Josiah Bartlet
Encyclopedia
Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character
played by Martin Sheen
on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is President of the United States
for the entire series until the last episode, when his successor is inaugurated. Bartlet is one of the main characters of The West Wing, and he appears in all but thirteen episodes (142 of the show's 155 total episodes).
In many ways, Bartlet is an "ideal" president. He is handsome and endowed with great personal integrity
, a sense of humor, a fierce intellect, and a toughness tempered by compassion
. These traits helped boost his popularity in the show to a point where he has been referred to as the "most popular Democratic president in recent memory."
had not initially intended to feature the president, having envisioned the series as being focused on the White House
senior staff who execute and advise on major policy and political matters. "Then I felt that would become hokey," he says. "We'll constantly be just missing the president. As he walks around the corner, we'll see the back of his head." The character of Josiah Bartlet was then created as a recurring figure, and Martin Sheen
was signed to appear in four episodes. Alan Alda
(who went on to portray Senator Vinick), Jason Robards
and Sidney Poitier
were also considered for the role. After seeing Sheen's dailies, the producers were so impressed that they asked him to join the regular cast. "They realized that people might catch on that I'd be there only once a month, so they talked to me about a longer commitment," says Sheen. The actor says that part of the reason he took on the role of Bartlet is because of his involvement in social issues.
Sorkin's main interest in writing for the character was in exploring the side of the president that the public does not generally see. Sheen describes the character as being drawn largely from Bill Clinton
: "He's bright, astute and filled with all the negative foibles that make him very human," he told Radio Times
. Sheen said elsewhere that he adored Clinton and was welcomed into the Clinton White House for visits during the brief period between the show's beginning in the fall of 1999 and the inauguration of George W. Bush
as President in January 2001. Sorkin has said he takes some of Bartlet's characteristics from his own father, namely his "great love of education and literature [and] all things old," his "[belief] in a genuine goodness in people," and his "'Aw, Dad' sense of humor."
In the middle of the show's first season, it was revealed that Bartlet was suffering from multiple sclerosis
. According to Sorkin, this was not planned; the plot came about because he wanted to write an episode
in which the president was in bed watching a soap opera and the audience discovered that the first lady was a physician
. "When I wrote the pilot, I didn't have any idea what was going to happen in Episode 2, much less 12," he says.
. He is a direct descendant of Josiah Bartlett
, a real-world signatory of the Declaration of Independence
.
Bartlet is a devout Catholic
; this is due to the influence of his mother, as his father would have preferred that he be raised Protestant. His relationship with his father was often strained, punctuated by periods when the father would hit young Jed. In a discussion with his subconscious, personified by the "ghost" of Mrs. Landingham, his father is described as "a prick who could never get over the fact that he wasn't as smart as his brothers." Sorkin states that Bartlet's father, "obviously convinced he married some Catholic whore, treats his son terribly for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that he adopted his mother's religion." Sorkin says that Bartlet's tirade against God in the episode "Two Cathedrals
" is therefore directed just as much at his own father. However, when his father's unkind and sometimes abusive treatment of him is mentioned by Toby Ziegler
, Bartlet attempts to defend his father to an extent. Though his father is long dead, Toby suggests that Bartlet is still trying to get the man to like him, hoping that "maybe if you get enough votes, win one more election," he will finally be able to earn his father's approval.
Bartlet scored a 1590 on his SAT
. Later he retook the exam, and received the same results, something both Leo McGarry
and Dr. Stanley Keyworth
found humorous. He was accepted to Williams
, Harvard
, and Yale
, but instead chose to go to the University of Notre Dame
, as he was thinking about becoming a priest. He decided not to become a priest after his meeting his wife. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in American studies
and a minor in theology
. He received a Masters and Ph.D. in economics from the London School of Economics
, as well as an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Dartmouth College
, where he was a tenured professor prior to entering politics. He speaks four languages, including Latin, English, and German. He was a Nobel Laureate in Economics, and generally is portrayed as a macroeconomist sympathetic to Keynesian views. He was required to split his Nobel Prize
with another economist, a much more conservative Japanese man whom he did not particularly like but did respect. He is the author of a book entitled Theory and Practice of Macroeconomics in Developing Countries, and his research in economics is described as being focused on the developing world.
Before choosing economics as his career, Bartlet considered becoming a priest. He changed his mind upon meeting his future wife, Abigail Barrington
, who became a thoracic surgeon
. They had three daughters: Elizabeth Anne Westin
, Eleanor Emily Bartlet
, and Zoey Patricia Bartlet
. There are two grandchildren from his oldest daughter, Elizabeth - Annie, who is 12 in the pilot, and Gus, who is about 5 in the fifth season. It is also revealed in the 7th season that middle daughter Ellie is pregnant with what would be Bartlet's third grandchild. He is depicted as a stern but loving father, in contrast to his own father, who (as is seen in flashbacks) was cold and physically abusive. In addition to his three daughters, President Bartlet has paternal feelings towards members of his staff, referring to Charlie Young
(his former personal aide) and Josh Lyman
(his deputy chief of staff) as his sons, and telling C.J. Cregg (his press secretary
and later chief of staff
) that she was part of his family.
