The West Wing

Santos is campaigning in California during the last few days before the all-important "Super Tuesday" primary elections, but he is out of money and he trails both Russell and Hoynes in the polls. When even "La Palabra", a Latino voters group, is all set to endorse Hoynes instead of Santos, Josh urges Santos to take a stand on the new bill that denies driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, Donna tries to figure out why Hoynes suddenly isn't campaigning in California, and advances her position in the Russell campaign by becoming the Vice President's official spokesperson.

Santos engineers a plot to get a stalled stem-cell bill scheduled for a vote in the House. President Bartlet has an uncomfortable reunion with a rival economist with whom he split the Nobel Prize. A group of underage kids tries to convince Toby they deserve the right to vote. Kate tries to resolve a silly border dispute with Canada before there is bloodshed.

A new candidate for president, Senator Rafferty, has garnered much media attention with a ground-breaking speech about health care. But her words contain interesting echoes of President Bartlet's original health plan, which is known only to White House insiders, and reporter Greg Brock suspects that Rafferty is being secretly supported by the incumbent. Meanwhile, Toby is more than usually morose after the death of his brother. A bill to combat drought conditions in the western U.S. gives C.J. problems, particularly in dealing with lobbyist Clifford Calley. And Charlie tells Kate Harper that a man from his gym asked if she was dating anyone.

It's five days before the New Hampshire primary, and Josh is desperately trying to find a "silver bullet" that will get his candidate into the local debate between the two front-runners, Vice President Russell and former Vice President Hoynes. Then, Josh and Santos's disagreements over how to run the campaign come to a head when Santos hires Josh's ex-girlfriend Amy Gardner to help him prepare for the debate he may never be in. And Donna has a memorable encounter with a chicken.

Valentine's Day starts badly when the Iranian air force shoots down a British airliner, killing 100 passengers. The U.K. Prime Minister threatens to retaliate by bombing nuclear reactor sites, which could doom future support for political reformers in Iran. But C.J. has made an agreement with Abbey to allow the President to get more rest, and she is reluctant to awaken him at 5 A.M. to deal with the crisis. Meanwhile, Toby and a visiting law professor answer questions from a foreign delegation that is trying to write a new constitution for the former Soviet Republic of Belarus, and harried staffers pass the buck of Leo's traditional meeting with the new Miss World.

The presidential candidates journey to Iowa, where democrats Russell and Santos, and republican Vinick, are all told by their handlers that when they appear before before the corn growers association they must support subsidies for the use of corn-derived ethanol as fuel, regardless of their true feelings.

On the day after Bartlet gives his last State of the Union address, Leo returns to the West Wing but has difficulty getting the attention of the rest of the staff for a meeting about what to do during the remaining 365 days of Barlet's term. Kate and C.J. have to deal with emergencies in Bolivia and North Korea. Charlie tries to figure out how to get Congress to support funding for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Toby solicits Annabeth's advice regarding proper behavior for Abbey at a NASCAR event. Will asks why they originally chose Russell to be Vice President. And Bartlet seems to have recovered most of his strength after his recent bout with MS.

Santos starts up his presidential campaign in New Hampshire, where he immediately disagrees with Josh on campaign philosophy: "No opposition research, no dirt on our opponents." Josh has an uncomfortable reunion with Russell campaign staffer Donna.

A senator attaches a rider to the federal budget bill that would ban gay marriage, almost daring the President to veto it, as the physical infirmities of Bartlet's MS become more pronounced. The Internet is rampant with a story that questions CJ's sexual orientation, and it is only fueled further when CJ refuses to dignify the allegations by putting out a statement. Donna joins the Vice President's senior staff, and heads for New Hampshire to start up Russell's presidential campaign there. And Santos decides that he will run for president after all, but only if Josh will leave the White House to manage his campaign.

As acting chief of staff, Josh calls Leo in for backup when the news about Jed's health hits; the staff follows the progress of an asteroid headed for earth; Jed struggles with his relapse as C.J., Kate, and Toby handle the repercussions of his illness on the progress of the China summit; Josh is outraged when Will uses Jed's paralysis as a political opportunity for Russell; Donna resorts to extreme measures when Josh avoids her repeated attempts to sit down for a personal discussion; after receiving some wise advice from Leo about the future, Josh makes a decision about the man he'll support in the upcoming presidential election.

Penn and Teller roll a lesson about the First Amendment into their entertainment at Zoey's White House birthday party, setting off a media frenzy and public relations nightmare; Baker drops out of the race, leaving the field free for Russell, who asks Josh to run his campaign; Jed takes a hard line on making significant gains on substantive issues in his last China summit; Vinick turns down Jed's offer of the U.N. ambassadorship to run for president; a fully ambulatory Donna has difficulty scheduling a meeting with Josh; Jed has an MS relapse which leaves him partially paralyzed and in a wheelchair.

