’s taken the black community to get a piece of the pie that is the American Dream. Why on earth would they vote for a law that treats them as equals to rich white Americans who have had their money for centuries?
It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out. Like I said before, this is a huge risk that the White House will be undertaking, and it honestly could go either way.
Bartlet/Pens
I am not the slightest bit ashamed that I spent most of Bartlet’s plot yelling at him for touching the desk or looking sad or berating all of you for getting me into a show where something as simple as a knife or a box of pens can ruin my emotional state. This is all your fault. This is all your fault.
I know it needs to be done, and part of me is marginally excited about the possibility of a new cast member, but I really miss Mrs. Landingham, and I want her back. Please. 🙁
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