Bartlet suffers from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis
, which at one time put the future of his presidency in doubt. He and his wife concealed his illness during his initial presidential run and did not disclose the information until well into his first term, leading to allegations of fraud perpetrated upon the voters. He received a Congressional censure
because he covered up his MS while he was running for President.
Like his ancestor, he was Governor of New Hampshire
for two terms, winning re-election with 69% of the vote. Before becoming governor, Bartlet served on the New Hampshire State Board of Education and was a three-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives
.
A recurring motif throughout the series is Bartlet's inability to remember the names of junior staffers, a trait taken directly from Martin Sheen's own memory tendencies. While wandering the halls and saying goodbye to everyone in the series finale, he remembers everyone and their family members. He is also regularly displayed as having an obsession with trivia, often quizzing staffers (whether they are interested or not).
, persuades him to run for president around the fall of 1997, writing the slogan "Bartlet for America" on a cocktail napkin. Although initially a dark horse
, Bartlet eventually defeats the Democratic frontrunner, U.S. Senator
John Hoynes
of Texas, whom Bartlet asks to join the ticket as his vice-presidential running mate
. He defeats the Republican nominee for President, winning a close election with just 48 percent of the vote, 48 million popular votes and a 303–235 margin in the Electoral College.
Bartlet's accomplishments as President include granting amnesty to illegal immigrants from the Americas, appointing the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice and first female Chief Justice
, negotiating a peace settlement between Israel and Palestine, creating millions of new jobs, providing strong support for alternative energy, and orchestrating a Social Security reform
plan (although it is never made clear whether the plan was passed by the United States Congress
, the show indicates that a revolutionary agreement was achieved with bi-partisan support). He does, however, express regret at his inability to balance the budget in his eight years at the White House.
Bartlet does not shy away from using the military when he feels it is necessary during his eight years in the White House
, and has to deal with major foreign policy crises in various parts of the world. The Middle East
is a recurring source of problems, particularly in Iran
, Syria
, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
and the fictional gulf state of Qumar. Bartlet is able to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by negotiating a historic agreement at Camp David
in 2005 and deploying peacekeepers to the region, despite opposition to these efforts from both Democrats and Republicans. Terrorism, particularly from the Bahji network based in Qumar, is a continual problem and Bartlet even has to confront the kidnapping of his own daughter at the hands of the group, choosing to ensure the objectivity of the presidency by ceding power to the Republican
Speaker of the House
until she is liberated from her captors. In Latin America, Bartlet has to deal with situations in Haiti
, Colombia
and Bolivia
. A conflict and genocide in the fictional African nation of Equatorial Kundu leads Bartlet to intervene militarily and declare a bold interventionist foreign policy doctrine. In Asia
, Bartlet deals with tensions and near-conflicts between India and Pakistan
, China
and Taiwan
, and Russia
and China
. The latter crisis, in his final year, leads to him deploying 140,000 peacekeepers to prevent a full-blown conflict over oil in Kazakhstan
, and this becomes a key issue in the 2006 presidential campaign to succeed him.
President Bartlet shows the most respect and affection among his staffers to Josh Lyman
, C.J. Cregg, and Sam Seaborn
. He predicts that Sam will one day run for president and expresses his faith in Sam's capability. While he clearly respects Toby Ziegler
, the two are prone to clash, usually when Toby feels the President is not acting according to his true morality or is ducking important issues. He is pained when he finds out Toby has leaked classified national security information and publicly fires him, but eventually signs a pardon for Toby as his last official act as President. He does not get along well with either of his Vice Presidents, John Hoynes
or Bob Russell
, saying at one point he does not know what either of them are good for. For reasons presumably tied to his own lack of military service, he is somewhat intimidated by acid-tongued Secretary of Defense Miles Hutchinson and deferential to respected Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Admiral
Percy Fitzwallace.
Bartlet is shot in the first season cliffhanger
finale "What Kind of Day Has It Been
"; his wounds are not serious and quick medical intervention has him on his feet within a few hours. It is later discovered that the shooters were white supremacists from West Virginia
and that his bodyman Charlie Young was the intended target of the assassination attempt, not Bartlet himself.
In the second season finale, "Two Cathedrals
", Bartlet announces to the country that he suffers from multiple sclerosis
, and has been keeping it a secret, although this had previously been revealed to the show's audience in the first season episode "He Shall, from Time to Time...
" This leads to investigation of Bartlet's administration by a special prosecutor
and by the U.S. House of Representatives
, a storyline which dominates much of the show's third season. Eventually, Bartlet accepts a censure
from Congress, which settles all investigations against him. While Bartlet's campaign efforts are damaged by the controversy, he nonetheless defeats the Republican nominee, Governor Robert Ritchie of Florida, by a landslide and is returned for a second term. The election was previously forecast to be close until a debate in San Diego where Bartlet scored a decisive win over Ritchie.