Hoynes throws his hat in the presidential ring, and asks Josh to join his campaign; Jed's health begins to deteriorate; Toby and Kate head the protocol negotiations with the Chinese over the arrangements for the upcoming summit, which is jeopardized when Jed mistakenly accepts a Taiwanese flag at the National Prayer Breakfast; Bernard takes his new position as head of the Gifts Unit to heart as he gives Charlie a hard time about retrieving the flag so that it can be returned; Josh has his hands full with a pro-Taiwanese senator holding a hard line on recognizing their independence; Bob Russell crashes an Oval Office photo op with the governor of Pennsylvania, who's also another potential presidential candidate.

The peace mission suffers its first American casualty, whose father is sharply critical of the administration; Santos breaks ranks with the party by signing onto Republican legislation for a patient bill of rights when his own bill dies in committee; Margaret searches for a new office for Charlie; Leo struggles to recover his health, his strength, and his appetite with the help of his nurse, who looks after both his body and his soul with wisdom and determination; Donna, out of her wheelchair and onto crutches, is besieged by the media for interviews; C.J. has harsh words for Toby when he lets his personal feelings take him off-message in the briefing room; Leo contemplates a post-recovery job offer in the private sector before his nurse reminds him why he left there in the first place; Will calls Josh out about the staff's disrespect for Russell's candidacy; as Annabeth finds a way to turn around a bad news cycle, Toby admonishes C.J. about micro-managing the press office.

Hours before the CAFE standards amendment is defeated, Josh succumbs to the lure of test driving a monster SUV while shopping for a Prius and gets into a fender-bender that proves embarrassing to the administration, so he's saddled with heading up a task force on alternative energy sources; after hosting a surprise graduation party for Charlie, Zoey agrees to his taking her out to a thank-you dinner; Annabeth educates Toby on the art of "charm and disarm" in handling the press; Charlie is offered an attractive way out of his employment dilemma; Kate extents a hand of friendship and support to Donna; C.J. gets some crucial insight from Leo on keeping Jed healthy; Margaret's plan to redecorate Leo's former office meets with resistance from her new boss.

Margaret and Charlie prove to be invaluable allies as C.J. has a rough first day in her new position, made even more difficult by a Russian bearing radioactive gifts and a Defense Secretary's attempts to undermine her; Toby's less than stellar performance in the briefing room makes the search for a new press secretary a top priority, and Josh volunteers Donna to assist him in interviewing potential candidates; faced with a number of vulnerable seats in the upcoming election, Josh attempts to dissuade Matthew Santos from dropping out of another race for the House.

Leo is rushed into bypass surgery after suffering a massive heart attack; as Toby and Josh scramble chaotically to get votes after Haffley demands Democratic support for a tax cut in exchange for ratification of the peace plan, it becomes quickly apparent that Jed must overcome his reluctance to name a new chief of staff; C.J. works with the State Department on getting U.N. and NATO approval of the peace accord; Charlie drags his feet about completing some minor graduation requirements because he's reluctant to keep his promise that he'll resign as Jed's body man to seek a better position once he has his degree; Donna returns to work; C.J. gets on Josh's case about his unhealthy diet.

Bartlet orders a strike on the terrorist training camp as he and his staff broker a peace settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, but Bartlet and Leo realize that their differences over the peace settlement are irreconcilable, warranting a change in Leo's responsibilities. Having returned from Germany, Josh expresses concern about Leo's well-being, and his observations turn out to be well founded.

As they remain at Donna's bedside while she recuperates from surgery to remove a pulmonary embolism, Colin questions Josh about his personal relationship with Donna. When Bartlet and Leo clash over the appropriate response to the Gaza attack, Kate makes the case for a summit meeting, and provides Bartlet with the hook he needs to get the Israelis and Palestinians to sit down together at Camp David.

A documentary camera crew follows C.J. around for a not-so-typical day in the White House.

Jed and the staff vet potential Supreme Court appointees; Toby and Andy don't see eye-to-eye on her fact-finding trip to the Middle East; Donna's parents are the unlikely inspiration for the resolution to the problems arising from the judicial confirmation process.

When a conservative Republican Congresswoman targets Ellie's research project in an effort to discredit Jed, Toby discovers that the source of the leak is uncomfortably close to home, and Will realizes that they've all greatly underestimated his boss; Josh investigates the wisdom of a recess appointment as he tries to convince an old friend to be patient with the Sixth Circuit judicial nomination process and keep his hat in the ring; C.J. completely misreads Ben's intentions; Donna tracks down an AWOL Ryan; an opening is created on the Supreme Court; in an effort to redefine Abbey's image with the press, C.J. sets her up to do a public service announcement with the Muppets, which inspires Ellie to stand up before the press in defense of scientific research unhampered by politics.

He's back, Former VP John Hoynes, who resigned in sex scandal, makes a bid for political resurrection by trashing Barlet and Leo in a tell-all book. But it's C.J. who's taking the news the hardest.

