Josh Lyman
Encyclopedia
Joshua "Josh" Lyman is a fictional character
played by Bradley Whitford
on the television drama The West Wing
. For the majority of the series, he was White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet
administration. Although he focused on domestic legislative affairs, the episode "Memorial Day" reveals that Josh holds the foreign diplomatic rank
equivalent to that of a three-star general.
Josh is portrayed as having one of the sharpest minds on the President's staff; he is a witty, somewhat cocky, boyishly charming know-it-all. He is described by Will Bailey
as "After Leo
the finest political mind in the party
" ("Opposition Research
").
, the creator of The West Wing, originally wrote Josh Lyman with long-time friend Bradley Whitford in mind. An early draft of the pilot script, dated February 6, 1998, describes Josh as being aged 38 and "a highly regarded brain." After reading the script, Whitford says he loved the character immediately and "desperately wanted" the part. While his audition impressed the show's executive producers, with Sorkin describing it as "simply the best audition for anything I'd ever seen," Warner Brothers casting director John Levey was not convinced Whitford had enough sex appeal to play a lead character and executive producer Thomas Schlamme was concerned that he did not have enough depth to carry off the more dramatic scenes. After a second audition, Whitford was offered the role of Sam Seaborn
. Whitford called Sorkin for help. "I just said, 'Aaron, I just feel this very strongly. This isn't about me wanting a job. This is the only time in my life I will play this card. I am this guy; I am not the other guy.'" Sorkin was impressed, and soon after Whitford was cast as Josh. In the very early episodes of the series, Josh was portrayed as overly tough and outspoken, but had mellowed by the end of season one, becoming more eager and simplistic in his personal demeanor, even switching places with Toby as the "hotheaded" one, as well as becoming much more markedly disorganized.
In researching for the role, Whitford says he found former Clinton
communications director George Stephanopoulos
's book All Too Human very helpful, "just because it gave a sense of the sort of smell and the texture and the level of intimacy with the president, which I was just unaware of."
Josh shares his name with a character in the Garry Trudeau
cartoon strip Doonesbury
, a White House deputy cabinet liaison encountered by Doonesbury regular Joanie Caucus
. A framed copy of a Doonesbury strip hangs in Josh's office. The character is said to be based in part on Rahm Emanuel
, although executive producer Lawrence O'Donnell denies this claim. In the season 1 episode, 'Mandatory Minimums', Josh is called "Rambo" by one of the staff after an intense telephone conversation.
. A Fulbright scholar, he graduated cum laude
from Harvard University
(where he worked at the Harvard Crimson
), and Yale Law School
, graduating c. 1984. He has been known to boast that he scored a 760 on the verbal portion of his SAT
, although he claims, when trying to explain his lack of skill in serious relationships, his IQ does not "break the bank".
Josh is a non-practicing Jew; his grandfather was held in the Nazi concentration camp Birkenau
during World War II. He had an elder sister, Joanie, who died when he was a child. She was babysitting him when a fire broke out in her home, and she died trying to put out the fire while Josh ran outside - an event which haunted Josh. Josh is an avid New York Mets
fan, once trying to finish all of his work quickly in order to travel to a Mets intrasquad spring training
game in Port St. Lucie, Florida
His father, Noah Lyman, was a litigator and an old friend of Leo McGarry
. Although Josh thinks he would have preferred grandchildren to a son in politics, Noah was proud that Josh was working for Bartlet and often bragged about his son to his friends and neighbors. He died in 1998 on the night of the Illinois primary, after developing an unexpected pulmonary embolism
while undergoing chemotherapy
for an unspecified form of cancer. His mother splits her time between Westport and West Palm Beach, Florida
, before she sells the Connecticut house.
, Josh worked as the Chief of Staff for Congressman
Earl Brennan, floor manager for the Minority Whip, Democratic
legislative director in the House of Representatives
and Democratic floor director in the Senate
. Josh later became a staffer for then-Senator John Hoynes
, the presumptive Democratic nominee for President in 1998. However, Hoynes's tendency to go against Josh's advice, and to prioritize politics over Hoynes's own ideas and convictions frustrates Josh.
Thirteen weeks before the New Hampshire primary, Josh receives a visit from Leo McGarry, an old friend of his father's. At Leo's request, Josh travels to New Hampshire to hear Bartlet speak. He is so impressed by Bartlet's prioritizing conviction and honesty over popularity, that he immediately leaves Hoynes' campaign to work for Bartlet; he also recruits his old friend Sam Seaborn
to the campaign.
