#muse. ┊ jed bartlet!

[claudiajcregg]

For the Fanfic asks - for the askers:

4. The best ship you've written for: CJ/Danny of course, it goes without saying! The banter, the love, the sparkles between them! 💜 I also love the way you wrote Abbey/Jed in your holiday exchange fic 😊 7. What made me the most emotional after reading: Every moment led me to this place is a gorgeous, gorgeous fic! And you wrote it as a response to my prompt! 🥰🥰 I just love the intimacy, the happy domesticity of this fic, and I melted while I was reading it for the first time. It's relaxed and peaceful and honestly, I have to agree with Danny, what else could anyone ask for?

9. A fic I'm excited for you posting: Campaign bars! Campaign bars! I know I told you this before lol but I have to say it again, I love the concept so much and I can't wait to read this fic, whenever you finish it and decide to post it. 💜

12. A fic of yours that I've re-read: I must have read telling myself, one day I'll forget about it three or four times since you posted it, that's how much I like it. I'm a sucker for the first 'Bartlet for America' campaign fics and it's great, absolutely awesome! I love CJ's thought process, I love the little details suggesting just how small the initial thing is and how nobody really expects it's going to last for a long time. The borrowed chair, the makeshift office... And of course, there's the main theme: CJ who doesn't want to admit that she has a crush on the cute guy with a Pulitzer! 🥰🥰🥰🥰 💜💜💜💜💜💜

[From fanfic asks for the askers]

Friend 😭😭😭😭💜💜💜💜 (really typed your name and had to delete that just in case, lmao) Thank you so much! I'm overwhelmed by all of your kind words here, and how detailed you were. You are the sweetest and most wonderful friend.

Love Jed and Abbey. Truly don't write them enough, but writing those bits for the exchange fic was truly lots of fun! (The other pairing is alright, I guess? 😜 )

Your prompt was so awesome! Truly so much fun. I took it last and had that idea immediately (it started as more of a 'what if…' crazy idea that I couldn't get rid of), which is the mark of a great, great prompt. Love that it connected with you and made you feel emotional! 🥹🥹🥹 It was meant to be chill and quiet… Perhaps because my brain was anything but when I wrote it. (Or now, lol. But early/mid-February was truly something else. What a year.)

Really do think you're hyping Campaign bars way too much. I haven't touched it in forever! It wasn't that interesting or compelling, and I now fear it might disappoint you! It was fun to write, though. It ended up being neglected by the muse, though I'd love to go back to it someday soon! (I fear the pregnancy AU will keep being the priority for the time being.)

Your comment on the crush story was one of the sweetest, kindest things I've ever received. It got to me. That you've read it so many times in the last couple of days is just !!!!, because I've also re-read your comment many times since. Thank you! 🥺😭😭 I had a lot of fun writing it, and I'm glad some of that comes through. 💜💜💜💜 Here's a thing you will find amusing – I almost discarded this idea because it was originally a bit too close to one of the chapters in Campaign Bars. Not anymore, but a detail or two do carry over 😉

[lovepersists2]

“did you know that there are over TWO-THOUSAND documented arches to be found at arches national park?”

open starter   |   mutuals only!

[storiescrafted2]

(paraphrased) jo/hn mul/aney quotes for each of my main muses bc of who i am as a person.

addison montgomery bc this is just......  painful tbh:   “anyone who’s seen me naked and met my parents needs to die,” 

b’elanna torres:   “oh, well thanks for asking.  you know how i’m full of rage?” 

charlotte king:   “i keep things bottled up and i don’t drink,”

chloe decker:   “you know those days where you’re like ‘this might as well happen,’?  adult life is already so goddamn weird,” 

cj cregg:   “i don’t know why it’s a big deal,  but i like that i’m six feet tall,” 

emily prentiss:  “that’s why the MURDER POLICE are here!”

jack pearson:   “i keep my emotions right here, and then one day i’ll die,” 

jed bartlet:   “i got home that night and i went up to my dad and I was like ‘hey!  i’m gonna be a democrat!’ and without looking up at me,  he just said 'you have the moral backbone of a chocolate éclair.’”

katrina cornwell:   “the bar is SO MUCH lower than i’d EVER imagined!” 

lorelai gilmore:   “i was in connecticut recently,  doing white people stuff.” 

mellie grant:   “[she’s] a smooth and fantastic hillbilly who should be emperor of the united states of america,” 

peggy carter:   “she does not give a shit what anyone thinks of her in any situation,” 

[storiescrafted-a]

007  |  muses ; star trek: voyager to zoey’s extraordinary playlist.

* in character ┊ b’elanna torres. * in character ┊ kathryn janeway. * in character ┊ mezoti. * in character ┊ tom paris. * in character ┊ freya moss. * in character ┊ jack pearson. * in character ┊ kevin pearson. * in character ┊ rebecca pearson. * in character ┊ lucy preston. * in character ┊ jenna hunterson. * in character ┊ abbey bartlet. * in character ┊ cj cregg. * in character ┊ ellie bartlet. * in character ┊ jed bartlet. * in character ┊ toby ziegler. * in character ┊ zoey bartlet. * in character ┊ will chase. * in character ┊ joan bennett. * in character ┊ max richman.

