Directed by Laura Innes
Written by Lauren Schmidt & Josh Singer
Despite needing a reduced schedule due to his MS, President Bartlet spends most of a night up late discussing constitutional theory with a visiting professor who is helping a Belarusian delegation draft their constitution. The next morning, CJ must wake the President early (against his wife's wishes) to deal with the aftermath of the Iranians shooting down a British passenger plane with American passengers.
This episode contains examples of:
- Both Sides Have a Point: Toby and Lessig argue over with each other in front of the Belarusian delegation over which form of government is for the better. Lessig is in favor of the American Presidential line of government, citing that the President of the United States, while the highest public office in the country, doesn't have the right to declare war, but is the Commander-in-Chief nonetheless and is reliant on Congress for domestic matters. Toby meanwhile is defending Parliamentary governments, citing numerous countries that have gone with the British model instead, that the Prime Minister presides over meetings and where the rule of law isn't bound to a strict system. At the end of the episode, Lessig reveals to Toby that he planned that, that he wanted a vigorous argument over which form of government is better, because it would instill the idea of how lawmaking is made in the delegates, so that they can try and make their own ideas on how to draft a constitution.
- Call-Back: Lord John Marbury still calls for Leo by his nickname of "Gerald", though he also greets CJ with "you must be the new Gerald," denoting it's more a placeholder. (Another "Gerald", referred to as "Chet", is an anglicized nickname for an Iranian specialist).
- Distracted by the Sexy: Invoked by Annabeth to distract the journalist asking why Bartlet wasn't on the call to the Prime Minister. She drags him over to Toby's office to meet Miss World which buys the Senior Staff time to work out what to say.
- Even the Girls Want Her: The visiting Miss World (of Bhutan) draws much attention, to the point that various staffers drop by Toby's office with unimportant reports just to catch a glimpse of her. Margaret just appears in the doorway and says "Hi."
- Not Quite Starring: Lawrence Lessig
is played by Christopher Lloyd. - Shipper on Deck: Because of Valentine's Day, Annabeth goes around giving people candies and even wears a red blazer/skirt combo, while trying to set up various people.