Zoey Bartlet
is kidnapped on the day of her graduation from Georgetown University
, possibly in retaliation for the assassination of the Qumari defense minister, Abdul ibn Shareef
, which her father authorized. While Zoey is missing, President Bartlet fears he is incapable of maintaining the necessary dispassion while his daughter is in such danger and invokes Section 3 of the 25th Amendment, declaring himself incapacitated and transferring the powers of the presidency to the next person in the presidential line of succession. Due to the resignation a few days earlier of Vice President Hoynes, the Speaker of the House, Republican Glen Allen Walken
, becomes Acting President of the United States
. Zoey is recovered with only minor injuries several days later; President Bartlet re-assumes his office shortly thereafter.
Soon after Bartlet resumes the Presidency, he faces off against the newly elected Speaker of the House (replacing Walken, who was forced to resign his United States House of Representatives
seat in order to fulfill his duties as Acting President) on intense budget negotiations that break down to the point where the Federal Government is sent into a shutdown (similar to the 1995 and 1996 shut down during the Clinton administration). Eventually, Bartlet topples the Speaker's influence and sees to it that the Speaker's power declines thereafter.
At the end of the fifth season and at the beginning of the sixth season, the Bartlet administration is dragged into the Israeli
Arab
dispute after terrorists attack U.S. government officials on a trip to Gaza
. Eventually after intense peace negotiations at Camp David
between the Israelis and the Palestinians, Bartlet manages to secure a peace agreement but at a great cost - he fires his Chief of Staff Leo McGarry
in a disagreement over the conflict. McGarry has a heart attack but later returns to work as Special Counsellor to the President. CJ Cregg succeeds him as Chief of Staff.
On a trip to China
, Bartlet is left temporarily paralyzed by an attack of multiple sclerosis
. As a result he briefly uses a wheelchair, like the real-life president Franklin D. Roosevelt
, but he soon recovers although he is left somewhat weakened by the attack (Toby Ziegler
mentions that after the final Bartlet State of the Union
address, the President is not going to be able to spend much if any time stumping for the speech's recommendations due to his health concerns). After seeing Congressman Matt Santos' stirring speech at the Democratic Convention, he has a chat with a New York
Democratic leader who had refused to support Santos due to concerns over educational policy; the leader reverses his course after this and Santos becomes the Democratic nominee for the Presidency.
In the seventh and final season of The West Wing, Bartlet is in the last year of his term as president. Near the end of that season, Congressman Matt Santos
of Texas, defeats the Republican nominee, Senator Arnold Vinick
of California
, in 2006 presidential election and thereby becomes Bartlet's successor. After Santos' inauguration, Bartlet returns to his New Hampshire
home aboard Air Force One
, with his wife, and while en route, has the last word of the series. Mrs. Bartlet asks the introspective former President what he is thinking about, and Bartlet replies: "Tomorrow."
The Bartlet Presidential Library
opens three years after the end of his term and Bartlet is present at the opening ceremony, along with Kate Harper, C. J. Cregg
, Danny Concannon
, Charlie Young
, Toby Ziegler
, Josh Lyman
, Will Bailey
, and President Matt Santos
.
The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin briefly revived the character for Maureen Dowd
's September 20, 2008 New York Times column, where he scripted a hypothetical meeting between Bartlet and then Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama
.
Bartlet appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States
:
through Bartlet was applauded by Mike Dugan, president of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
. Dugan stated that the group was especially pleased that the affected character was a world leader, that the show educated viewers about MS and made it clear the disease is not fatal, and that Bartlet was shown as taking advantage of medical breakthroughs to treat his condition. "Since fiction often becomes more real to people than fact, President Bartlet's life with MS has the potential for great good," he said, suggesting that if Bartlet was able to overcome the challenges of his disease to succeed, "the public will become more accepting of individuals with MS and individuals with MS will become more accepting of themselves and their abilities to lead fulfilling lives."
Mike McCurry, a former press secretary
for the Clinton administration, describes Bartlet as the ideal President, possessing "the compassion and integrity of Jimmy Carter
... that shrewd decision-making and hard-nosed realism of a Richard Nixon
... the warmth and amiability and the throw-the-arm-around-the-shoulder of a Bill Clinton
; and... the liberal passion of a Teddy Kennedy."
At one point, the producers of The X-Files
considered attempting to have Sheen portray Bartlet in the final episode
of the show, in a scene where he would be informed by members of The Syndicate
that Fox Mulder
escaped from government custody. Instead, Bartlet was replaced by an actor playing George W. Bush
, although the scene was cut from the final episode altogether.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
played by Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
for the entire series until the last episode, when his successor is inaugurated. Bartlet is one of the main characters of The West Wing, and he appears in all but thirteen episodes (142 of the show's 155 total episodes).
In many ways, Bartlet is an "ideal" president. He is handsome and endowed with great personal integrity
Integrity
Integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions...
, a sense of humor, a fierce intellect, and a toughness tempered by compassion
Compassion
Compassion is a virtue — one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism — foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.There is an aspect of...
. These traits helped boost his popularity in the show to a point where he has been referred to as the "most popular Democratic president in recent memory."