[ferocioushonesty]

So because I’m a menace who should be stopped, I’ve been making a list of characters or a modern-based multimuse. (They can’t just share with the historicals, right?) Trouble is, I can only come up with Jed Bartlet and a gaggle of Harry Potter muses, which is a weird mix.

[moonreflected-a]

each name below is a link,  liking this post will lead to nothing,  though you’re welcome to as a bookmark or whatever.  i’m not your mom.

GENERAL INTERACTIONS!

PRIMARY MUSES   (   by muse   )!

A QUIET PLACE   ---   evelyn abbott. BROOKLYN NINE NINE  ---  gina linetti.  jake peralta. BUNHEADS  ---  michelle simms. CHARMED  ---  prue halliwell. CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA  ---  sabrina spellman. DOCTOR WHO  ---  donna noble. FANDOMLESS OCs  ---  janie beck. GILMORE GIRLS  ---  lorelai gilmore.  rory gilmore. GOD OF WAR  ---  freya. GREY’S ANATOMY  ---  addison montgomery.  amelia shepherd.  andrew deluca.  april kepner.  charlotte king.  cristina yang.  derek shepherd.  elizabeth holden.  meredith grey.  teddy altman.  violet turner. HARRY POTTER  ---  katie bell.  nymphadora tonks. JURASSIC PARK  ---  alexis murphy.  MARVEL  ---  cassie lang.  karolina dean.  mary jane watson.  peggy carter.  steve rogers. MARY POPPINS  ---  mary poppins. MASS EFFECT  ---   miranda lawson. MATILDA  ---  matilda wormwood. ORPHAN BLACK  ---   alison hendrix.  anna brooks.  beth childs.  cosima niehaus.  gracie johanssen.  helena.  rachel duncan.  sarah manning.  siobhan sadler.   PARKS AND RECREATION  ---  ben wyatt. SCANDAL  ---  mellie grant. SHE LOVES ME  ---  amalia balash. STAR TREK  ---  b’elanna torres.  beverly crusher.  deanna troi.  freya moss.  jadzia dax.  katrina cornwell.  kira nerys.  michael burnham.  sylvia tilly.  tom paris.  will riker. STRANGER THINGS  ---  joyce byers. THE GOOD PLACE  ---  eleanor shellstrop.  janet. THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE  ---  shirley crain allen. THE LAST OF US  ---  tatiana winslow (oc). THE MARVELOUS MRS MAISEL  ---  midge maisel. THE WALKING DEAD  ---  alyssa stone (oc).  enid.  maggie greene.  michonne.  sasha williams. THE WEST WING  ---  cj cregg.  jed bartlet. THIS IS US  ---  jack pearson.  kevin pearson. UNTIL DAWN  ---  samantha giddings.

SECONDARY MUSES   (   by fandom   )!

BIOSHOCK,  BORDERLANDS,  DC COMICS,  DISNEY,  GREY’S ANATOMY,  HORIZON ZERO DAWN,  JANE THE VIRGIN,  MAMMA MIA!,  MARVEL,  MASS EFFECT,  ORPHAN BLACK,  PARENTHOOD,  PARKS AND RECREATION,  SCANDAL,  STAR TREK,  STRANGER THINGS,  THE LAST OF US,  THE OFFICE,  THE WALKING DEAD,  THE WEST WING,  TIMELESS.

[archivestoriescrafted]

MUSE INFO  ---  JED BARTLET.

all information outlined below is based in the latest possible information & headcanons (marked with *),  and can vary by verse.  please note that unless there’s plotting involved i prefer to either change around dates so jed’s still president,  or play in his main verse,  because it comes more naturally to me.

BIRTH NAME:  josiah edward bartlet. FACE CLAIM:  martin sheen. PLACE OF BIRTH:  concord*, new hampshire. DATE OF BIRTH:  march 13th*, 1942. HEIGHT:  5′7″. EYE COLOR:  blue. HAIR COLOR:  light brown / grey. PARENTS:  doctor edward* bartlet (father, deceased);  mary* bartlet (mother; deceased). SIBLING(S):  johnathan bartlet. SPOUSE:  abigail ‘abbey’ bartlet. CHILDREN:  elizabeth bartlet, eleanor ‘ellie’ bartlet, zoey bartlet.  doug westin (son-in-law),  vic faison (son-in-law). GRANDCHILDREN:  annie westin,  gus westin. EDUCATION:  phillips exeter academy.  bachelors of american studies from notre dame university,  minor in theology.  masters and doctorate from london school of economics.  honorary doctorate in humane letters from dartmouth. PAST OCCUPATIONS:  professor of economics; dartmouth university,  member of the new hampshire state house of representatives (1971-1981),  member of the new hampshire board of education (1981-1989),  member of the united states house of representatives (1989-1995),  governor of new hampshire (1995 - 1999),  president of the united states (1999 - 2007). CURRENT OCCUPATION:  n/a. LANGUAGES SPOKEN:  english,  latin,  german,  spanish,  minimal japanese,  minimal french,  minimal mandarin,  minimal russian,  minimal portuguese,   SEXUAL ORIENTATION:  heteroromantic. ROMANTIC ORIENTATION:  heterosexual.

