"I Won't Let Them Ruin Tricia's Wedding"

A West Wing Word

Like Anthony Hopkins Nixon in the movie of the same name, Jed Bartlett might well express similar sentiments in regards to the international crises that come to a boil on the day of his middle daughters (and I would say most attractive, played by Nina Siemaszko) wedding. The Russian/Chinese show down over rights to Kazakhstani oil has created the potential for a third world war. While the crises is not fully resolved in last weeks episode (entitled simply and appropriately: "The Wedding"), at least we are beginning to see some story pay off from that overly-complicated, tenuously connected to the assassination of the PLO Chairman, conspiracy plot that agent Frost first warned of four or five episodes ago. However President Bartlett does manage to persuade the convenintly sentimental President Lee of China to halt his army's advance long enough for Jed to play Spencer Tracy to daughter Ellie's Liz Taylor (note: this is my second reference to Elizabeth Taylor and weddings on this blog, the other being to Virginia Senator John Warners ultimately unsuccessful, but probably once politically advantages marriage to the oft divorced actress).

The sub-plot of this episode concerns Josh's temporary loss of confidence as manager of the Santos/McGarry campaign. It seems our Mr. Lyman neglected to spend any advertising dollars in Illinois (the home state of his own vice-presidential nominee) effectively ceding its 2o+ electoral votes to the Republican ticket of Vinick/Sullivan. An unexpected endorsement from the Chicago tribune has now placed the democrat's to within 4 points of the front runner in the polls there. Now while trying to set up a "six months job" worth of networking in the "Land of Lincoln" in only six weeks, he finds his fitness to run the campaign being questioned by a former party chair and the powerful (but never before seen or mentioned) Senator Montgomery, who by the way is played by ubiquitous television guest star Robert Foxworth. Their was even some talk in the episode of replace Josh as campaign manger with Santo's running mate Leo (who ran the first Bartlett campaign eight years before), which certainly would have been interesting.

Last however I want to comment on the guy that Ellie is marrying. This is one awkwardly nerdy guy, very much a television archtype. Though I must admit that I find the idea that a socially unskilled glasses wearing guy with bad hair could marry the beautiful biochemist daughter of a popular two-term president, to be a rather reassuring one.