Creation and development
Show creator Aaron SorkinAaron Sorkin
Aaron Benjamin Sorkin is an Academy and Emmy award winning American screenwriter, producer, and playwright, whose works include A Few Good Men, The American President, The West Wing, Sports Night, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The Social Network, and Moneyball.After graduating from Syracuse...
had not initially intended to feature the president, having envisioned the series as being focused on the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
senior staff who execute and advise on major policy and political matters. "Then I felt that would become hokey," he says. "We'll constantly be just missing the president. As he walks around the corner, we'll see the back of his head." The character of Josiah Bartlet was then created as a recurring figure, and Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
was signed to appear in four episodes. Alan Alda
Alan Alda
Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
(who went on to portray Senator Vinick), Jason Robards
Jason Robards
Jason Nelson Robards, Jr. was an American actor on stage, and in film and television, and a winner of the Tony Award , two Academy Awards and the Emmy Award...
and Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
were also considered for the role. After seeing Sheen's dailies, the producers were so impressed that they asked him to join the regular cast. "They realized that people might catch on that I'd be there only once a month, so they talked to me about a longer commitment," says Sheen. The actor says that part of the reason he took on the role of Bartlet is because of his involvement in social issues.
Sorkin's main interest in writing for the character was in exploring the side of the president that the public does not generally see. Sheen describes the character as being drawn largely from Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
: "He's bright, astute and filled with all the negative foibles that make him very human," he told Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
. Sheen said elsewhere that he adored Clinton and was welcomed into the Clinton White House for visits during the brief period between the show's beginning in the fall of 1999 and the inauguration of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
as President in January 2001. Sorkin has said he takes some of Bartlet's characteristics from his own father, namely his "great love of education and literature [and] all things old," his "[belief] in a genuine goodness in people," and his "'Aw, Dad' sense of humor."
In the middle of the show's first season, it was revealed that Bartlet was suffering from multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
. According to Sorkin, this was not planned; the plot came about because he wanted to write an episode
He Shall, from Time To Time...
"He Shall, from Time to Time…" is the 12th episode of The West Wing.The National Multiple Sclerosis Society was pleased with the portrayal of a major character, which showed that multiple sclerosis is not fatal and that Bartlet uses modern medicine to treat it.-Plot:During the preparations for...
in which the president was in bed watching a soap opera and the audience discovered that the first lady was a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
. "When I wrote the pilot, I didn't have any idea what was going to happen in Episode 2, much less 12," he says.
Personal life
Bartlet was born and raised in Manchester, New HampshireManchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
. He is a direct descendant of Josiah Bartlett
Josiah Bartlett
Josiah Bartlett was an American physician and statesman, delegate to the Continental Congress for New Hampshire and signatory of the Declaration of Independence...
, a real-world signatory of the Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
.
Bartlet is a devout Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
; this is due to the influence of his mother, as his father would have preferred that he be raised Protestant. His relationship with his father was often strained, punctuated by periods when the father would hit young Jed. In a discussion with his subconscious, personified by the "ghost" of Mrs. Landingham, his father is described as "a prick who could never get over the fact that he wasn't as smart as his brothers." Sorkin states that Bartlet's father, "obviously convinced he married some Catholic whore, treats his son terribly for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that he adopted his mother's religion." Sorkin says that Bartlet's tirade against God in the episode "Two Cathedrals
Two Cathedrals
"Two Cathedrals" is the 44th episode, and second season finale of The West Wing.-Synopsis:President Bartlet is beset by memories of Mrs. Landingham as her funeral approaches. Meanwhile, the staff deals with a crisis in Haiti and questions from congressional Democrats regarding the President's...
" is therefore directed just as much at his own father. However, when his father's unkind and sometimes abusive treatment of him is mentioned by Toby Ziegler
Toby Ziegler
Tobias Zachary 'Toby' Ziegler is played by Richard Schiff on the television serial drama The West Wing. For most of the series' duration he is White House Communications Director.-Creation and development:...
, Bartlet attempts to defend his father to an extent. Though his father is long dead, Toby suggests that Bartlet is still trying to get the man to like him, hoping that "maybe if you get enough votes, win one more election," he will finally be able to earn his father's approval.
Bartlet scored a 1590 on his SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
. Later he retook the exam, and received the same results, something both Leo McGarry
Leo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White...
and Dr. Stanley Keyworth
Stanley Keyworth
Stanley Keyworth is a fictional psychiatrist, played by Adam Arkin, who appears on the television serial drama The West Wing. Making his first appearance in season 2, he reappeared in seasons 3 and 4....
found humorous. He was accepted to Williams
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
, Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, and Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, but instead chose to go to the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
, as he was thinking about becoming a priest. He decided not to become a priest after his meeting his wife. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in American studies
American studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the study of the United States. It traditionally incorporates the study of history, literature, and critical theory, but also includes fields as diverse as law, art, the media, film, religious studies, urban...
and a minor in theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
. He received a Masters and Ph.D. in economics from the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, as well as an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, where he was a tenured professor prior to entering politics. He speaks four languages, including Latin, English, and German. He was a Nobel Laureate in Economics, and generally is portrayed as a macroeconomist sympathetic to Keynesian views. He was required to split his Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
with another economist, a much more conservative Japanese man whom he did not particularly like but did respect. He is the author of a book entitled Theory and Practice of Macroeconomics in Developing Countries, and his research in economics is described as being focused on the developing world.
