Hearing this song always reminds me of what I think must be my
favorite episode of “The West Wing”, “Two Cathedrals.”
Those of us who watched “The West Wing” saw it as the
government we wish we had, especially after the 2000 appointment (Yes…George W.
Bush was appointed by the Supreme Court, don’t get me started…he lost the
popular vote by over 500,000 and a consortium of newspapers/universities looked
at the ballots from Florida and agreed that by almost every method, hanging
chad or no hanging chad, Gore would have won a recount and thereby the
Presidency).
At the
end of almost every episode it would leave me on the verge of misty eyes as I
contemplated what it would be like to have people in government like Toby, Sam,
Josh, and especially, President Bartlet.
Maybe we do have people like them, but when the memoirs come
out after the Administration is gone they always seem so self-serving and CYA
boring.
“Two Cathedrals” was the second season closer. In it President
Bartlet must attend the funeral of his long time secretary, Mrs. Landingham,
who was killed in a car accident with a drunk driver in the episode before. I
remember that episode as a gut punch because it came out of nowhere.
He is also dealing with a major decision, whether he will run
for a second term, with the news starting to come out that he has MS, and has
been hiding it from almost everyone but his wife, a doctor; Leo McGarry (the
great John Spencer), his chief of staff; and several others.
Told through flashback, we see how President Bartlett came to
meet, bond with, and rely on the counsel of Mrs. Landingham.
After the funeral in the National Cathedral a clearly upset Bartlett
stops in the nave, takes a final puff from a cigarette, and crushes it on the
floor of the cathedral and in Latin says,” I give thanks to you, O Lord. Am I
really to believe that these are the acts of a loving God? A just God? A wise God? To hell with your punishments. I was your
servant here on Earth. And I spread your word and I did your work. To hell with
your punishments. To hell with you.” (translation from Television Without
Pity’s recap).
As President Bartlet later readies to face a national press
conference he sees Mrs. Landingham and says,” I have MS and I didn't tell
anybody."
Mrs. Landingham: "So you're having a little bit
of a day."
He
asks whether she's going to make jokes. She reproaches him, "God doesn't
make cars crash and you know it. Stop using me as an excuse." He says the
party's not going to want him to run. She assures him that the party will come
back. He sits down and says, "I got a secret for you, Mrs. Landingham.
I've never been the most popular guy in the Democratic Party." She sits
down as she says, "I've got a secret for you, Mr. President. Your father
was a prick who could never get over the fact that he wasn't as smart as his
brothers." She continues, "Are you in a tough spot? Yes. Do I feel
sorry for you? I do not. Why? Because there are people way worse off than you."
Bartlet: "Give me numbers."
Mrs. Landingham: I don't know numbers. You give them to
me.
Bartlet: How about a child born in this minute has a one in five chance
of being born into poverty?
Mrs. Landingham: How many Americans don't have health insurance?
Bartlet: Forty-four million.
Mrs. L: What's the number one cause of death for black men under
thirty-five?
Bartlet: Homicide.
Mrs. L: How many Americans are behind bars?
Bartlet: Three million.
Mrs. L: How many Americans are drug addicts?
Bartlet: Five million.
Mrs. L: And one in five kids in poverty?
Bartlet: That's thirteen million American children. Three and a half
million kids go to schools that are literally falling apart. We need a hundred
and twenty-seven billion in school construction and we need it today. [At this
point, there's a brief shot of the room from above, showing the Prez sitting
across from an empty chair, talking to himself.]
Mrs. L: To say nothing of fifty-three people trapped in an embassy.
Bartlet: Yes!
Mrs. Landingham: You know, if you don't want to run again, I respect
that. But if you don't run because you think it's gonna be too hard or you
think you're gonna lose, well, God, Jed, I don't even want to know you.
(This sort of
banter/conversation is Aaron Sorkin at his very best)
Mrs. Landingham walks out and President
Bartlet walks to the door to see a downpour and he steps into it. “Brothers in
Arms” begins.