IMPORTANT CANON RELATIONSHIPS:  johnathan ‘jon’ bartlet (brother),  abigail bartlet (wife),  elizabeth bartlet (daughter),  ellie bartlet (daughter),  zoey bartlet (daughter),  doug westin (son-in-law),  vic faison (son-in-law),  annie westin (granddaughter),  gus westin (grandson),  claudia jean ‘cj’ cregg (friend, former press secretary, former chief-of-staff),  joshua ‘josh’ lyman (friend, former deputy chief-of-staff),  tobias ‘toby’ ziegler (friend, former communications director),  samuel ‘sam’ seaborn (friend, former deputy communications director),  charles ‘charlie’ young (friend, former body man),  deborah ‘debbie’ fiderer (friend, former secretary).   (there are more ok i just don’t wanna list everyone).

IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS WITH THOSE DECEASED:  leo mcgarry (best friend, former chief-of-staff),  dolores landingham (friend, former secretary),  edward bartlet (father),  mary bartlet (mother).

IMPORTANT PORTRAYAL BASED RELATIONSHIPS:  the doctor ( @runlikehcll ; friend, travel companion ).  kim possible ( @worldsaver ; friend / he totally views her as an additional granddaughter bye ).

INFO.

great-great-great-great grandson of doctor josiah barlett,  who signed the declaration of independence.

watches sports to unwind, massive notre dame fan.

wrote a really boring book on economics.

won a nobel prize in economics.

diagnosed with a relapsing-remitting course of multiple sclerosis in 1991;  something he kept from the public until just prior to announcing he’d seek a second term as president in 2001.

never lost an election.

considers all members (save leo) of his former senior staff + charlie young to be his ‘adopted’ children ok fight me on this.  you need a dad or a grandpa?  he’ll probably ‘adopt’ you too.

scored 1590 on the SAT,  retook it to try to get a perfect score,  got another 1590 rip.

national parks junkie,  don’t let him talk to you about national parks.

generally just really smart and tends to show that off.

his father was a devout protestant,  his mother was roman catholic.  jed elected to follow in his mother’s footsteps and join the catholic church.

attended notre dame university, despite being accepted to harvard and yale, due to a desire to join the clergy --- this changed when he met his future wife.

loves space!!!!  wanted to be an astronaut and (falsely) claims he’d have been a great one!!!!

i’ll add more later as my rewatch progresses <3 

VERSES UNDER THE CUT!

tbd.  this feels too overwhelming right now.

[storyofwhoiam]

🐆

send me a   “ 🐆 ”   and i’ll randomize our muse lists and suggest a few random pairings for us to try out. @liminaled

Ariel does some work for Leah

Lisandro fixes a terrible tattoo that Benedict got elsewhere when much too drunk

Ophelia is one of the nurses on duty when Jed Bartlet gets shot — any The West Wing muses meet her in the hospital

Rue getting arrested and meeting any Wentworth muses in prison

Tui & any The Magicians muses — they’ve all met plenty of demigods before and Julia (sort of) is one

Mary and Lucy meeting through some kind of covert military/CIA/DEO operation

[dreambuilt]

PLOTTING CALL!   so this worked really well on my other blogs!  i really wanna get some some plots going for the following muses,  so like this if you’re interested in plotting with any of the muses listed!

evelyn abbott;  regan abbott  //  a quiet place elizabeth comstock  //  bioshock infinite athena;  gaige;  tiny tina  //  borderlands gina linetti  //  brooklyn nine-nine prue halliwell  //  charmed abed nadir;  britta perry  //  community beth clemmons;  elle greenaway;  emily prentiss;  jennifer jareau  //  criminal minds bruce wayne;  selina kyle  //  dc marion waldo  //  dinotopia emily kaldwin  //  dishonored rita vrataski  //  edge of tomorrow april nardini;  lorelai gilmore;  rory gilmore  //  gilmore girls emma pillsbury  //  glee addison montgomery;  amelia shepherd;  april kepner;  charlotte king;  meredith grey;  teddy altman  //  grey’s anatomy & private practice hannah abbott;  katie bell;  nymphadora tonks  //  harry potter aloy  //  horizon zero dawn villanelle  //  killing eve cassie lang;  karolina dean;  peggy carter;  pepper potts;  shuri;  steve rogers;  tony stark;  wanda maximoff;  will daniels  //  marvel amalia balash;  ilse neumann;  katherine plumber;  natalie goodman;  winnie foster  //  musical theater abby whelan;  mellie grant  //  scandal aytar gwyn;  b’elanna torres;  beverly crusher;  chakotay;  deanna troi;  icheb;  jadzia dax;  katrina cornwell;  mezoti;  michael burnham;  natasha yar;  sylvia tilly;  tom paris;  tuvok  //  star trek iden versio;  shmi skywalker  //  star wars ellie williams;  tatiana winslow (oc);  william burke (oc)  //  the last of us alyssa stone (oc);  amy harrison;  beth greene;  carl grimes;  enid;  michonne;  sasha williams  //  the walking dead cj cregg;  donna moss;  jed bartlet;  sam seaborn;  zoey bartlet  //  the west wing jack pearson;  kevin pearson  //  this is us amy preston;  emma whitmore;  jiya;  lucy preston;  wyatt logan  //  timeless lara croft  //  tomb raider esme cullen  //  twilight beth washington;  samantha giddings  //  until dawn