Before choosing economics as his career, Bartlet considered becoming a priest. He changed his mind upon meeting his future wife, Abigail Barrington
Abbey Bartlet
Dr. Abigail Anne "Abbey" Barrington Bartlet, MD, is a fictional character played by Stockard Channing on the television serial drama, The West Wing. In the show, she is the First Lady of the United States, the wife of President Josiah Bartlet.-Overview:...
, who became a thoracic surgeon
Thoracic surgery
Thoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in the surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax . Generally treatment of conditions of the lungs, chest wall, and diaphragm....
. They had three daughters: Elizabeth Anne Westin
Elizabeth Bartlet
Elizabeth "Lizzie" Anne Bartlet Westin is a fictional character played by Annabeth Gish on the television serial drama The West Wing. Elizabeth is the oldest of President Josiah Bartlet and Abbey Bartlet's three daughters.She is a married mother of two—daughter Annie and son Gus. Her husband is...
, Eleanor Emily Bartlet
Eleanor Bartlet
Eleanor "Ellie" Emily Bartlet Faison, M.D. is a fictional character played by Nina Siemaszko on the television serial drama The West Wing. Ellie is the middle daughter of President Josiah Bartlet and Abbey Bartlet....
, and Zoey Patricia Bartlet
Zoey Bartlet
Zoey Patricia Bartlet is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Moss on the television serial drama The West Wing. Zoey is the youngest of President Josiah Bartlet and Abbey Bartlet's three daughters, and is more prominently featured in the series than either of her sisters.Zoey and...
. There are two grandchildren from his oldest daughter, Elizabeth - Annie, who is 12 in the pilot, and Gus, who is about 5 in the fifth season. It is also revealed in the 7th season that middle daughter Ellie is pregnant with what would be Bartlet's third grandchild. He is depicted as a stern but loving father, in contrast to his own father, who (as is seen in flashbacks) was cold and physically abusive. In addition to his three daughters, President Bartlet has paternal feelings towards members of his staff, referring to Charlie Young
Charlie Young
Charles 'Charlie' Young is a fictional character played by Dulé Hill on the television serial drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he is the Personal Aide to President Josiah Bartlet.-Creation and development:...
(his former personal aide) and Josh Lyman
Josh Lyman
Joshua "Josh" Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he was White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet administration...
(his deputy chief of staff) as his sons, and telling C.J. Cregg (his press secretary
White House Press Secretary
The White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the government administration....
and later chief of staff
White House Chief of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:...
) that she was part of his family.
Bartlet suffers from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
, which at one time put the future of his presidency in doubt. He and his wife concealed his illness during his initial presidential run and did not disclose the information until well into his first term, leading to allegations of fraud perpetrated upon the voters. He received a Congressional censure
Censure
A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spiritual penalty imposed by a church, and a negative judgment pronounced on a theological proposition.-Politics:...
because he covered up his MS while he was running for President.
Like his ancestor, he was Governor of New Hampshire
Governor of New Hampshire
The Governor of the State of New Hampshire is the supreme executive magistrate of the U.S. state of New Hampshire.The governor is elected at the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Vermont, to hold...
for two terms, winning re-election with 69% of the vote. Before becoming governor, Bartlet served on the New Hampshire State Board of Education and was a three-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
.
A recurring motif throughout the series is Bartlet's inability to remember the names of junior staffers, a trait taken directly from Martin Sheen's own memory tendencies. While wandering the halls and saying goodbye to everyone in the series finale, he remembers everyone and their family members. He is also regularly displayed as having an obsession with trivia, often quizzing staffers (whether they are interested or not).
Presidency
Bartlet's best friend, Leo McGarryLeo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White...
, persuades him to run for president around the fall of 1997, writing the slogan "Bartlet for America" on a cocktail napkin. Although initially a dark horse
Dark horse
Dark horse is a term used to describe a little-known person or thing that emerges to prominence, especially in a competition of some sort.-Origin:The term began as horse racing parlance...
, Bartlet eventually defeats the Democratic frontrunner, U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
John Hoynes
John Hoynes
John Hoynes is a fictional character played by Tim Matheson on the American television series The West Wing. Hoynes is Vice President of the United States during the first four seasons of the show....
of Texas, whom Bartlet asks to join the ticket as his vice-presidential running mate
Running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were...
. He defeats the Republican nominee for President, winning a close election with just 48 percent of the vote, 48 million popular votes and a 303–235 margin in the Electoral College.
Bartlet's accomplishments as President include granting amnesty to illegal immigrants from the Americas, appointing the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice and first female Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
, negotiating a peace settlement between Israel and Palestine, creating millions of new jobs, providing strong support for alternative energy, and orchestrating a Social Security reform
Social Security debate (United States)
This article concerns proposals to change the Social Security system in the United States. Social Security is a social insurance program officially called "Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance" , in reference to its three components. It is primarily funded through a dedicated payroll tax...
plan (although it is never made clear whether the plan was passed by the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, the show indicates that a revolutionary agreement was achieved with bi-partisan support). He does, however, express regret at his inability to balance the budget in his eight years at the White House.
