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thewestwinggifs:

The West Wing S03E12 The Two Bartlets

Guys. Sam Seaborn went to Dungeons and Dragons camp.

villa-kulla:

Leo: If she misspoke then why didn’t she clean it up in the briefing room? I mean come to think of it, why didn’t she clean it up in the briefing room?

Sam: She actually is tired, Leo, we all are.

Leo: Well why don’t we go with that Sam, why don’t we go out and say we’re all tired. The President’s tired, complications due to MS.

Sam: We haven’t had much time

Leo: You had a week! How much time do you need?

Sam: Some of us have had more time than others!

One of my favourite moments of Sam Seaborne’s. A very harried and frustrated CJ had made a huge slip-up while talking to a pressroom who wouldn’t stop bringing the topic back to the President’s multiple sclerosis, and Sam comes to her defence. For me, this moment encompasses so much of who Sam is as a person.

First of all, Sam hardly ever snaps at anyone. He’s definitely had his moments of being harsh with those who deserve it, but they’re all very far between which makes them all the more shocking when they do happen. For characters like Josh, Toby and CJ, dramatically and loudly telling off others is practically second nature. But Sam - who is by far the most patient and gentle character on the show - rarely feels the need. His gentleness is never to be confused with weakness. He’s just a genuinely compassionate person and he cares more about doing the right thing than bringing any excess drama into it, which is really what makes him so strong anyways. This is all to say that when he ever does raise his voice at someone you can bet it’s when he thinks they really, really deserve to hear it.

In this scenario when he says “Some of us have had more time than others” he’s referencing the fact that CJ was among the last of the senior staff to hear about the President’s MS, himself being the other. Sam was in fact the very last to know, but here he’s making it about CJ which is also a good display of his complete lack of pettiness. While he completely understands the gravity of CJ’s mistake he manages to show sympathy as well. This is classic Sam: never forgetting to be humane. In a way this is what makes him an outsider among the senior staff. I’m not saying the others aren’t caring; they are in their own ways. But they’re never quite at Sam’s level. The difference between Sam and the other senior staff is that while they believe in doing their job and hoping that they’re doing the right thing at the same time, Sam will do the right thing first, always trusting that the morally good decision will be the right decision. Some think this makes him naive, and if he were any less brilliant I would think so too. 

So all to say, this moment is a beautiful showcase of the decency of Sam Seaborne. While the others immediately go into spin-control mode over CJ’s slip-up he takes a step back to bring her emotions into account. While the others immediately think of political ramifications he’ll first and foremost demonstrate loyalty to a colleague. That’s what makes Sam unique: he cares about doing his job just as deeply as the others, but when push comes to shove he’ll take the high road every time. Leo was being snarky and insensitive and Sam essentially snapped at him to lay off. And I know I say “snapped” but it was actually barely even in a raised voice. It’s just that anything that isn’t a perfectly calm and thoughtful statement feels like snapping, if it’s from Sam. 

Oh yeah, and the only thing that better shows what kind of  a person Sam is, than this?

The next episode when he apologized to Leo.

notabadday:

film poster meme: what’s next?

(via thedeputydeputychiefofstaff)

THE WEST WING 

Dr. Bartlet | When did I stop being Dr.Bartlet? When in the campaign did I decide that women were gonna like me more if I called myself Mrs.? When did I decide that women were that stupid?

President Bartlet | I put the hammer to farms in Concord, Salem, Laconia, and Pelham. You guys got rogered but good. Today, for the first time in history, one in five Americans living in poverty are children. One in five children live in the most abject, dangerous, hopeless, backbreaking, gut wrenching, poverty, one in five, and they’re children. If fidelity to freedom and democracy is the code of our civic religion then surely, the code of our humanity is faithful service to that unwritten commandment that says ‘We shall give our children better than we ourselves had.’ I voted against the bill ‘cause I didn’t want it to be hard for people to buy milk. I stopped some money from flowing into your pocket. If that angers you, if you resent me, I completely respect that. But if you expect anything different from the President of the United States, I suggest you vote for somebody else. Thanks very much. Hope you enjoyed the chicken.

C.J. Cregg | This is our 5th press briefing since midnight. Obviously, there’s one story that’s going to dominate news around the world for the next few days, and it would be easy to think that President Bartlet, Joshua Lyman, and Stephanie Abbott were the only victims of a gun crime last night. They weren’t. Mark Davis and Sheila Evans of Philadelphia were killed by a gun last night. He was a Biology Teacher and she was a Nursing student. Tina Bishop and Linda Larkin were killed with a gun last night. They were 12. There were 36 homicides last night. 480 sexual assaults, 3,411 robberies, 3,685 aggravated assaults, all at gunpoint. And if anyone thinks those crimes could have been prevented if the victims themselves had been carrying guns, I’d only remind you that the President of the United States was shot last night while surrounded by the best trained armed guards in the history of the world. Back to the briefing.

Leo McGarry | You want to see me orchestrate this right now? You want to see me mobilize these people? These people who would walk into fire if you told them to. These people who showed up to lead. These people who showed up to fight. That guy gets death threats because he’s black and he dates your daughter! He was warned: “Do not show up to this place. Your life will be in danger.” He said, “To hell with that, I’m going anyway.” You said, “No.” Prudent or not prudent, this 21 year old for 600 dollars a week says, “I’m going where I want to because a man stands up!”

Ainsley Hayes | Say they are smug and superior. Say their approach to public policy makes you want to tear your hair out. Say they like high taxes and spending your money. Say they want to take your guns and open your borders but don’t call them worthless. At least don’t do it in front of me. The people I have met have been extraordinarily qualified. Their intent is good. Their commitment is true. They are righteous, and they are patriots. And I’m their lawyer.

Josh Lyman | Doesn’t matter, we’ll build one. Right in the band gazebo, that’s where the President is going to drape his arm around the shoulder of some assistant DA we like. And you should have your camera with you. You should get a picture of that. ‘Cause that’s gonna be the moment you’re finished in Democratic politics. President Bartlet’s a good man. He’s got a good heart. He doesn’t hold a grudge. That’s what he pays me for.

Sam Seaborne | Education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don’t need little changes. We need gigantic revolutionary changes. Schools should be palaces. Competition for the best teachers should be fierce. They should be getting six-figure salaries. Schools should be incredibly expensive for government and absolutely free of charge for its citizens, just like national defense. That is my position. I just haven’t figured out how to do it yet.

Charlie Young | My supervisor? Well, I’m personal aide to the President, so right now my supervisor is kinda busy looking for a back door to throw you out of. But I’ll let him know you’d like to lodge a complaint.

Toby Ziegler | I used to write like this. It was ten months ago. I don’t understand what’s going on. I really don’t. I’ve had slumps before. Everybody does, but this is different. I’m sorry, we don’t know each other, but there aren’t that many people I can talk to about it. I don’t understand what’s happening. There’s no blood going to it. I never had to locate it before. I don’t even know where to look. I’m the President’s voice and I don’t want it to sound like this. And there’s an incredible history to second Inaugurals. ‘Fear itself,’ Lincoln…I really thought I was on my way to being one of those guys. I thought I was close. Now I’m just writing for my life and you can’t serve the President that way. But if I didn’t write…I can’t serve him at all.

(Source: alookinglassgirl, via thefinestmuffinsandbagels)

SAM: Do you wanna help me or not?
AINSLEY: I need to finish this.
SAM: We’ve ordered Chinese food.
AINSLEY: Okay.

(via thedeputydeputychiefofstaff)