Shortly after joining the Bartlet for America campaign, Josh hires recent college dropout Donnatella Moss
as his assistant despite her apparent lack of qualification. Donna remained as Josh's assistant for most of the series since then. A largely unspoken friendship, and romantic tension, exist between the two for the majority of the series.
Josh's defection from the Hoynes campaign later leads to an odd working relationship with his former boss when Josh is appointed President Bartlet's deputy chief of staff and Hoynes, his Vice President. While tension clearly exists between them, Josh often comes to Hoynes' defense (though he also gives tacit support to an abortive plan to cut Hoynes from the 2002 ticket in favor of Admiral Fitzwallace, and it's shown that Hoynes' top defender amongst the senior staffers is Sam which possibly due to Sam's staunch idealism and strict loyalty to those around him).
In the first season finale, Josh is critically wounded by gunfire from white supremacists during an assassination attempt on African-American presidential aide Charlie Young
. Josh undergoes fourteen hours of surgery and is subsequently put through intensive psychotherapy with psychiatrist Stanley Keyworth
after displaying symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
, including raising his voice to President Bartlett in the Oval Office and breaking a window in his apartment.
Though idealistic like every other member of the Bartlet administration, Josh is perhaps the most willing to resort to less than honorable tactics and has, on occasion, been known to suggest solutions and methods that others in the staff see as less than honorable, as befits his role as the senior staff's attack dog. It is not unknown for Josh to resort to threats, intimidation, lies and even blackmail, to achieve what needs to be done for the Bartlet administration.
Josh's position in the Bartlet administration is temporarily compromised after he leaks information to the press about an anonymous hold on military promotions placed by Idaho
Senator Chris Carrick. Carrick had been trying to secure a promise from the White House that a missile defense system would be built in his home state, but Josh's competitive nature will not allow him to make a compromise. After the leak, Senator Carrick releases the hold but resigns from the Democratic Party, informing Josh that he will seek re-election as a Republican
and citing Josh as a key reason for his defection.
The embarrassment to the administration and to the party leads Leo to leave Josh out of key budget negotiations, negotiations which eventually result in a complete shutdown of the federal government. Josh soon finds himself stripped of much of his political authority, as freelance political advisor Angela Blake takes up many of his duties. He eventually returns from isolation after the First Lady pointedly asks President Bartlet "Where's Josh?" Josh is the only senior staffer to support the President's firm stand against Speaker Jeff Haffley
; the President's eventual political victory over Haffley during this conflict is largely due to Josh's advice.
Towards the end of Bartlet's administration, John Hoynes publishes an autobiography as the first step in his return to politics; the book devotes many pages to praising Josh, whom Hoynes attempts to recruit as manager for Hoynes's presidential campaign. Josh decides that he doesn't want Hoynes (or current VP Bob Russell) to be President, and instead convinces Texas Congressman Matt Santos
to run for president, much in the same way Leo McGarry
recruited Bartlet eight years prior.
Josh leaves his position at the White House to run the dark horse
Presidential campaign of Representative Matt Santos of Texas; leaving his legislative portfolio to be taken up by Clifford Calley
. The Santos campaign initially loses the Iowa caucus
, comes in third in the New Hampshire primary
at 19% and goes on to win a come-from-behind victory in the California primary. Santos wins the Texas primary and the final New Jersey primary by a slim margin.
Going into the Democratic National Convention
no candidate has enough delegates to win the nomination, with delegates split between front runner Vice President Bob Russell
, Rep. Santos and former Vice President John Hoynes. At the convention Pennsylvania
Governor Eric Baker attempts an upstart campaign from the convention floor that further fractures the delegates. Ultimately Santos wins the nomination after a stirring convention speech that was expected to be his concession, and behind the scenes maneuvering by President Bartlet. Josh is influential in recruiting Leo McGarry
as the vice presidential nominee, and rises to become campaign manager for the Santos/McGarry Campaign. (The Santos nomination is similar to the struggles that Governor Bartlet had in his dark horse victory over Senator Hoynes during the 1998 campaign.)