When five navy E-2C Hawkeye crew members are stranded in North Korea, Bartlet orders a risky Navy Seal rescue attempt. C.J. agrees to one on one with a motormouth conservative talk show host.

An unlikely party comes to the aid of the administration as it seeks to discover the party responsible for nuclear testing in the Indian Ocean; Will is unhappy, but his boss doesn't seem to mind, when a request to beef up the Vice President's issue profile results in Toby's handing him boring, low-level minutae; Josh dismisses a NASA proposal for a manned Mars mission until an agency staffer shows him the error of his ways; a conservative talk show host makes a pathetic attempt to bait C.J. into appearing on his show.

Toby gets Jed's support to seize a controversial window of opportunity to save Social Security, but is hampered by Jed's mandate to keep the operation under wraps; desperate to feed the press corps beast on a glacially slow news day, C.J. meets with an attache to discuss cabbage imports, and has a little fun with a particularly dense reporter; Josh's brainstorm to help Will burnish Bob Russell's presentation problems and a persistent reporter endanger Toby's attempts to broker a deal on the Hill; Rina finds a friend in Donna, and Josh isn't too happy about it; Toby is saved from having to fall on his sword when Josh and Jed devise a plan to rescue his deal from certain disaster.

In the days leading up to the State of the Union address, Toby gets crucial voter feedback when he accompanies Joey as she mall-tests the speech around the nation; Jed and the staff wrestle with the issues of presidential pardons and mandatory minimums; Charlie dates an attractive woman who's not what she seems; Joey Lucas derails Josh's plans when she arrives at the White House carrying a surprise; Jed and Abbey reach out to an old friend on the eve of his ex-wife's remarriage.

President Bartlet attends the funeral of a former president with other former presidents Glenallen Walken and D. Wire Newman, while monitoring a possible situation in Saudi Arabia. Josh Lyman mediates an argument between a representative from Connecticut and one from North Carolina who wants her state's copy of the Bill of Rights returned. CJ is concerned about a scientist's invention which could interfere with privacy.

The Bartet clan attempts to gather for a holiday dinner. Jed must deal with a hostage situation in Sudan, an assisted suicide in Oregon, his son-in-law's yearn to run for the House of Representatives, and his grandson's want to spend time with his grandpa. C.J. takes a stand on the assisted suicide because of her father's worsening condition.

Jed's decision not to be held hostage by Haffley shuts down the federal government; unable to get through to Jed and fearing the worst, Leo calls in the reinforcements, and Abbey returns to Washington to deliver a message and provide her husband with a little perspective; after being benched from the staff meetings, Josh gets put back in the game by Jed and sets the stage for victory; disregarding the advice of more seasoned colleagues, Haffley makes a major misstep and loses his advantage over the White House; Jed and Haffley meet and reach an accord on the budget.

As Chief Justice Ashland's health problems continue to mount, Joe Quincy, Ashland's former clerk, is pressed into service to persuade him to retire; as C.J. prepares Zoey for a sit-down interview about her kidnapping, Abbey reveals that her relationship with her husband is still strained; Jed refuses to be held hostage by the Republican in the budget negotiations.

The fallout on the Hill from Carrick's switch to the Republican party exiles Josh deep into a White House doghouse, so C.J. gives Donna some tips on how she can support him; Jed gets a harsh reality check from C.J. when he lingers too long in a small Oklahoma town devastated by a deadly tornado; in Jed's absence, Leo juggles an impending war between Albania and Greece, a visit from the German chancellor, a tussle over tax cuts, and an over-reaching Secretary of Defense; Josh and Toby are less than thrilled when Leo brings Angela on board to assume some of Josh's responsibilities.

Will Bailey receives an offer to become Vice President Russell's top aide. Amy Gardner does some skillful lobbying for domestic violence prevention which gets the wrath of Bartlet. A conservative democratic senator switches parties.

Josh fails to sway an unruly congressman who insists on voting against the administration on the vice presidential confirmation, but Ryan reaches out to get him to change his mind; Leo fears that the potential defection of a prominent North Korean pianist will jeopardize secret nuclear disarmament talks; Will and Toby are humiliated when an early draft of a speech outlining their struggle to laud Bob Russell's confirmation is erroneously substituted for the final version; Donna's aunt and uncle from Wisconsin pay a visit, testing Josh's ability to refrain from bad cheesehead jokes during their tour of the White House; the staff struggles over how to language the state of the economy; fearing that the administration is drifting off-course, Toby wants to hand over more responsibilities to Will in order to focus on getting back to their core message.

When he realizes that his first choice for Vice President faces an uphill fight for nomination, Jed nominates a congressman that none of the staff can get excited about; Josh is less than thrilled with his new intern.