[scienter]

TWW REWATCH: Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc; 1x02

My Impressions, Commentary & Random Musings

The Hat Joke

There’s a lot to love about this scene, but my favorite thing is Bartlet asking Josh to explain “post hoc, ergo propter hoc:

Bartlet: Twenty-seven lawyers in the room, anybody know “post hoc, ergo propter hoc?” Josh?

Josh: Uh, uh, post, after, after hoc, ergo, therefore after hoc, therefore something else hoc.

Bartlet: Thank you. Next?

It’s like Josh is the kid who gets cold-called in class and doesn’t know the answer. And I love Toby’s amusement of it - as if this is a typical Josh response.

Mandy

There’s one moment that is critical to understanding Mandy’s character, her role in the TWW, and why she ultimately failed to fit in with the Bartlet Administration:

“You know what the worst part about this is? [ ] It’s the party they’re having right now in the West Wing at my expense. [ ] I worked for these people for two and a half years. They like to win and then they like to gloat.”

Really, Mandy? That’s the worst part of the situation? 

Here’s the thing: Mandy is all about image – both professionally and personally. Consider her situation: Mandy “left a job at a top-tier marketing firm” where she had stock options to work on Russell’s presidential campaign. Lloyd Russell is her only client. Mandy and her business partner, Daisy, have to pay rent, student loans, credit cards, food, etc. But Mandy considers the Bartlet Administration gloating over her loss the worst thing about losing her only client.

Mandy preoccupation with image carries over to her role as White House Media Director (E.g., arguing that white house staffers should test for drug use or Bartlet should nominate Harrison instead of Mendoza), and it’s thematically significant. Throughout the first season the Bartlet Administration is also preoccupied with image. They have a 40-something approval rating, hindering their ability to enact their progressive policies or nominate a justice to the Supreme Court (See: The Short List, He Shall From Time To Time, Let Bartlet Be Bartlet, etc.). In other words, Mandy embodies the Bartlet Administration’s internal conflict in season 1.

I don’t think that Mandy was a poorly written character (or poorly acted) as some have argued. Rather, I think that Mandy, as the White House Media Director, became thematically obsolete by the end of the season. I also think it’s part of the reason why she failed to click with the rest of the White House staff.

By the way, Mandy was totally right:

Josh & Donna

I find it remarkable that Josh is nonchalant about Donna entering him into a college football pool especially given that she makes such lousy bets.

Josh: You picked Central Indiana State against Notre Dame?

Donna: Well, technically, you did.

Oh, Donna. I love you.

It’s also why Josh finds Donna so endearing. Would most bosses causally shrug off their assistant betting their money without consent? I doubt it.  It’s a small moment, but it hints that this isn’t a typical boss-assistant relationship. There’s more to these two.

Josh & Mandy

Surprise, Surprise! I not overly fond of this pairing. Specifically, I don’t like Josh and Mandy’s hostility or combativeness towards each other. I just don’t find it as compelling as the cute & endearing nature of Josh & Donna’s relationship.

Sam

Sam: About a week ago, I accidentally slept with a prostitute.

Toby: Really?

Sam: Yes.

Toby: You accidentally slept with a prostitute?

Sam Call girl.

Toby: Accidentally?

Sam: Yes.

Toby: I don’t understand. Did you trip over something?

I love this exchange because Toby’s calm demeanor. He’s usually shouty when shit hits the fan so I find hit quite amusing to see him struggle to grasp Sam’s news.  

This episode also introduces one of Sam’s notable character traits: Sam is a perfectionist.

Sam: I’m done.

Cathy: You’re sure?  

Sam: Yep.

Cathy: You’re done polishing?  

Sam: Yes.  

Cathy: You’re done tweaking?

Sam: I’m done tweaking, I’m done polishing. Done. Take it to C.J. [Cathy starts to walk.] Wait. [looks at the speech one final time, to double check] Yes, I’m done, really.

It’s a sign of a great writer that a seemingly extraneous comedic moment establishes a core character trait. Sorkin doesn’t use this little detail as an extraneous joke. This moment gives insight into Sam, and is repeated later in the series.  

