The Leadership Breakfast

Infobox Television episode
Title = The Leadership Breakfast
Series = The West Wing


Caption =
Season = 2
Episode = 33
Airdate = January 102001
Production = 226211
Writer = Aaron Sorkin (teleplay)
Paul Redford (story)
Director = Scott Winant
Guests = Felicity Huffman
Corbin Bernsen
NiCole Robinson
Episode list = List of "The West Wing" episodes
Season list = Infobox The West Wing season 2 episode list
Prev =
Next ="The Leadership Breakfast" is the 33rd episode of "The West Wing".

Plot

Toby wants real issues to be discussed at a breakfast to herald the start of the new legislative session, including minimum wage and health care coverage. He cuts a deal with the new chief of staff for the "most powerful Republican in the country" to discuss the issues in exchange for Congress doing a press conference from Capitol Hill instead of the White House, only for her to double cross him effectively announcing that her boss is to run for President. Toby is dismayed and the President's angry at him, but Leo tells Toby that they can form their own committee: to re-elect Jed Bartlet President.

In other events, an efficiency expert suggests freeing up space by moving the Press Room to the Old Executive Office Building across the street. Sam argues such a move would be beneficial and has the question inserted into a telephone poll to see if the public would object. By bad luck a reporter is polled.

Sam and Donna spend their time trying to curry favor with an influential reporter. Sam confuses two former Soviet Republics and Donna ends up leaving lingerie at a reception.

Also Sam and Josh attempted to start a fire in the fireplace as the heat isn't working. Inevitably this leads to fire alarms and both men looking like idiots, but the President did say he should only be woken up in case the building was on fire... (This subplot is based on a real incident from the Kennedy Administration. In Ted Sorensen's book Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History, he says: "Practical jokes were one way to relieve the constant pressure. One early White House day, not realizing that his fireplace in the Oval Office was a fake, JFK created enough smoke in the West Wing to cause me to rush in imitating Dolly Madison, offering to save George Washington's portrait." (page 206))

External links

* [http://epguides.com/WestWing/ The West Wing Episode Guide]