Bombs drop on Qumar upon Walken's orders; as the hours pass without any word on Zoey's whereabouts, tensions increase within the Bartlet family; Walken and Leo clash after Josh's suspicion that the opposition is using Walken's tenure in the Oval Office to advance their agenda is confirmed; Andy takes the twins home; Leo inflicts a new intern from a prominent political family on an unwilling Josh; Jed's staff is less than thrilled when they learn who will succeed Walken as Speaker of the House; the search for a new Vice President is accelerated; Zoey is rescued.

As the search for Zoey continues, Walken takes a hard line against the kidnappers that could contribute to her death; Danny releases the Shareef story, and the revelation creates a rift that separates Jed from Abbey and Liz; tensions arise between Walken's staff and Bartlet's staff; the Democratic leadership in Congress assails Leo for allowing Jed to step aside; in retaliation for Shareef's death, a movie theater in Turkey is bombed, and eighty people, including American soldiers, are killed.

Air Force One is forced to keep aloft for almost 24 hours when an indicator light leads the flight crew to believe that the landing gear isn't functioning properly; Bartlet and Will have a spirited discussion on Colombian recertification, which is ultimately rendered moot when Air Force One doesn't land on time; the Black Caucus plays hardball with the Oval Office to gain a Congressional debate on the merits of reinstating the draft; legislation to clean up Chesapeake Bay is sacrificed to partisan politics; Will is unsuccessful in hiding his fear of flying from C.J. and Charlie; deaths in Kundu continue to mount.

Toby's old friend approaches him ready to blow the whistle on his employer's violations of environmental laws; staff pranks abound on Amy's first day at the office; Abbey charges Amy with the task of convincing the President to threaten a veto on a foreign aid bill containing an abortion gag rule provision; claiming that Abbey's ancestor was a pirate rather than a privateer, a prominent member threatens to mount a boycott of the D.A.R. dinner at which Zoey will be inducted until Will, C.J. and Amy devise a plan to defuse the situation; at the behest of Jean Paul, Zoey sends Charlie a "Dear John" email, but Charlie refuses to accept the brushoff and declares his love for Zoey; Donna is less than thrilled when Josh assigns her the job of shadowing a possible security risk at Zoey's D.A.R. induction; Will takes one for the team in putting an environmental and political face on the destruction and deaths which resulted from the melting of an Alaskan glacier.

While Toby and C.J. are in California working on Sam's campaign, Josh drops Abbey's agenda in favor of his own, Jed deals with a military hostage situation, and Will runs his intern writing staff ragged.

Bartlet plays hardball to end the genocide in Kundu; after the entire speechwriting staff quits, Will is forced to rely on Elsie and some inexperienced interns to write tax policy remarks; the trip to California to help Sam's campaign gets off to a rocky start; Sam refuses to let Bartlet hold off the Democratic response to the Republican tax plan because it might hurt the campaign; Toby and Charlie get arrested coming to Andy's defense after a drunk accosts her; Bartlet fires Sam's campaign manager and replaces him with Toby.

Toby discovers that Will's frankness, stubbornness, and commitment to ideals is much like his own; Charlie remains on the hunt for an inaugural Bible; Bartlet and the staff continue to debate over sending American troops into Kundu to stop a genocidal war until Laurel and Hardy provide some needed inspiration; Bartlet appoints Will Deputy Communications Director; Donna takes one for Jack when a comment he thinks he is making off the record is included in a "Post" article by Danny's editor.

The staff wrangles with the State Department over language in the inaugural address; a genocidal war breaks out in Kundu, and Bartlet weighs his options as Will pushes for American military involvement based on Bartlet's statements in the past; the Chief Justice's increased propensity for writing opinions in verse causes concern about his competence; Bartlet keeps Charlie busy on the hunt for the perfect Bible for the inauguration; Donna becomes upset when Jack is transferred out of the White House and reassigned to Italy after getting caught in a squeeze play between the Oval Office and the Pentagon.

While Toby unsuccessfully attempts to fill her shoes in the briefing room, C.J. returns to Dayton, where she gives a speech at her high school reunion, reconnects with an old friend, and struggles with her father's worsening Alzheimer's.

Josh, determined to make sure a foreign aid bill passes even though it's a hopeless cause, sends Donna out to track down a reluctant senator; in an attempt to impress Zoey's new boyfriend, Charlie unwittingly gets over his head with the Department of Defense; Danny continues to pursue the Shareef matter; a Bartlet photo op with Heifer International creates unexpected opportunities -- for C.J. to perfect her spin-doctoring techniques, and for the staff once again to test Will's mettle and sense of humor.

It's December 23, and the holiday brings several visitors to the White House: Zoey comes home with her new French boyfriend in tow; aided by Josh, Toby's father seeks a reconciliation; and Danny arrives bearing gifts of gold and a heads-up for C.J. about Shareef's death. Will moves into Sam's office at Toby's insistence, and is treated to some good-natured ribbing by the rest of the staff. Bartlet and Leo try to exorcise their guilt about Shareef by adding eleventh hour funding to combat infant mortality in the federal budget, and promoting peace in the Mideast, respectively.

