Mandatory Minimums
Encyclopedia
"Mandatory Minimums" is the 20th episode of The West Wing
.
bucks pressure from Republicans in Congress and nominates two advocates for aggressive campaign finance reform to the Federal Election Commission
, to Josh Lyman
's audible agreement. The President also moves forward with a plan to reverse the 2 to 1 funding ratio for narcotics law enforcement to treatment. Unfavored pollster Al Kiefer returns but quickly finds himself ignored in favor of Joey Lucas
, whose presence inspires school-boyish flirting from Josh. C.J. tells Mandy Hampton
that she's in the doghouse and will be there for the foreseeable future, due to Mandy's now-public memo which outlines the failings of the Bartlet administration.
C.J. later has a heated argument with reporter Danny Concannon
over his uncomplimentary work on the Administration. Leo tells Toby
to meet with his ex-wife, Democratic Congresswoman Andrea Wyatt
about mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession, and later threatens several staffers of Congressmen whose family members or close friends received preferential treatment when arrested under the tough anti-drug laws they publicly support. Sam's enemies reveal that his relationship with a call girl is known to them. At day's end, the President says they all had a good day and orders that Mandy and Danny be let out of the doghouse.
The 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...
.
Plot
The PresidentJosiah Bartlet
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...
bucks pressure from Republicans in Congress and nominates two advocates for aggressive campaign finance reform to the 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...
, 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...
's audible agreement. The President also moves forward with a plan to reverse the 2 to 1 funding ratio for narcotics law enforcement to treatment. Unfavored pollster Al Kiefer returns but quickly finds himself ignored in favor of Joey Lucas
Joey Lucas
Josephine "Joey" Lucas, is a fictional character on the television serial drama The West Wing, a California-based pollster and political operative played by Marlee Matlin...
, whose presence inspires school-boyish flirting from Josh. C.J. tells Mandy Hampton
Mandy Hampton
Dr. Madeline 'Mandy' Hampton is a fictional character played by Moira Kelly on the American serial drama television series The West Wing. She was White House media consultant during the first season of the show, and the former girlfriend of Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman, with whom...
that she's in the doghouse and will be there for the foreseeable future, due to Mandy's now-public memo which outlines the failings of the Bartlet administration.
C.J. later has a heated argument with reporter 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...
over his uncomplimentary work on the Administration. Leo tells Toby
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:...
to meet with his ex-wife, Democratic Congresswoman Andrea Wyatt
Andrea Wyatt
Andrea 'Andy' Wyatt, played by Kathleen York, is a fictional recurring character on the NBC political drama The West Wing. She is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives representing the state of Maryland, and former wife of White House Communications Director Toby...
about mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession, and later threatens several staffers of Congressmen whose family members or close friends received preferential treatment when arrested under the tough anti-drug laws they publicly support. Sam's enemies reveal that his relationship with a call girl is known to them. At day's end, the President says they all had a good day and orders that Mandy and Danny be let out of the doghouse.
Trivia
- Toby's completion of Sam's phrase "tried to practice on my-" "Credulous simplicity?" is a reference to The Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
by Gilbert and SullivanGilbert and SullivanGilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
, where the Pirate King upon hearing of the Major General's deceit utters "Do you mean to say that to save his contemptible life he dared to practise on our credulous simplicity?"