18th and Potomac

Infobox Television episode
Title = 18th and Potomac
Series = The West Wing


Caption =
Season = 2
Episode = 43
Airdate = May 92001
Production = 226221
Writer = Aaron Sorkin (teleplay)
Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. (story)
Director = Robert Berlinger
Guests = Stockard Channing
Oliver Platt
Marlee Matlin
Anna Deavere Smith
John Rubinstein
Peter Michael Goetz
Richard McGonagle
Robert Walden
Kathryn Joosten
NiCole Robinson
Gregalan Williams
Victor McCay
Glenn Morshower
Bill O'Brien
Episode list = List of "The West Wing" episodes
Season list = Infobox The West Wing season 2 episode list
Prev =
Next ="18th and Potomac" is the 43rd episode of "The West Wing".

Plot

In this episode Donna is told by Toby about the President's condition. He tells her "You're the first at the assistant level to know." In a brief conversation with Mrs. Landingham, directly before she goes to collect her new car, the President says he'd like to have a word with her on her return. Later in the show we find out that she was killed in a car crash that occurred on 18th and Potomac (The title of the episode references this pivotal event). The President is thus never able to tell her this news.

A crisis in Haiti takes much of the President and Leo's time, while the senior staff are planning the announcement of the President's MS. The democratically-elected new Haitian President is facing a military coup and the U.S. finds itself in the middle of the storm when a U.S. diplomat smuggles the new President into the safety of the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince. Later, a Noncombatant Evacuation Operation turns deadly when U.S. soldiers shoot and kill several rebel Haitians who tried to stop a plane from taking off at the airport. The senior staff recognize that a standoff is going to take place around the Embassy.

Josh follows up on his previous week's discovery that a Congressional lawsuit against major tobacco companies is running into funding problems. He's shocked to discover that the Congressional Subcommittee which is refusing to provide more money isn't doing so along lines of who takes money from Big Tobacco and who doesn't; two Congressman, a Republican and a Democrat, receive no such contributions but do not like the case's legal merits. Josh is then furious and plans to publicly embarrass the two Congressmen to get the funds unlocked.

The staff considers how to deal with the bad news of a carefully crafted poll by Joey Lucas which reveals voters have hugely negative reactions to the potential event of a politician having a potentially fatal and dangerous disease and then covering it up. They consider what kind of media reveal to have and what the future might hold for all of them. Eventually the President agrees with Leo that he should have a discussion with the staff about whether or not to seek reelection.

eries continuity

This episode confirms that Bartlet won Florida in the 1998 Presidential Election.

yndication/Broadcast differences

The episode was being broadcast in Australia while the 9/11 attacks were underway. A decision was made not to interrupt programming until during the final commercial break, just after the news concerning Mrs. Landingham was made apparent. [ [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/10/1062902114886.html The day no one can forget - www.theage.com.au ] ]

References

External links

* [http://epguides.com/WestWing/ The West Wing Episode Guide]
* [http://www.tv.com/west-wing/18th-and-potomac/episode/35871/summary.html Page on this episode]