After Matt Santos is elected President of the United States in a narrow victory over Republican Senator Arnold Vinick
, Josh becomes the White House Chief of Staff
of the incoming Santos Administration. In his last appearance in the series, he is meeting privately with President Santos in the Oval Office
.
, who played Leo McGarry, described his character's relationship with Josh as a mentor
ing one, with Leo regarding Josh as a younger version of himself. Leo was an old friend of Josh's father, Noah Lyman. It is this connection that Leo used to get Josh to travel and see then Gov. Bartlet speak and later to join Governor Bartlet's presidential campaign in the first place.
Assistant Secretary of State
Albie Duncan refers to Josh as "McGarry's boy," and Bartlet believes that Josh would throw out the baby, the bath water and the bathtub
in order to avoid letting Leo down. Both have shown strong loyalty to one another, with Josh going to great lengths to prevent damaging details of Leo's past drug addiction and alcoholism from being made public and Leo supporting Josh as he struggles with post traumatic stress disorder, promising that "as long as I got a job, you got a job." After Leo's death, President Bartlet says that Leo thought of Josh as a son.
, portrayed by Janel Moloney
, was originally slated to be a minor recurring character; however, the chemistry between the two actors caught producers' attention early on. After seeing Moloney and Whitford perform together in the pilot, Aaron Sorkin added a scene in which Donna argues with Josh to change his shirt before attending a meeting, eventually convincing him by saying that "All the girls think you look really hot in this shirt." Although Mandy Hampton
was originally intended to be Josh's romantic interest, by the end of the show's first season the character had been written out and the role taken over by Donna.
During the first four seasons, the relationship remains in stasis, with neither daring to make any real romantic move on the other. Sorkin admits that he was more inclined to move the relationship forward, but every time he discussed the possibility fellow executive producer Thomas Schlamme would shout, "No! Wait another year!" Besides, adds Sorkin, "Sexual and romantic tension is, to me, much more fun than taking the tension away by having the sex and romance."
Other characters occasionally speculate on the pair's relationship. When Donna encourages Josh to ask Joey Lucas
on a date, Joey guesses that Donna is attempting to cover her own feelings for Josh through misdirection. During the same episode Josh and Sam Seaborn discuss why Donna was being so pushy about asking out Joey Lucas; Josh comments that he wonders why Donna wouldn't be jealous to which Sam asked if Josh gets jealous when Donna has dates. Josh says he doesn't but does everything in his power to stop or hinder the dates from happening. During her first meeting with Josh, Amy Gardner
asks him if he is dating his assistant, and later asks Donna directly, "Are you in love with Josh?", we do not see Donna's answer. When Donna recruits Josh to help her get a date with Jack Reese
, Josh's behavior leads Jack to wonder whether he is getting "in between anything".
Following Sorkin and Schlamme's departure from the series at the end of the fourth season, the relationship takes some new turns, with Donna attempting to broaden her horizons past Josh and pursue her own social life outside of the White House. When Donna is badly injured in a terrorist attack in Gaza, Josh rushes overseas to keep vigil at her bedside at a military hospital in Germany. In the sixth season episode "Impact Winter
," Donna finally breaks loose and quits her job as assistant to Josh, seeing no chance of career advancement. She joins the Russell
campaign, which later puts her in direct confrontation with her former boss. After Santos
beats Russell for the Democratic nomination, Donna wants to return as Josh's deputy in season 7 premiere "The Ticket
," but he finds himself forced to reject her as she is on record trashing his candidate while she was still working for the other team. During their conversation he reveals that he misses her "every day." Donna is eventually hired anyway and Josh gets over his objections when he realizes her past working for Russell is not a problem for the Santos campaign.
In the season seven episode "The Cold
," Josh and Donna kiss passionately as she brings him the good news that Congressman Santos has caught up to Vinick
and that they are tied in the national tracking polls. Josh apologizes, saying the kiss was "inappropriate", but Donna says "it was bound to happen sometime." Donna talks to Will, who says pursuing a relationship with Josh wouldn't be inappropriate, and to talk to C.J. about the matter. Later in the episode, Donna discreetly leaves the key to her hotel room on the table for Josh, but Edith Ortega notices the key before Josh can retrieve it and returns the key to Donna. In "Election Day
," Josh and Donna consummate their relationship, sleeping together twice, both times on her initiative. Donna gives Josh four weeks to figure out "what they want from each other." She insists that if this cannot happen within four weeks, their relationship will remain in a constant state of ambiguity, which is not what Donna wants. After talking to Lou as well as his deputy-of-choice Sam Seaborn
, Josh realizes that he desperately needs to take a break from work. At the end of the episode, Josh and Donna go on vacation together.