When a celebrated female fighter pilot is threatened with a dishonorable discharge for refusing to end her affair with an enlisted man, the staff, though full of opinions, agrees that the White House should not get involved; Donna asks Josh to find out if Jack Reese likes her, and is horrified to discover some of the anecdotes about her that Josh has shared with Jack; Sam heads out to California to begin his election campaign, and sends Will Bailey to the White House to help Toby with the inaugural address; despite the best efforts of Leo and Charlie to keep him out of it, Bartlet blows a gasket over complaints from U.N. diplomats about parking enforcement in New York City; and Josh takes issue with a temporary worker's choice in accessories.

The 15-year old son of an Iranian leader needs a heart transplant in the U.S. Problem is, the only man who could do it is an enemy of the Iranian government; The Senate minority leader threatens to thwart the President's legislative agenda when he believes that Hoynes is doing some political maneuvering for the next Presidential election; Toby offers a Congresswoman a Cabinet position but is forced to take back the offer.

The staff celebrates election night and encourages Sam to run for the seat in Orange County; Toby continues to worry about how Andrea's pregnancy will play politically for both of them; a coup develops in Venezuela; Jed and Abbey endure some interruptions at their private celebration.

Election day finally arrives with the staff eagerly anticipating the outcome; Sam is increasingly concerned about the Wilde campaign in Orange County; Toby worries about the effect of Andy's pregnancy on the voters; Donna accidentally votes for Richie and tries to rectify the situation by trying to find someone who will vote-swap; Josh resists Deborah's new office rules until she reveals their basis; Bartlet has some new health issues to worry about.

Bartlet, Leo, Josh, Sam and C.J. pull a practical joke on Toby; Sam's mission to end the Wilde campaign leads him to make a career-altering decision; Jordan backs up Leo as he deals with the Qumari; Toby continues to press his case with a resistant Andrea; and Bartlet cleans Ritchie's clock in their debate.

As the staff prepares for the presidential debates at a North Carolina conference center, a vexing question about a failed attorney-general nomination (amid charges of racial profiling) leads to flashbacks of the administration's first weeks in office. Back then, Toby's marriage to Andrea Wyatt was about to end; now Sam and Charlie are helping him in his effort to reconcile with her. Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force weighs in on the Qumari matter, and Joey Lucas reports that the president is likely to lose New Hampshire.

Leo meets with the Israeli Foreign Minister to enlist Israel's assistance with the Shareef investigation, but is ultimately foiled by the Qumari; the debate about the Ritchie debates rages on until the staff comes up with a brilliant tactic; Josh and Amy argue over whether Stackhouse is siphoning votes from Bartlet; Ritchie tries to bait Bartlet on needle exchange programs; Bartlet is faced with resolving an 11 day standoff with the KSU bombers in Iowa who are holding an injured child; Josh sends Donna undercover to a seminar held by one of Ritchie's advisors in an effort to expose the "fortune cookie candidacy"; Stackhouse comes to a momentous decision about his campaign and provides inspiration for Bartlet.

Bartlet decides he needs a lawyer when Qumar goes after Israel; Josh is disturbed to learn that Stackhouse might not endorse Bartlet; a comment Deborah made years ago comes back to haunt her during a security check.

Donna teaches Toby and Josh an important lesson as their trek homeward continues; Sam staffs the President in Josh's absence and welcomes an old friend home; Bartlet hires a secretary and C.J. finds a Big Brother for Anthony; the situation in Qumar continues to escalate; Bartlet gets spooked by a photo op as the Dow continues its dive; and a pipe bomb kills 44 students at a Midwest university swim meet.

Toby, Josh, and Donna learn the hard way about the lack of accessible public transportation in the heartland when they spend a long day trying to get back to Washington after the motorcade leaves them behind during a campaign stop in Indiana; Bartlet interviews potential replacements for Mrs Landingham while C.J. tries to find someone to fill Simon's shoes as Anthony's Big Brother; the Ritchie campaign whips up a furor when Abbey claims to be "just a wife and mother"; Qumar reopens the Shareef investigation; and the Dow takes a dive.

Hoynes and Bartlet each make an unexpected announcement about Hoynes' place on the ticket; fears of a terrorist attack arise when a truck carrying depleted uranium-fuel rods is involved in a head-on collision in an Idaho tunnel; Donna seeks a Presidential Proclamation to honor her high-school teacher/mentor who's retiring; and Bartlet's insistence on helping Charlie with his tax return sparks a discussion on the true nature of a tax rebate.

Toby looks forward to meeting the new U.S. Poet Laureate; Jed fires the first salvo of his reelection campaign when he calls his likely opponent less than brilliant, and the national press just can't get enough of it; Ainsley gets promoted; Josh overreacts to posts on the message board of a website devoted to "all things Josh".