By the way: If Sam didn’t have deadlines would he ever finish writing anything?

Sam & Laurie

Oh where do I begin? I love Sam, but I hate his paternalism towards Laurie in this episode.

Laurie: I don’t need saving, Sam.

Sam: Yeah, you do.

Moving on . . .

Mrs. Landingham & Bartlet

Their big sister/younger brother relationship can be distilled into this shot:

Jed’s not fooled. He knows that Dolares swapped his 12 center cut prime fillet Omaha steaks for a lousy red shirt. 

President Bartlet

This episode provides some great insight into Bartlet: he feels out of depth with military matters.

“I had a meeting this morning with the Joint Chiefs. I’m an accomplished man, Morris. I can sit comfortably with prime ministers and Presidents, even the pope. Why is it every time I sit with the Joint Chiefs, I feel like I’m back at my father’s dinner table. [ ] I’m not comfortable with violence. I know this country has enemies, but I don’t feel violent toward any of them. I don’t know whether that’s a weakness or not, but I think I know how the Joint Chiefs would answer that question.”

Bartlet’s insecurity stood out to me because he’s so competent and confident in other presidential matters. Economics? The guy’s got Nobel Prize. Governing and Policy? He’s the former governor of New Hampshire. Washington Politics? He’s a former member of the House of Representatives. NASA? Jed knows the temperature of Mars and knows how to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius in his head. Bartlet is usually the smartest person in any room. Yet, he feels like he’s back at his “father’s dinner table” when sitting with the Joint Chiefs. Bartlet probably finds being Commander-and-Chief of the armed forces most difficult part of his job.

So it’s telling just how much Morris’s death/the airforce transport attack affects Bartlet:

Bartlet: I am not frightened. I’m gonna blow them off the face of the earth with the fury of God’s own thunder. Get the commanders.

LOOK AT LEO’S FACE. Jed’s assertion worries him! I don’t think that Leo ever seen this side of Jed before. 

Great acting by Martin Sheen at the end. You can see the weight of the situation in his posture.  

One Last Thought

Bartlet: Yeah, I figured. Morris, I made a joke about golfers yesterday, and now it consumes the whole damn building.

One thing came to mind when I heard that line:

VEEP: the show where the Vice President’s gaffes consumes the staff’s attention on a daily basis.

[lovepersists2]

MUSES:  the west wing.

muse. ┊ charlie young! muse. ┊ cj cregg! muse. ┊ jed bartlet!

[storiescrafted2]

this is a PERMANENT STARTER CALL for JED BARTLET,  a canon character based in the THE WEST WING universe.  this is not an active starter call,  it’s simply to gauge interest for future interactions!

[fearthefuzzy]

fixomnia-scribble replied to your post “well, the artist yesterday fit my criteria for Frank’s Potential Love...”

Wait. Oh, my God. Let's say that Jed Bartlet, God rest his soul, has passed away since the end of WW, and Abbey is trying to keep busy on the boards of Johns Hopkins and Bellevue and possibly St. Victor's. You think a Catholic ex-First Lady trauma surgeon with world-class political experience and a terribly earnest, bull-headed (and also Catholic) Police Commissioner might have things to talk about?

*blinks* huh. Muse has seen fit to provide me with snippets. 

Meeting: Some gala or other. Frank’s outside waiting for Garrett to tell him he can go home, Abby’s gone out to get air. There’s small talk, she expresses her condolences at the loss of Linda (she’s worked with her once or twice when she’s managed to talk whoever into letting her have a shift (if that’s even a thing. it may not be). More small talk, because I’m not good at that.  Remember that jibe from earlier about Frank unable or unwilling to..I dunno..lay down the burden of the office for a relationship (bad at words, sorry)? he tries to pull that with Abby, but Abby spent the last few decades with a State Rep, US Rep, Governor, and the President of the United States. She is having none of his bullshit, thankyouverymuch.  

The inevitable one where Abby happens to be present when Jamie or Danny (Jamie in this blurb) is injured in the line of duty, accompanies the ambulance to the hospital, and just happens to be (one of) the first person Frank see’s when he and his detail make an appearance for the officer down call (Muse insists that at this point, he hasn’t been made aware that it was Jamie. which doesn’t make sense as Baker would’ve been all over that).  *shrugs* Wish I could do banter. 

[gcsticulatingwildly]

A VERY DESCRIPTIVE PROFILE OF YOUR MUSE .