In the series finale "Tomorrow
," Josh and Donna wake up in bed together on the morning of Inauguration Day – ten weeks after Donna set the four week deadline.
After Sam leaves the White House at the end of Bartlet's first term to run for Congress, the role of Josh's counterpart is taken over by Toby Ziegler although that relationship becomes frayed due to Josh also leaving the White House to run the presidential campaign of Matthew Santos. After Santos is elected, once again Josh quickly resolves to include Sam (who lost his Congressional bid) by offering him the position of Deputy Chief of Staff, which Sam ultimately accepts, though after giving a frazzled Josh an ultimatum: get much-needed R&R for a few weeks or watch Sam return to California and never come back. Josh and Sam's last scene shows them together in the Oval Office for the new President's first briefing.
to run the Santos campaign, he discovers that Toby has been informally advising dark-horse candidate Sen. Ricky Rafferty and has given her position statements originally drawn up by the Bartlet campaign. In a confrontation that turns physical, Toby accuses Josh of abandoning Bartlet at a time when he was needed. Obliquely in that conversation, and more explicitly in the next season, Toby admits to Josh that one reason for his anger was that he wanted to run a campaign with Josh. Toby was also affected by the recent suicide of his brother, who was diagnosed with cancer. Toby complained that he could have had years, but instead he just walked away; unable to express his anger at his brother for abandoning him, he projected it onto Josh. Their anger expressed and confronted, the two appear to repair their professional relationship, and Josh seeks Toby's advice covertly throughout the general election campaign.
Josh and Will developed a working friendship and was not initially angered by Will's defection to work with the Vice President. Will acknowledges Josh as "the finest mind in the Democratic party" second only to Leo McGarry
and as such lobbies Josh to run the Vice President's campaign. As Will put it he wanted Josh to make the Vice President a candidate that America would vote for and when the Vice President won the Presidency the two would work together to make him a worthy President. Josh turns down the offer but the two work together to stop what Josh views as a faulty Patient's Bill of Rights that the Republican Congress was trying to pass which Will was against mainly because it was a campaign subject that he wished the Vice President to address. However it is through working against the bill that Josh realizes how politically savvy Congressman Matt Santos
is which leads to Josh picking him as his "fantasy candidate" for the Presidency several episodes later. However relationship between Josh and Will becomes considerably antagonistic during the '06 primaries when Josh became the campaign manager to Texas Congressman Matt Santos as Santos ran for the Democratic Nomination just as Will's candidate Vice President Bob Russell ran for the party's nomination. Will can't understand why Josh would pour that political talent into backing a candidate with such little chance of success, while Josh questions Will's integrity, both for backing an unworthy candidate, and for his methods. The two eventually come to a head as the Democratic National Convention heats up, the two spark an argument just prior to the convention in the Roosevelt Room in the west wing of the White House which irritates Leo McGarry who had become the Convention Chair under the orders of President Bartlet. Despite the tough politicking between the two, their aggression disappears once Santos is named the Democratic Presidential Nominee and the rivalry becomes moot. Following the nomination of Santos, the two are seen drinking beers together in the backroom of the convention.