Concern arises over the medical board's decision on Abbey's actions in treating Jed's M.S.; Sam tries to get a Senator he doesn't like to pass a bill for a super-conducter that he doesn't even understand; Amy tries to influence Josh; Lord Marbury explains to Toby why a member of the IRA cannot be invited to the White House; Donna receives shocking news when the Secret Service won't give her clearance to attend Abbey's birthday party.

On the day before the New Hampshire primary, Josh drafts Donna as his frontwoman to ensure that Bartlet wins the nation's first primary in the small town of Hartsfield's Landing; C.J. and Charlie play an ever-escalating game of practical jokes; Jed plays simultaneous chess games with Sam and Toby while he plays delicate diplomatic and military games with the Chinese government over Taiwan.

Stanley Keyworth revisits the White House to uncover the reason Bartlet hasn't been able to sleep since the night of the Iowa caucus; C.J. enlists Leo's help in freeing a White House reporter kidnapped while on assignment in the Congo; Toby and Andy joust over an upcoming presidential speech condemning Islamic fanaticism by name; Donna is offered a lucrative dot.com job by an old friend; Sam sparks an exchange on radical versus lipstick feminism when he comments on Ainsley's evening attire immediately after asking her to review language in Bartlet's U.N. address.

On the day of the Democratic Caucus, Bartlet, Toby and C.J. go to Iowa to kick off the presidential race, and disagree over Bartlet's making a statement about affirmative action. Back in Washington, Leo forces Josh to intercede with an old friend leading a protest against Navy arms testing at Vieques, Puerto Rico. Sam meets with Bob Engler again, who is now acting on behalf of two congressmen who want an inventory of Fort Knox because they believe that most of the gold bullion has been replaced with alien bodies recovered from Area 51 in Roswell, New Mexico. After Josh rebuffs her request, Donna seeks Sam's help in getting out of jury duty. Josh brings a little bit of Tahiti to his relationship with Amy Gardner.

On State of the Union night, Sam is being trailed by a magazine reporter to whom he was once engaged; the President' Congressional censure weighs heavily on staffers' minds as they debate whether to include an anti-cancer initiative in the President's address; Josh can't get Amy Gardner to talk to him.

Leo defiantly rejects the Congressional Oversight Committee's offer of a public censure of Bartlet that would finally bring an end to the investigation and spare Leo of any possible personal repercussions.

Leo fears the worst when he testifies in the congressional investigation into Bartlet's lack of public disclosure about his illness.

At Abbey's urging, Josh meets with a powerful women's caucus over the proposed language of a United Nations treaty banning prostitution.

While Bartlet worries about where he will be on Thanksgiving--and how to best cook a gourmet turkey -- C.J. meets with two Native Americans, Maggie and Jack, who are camped in the White House lobby.

When an American spy submarine suddenly goes silent in hostile North Korea, Bartlet must decide whether to inform the enemy or attempt a secret rescue operation; Abbey learns her past malpractice suits might compromise Bartlet's criminal investigation; Toby meets with a representative from an appropriations committee who wants to funnel money away from Congress's funding of avant-garde artists.

The President has a showdown; Donna lies when she appears before the Congressional committee investigating the President; Leo debates with an old friend about the US future stance regarding the war crimes tribunal; Sam tries to find the logic in a Congressman's proposed legislation to eliminate the penny.

When Bartlet vetoes the "death tax", the staff must scramble to keep the veto from being overridden; Josh tries to smooth talk a promising governor who is considering running against the President; Charlie is urged to ask for immunity in his upcoming testimony.

The Special Prosecutor sets his probe in motion; Sam and Bruno are concerned about the loyalty of a powerful labor leader; Toby and Josh are preoccupied with a congressional battle over the estate tax; Ainsley fixes up Donna with a Republican.

The senior staff clash with the consultants who are to work on Bartlet's reelection campaign; C.J. is concerned that the press senses the Bartlets' marriage could be in trouble; Josh asks Leo to let him use his connection to postpone the FDA's drug announcement; the situation on Haiti comes to a head.

Bartlet's decision about Haiti falls under scrutiny; C.J. makes a horrible blunder in a press conference and is hounded about the president's health by reporters; the staff disagrees about whether Bartlet should apologize for not revealing his medical condition; Abbey is angry that Jed has decided to run for reelection.

Toby, suspicious that there's something going on with the President, finds out about Bartlet's MS and informs Leo of the legal ramifications; Josh and Donna disagree about the date of their "anniversary"; Sam and Ainsley argue about the necessity of the ERA; staffers struggle to punch-up the speech the President will give at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

The staff is blindsided when an elderly senator stages a Friday night filibuster to block their Family Wellness bill; Toby is confused when VP Hoynes, a strong supporter of the oil industry, volunteers to give a speech attacking the energy sector; CJ tries to locate a valuable Egyptian cat goddess statue given to the President.