Bartlet does not shy away from using the military when he feels it is necessary during his eight years in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, and has to deal with major foreign policy crises in various parts of the world. The Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
is a recurring source of problems, particularly in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
and the fictional gulf state of Qumar. Bartlet is able to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by negotiating a historic agreement at Camp David
Camp David
Camp David is the country retreat of the President of the United States and his guests. It is located in low wooded hills about 60 mi north-northwest of Washington, D.C., on the property of Catoctin Mountain Park in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Thurmont, at an elevation of...
in 2005 and deploying peacekeepers to the region, despite opposition to these efforts from both Democrats and Republicans. Terrorism, particularly from the Bahji network based in Qumar, is a continual problem and Bartlet even has to confront the kidnapping of his own daughter at the hands of the group, choosing to ensure the objectivity of the presidency by ceding power to the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Speaker of the House
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
until she is liberated from her captors. In Latin America, Bartlet has to deal with situations in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. A conflict and genocide in the fictional African nation of Equatorial Kundu leads Bartlet to intervene militarily and declare a bold interventionist foreign policy doctrine. In Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Bartlet deals with tensions and near-conflicts between India and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. The latter crisis, in his final year, leads to him deploying 140,000 peacekeepers to prevent a full-blown conflict over oil in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, and this becomes a key issue in the 2006 presidential campaign to succeed him.
President Bartlet shows the most respect and affection among his staffers to Josh Lyman
Josh Lyman
Joshua "Josh" Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he was White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet administration...
, C.J. Cregg, and Sam Seaborn
Sam Seaborn
Samuel Norman "Sam" Seaborn is a fictional character portrayed by Rob Lowe on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is best known for being Deputy White House Communications Director in the Josiah Bartlet administration throughout the first four seasons of the series.-Creation and...
. He predicts that Sam will one day run for president and expresses his faith in Sam's capability. While he clearly respects Toby Ziegler
Toby Ziegler
Tobias Zachary 'Toby' Ziegler is played by Richard Schiff on the television serial drama The West Wing. For most of the series' duration he is White House Communications Director.-Creation and development:...
, the two are prone to clash, usually when Toby feels the President is not acting according to his true morality or is ducking important issues. He is pained when he finds out Toby has leaked classified national security information and publicly fires him, but eventually signs a pardon for Toby as his last official act as President. He does not get along well with either of his Vice Presidents, John Hoynes
John Hoynes
John Hoynes is a fictional character played by Tim Matheson on the American television series The West Wing. Hoynes is Vice President of the United States during the first four seasons of the show....
or Bob Russell
Bob Russell (The West Wing)
Robert 'Bingo Bob' Russell is a fictional character played by Gary Cole on the television serial drama The West Wing.After the resignation of Vice President John Hoynes due to a sex scandal in May 2003, the Bartlet Administration was forced to replace him with another Democrat...
, saying at one point he does not know what either of them are good for. For reasons presumably tied to his own lack of military service, he is somewhat intimidated by acid-tongued Secretary of Defense Miles Hutchinson and deferential to respected Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, and is the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council and the Secretary of Defense...
Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Percy Fitzwallace.
Bartlet is shot in the first season cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...
finale "What Kind of Day Has It Been
What Kind of Day Has It Been
"What Kind of Day Has It Been" is the 22nd episode of The West Wing, the season finale of the show's first season. It originally aired on NBC May 17, 2000. Events circle around the attempted rescue of a US fighter pilot in Iraq, and the president taking part in a town hall meeting in Rosslyn,...
"; his wounds are not serious and quick medical intervention has him on his feet within a few hours. It is later discovered that the shooters were white supremacists from West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
and that his bodyman Charlie Young was the intended target of the assassination attempt, not Bartlet himself.
In the second season finale, "Two Cathedrals
Two Cathedrals
"Two Cathedrals" is the 44th episode, and second season finale of The West Wing.-Synopsis:President Bartlet is beset by memories of Mrs. Landingham as her funeral approaches. Meanwhile, the staff deals with a crisis in Haiti and questions from congressional Democrats regarding the President's...
", Bartlet announces to the country that he suffers from multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
, and has been keeping it a secret, although this had previously been revealed to the show's audience in the first season episode "He Shall, from Time to Time...
He Shall, from Time To Time...
"He Shall, from Time to Time…" is the 12th episode of The West Wing.The National Multiple Sclerosis Society was pleased with the portrayal of a major character, which showed that multiple sclerosis is not fatal and that Bartlet uses modern medicine to treat it.-Plot:During the preparations for...
" This leads to investigation of Bartlet's administration by a special prosecutor
Special prosecutor
A special prosecutor generally is a lawyer from outside the government appointed by an attorney general or, in the United States, by Congress to investigate a government official for misconduct while in office. A reasoning for such an appointment is that the governmental branch or agency may have...
and by the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, a storyline which dominates much of the show's third season. Eventually, Bartlet accepts a censure
Censure
A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spiritual penalty imposed by a church, and a negative judgment pronounced on a theological proposition.-Politics:...
from Congress, which settles all investigations against him. While Bartlet's campaign efforts are damaged by the controversy, he nonetheless defeats the Republican nominee, Governor Robert Ritchie of Florida, by a landslide and is returned for a second term. The election was previously forecast to be close until a debate in San Diego where Bartlet scored a decisive win over Ritchie.