he is impressed by his conviction and sees in him the same willingness to put his beliefs before political profit as he did in President Bartlet. Santos at that point was ready to leave Washington and national politics to go back to Houston and spend more time with his family. When Josh gets caught up between offers from both major democratic candidates for the presidential nomination 2006, Vice President Bob Russell and former Vice President John Hoynes, he decides that he doesn't want to work for either of them. After a discussion with his mentor Leo McGarry Josh discovers that he already found his guy, Congressman Santos. He flies down to Houston to pitch Santos his plan to make him President of the United States and after a few days Santos accepts by telling Josh "I'm in, if you're in with me". The two start a close relationship which appears to be complicated when they got into a number of fights, but it comes across very clear that they care for each other, like in the Season 6 episode "La Palabra" when Josh urged Santos not to put his personal financial future at risk just to continue the campaign. During the general elections campaign 2006 Santos seems to be ready to fire Josh as Campaign manager in "The Wedding" but he keeps him on and ends up winning the elections. In "Election Day Part II", just after the final state (Nevada) was called, Santos looks at Josh across the room and thanks him, acknowledging that Josh was the major architect behind his victory. Despite their close relationship Santos has his own mind and disagrees with Josh at times due to Josh's willingness to resort to dirty politicking (early on in the Democratic Primaries) and when Santos passes Josh over to run his Presidential transition team (however Santos argues that it kept Josh from "saying no" to the people Josh would later have to deal with in his capacity as Santos's Chief of Staff). Despite this Santos considers Josh his top advisor (akin to Leo McGarry to Jed Bartlet) and tends to listen to Josh more often than not (examples would be when Josh recommended Leo McGarry as Santos's running-mate and also when Josh told Santos not to meddle in the Speakership race). Another example of the connection the two have is shown when Santos begins to have concern for Josh's well-being when Josh seems to overwork himself during the transition. Santos questions Donna Moss about Josh's personal life and asks her whether Josh is seeing anyone or ever has any fun. When Josh decides to take a vacation, Santos remarks that he would "drive Josh to the airport himself if it didn't require a motorcade". In the final episode Josh assumes his new position as White House Chief of Staff.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
played by Bradley Whitford
Bradley Whitford
Bradley Whitford is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman on the NBC television drama The West Wing, as Danny Tripp on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, as Dan Stark in the Fox police buddy-comedy The Good Guys, as...
on the television drama The West Wing
The West Wing (TV series)
The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 14, 2006...
. For the majority of the series, he was White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character played by Martin Sheen on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is President of the United States for the entire series until the last episode, when his successor is inaugurated...
administration. Although he focused on domestic legislative affairs, the episode "Memorial Day" reveals that Josh holds the foreign diplomatic rank
Diplomatic rank
Diplomatic rank is the system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. Over time it has been formalized on an international basis.-Ranks:...
equivalent to that of a three-star general.
Josh is portrayed as having one of the sharpest minds on the President's staff; he is a witty, somewhat cocky, boyishly charming know-it-all. He is described by Will Bailey
Will Bailey
William "Will" Bailey, is a fictional character played by Joshua Malina on the television serial drama The West Wing, holding various posts in the White House Office of Communications, Office of the Vice President and a backbencher Congressman .-Character biography:Will grew up in Belgium, as his...
as "After Leo
Leo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White...
the finest political mind in the party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
" ("Opposition Research
Opposition Research
"Opposition Research" is episode 121 of The West Wing.Alan Alda, Stockard Channing, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Mary McCormack, and John Spencer do not appear in this episode.-Plot:...
").
Creation and development
Aaron SorkinAaron Sorkin
Aaron Benjamin Sorkin is an Academy and Emmy award winning American screenwriter, producer, and playwright, whose works include A Few Good Men, The American President, The West Wing, Sports Night, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The Social Network, and Moneyball.After graduating from Syracuse...
, the creator of The West Wing, originally wrote Josh Lyman with long-time friend Bradley Whitford in mind. An early draft of the pilot script, dated February 6, 1998, describes Josh as being aged 38 and "a highly regarded brain." After reading the script, Whitford says he loved the character immediately and "desperately wanted" the part. While his audition impressed the show's executive producers, with Sorkin describing it as "simply the best audition for anything I'd ever seen," Warner Brothers casting director John Levey was not convinced Whitford had enough sex appeal to play a lead character and executive producer Thomas Schlamme was concerned that he did not have enough depth to carry off the more dramatic scenes. After a second audition, Whitford was offered the role of Sam Seaborn
Sam Seaborn
Samuel Norman "Sam" Seaborn is a fictional character portrayed by Rob Lowe on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is best known for being Deputy White House Communications Director in the Josiah Bartlet administration throughout the first four seasons of the series.-Creation and...
. Whitford called Sorkin for help. "I just said, 'Aaron, I just feel this very strongly. This isn't about me wanting a job. This is the only time in my life I will play this card. I am this guy; I am not the other guy.'" Sorkin was impressed, and soon after Whitford was cast as Josh. In the very early episodes of the series, Josh was portrayed as overly tough and outspoken, but had mellowed by the end of season one, becoming more eager and simplistic in his personal demeanor, even switching places with Toby as the "hotheaded" one, as well as becoming much more markedly disorganized.