NAME .     Joshua Lyman NICKNAME(S) .      Josh ALIAS(ES) .     N/A AGE.     37 SPECIES.     human GENDER.     male ORIENTATION.     heterosexual INTERESTS.     American politics, Democratic party, New York Mets, New England Patriots, the news, Star Trek/Wars, his job PROFESSION.     White House Deputy Chief of Staff BODY TYPE.     tall and fit, surprisingly muscular EYES.     brown HAIR.     brown, wild, very close to becoming out of control if he doesn’t have it short SKIN.     tan FACE.     big brown eyes, dimples, receding hairline, cupid’s bow lips HEIGHT.     5′11″ COMPANIONS.     Donna Moss, CJ Cregg, Sam Seaborn, Toby Ziegler, Leo McGarry, Jed Bartlet, Abigail Bartlet, Charlie Young ANTAGONISTS.     Congress, Republicans COLORS.    blue, grey, black FRUITS.     apples, cantaloupe, watermelon DRINKS.    coffee, coffee, coffee ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES?     beer, whiskey SMOKES?     no DRUGS?     in college, but only weed and not anymore DRIVERS LICENSE?     yes

TAGGED.    i stole this TAGGING.     anyone who wants to do it

[littleroma]

Abbey is still a doctor, you heathens

“Jed, I can’t stand in anymore, we’re going to have to do something,” Abbey spoke loudly, her voice coming dangerously close to a whine.

The staff still in the room where Abbey had decided was the best place to confront her husband, winced as one.

They knew what that tone meant, and they were all collectively thinking the same thing – that it had been good to know Jed while they still could.

“What do you mean dear, what do we have to do?” Jed tried to placate his beloved wife.

Mike’s eyes imperceptibly widened a small fraction as he began to hurriedly glance around the room for an emergency exit he could dive out of at a moment’s notice.

Call him a coward, but he didn’t particularly feel the need to get caught in an explosion of Mount St. Abbey.

“There are still miserable old battle axes like Augusta Longbottom and Algie Longbottom dangling kids out of a window to test whether or not they're magical!” Abbey cried, despairing that she had in a sense been wasting all this time without anything to show for the kids that she feared were still being mistreated.

“Abbey, you know that I can’t solve everyone’s problems.” Jed started.

At this, Josh caught on that Mike was gazing frantically around the room, desperately trying to find an exit. He nudged CJ, who he had been standing next to when the woman looked across the room at Mike.  She nudged Sam who caught the attention of Toby and Donna who all tried to find an exit they could shove the rest of the staff towards.

It paid to take precautions when it looked as if your boss might be about to go nuclear, after all. 

“Connor, don’t think I can’t see you there looking alarmed, but does it seem as if latent magic could show itself if the child is frightened?” Abbey called on a nervous-looking Connor.

“Um, I’m not a paediatrician Dr Bartlet, just a simple heart surgeon.” Connor tried to duck and cover.  He was trying to adopt a false sense of humility, in his intense desire to get Abbey’s attention away from him.

“I’m not a paediatrician either Dr Bartlet, but it does seem as if kids won’t show anything special, especially if they are too frightened too.” Maggie offered, taking sympathy with her colleague.

Behind her, April was nodding.

“Well, you’re a doctor aren’t you?  Make an educated guess then.  I’m assuming that you didn’t go to medical school simply for the lolz!” Abbey sneered at the man.

“Right well, in that case, I would hazard a guess that what Maggie said is true, I can’t remember ever in my childhood being able to do anything particularly special if I felt stressed or frightened.” Connor’s voice took on a thread of steel as he began to feel more confident in what he was saying.

“It’s true Doctor; I went to medical school because I am a squib and I wanted to try and understand some of the medical backgrounds of why magical parents or grandparents treat their non-magical kids like that.” Natalie tried to speak up and cover for Connor.

“You know it’s fascinating, but sometimes parents want nothing more than their children to be magical, and they can’t handle it when they aren’t. Magical that is.  They want nothing more than for some form of magical ability to show itself in their kids because they only want the best for their kids.  At least, most parents do, perhaps because they can recognise that they won’t be able to make life any easier for their kids if they aren’t magical.” Sarah mused, trying to calm down the situation.

“Alright, why don’t we go into my office and we can discuss this?” CJ pleaded trying to keep the peace in any way she could.

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How TV Predicted Politics in the 2010s

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How TV Predicted Politics in the 2010s

And if “The West Wing” trio worked in Congressman Frank Underwood’s Washington, they might just get shoved in front of a moving Metro train. When Netflix premiered “House of Cards” in 2013, it seemed natural to juxtapose it with the brighter era of political TV that preceded it. If only we knew at the time that the show was preparing us for a decade of dark political TV to come—and reflecting an overall perception of Washington that would soon have an impact on therealWashington.

Of course, “Scandal” and “House of Cards” were just TV—few people on the government payroll, after all, could afford those wardrobes. But these shows’ portrayal of the creeping rot of Washington didn’t show up in a vacuum. Television can both set and reflect the mood of the nation, creating expectations about human behavior. After Barack Obama’s 2008 victory, many mused, in seriousness, about whether Dennis Haysbert’s acting turn as President David Palmer on “24” helped get voters used to the image of a black president. Something similar might be at work now. Today’s real-life sweeping nihilism about politicians’ motives, the widespread hatred of the “swamp,” the notion that the process is flawed and the rules of engagement themselves might not be worth following, was, if not created by television, then at least predicted by it.