Here I’d like to abrogate my duties as a blogger (whatever
that means!) and use the more succinct recap of Deborah of Television Without
Pity to describe what happens next along with their use of “Brothers in Arms”
“As the President strides
out to his limousine, with Charlie, Leo, Sam, Josh, Toby, and numerous Secret
Service agents accreting to him as he goes, the lyrics of the song
"Brothers in Arms" begin: "These mist-covered mountains/ Are a
home now for me/ But my home is the lowlands/ And always will be/ Someday
you'll return to/ Your valleys and your farms/ And you'll no longer burn/ To be
brothers in arms."
“We hear C.J. assuring a
very large crowd of reporters that the President will address their questions
as soon as he arrives. We cut back and forth between Jed and his staff getting
into the motorcade and C.J. fielding questions: "Through these fields of
destruction/ Baptisms of fire/ I've witnessed your suffering/ As the battles
raged higher/ And though they did hurt me so bad/ In the fear and alarm/ You
did not desert me/ My brothers in arms." In the back of the limo, Jed
looks much less sad and more determined; Leo tries to read his expression but
they do not speak.
“C.J. tells the clamoring crowd of reporters that a list of
prosecutors is given to a three-judge panel, and that the prosecutors as well
as the panel were all appointed by Republican Presidents. The reporters shout
and compete for C.J.'s attention; over the din, C.J. shouts, "Please! I
can only answer fourteen or fifteen questions at once!" On paper it has
the sound of her usual snappy patter, but you can hear the strain in her voice.
Donna and Margaret arrive at the press conference, looking stunned at the
commotion.
“At the National Cathedral, a janitor is cleaning the floor in a dim
light. Of course, it only reminds me of the janitor in the Nirvana video for
"Smells Like Teen Spirit," which provides me with a minimal amount of
unintended levity. The janitor finds Jed's cigarette butt and stoops to pick it
up, puzzled. He looks up and out the door as a car with sirens blazing passes;
it could be the motorcade, although the cathedral is not en route from the
White House to the State Department. Jed could have requested that the
motorcade pass the Cathedral, and his sidelong glance out the window at this
point would seem to support this theory. "There's so many different
worlds/ So many different suns/ And we have just one world/ But we live in
different ones."
“Back at the press conference, C.J. is saying she imagines subpoenas
will be issued to most senior White House staff, including her. As the
motorcade arrives at the State Department, Jed gets a bit more of a soaking. As
they walk into the building, someone hands Jed a towel to wipe his face.
"Now the sun's gone to hell/ And the moon's riding high/ Let me bid you
farewell/ Every man has to die..." C.J. is telling the reporters that she
can't comment on what kind of hearings Congress has in mind as Carol sees Jed
and the boys coming and gives C.J. the nod that POTUS has arrived. C.J.
announces, "Okay? Here now, the President of the United States."
Everybody stands. "But it's written in the starlight/ And every line on
your palm/ We're fools to make war/ On our brothers in arms." It's really
quite a beautiful song, and I know the use of pop music in such high-quality
dramas is controversial, but I think the creative minds behind this show always
give it a great deal of thought, and are selective and restrained in their
choices. As Jed passes C.J., she reminds him, "Front row, on your
right." Jed takes the podium, looking literally weatherbeaten and quite
determined. Amid a volley of flashbulb fire, Jed puts his arms up on the
podium, catching his breath, steeling himself. He makes eye contact with
Lawrence Altman, the Chief Medical Correspondent for the Times. He looks
into the crowd and points to another reporter, saying, "Yes, Sandy?"
C.J. looks slightly anxious but not altogether surprised. Sandy asks, "Mr.
President, can you tell us right now if you'll be seeking a second term?"
He pauses, and says, "I'm sorry, Sandy, there was a bit of noise there,
could you repeat the question?" Charlie watches Jed intently. Sandy:
"Can you tell us right now if you'll be seeking a second term?" C.J.,
Josh, and Sam are standing together; none of them breathes. Donna and Margaret
don't either. Leo and Toby are watching on a monitor off to the side, and Leo
turns toward the President and tells Toby, "Watch this." Jed's hands
slide off the podium and into his pockets. He looks ever so slightly off to his
left, and smiles the barest of smiles. As the storm rages on, he looks straight
ahead at the crowd. There are some droplets on his face; probably both rain and
sweat, at this point. The guitar refrain continues. Still, he says nothing. The
lines around his eyes are crinkled and there's a gleam in his eye. He smiles a
very little smile.”
God, I
loved that show!