It's Big Block of Cheese Day again. Toby meets with World Trade Organization protesters, and CJ meets with a group of cartographers who want the standards for maps changed to be a more accurate reflection of geographical and political reality. Donna asks Sam to look into granting a pardon for a friend's deceased grandfather. Bartlet is having problems selecting a site for his Presidential library.

During an online chat, the Surgeon General comments favorably on the legalization of marijuana. The controversy heightens when Ellie Bartlet tells a reporter that her father would never fire the Surgeon General. Toby asks his ex-wife, a Congresswoman, for her help in strongly persuading Seth Gillette to participate in the Social Security panel.

Bartlet authorizes a special ops team to rescue the five DEA agents only to have them caught in an ambush; CJ arranges for the host of "Capitol Beat" to have an exclusive interview with the wronged police officer; Toby must deal with Senator Gilette who threatens to make a third party run for president due to the tone of the changes on social security reform; Sam gives Ainsley another chance to meet the President, but she still fails to create a good impression; Josh finally gets the poll results from Joey; Abbey and Bartlet discuss his running for a second term.

The President delivers his 3rd State of the Union address, what critics call "the speech of his political career" and ends up angering Abbey by what he does and doesn't say; Josh must work the polling center with Joey Lucas, but a power outage delays the results; Sam attempts to introduce Ainsley to the President with disastrous results; CJ must juggle a live recording of the show "Capitol Beat" being broadcast within the White House and run damage control when a cop has a (possibly undeserved) black mark on his record; Leo and Bartlet must handle the matter of five DEA officials who are taken hostage by Columbian terrorists.

The test of a missile defense program meets 9 of 10 essential criteria. But the 10th is the sticking point: hitting the target. Sam is livid when a speech he wrote is changed without consulting him.

To get real issues to be discussed at a bi-partisan breakfast, Toby makes a deal with a former acquaintance who is the majority leader's new Chief of Staff to strike a bargain and put an issue on the agenda, thereby undermining CJ and setting up the administration to ridicule; The possibility of moving the press corps across the street is briefly explored; Leo and Toby start to face harsh realities about Bartlet's re-election; Josh and Sam build a fire with unfortunate consequences; Leo tells Josh to apologize for him after embarrassing himself in front of a columnist. Unfortunately the embarrassment continues with Sam and Donna.

Josh investigates the suicide of a pilot with whom he has things in common; Donna tries to get an invitation to the Congressional Christmas party to hear Yo-Yo Ma perform; Jed insists on signing a mountain of Christmas cards himself; after a White House visitor has a strange reaction to a painting, C.J. sets out to discover its provenance; following weeks of volatile behavior and an outburst in the Oval Office, Josh meets with representatives from the America Trauma Victims Association and finally deals with the trauma from his shooting.

On the eve of Jed's participation in a national television conference with thousands of school children as the Galileo probe arrives at Mars, NASA loses the communication link; Leo contends with a Russian ambassador who denies that a fire has broken out in a nuclear missile silo; C.J. and Sam accompany Jed to a concert where they're each faced with people they'd rather not see; Josh and Donna work on the nomination for the next person to appear on a postage stamp; C.J. wrangles a minor controversy ignited by a leak that Jed doesn't like green beans.

Toby encourages the President to appoint Leo's controversial sister to a national education post, against Leo's objections; Bartlet must decide what the do with 83 Chinese citizens who stowed away on a freighter ship and seek asylum on the grounds of religious persecution; CJ has to decide which one of two turkeys the President should "pardon" but then tries to save the other from the chopping block; Charlie is tasked with buying the President a new carving knife which is not as easy as it sounds.

After ridiculing Notre Dame, C.J. is forced to accompany the President on a trip to Oregon; Toby and Sam struggle to write Jed's education speech for the following day; back at the White House, Josh tries to dissuade a gay Congressman who supports legislation banning same-sex marriages and Leo gets divorce papers, which causes Margaret to worry that he may fall off the wagon.

The president considers recalling the Senate to push ratification of a nuclear-test-ban treaty. Meanwhile, Donna lobbies new legislation introducing ergonomic standards in the White House; A Ukrainian politician shows up at the White House drunk demanding to see the president.

Leo tries to make Ainsley's arrival as painless as possible, despite resistance from her new boss and several other White House staffers; Donna helps with the President's weekly radio address; C.J. tries to derail a retiring General's attempt to speak out against Bartlet; Sam gives Josh ideas on how to deal with his insurance company.

To investigate the cost and availability of AIDS medication needed in Africa, the White House plays host to representatives of American pharmaceutical companies and the president of an African nation; C.J. accidentally leaks information to a freshman reporter; after Sam is shown up by an amateur Republican operative on a television program, Jed decides to hire her.