To realize how dark TV’s take on Washington has been these past eight or 10 years, it’s worth thinking about how relatively sunny the view was just a decade earlier. The aughts were full of political shows whose central politicians were virtuous and well-meaning, engaged in public service for the right reasons. This wasn’t a just a liberal Hollywood thing; in ABC’s short-lived “Commander in Chief” (2005-06), Geena Davis, a vice president who ascended to the Oval Office when her boss died, was a political independent. Fox’s “24” (2001-10) didn’t take a progressive view of issues like torture—but when Kiefer Sutherland and his fellow counterterrorism agents played fast and loose with the Geneva Accords, they did so for the sake of virtuous presidents and the safety of the American people.

And nothing screamed “higher calling” more than “The West Wing,” which aired on NBC from 1999 to 2006, tracking the righteous souls who worked for President Jed Bartlet. The soundtrack was stirring and majestic; the opening sequence was gauzy and triumphant; in most episodes, someone gave a speech about doing the right thing. When the actors showed up on the Democratic campaign trail—as they did en masse for Hillary Clinton in 2016—you sometimes got the sense that they actually believed they had been part of the government.

“The West Wing,” created by Aaron Sorkin, was a liberal wish-fulfillment fantasy, but it also mostly imbued Team Bartlet’s conservative antagonists with a certain kind of honor: They wanted power, but in service to their causes, and with ultimate respect for the system. (That point was underscored in a 2002 documentary-style “Special Episode” that featured gauzy interviews about the work of White House staffers, and included such Republicans as Marlin Fitzwater, Peggy Noonan and Karl Rove.) Even though the show premiered seven months after President Bill Clinton’s highly partisan impeachment trial, it was forever optimistic about the system—confident that a few good friends and well-placed Sorkin-penned speeches could fix whatever ailed democracy. If there was political analysis embedded in “The West Wing,” it was the notion that the system fell short when the players didn’t fight hard enough for what they believed in; when they were too willing to play the safe bet instead of taking a risk for the greater good.

Then came the end of Obama’s first term—a moment when, if you were a liberal with Sorkinesque optimism about “Yes We Can” slogans and transformative change, you might be coming to terms with the notion that politicians are imperfect, gridlock is pervasive and Mitch McConnell isn’t just going to step aside to make way for your higher cause, whether it’s universal health care or closing Guantanamo.

And a new era of political TV shows took that disillusionment one step further. Shows like “Veep” and “House of Cards” offered a new, darker theory: The system can never work if everybody in politics is terrible and venal and self-serving—and the very nature of Washington makes people terrible and venal and self-serving.

“Veep,” a kind of inverse of “The West Wing” that premiered in 2012, was a farce about ambitious politician Selina Meyer and her marginally competent, politically hungry staff. Here, majestic “West Wing”-style music is played in little jabs, like punchlines, between scenes where Meyer does her best to squeeze political capital from every situation. And her disdain for the actual public is glaringly obvious. (“I’ve met some people, some real people, and I’ve got to tell you, a lot of them are f—ing idiots,” she says in the first season.) Where the staffers in “The West Wing” were fast and loyal friends, Meyer’s staffers mock and undermine one another other without mercy. The closest thing Meyer has to a friend is the devoted body guy who brings her snacks on demand and whispers useful facts in her ear in public settings. In the series finale, she sets him up to take the fall for a political scandal—and watches FBI agents haul him away, out of the corner of her eye, as she delivers a nomination acceptance speech at the party convention.

“Veep” was created by a Scotsman, Armando Iannucci, a veteran of scathing British black comedies about the moral compromises of government. He held no special reverence for American institutions, and he was keenly aware of the comedic possibilities when teeming ambition crashed into powerlessness. Around the time of the series premiere, Iannucci told theLos Angeles Timesthat he was partly inspired by Lyndon B. Johnson, who spent his vice presidency “sort of sitting in his office waiting for a phone call.” (The running joke in the first season is that Selina keeps asking if the president called, and the answer is always “no.”) Like the best satire, the show has an undercurrent of sadness; Meyer is acutely aware of how much toil and personal sacrifice it has taken to obtain whatever capital she has, and how much the struggle has changed her as a person. The finale offers a brief, melancholy image of her sitting alone in the Oval Office, having sacrificed every relationship to reach her goal.

“House of Cards,” too, had roots across the pond; it was loosely based on a British political-thriller series from the 1990s. But where “Veep” spun nihilism into farce, “House of Cards” turned it into high melodrama. The credit sequence shows the monuments of Washington in ominous time-lapse photography, with dark clouds sweeping overhead and shadows climbing up the buildings. The central characters, politician Frank Underwood and his wife, Claire, are so deeply committed to Washington power that they’d do anything to get it—not just the garden-variety TV fare of murders, affairs and bribery, but some truly sinister bureaucratic moves. In the second season, in order to blackmail a pregnant former employee, Claire forges health insurance paperwork to deny her a drug that would aid blood flow to her placenta. “I’m willing to let your child wither and die inside you if that’s what’s required, but neither of us wants that,” she says, matter-of-factly.