In researching for the role, Whitford says he found former Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
communications director George Stephanopoulos
George Stephanopoulos
George Robert Stephanopoulos is an American television journalist and a former political advisor.Stephanopoulos is most well known as the chief political correspondent for ABC News – the news division of the broadcast television network ABC – and a co-anchor of ABC News's morning news...
's book All Too Human very helpful, "just because it gave a sense of the sort of smell and the texture and the level of intimacy with the president, which I was just unaware of."
Josh shares his name with a character in the Garry Trudeau
Garry Trudeau
Garretson Beekman "Garry" Trudeau is an American cartoonist, best known for the Doonesbury comic strip.-Background and education:...
cartoon strip Doonesbury
Doonesbury
Doonesbury is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau, that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title character, Michael Doonesbury, who has progressed from a college...
, a White House deputy cabinet liaison encountered by Doonesbury regular Joanie Caucus
Joanie Caucus
Joanie Caucus is a character in Garry Trudeau's comics strip Doonesbury.She first appeared in September 1972 in which she has a fight with her husband, Clinton, over her rights as a woman. She finds that her recently acquired feminist beliefs clash with his idea of how a wife should behave, and she...
. A framed copy of a Doonesbury strip hangs in Josh's office. The character is said to be based in part on Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel is an American politician and the 55th and current Mayor of Chicago. He was formerly White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama...
, although executive producer Lawrence O'Donnell denies this claim. In the season 1 episode, 'Mandatory Minimums', Josh is called "Rambo" by one of the staff after an intense telephone conversation.
Personal history
Josh comes from Westport, ConnecticutWestport, Connecticut
-Neighborhoods:* Saugatuck – around the Westport railroad station near the southwestern corner of the town – a built-up area with some restaurants, stores and offices....
. A Fulbright scholar, he graduated cum laude
Latin honors
Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. This system is primarily used in the United States, Canada, and in many countries of continental Europe, though some institutions also use the English translation of these...
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(where he worked at the Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson, the daily student newspaper of Harvard University, was founded in 1873. It is the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates...
), and Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
, graduating c. 1984. He has been known to boast that he scored a 760 on the verbal portion of his SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
, although he claims, when trying to explain his lack of skill in serious relationships, his IQ does not "break the bank".
Josh is a non-practicing Jew; his grandfather was held in the Nazi concentration camp Birkenau
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
during World War II. He had an elder sister, Joanie, who died when he was a child. She was babysitting him when a fire broke out in her home, and she died trying to put out the fire while Josh ran outside - an event which haunted Josh. Josh is an avid New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
fan, once trying to finish all of his work quickly in order to travel to a Mets intrasquad spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
game in Port St. Lucie, Florida
Port St. Lucie, Florida
Port St. Lucie is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The population of Port St. Lucie was 88,769 at the 2000 census but grew rapidly during the 2000s. In 2009 the State of Florida estimated the City's population at 155,251. Port St. Lucie forms part of a metropolitan area called...
His father, Noah Lyman, was a litigator and an old friend of Leo McGarry
Leo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White...
. Although Josh thinks he would have preferred grandchildren to a son in politics, Noah was proud that Josh was working for Bartlet and often bragged about his son to his friends and neighbors. He died in 1998 on the night of the Illinois primary, after developing an unexpected pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism is a blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its branches by a substance that has travelled from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream . Usually this is due to embolism of a thrombus from the deep veins in the legs, a process termed venous thromboembolism...
while undergoing chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
for an unspecified form of cancer. His mother splits her time between Westport and West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
, before she sells the Connecticut house.
Professional history
Before working for President Josiah BartletJosiah Bartlet
Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character played by Martin Sheen on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is President of the United States for the entire series until the last episode, when his successor is inaugurated...
, Josh worked as the Chief of Staff for Congressman
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
Earl Brennan, floor manager for the Minority Whip, Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
legislative director in the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and Democratic floor director in the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. Josh later became a staffer for then-Senator John Hoynes
John Hoynes
John Hoynes is a fictional character played by Tim Matheson on the American television series The West Wing. Hoynes is Vice President of the United States during the first four seasons of the show....
, the presumptive Democratic nominee for President in 1998. However, Hoynes's tendency to go against Josh's advice, and to prioritize politics over Hoynes's own ideas and convictions frustrates Josh.