While Josh recovers from bullet wounds there's a noticeable tension among some of the White House Staff. Toby is gung-ho to go after extremist groups in light of the attack. Charlie withdraws from the first family after learning more about the shooting. Bartlet's mind is preoccupied with a small time school election because of an old rivalry. CJ mangles physicist by referring to them as psychics as Josh listens from his sick bed. A subplot involves a reception for radio talk show hosts. Dr. Jenna Jacobs, whose doctorate is in English Lit., is one of those attending. Sam encourages a friend to run for office, unfortunately it doesn't go as he intended.

With the accomplice in custody, it's revealed that the intended target was Charlie, not Bartlet. The staff still awaits news about Josh, and recalls how C.J. and Donna came to join the Bartlet campaign.

"In the Shadow of Two Gunmen" is the two-part second season premiere of the American political drama television series The West Wing. Both parts were written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Thomas Schlamme.

Mendoza is confirmed by the Senate; Mandy needs Toby's help to replace a dead panda bear; Sam angers Mallory when she reads a position paper that he wrote supporting school vouchers; Josh meets with Jeff Breckenridge, who is irritating certain Congressmen with his stance on slavery reparations.

Abbey keeps the staff busy with the fallout when she leaks her personal preference for a Federal Reserve Board appointment and discusses child labor on a talk show, prompting a Congresswoman to offer an amendment which could shoot down the entire international tariff bill. Charlie's date with Zoey is cancelled because of threats by a white supremacist group.

Bartlet and the senior staff fly to California to attend an important fundraiser. Hoynes must decide whether he will support Bartlet's stance or go with his convictions when the Senate is deadlocked on an ethanol tax bill.

Toby and Sam travel to Connecticut to get Roberto Mendoza released from jail; Josh must run a press briefing when CJ has an emergency root canal.

After the Supreme Court refuses to stay the execution of a convicted murderer, Bartlet has forty-eight hours to decide whether or not to commute the sentence. Josh faces off with Joey Lucas about his staff's not backing her candidate as vigorously as she'd like.

Josh and Sam are able to make a bargain to keep Leo from going through a hearing, at the expense of a new sex education report. Mandy doesn't think a couple should be present at the signing of a new hate crimes bill instigated by the death of their son. Toby contends with some of PBS's detractors.

Bartlet collapses before his first State of the Union address. Leo publicly admits to his former alcoholism and drug abuse. Things get interesting romantically for both Sam and CJ. Lord John Marbury helps the staff negotiate an agreement between India and Pakistan.

War breaks out between India and Pakistan and Bartlet consults with Lord John Marbury. Toby accuses CJ of being too friendly with the press when she objects to being kept in the dark. The staff realizes that Lillienfield's efforts to bring down Leo are going to get ugly when Josh gets a subpoena.

Toby tries to arrange a proper funeral for a homeless veteran. Josh and Sam try to set up a preemptive strike against Lillienfield, who is attacking Leo because of his prior drug and alcohol problem. CJ tries to get the staff to revisit the hate crimes issue. Bartlet sneaks out to do some last minute shopping.

Bartlet struggles to name a nominee to the Supreme Court when the perfect nominee turns out to be not so perfect. A congressman attacks the staff, claiming that 1 in 3 use drugs.

Bartlet and Hoynes argue in front of the Cabinet. CJ fends off Danny's advances when she suspects he's after a big story. Mallory asks Sam out. The staff leaps hurdles to pass a banking bill.

The president of Indonesia is honored at a state dinner. The staff deals with Hurricane Sarah, a potential teamster strike, and a raid involving children in Idaho while a reporter flirts with CJ.

Toby and Mandy push for a commerce bill with a census-counting provision, with three votes as the deciding factor. Sam tutors CJ on the finer points of the census. Josh & Sam take Charlie out for a beer and are joined by Zoey and Mallory.

The staffers spend the day ("Big Block of Cheese day") dealing with private organizations, aka the crackpots. Throughout the day, Sam deals with a UFO nut, CJ gets a proposal to build a wolves-only road, Toby and Bartlet clash over everything, and Josh is overwhelmed by guilt regarding his sister's death.

Five votes keep a very important gun-control bill from being passed and the staff has 72 hours to track down the errant congressmen. Toby is accused of manipulating the stock market by having a friend testify to Commerce on internet stocks. Leo's wife gets fed up with his long hours.

Still enraged at Morris's death, Bartlet makes a show of deadly force. C.J. is upset about being kept out of the loop about Laurie. Josh hires Bartlet's new personal assistant.

The Vice President refuses to fall in line with Bartlet. Sam discusses the problem of Laurie with Josh and Toby. Bartlet hires Mandy as his consultant.

The senior members of the White House staff are summoned to the office early in the morning to handle difficult situations: Hundreds of Cubans are on their way across the Atlantic Ocean in search of freedom; and klutzy President of the United States Josiah Bartlet accidentally sprained his ankle riding a bicycle into a tree.