The ruthlessness of politics was a running theme throughout the decade. Even soap-opera fantasies picked up on the idea of Washington as a force for ambition, evil and, really, not much else. “The Oval Office, in our show, was a place that corrupted anybody who came near it,” “Scandal” creator Shonda Rhimes told reporters before the series finale. “And the closer you came, the more corrupt it made you and the more damaged it made you.” This year, Netflix’s “The Politician,” a Ryan Murphy political allegory set at a California high school, mocked the poll-driven, values-free drive of a budding politician and his handlers.

The most powerful way that TV predicted politics in the 2010s, though, was in its prescription for a fix: the suggestion that what Washington really needs is an outsider to swoop in and shake things up (or drain the swamp, if you prefer). Mainstream networks in particular offered another archetype alongside these power-hungry nihilists: the accidental politician who reluctantly takes high office, then comes face-to-face with that broken system. These shows might have been more optimistic about human nature than “Scandal” or “Veep,” but in their own way, they were just as cynical about Washington.

In 2016, ABC launched “Designated Survivor,” a political thriller starring Kiefer Sutherland, best known as fearless agent Jack Bauer in “24.” Here, Sutherland plays Tom Kirkman, a mild-mannered career academic who serves as secretary of Housing and Urban Development—but is so bad at navigating Washington politics that one morning, he learns that president plans to fire him. He has one final duty: to be the Cabinet member taken to a secure location during the State of the Union address, just in case. As it so happens, that night, somebody blows up the Capitol.

Kirkman takes the Oath of Office with no trust, no mandate and no idea how to do the job, though viewers surely trust that his inner Kiefer Sutherland will come through. It does, in a mild-mannered way, as he fires subordinate generals, stumbles through international crises and finds it within himself, eventually, to deliver a stirring speech. (In the third season, he delivers his own State of the Union address, but goes off-script and caterwauls at Congress: “The system is broken and you people broke it!”) Through it all, Kirkman is fighting against a greater conspiracy: a network of corruption that wrongly believes he’d be an easy mark. As other characters handle the action-adventure work, Kirkman stands his ground; it’s his rare integrity, his un-Washingtonian Kiefer-ness, that holds the nation together.

CBS’ “Madam Secretary,” which premiered two years earlier, has a similar premise: Elizabeth McCord, a former CIA analyst-turned-college professor, is tapped to become secretary of State after the current one dies in a plane crash. The president, a former CIA director, tells McCord he trusts her to think more expansively than most Washington lifers, and within reason, she complies, battling a White House chief of staff who would prefer she follow protocol more often. “This is me not being a politician,” she declares in one early episode, explaining an unconventional decision.

“Madam Secretary” is more like “The West Wing” in the sense that multiple characters have virtue. The president is a basically a good guy; the McCords’ marriage is a mutually supportive dream; the State Department staff is behind her. (So are some real-world political operatives: In one 2018 episode, former Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell appear together, as themselves, to offer bland advice about pushing for national unity after a crisis.) Still, the show’s backdrop is a Washington that’s compromised and divided, full of conspiracies and unworthy opponents, from secretive bureaucrats to government moles and ambitious two-dimensional senators. At the end of the first season, one such senator discovers that McCord shared classified information with her husband Henry. Issued a subpoena to appear before the Senate committee, Henry declares his intention to obstruct justice. “This whole thing lacks integrity,” he tells Elizabeth. “I feel no ethical obligation to play by their rules.”

Ultimately, Elizabeth barges into the hearing, takes Henry’s place at the witness table and delivers an impassioned speech, saying she only broke the law because she cared about the country and didn’t know who else she could trust. (“Man, I have never heard a more eloquent defense for violating the Espionage Act,” another character says, in admiration.) She storms out of the hearing without being dismissed. Soon afterward, the president informs her that the Justice Department has decided to let it pass.

Of all of the political shenanigans on television this decade, that 2015 scene might have been the most telling, and the most predictive of the real-life politics that were to come, not long after the episode aired. “The West Wing” never argued that the rules of political engagement can and should be broken. But today, real-life Washington is full of disagreements, not just about facts and outcomes, but about the basic codes of conduct, the processes that everyone needs to follow, the obligation anyone has to play by anyone’s rules.

Again, it’s just TV. But academic treatises have been written about how TV crime shows can create a warped impression of the criminal justice system, giving jurors outsized expectations, for example, of the power of forensic evidence. A decade ago, on political TV, we had an openhearted baseline expectation about how the system works, why it fails and what kinds of behavior gets rewarded.

But in these 2010s shows, the characters learn that breaking the codes of conduct and propriety will wind up taking you far. Selina Meyer of “Veep” and both Underwoods of “House of Cards” all get to be president in the end. Elizabeth McCord, of “Madam Secretary,” eventually becomes president, too. But, you know, a good one. So long as you’re on her side.

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