Thirteen weeks before the New Hampshire primary, Josh receives a visit from Leo McGarry, an old friend of his father's. At Leo's request, Josh travels to New Hampshire to hear Bartlet speak. He is so impressed by Bartlet's prioritizing conviction and honesty over popularity, that he immediately leaves Hoynes' campaign to work for Bartlet; he also recruits his old friend Sam Seaborn
Sam Seaborn
Samuel Norman "Sam" Seaborn is a fictional character portrayed by Rob Lowe on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is best known for being Deputy White House Communications Director in the Josiah Bartlet administration throughout the first four seasons of the series.-Creation and...
to the campaign.
Shortly after joining the Bartlet for America campaign, Josh hires recent college dropout Donnatella Moss
Donna Moss
Donnatella "Donna" Moss is a fictional character played by Janel Moloney on the television serial drama The West Wing. Donna is a recurring character during the first season, although she appears in every episode, making her a de facto regular...
as his assistant despite her apparent lack of qualification. Donna remained as Josh's assistant for most of the series since then. A largely unspoken friendship, and romantic tension, exist between the two for the majority of the series.
Josh's defection from the Hoynes campaign later leads to an odd working relationship with his former boss when Josh is appointed President Bartlet's deputy chief of staff and Hoynes, his Vice President. While tension clearly exists between them, Josh often comes to Hoynes' defense (though he also gives tacit support to an abortive plan to cut Hoynes from the 2002 ticket in favor of Admiral Fitzwallace, and it's shown that Hoynes' top defender amongst the senior staffers is Sam which possibly due to Sam's staunch idealism and strict loyalty to those around him).
In the first season finale, Josh is critically wounded by gunfire from white supremacists during an assassination attempt on African-American presidential aide Charlie Young
Charlie Young
Charles 'Charlie' Young is a fictional character played by Dulé Hill on the television serial drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he is the Personal Aide to President Josiah Bartlet.-Creation and development:...
. Josh undergoes fourteen hours of surgery and is subsequently put through intensive psychotherapy with psychiatrist Stanley Keyworth
Stanley Keyworth
Stanley Keyworth is a fictional psychiatrist, played by Adam Arkin, who appears on the television serial drama The West Wing. Making his first appearance in season 2, he reappeared in seasons 3 and 4....
after displaying symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
, including raising his voice to President Bartlett in the Oval Office and breaking a window in his apartment.
Though idealistic like every other member of the Bartlet administration, Josh is perhaps the most willing to resort to less than honorable tactics and has, on occasion, been known to suggest solutions and methods that others in the staff see as less than honorable, as befits his role as the senior staff's attack dog. It is not unknown for Josh to resort to threats, intimidation, lies and even blackmail, to achieve what needs to be done for the Bartlet administration.
Josh's position in the Bartlet administration is temporarily compromised after he leaks information to the press about an anonymous hold on military promotions placed by Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
Senator Chris Carrick. Carrick had been trying to secure a promise from the White House that a missile defense system would be built in his home state, but Josh's competitive nature will not allow him to make a compromise. After the leak, Senator Carrick releases the hold but resigns from the Democratic Party, informing Josh that he will seek re-election as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and citing Josh as a key reason for his defection.
The embarrassment to the administration and to the party leads Leo to leave Josh out of key budget negotiations, negotiations which eventually result in a complete shutdown of the federal government. Josh soon finds himself stripped of much of his political authority, as freelance political advisor Angela Blake takes up many of his duties. He eventually returns from isolation after the First Lady pointedly asks President Bartlet "Where's Josh?" Josh is the only senior staffer to support the President's firm stand against Speaker Jeff Haffley
Jeff Haffley
Jeffrey Haffley, played by Steven Culp, is a recurring fictional character on the American television show The West Wing. A staunch Republican, Jeff Haffley replaces Glen Allen Walken as Speaker of the House early in the fifth season...
; the President's eventual political victory over Haffley during this conflict is largely due to Josh's advice.
Towards the end of Bartlet's administration, John Hoynes publishes an autobiography as the first step in his return to politics; the book devotes many pages to praising Josh, whom Hoynes attempts to recruit as manager for Hoynes's presidential campaign. Josh decides that he doesn't want Hoynes (or current VP Bob Russell) to be President, and instead convinces Texas Congressman Matt Santos
Matt Santos
Matthew Vincente "Matt" Santos is a fictional character on the American television show The West Wing, played by Jimmy Smits. His initial appearance is as a Democratic U.S. Representative from Houston, Texas. According to West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie, Santos was based on the then...
to run for president, much in the same way Leo McGarry
Leo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White...
recruited Bartlet eight years prior.