Zoey Bartlet
Zoey Bartlet
Zoey Patricia Bartlet is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Moss on the television serial drama The West Wing. Zoey is the youngest of President Josiah Bartlet and Abbey Bartlet's three daughters, and is more prominently featured in the series than either of her sisters.Zoey and...
is kidnapped on the day of her graduation from Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, possibly in retaliation for the assassination of the Qumari defense minister, Abdul ibn Shareef
Abdul ibn Shareef
Abdul Ibn Shareef, former defense minister of Qumar, is a fictional character played by Al No'mani on the television serial drama The West Wing.-Character history:...
, which her father authorized. While Zoey is missing, President Bartlet fears he is incapable of maintaining the necessary dispassion while his daughter is in such danger and invokes Section 3 of the 25th Amendment, declaring himself incapacitated and transferring the powers of the presidency to the next person in the presidential line of succession. Due to the resignation a few days earlier of Vice President Hoynes, the Speaker of the House, Republican Glen Allen Walken
Glen Allen Walken
Glen Allen Walken is a fictional character on The West Wing played by John Goodman....
, becomes Acting President of the United States
Acting President of the United States
Acting President of the United States is a reference to a person who is legitimately exercising the Presidential powers even though that person does not hold the office of the President of the United States in his own right....
. Zoey is recovered with only minor injuries several days later; President Bartlet re-assumes his office shortly thereafter.
Soon after Bartlet resumes the Presidency, he faces off against the newly elected Speaker of the House (replacing Walken, who was forced to resign his United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
seat in order to fulfill his duties as Acting President) on intense budget negotiations that break down to the point where the Federal Government is sent into a shutdown (similar to the 1995 and 1996 shut down during the Clinton administration). Eventually, Bartlet topples the Speaker's influence and sees to it that the Speaker's power declines thereafter.
At the end of the fifth season and at the beginning of the sixth season, the Bartlet administration is dragged into the Israeli
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
dispute after terrorists attack U.S. government officials on a trip to Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
. Eventually after intense peace negotiations at Camp David
Camp David
Camp David is the country retreat of the President of the United States and his guests. It is located in low wooded hills about 60 mi north-northwest of Washington, D.C., on the property of Catoctin Mountain Park in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Thurmont, at an elevation of...
between the Israelis and the Palestinians, Bartlet manages to secure a peace agreement but at a great cost - he fires his Chief of Staff Leo McGarry
Leo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White...
in a disagreement over the conflict. McGarry has a heart attack but later returns to work as Special Counsellor to the President. CJ Cregg succeeds him as Chief of Staff.
On a trip to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Bartlet is left temporarily paralyzed by an attack of multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
. As a result he briefly uses a wheelchair, like the real-life president Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, but he soon recovers although he is left somewhat weakened by the attack (Toby Ziegler
Toby Ziegler
Tobias Zachary 'Toby' Ziegler is played by Richard Schiff on the television serial drama The West Wing. For most of the series' duration he is White House Communications Director.-Creation and development:...
mentions that after the final Bartlet State of the Union
State Of The Union
"State Of The Union" is the debut single from British singer-songwriter David Ford. It had previously been featured as a demo on his official website, before appearing as a track on a CD entitled "Apology Demos EP," only on sale at live shows....
address, the President is not going to be able to spend much if any time stumping for the speech's recommendations due to his health concerns). After seeing Congressman Matt Santos' stirring speech at the Democratic Convention, he has a chat with a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Democratic leader who had refused to support Santos due to concerns over educational policy; the leader reverses his course after this and Santos becomes the Democratic nominee for the Presidency.
In the seventh and final season of The West Wing, Bartlet is in the last year of his term as president. Near the end of that season, Congressman Matt Santos
Matt Santos
Matthew Vincente "Matt" Santos is a fictional character on the American television show The West Wing, played by Jimmy Smits. His initial appearance is as a Democratic U.S. Representative from Houston, Texas. According to West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie, Santos was based on the then...
of Texas, defeats the Republican nominee, Senator Arnold Vinick
Arnold Vinick
Arnold Vinick is a fictional character on the television series The West Wing played by Alan Alda.-Biography:A Republican senator from California and Republican presidential nominee, he is narrowly defeated by Democrat Matt Santos in the 2006 presidential election, with Vinick winning the popular...
of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, in 2006 presidential election and thereby becomes Bartlet's successor. After Santos' inauguration, Bartlet returns to his New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
home aboard Air Force One
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
, with his wife, and while en route, has the last word of the series. Mrs. Bartlet asks the introspective former President what he is thinking about, and Bartlet replies: "Tomorrow."
The Bartlet Presidential Library
Presidential library
In the United States, the Presidential library system is a nationwide network of 13 libraries administered by the Office of Presidential Libraries, which is part of the National Archives and Records Administration...
opens three years after the end of his term and Bartlet is present at the opening ceremony, along with Kate Harper, C. J. Cregg
C. J. Cregg
Claudia Jean "C. J." Cregg is a fictional character played by Allison Janney on the television serial drama The West Wing. From the beginning of the series until the sixth season, she is White House Press Secretary in the administration of President Josiah Bartlet...
, Danny Concannon
Danny Concannon
Daniel "Danny" Concannon is a fictional White House correspondent for the Washington Post played by Timothy Busfield on the television serial drama The West Wing. Danny first appeared in the third episode of Season 1, "A Proportional Response," where he mentioned that he had been a White House...
