The West Wing revisited: A salute to whistleblowers!
Welcome back to Kheiro’s West Wing recaps, where this week it’s the president’s world and CJ’s just living in it
In her seminal work In a Different Voice, psychologist Carol Gilligan proposed an alternative form of ethics. Rather than the principle-based ethics of developmental psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg, Gilligan argued for relationship-based morals. Principle-based ethics are about measuring oneself against an abstracted ideal of What Is Right. You don’t steal from the corner bodega because Stealing Is Wrong. Relation-based ethics are, duh, relational. You don’t steal from the corner bodega because you love their cat and you want to make sure it is well fed.
Oh but how well bros can warp ethics to suit their needs!
When a man (Pres. Jed Bartlet for example) acts relationally (by, off the top of my head, killing much needed sex ed research in order to save his bro Leo from an ethics investigation), he can redefine loyalty as a principle. Thus he is still behaving as a idealistic and principled man and not an emotional softie that lets cronyism get in the way of his job. And when a woman (ohhhhhh, I don’t know, CJ Cregg maybe) does something against her self-interest because she thinks it’s the principled thing to do (like leak a story about gay rights to the Washington Post), it is recast as petty and unprofessional. And when that Post reporter refuses that story EVEN THOUGH IT IS HIS JOB TO REPORT ON THE WHITE HOUSE because he has a boner for that unprofessional woman, he is the Good Guy. He’s not a bad reporter who is getting too deeply involved with sources he’s supposed to report on objectively; he’s helping her stay professional. Cool. This episode (S1E13) is called “Take Out the Trash Day” yet Danny remains in the press pool. I don’t get it.
This is CJ’s episode; it belongs to her. She is the only person who goes on an emotional journey, she’s the only one who seems to give a hoot about the American public this episode. It is also her job to take out the trash, as explained by Josh.
Josh: Any stories we have to give the press that we’re not wild about we give all in a lump on Friday.
Donna: Why do you do it in a lump?
Josh: Instead of one at a time?
Donna: I’d think you’d want to spread them out.
Josh: They’ve got X column inches to fill, right? They’re gonna fill them no matter what.
Donna: Yes.
Josh: So if we give them one story, that story’s X column inches.
Donna: And if we give them 5 stories…
Josh: They’re a fifth the size.
Donna: Why do you do it on Friday?
Josh: Because no one reads the paper on Saturday.
Donna: You guys are real populists, aren’t you?
This Friday night news dump model is slightly outdated, what with all the 24-hour news cycles and columns not being measured by the inch anymore. The Weinstein story broke on a Saturday and that obviously did not bury it. Celebrity Take Out the Trash Day is Wednesday, by the way. Tabloids come out Tuesday, so releasing stories on Wednesdays means they won’t be in the rags for another week. Angelina Jolie announced her divorce and NBC fired Matt Lauer on Wednesdays.
One of the stories CJ buries this week: the Vice President’s advance man took a military helicopter to play golf. When the story leaks, this man is fired. Donald Trump has allegedly spent $42 million of taxpayer money playing golf this year. He has spent every day between Christmas and New Year’s golfing.
The big event, however, is the signing of hate crime legislation into law. Remember Lowell Lydell, the faux Matthew Shepard from a few episodes back? A law is being signed in his name that makes sexual orientation a protected class. It parallels the Matthew Shepard Act, which wasn’t signed into law until 2009. Bartlet may swing wildly between vanquishing his foes and capitulating to them, but at least he didn’t take 11 years to get a bill passed and signed in reaction to his high-profile hate crime. Lydell’s parents are coming to DC for the signing, and Mandy’s worried. Mr. Lydell is quiet, which she interprets as possible shame surrounding his son. That guy from Heathers may love his dead gay son, but Papa Lydell is an unknown quantity.
“This guy sells dental supplies in the Twin Cities,” says Leo. “So how enlightened do you think he’s going to be?”
Also on the docket for today is some sex ed research the White House commissioned. The Bartlet Administration wants to fund 100,000 new teachers. The opposition Congress wants to approve those teachers on the condition that schools teach abstinence-only sex ed. This new study shows unequivocally that abstinence-only sex ed doesn’t work. Everyone is very WASPy and uptight reading the report. Bartlet crosses out words he refuses to say out loud. It would be adorable if it wasn’t so indicative of a repressive attitude towards the human body that kills hundreds of people every year. I’m not saying Jed Bartlet is one of those guys who won’t wipe because they think it’s gay, but I’m not not saying it.
And finally, Josh and Sam are meeting with some jerks on Capitol Hill to talk about Leo’s drug use and Josh’s investigation into Leo’s drug use. Bartlet doesn’t want a hearing. Bartet tells Josh and Sam that he will agree to almost anything to prevent a hearing. But don’t worry, I’m sure this won’t affect any important White House policy issues. Jk jk, it totally does. In exchange for Leo being saved from disgrace and a possible shitcanning, Bartlet agrees not to mention ex-say ed-ay until after midterms.
I want to really get into this issue, so I’ll deal with the other plots quickly. Lowell Lydell’s dad isn’t homophobic; he actually feels that Bartlet isn’t doing enough for gay rights. Because his opinion in any way negative towards the president, Mandy decides the Lydell’s shouldn’t hang out at the bill signing. CJ thinks Mr. Lydell should be given a platform to express his (entirely correct) opinions. She tries to leak the story to Danny. Danny turns her down.
Danny: I’ve seen this look on the face of four other press secretaries before you. You’ve got a story in the trash this week that’s a story, you want it out there and someone said no.
CJ: They’re all stories this week.
Danny: That happens sometimes.
CJ: Four other press secretaries and you never took a free lead?
Danny: No I always took a free lead.
CJ: Then…
Danny: Not from you.
CJ: Why?
Danny: Because 20 minutes from now you’re gonna remember you’re a professional and you’re not gonna like me anymore.
So Danny plays favorites, but manages to insult her professionalism while being totally partial and unprofessional. What a mensch.
Speaking of reading everything women do as less worthy that what men do: gossip!
Mrs. Landingham chides the aides for gossiping in the White House, but these Chatty Cathies figured out who leaked Leo’s rehab documents to the GOP. It was Paris from Gilmore Girls!
Sam fires her brusquely, then Leo rehires her because he recognizes that she acted according to her principles. Paris from Gilmore Girls’ dad drank. She hints at abuse and generally sucking at parenting. So when Paris found out about Leo’s substance issues, she worried that he was unfit to lead. She snitched for her country. Leo gets it. Leo’s a good chief of staff.
But is he worth knowingly harming America’s teens? Earlier I spoke of relation- and principle-based ethics. My personal morality is pretty much utilitarianism. One should strive toward the most good for the most people. Will keeping Leo around, and saving the president from scandal, help more people than poor sex ed will hurt? The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate in the industrialized world. In 2000, when this episode aired, 15 out of every 100,000 live births resulted in the death of the mother. Today it’s 17 out of 100,000. In black women, it’s 43 out of 100,000. So we know for certain that some people will die because of Leo. This isn’t even considering the people who will contract STI’s, or the people who will become victims of sexual assault because you can’t teach consent in an abstinence-only sex ed program. I love Leo. He’s a good dude. But he’s going to have to work off a lot of dead black moms next season.
What’s Next: President Bartlet kills by inaction. Again.
Sign up to receive Kheiro straight to your inbox, and follow us on Facebook here.