, Charlie Young
Charlie Young
Charles 'Charlie' Young is a fictional character played by Dulé Hill on the television serial drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he is the Personal Aide to President Josiah Bartlet.-Creation and development:...
, Toby Ziegler
Toby Ziegler
Tobias Zachary 'Toby' Ziegler is played by Richard Schiff on the television serial drama The West Wing. For most of the series' duration he is White House Communications Director.-Creation and development:...
, Josh Lyman
Josh Lyman
Joshua "Josh" Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he was White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet administration...
, Will Bailey
Will Bailey
William "Will" Bailey, is a fictional character played by Joshua Malina on the television serial drama The West Wing, holding various posts in the White House Office of Communications, Office of the Vice President and a backbencher Congressman .-Character biography:Will grew up in Belgium, as his...
, and President Matt Santos
Matt Santos
Matthew Vincente "Matt" Santos is a fictional character on the American television show The West Wing, played by Jimmy Smits. His initial appearance is as a Democratic U.S. Representative from Houston, Texas. According to West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie, Santos was based on the then...
.
The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin briefly revived the character for Maureen Dowd
Maureen Dowd
Maureen Bridgid Dowd is a Washington D.C.-based columnist for The New York Times and best-selling author. During the 1970s and the early 1980s, she worked for Time magazine and the Washington Star, where she covered news as well as sports and wrote feature articles...
's September 20, 2008 New York Times column, where he scripted a hypothetical meeting between Bartlet and then Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.
Other appointments
Bartlet appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
:
- Roberto Mendoza (Edward James OlmosEdward James OlmosEdward James Olmos is an American actor and director. Among his most memorable roles are William Adama in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, Lt...
) – 2000 - Evelyn Baker Lang (Glenn CloseGlenn CloseGlenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
) – Chief JusticeChief Justice of the United StatesThe Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
, 2004 - Christopher Mulready (William FichtnerWilliam FichtnerWilliam Edward Fichtner is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on Invasion, as Alexander Mahone on Prison Break, as William Sharp in Armageddon, and as Ken Rosenberg in the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.- Early life...
) – 2004
| Office | Name | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Reserve Chairman Chairman of the Federal Reserve The Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the central banking system of the United States. Known colloquially as "Chairman of the Fed," or in market circles "Fed Chairman" or "Fed Chief"... |
Bernard Dahl | 1999–2000 |
| Ronald Ehrlich | 2000– | |
| Federal Election Commission Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act... |
John Branford Bacon | 2000– |
| Patricia Calhoun | 2000– | |
| Surgeon General Surgeon General of the United States The Surgeon General of the United States is the operational head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government... |
Millicent Griffith (Mary Kay Place Mary Kay Place Mary Kay Place is an American actress, singer, director and screen writer. She is best known as portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, a role which won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series in 1977... ) |
1999– |
Reception
The West Wings portrayal of multiple sclerosisMultiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
through Bartlet was applauded by Mike Dugan, president of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, a United States-based non-profit organization, and its network of chapters nationwide promote research, educate, advocate on issues relating to multiple sclerosis, and organize a wide range of programs, including support for the newly diagnosed and those...
. Dugan stated that the group was especially pleased that the affected character was a world leader, that the show educated viewers about MS and made it clear the disease is not fatal, and that Bartlet was shown as taking advantage of medical breakthroughs to treat his condition. "Since fiction often becomes more real to people than fact, President Bartlet's life with MS has the potential for great good," he said, suggesting that if Bartlet was able to overcome the challenges of his disease to succeed, "the public will become more accepting of individuals with MS and individuals with MS will become more accepting of themselves and their abilities to lead fulfilling lives."
Mike McCurry, a former press secretary
Press secretary
A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage....
for the Clinton administration, describes Bartlet as the ideal President, possessing "the compassion and integrity of Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
... that shrewd decision-making and hard-nosed realism of a Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
... the warmth and amiability and the throw-the-arm-around-the-shoulder of a Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
; and... the liberal passion of a Teddy Kennedy."
At one point, the producers of The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
considered attempting to have Sheen portray Bartlet in the final episode
The Truth (The X-Files)
"The Truth" is the collective name for the 201st and 202nd, and final, episodes of the science fiction television series The X-Files. They first aired in the United States on May 19, 2002 on Fox in the United States and Canada. "The Truth" subsequently aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It...
of the show, in a scene where he would be informed by members of The Syndicate
Syndicate (The X-Files)
The Syndicate is a fictional "shadow government" group featured in The X-Files television show and feature film created by Chris Carter. They were also known as The Elders, The Consortium, and The Group...
that Fox Mulder
Fox Mulder
FBI Special Agent Fox William Mulder is a fictional character and protagonist in the American Fox television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence. Mulder's peers consider his theories on...
escaped from government custody. Instead, Bartlet was replaced by an actor playing George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, although the scene was cut from the final episode altogether.
See also
- The West WingThe West Wing (TV series)The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 14, 2006...
- Equatorial Kundu
- Qumar
- List of characters on The West Wing
- List of politicians on The West Wing
- List of The West Wing episodes