Josh leaves his position at the White House to run the dark horse
Dark horse
Dark horse is a term used to describe a little-known person or thing that emerges to prominence, especially in a competition of some sort.-Origin:The term began as horse racing parlance...
Presidential campaign of Representative Matt Santos of Texas; leaving his legislative portfolio to be taken up by Clifford Calley
Clifford Calley
Clifford "Cliff" Calley is a fictional character played by Mark Feuerstein on the television serial drama The West Wing. Appointed Director of Legislative affairs to fill the political planning void after Josh Lyman left the White House to serve as campaign manager for presidential candidate Matt...
. The Santos campaign initially loses the Iowa caucus
Iowa caucus
The Iowa caucuses are an electoral event in which residents of the U.S. state of Iowa meet in precinct caucuses in all of Iowa's 1784 precincts and elect delegates to the corresponding county conventions. There are 99 counties in Iowa and thus 99 conventions...
, comes in third in the New Hampshire primary
New Hampshire primary
The New Hampshire primary is the first in a series of nationwide political party primary elections held in the United States every four years , as part of the process of choosing the Democratic and Republican nominees for the presidential elections to be held the subsequent November.Although only a...
at 19% and goes on to win a come-from-behind victory in the California primary. Santos wins the Texas primary and the final New Jersey primary by a slim margin.
Going into the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
no candidate has enough delegates to win the nomination, with delegates split between front runner Vice President Bob Russell
Bob Russell (The West Wing)
Robert 'Bingo Bob' Russell is a fictional character played by Gary Cole on the television serial drama The West Wing.After the resignation of Vice President John Hoynes due to a sex scandal in May 2003, the Bartlet Administration was forced to replace him with another Democrat...
, Rep. Santos and former Vice President John Hoynes. At the convention Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
Governor Eric Baker attempts an upstart campaign from the convention floor that further fractures the delegates. Ultimately Santos wins the nomination after a stirring convention speech that was expected to be his concession, and behind the scenes maneuvering by President Bartlet. Josh is influential in recruiting Leo McGarry
Leo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White...
as the vice presidential nominee, and rises to become campaign manager for the Santos/McGarry Campaign. (The Santos nomination is similar to the struggles that Governor Bartlet had in his dark horse victory over Senator Hoynes during the 1998 campaign.)
After Matt Santos is elected President of the United States in a narrow victory over Republican Senator Arnold Vinick
Arnold Vinick
Arnold Vinick is a fictional character on the television series The West Wing played by Alan Alda.-Biography:A Republican senator from California and Republican presidential nominee, he is narrowly defeated by Democrat Matt Santos in the 2006 presidential election, with Vinick winning the popular...
, Josh becomes the White House Chief of Staff
White House Chief of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:...
of the incoming Santos Administration. In his last appearance in the series, he is meeting privately with President Santos in the Oval Office
Oval Office
The Oval Office, located in the West Wing of the White House, is the official office of the President of the United States.The room features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk, and a fireplace at the north end...
.
Leo McGarry
John SpencerJohn Spencer (actor)
John Spencer was an American film and television actor. He was most widely known for playing White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry on the NBC political drama series The West Wing, which earned him an Emmy Award in 2002.-Early life:Spencer was born as John Speshock, Jr. in New York City, and...
, who played Leo McGarry, described his character's relationship with Josh as a mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
ing one, with Leo regarding Josh as a younger version of himself. Leo was an old friend of Josh's father, Noah Lyman. It is this connection that Leo used to get Josh to travel and see then Gov. Bartlet speak and later to join Governor Bartlet's presidential campaign in the first place.
Assistant Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
Albie Duncan refers to Josh as "McGarry's boy," and Bartlet believes that Josh would throw out the baby, the bath water and the bathtub
Throw out the baby with the bath water
Throw out the baby with the bath water is an idiomatic expression used to suggest an avoidable error in which something good is eliminated when trying to get rid of something bad, or in other words, rejecting the essential along with the inessential....
in order to avoid letting Leo down. Both have shown strong loyalty to one another, with Josh going to great lengths to prevent damaging details of Leo's past drug addiction and alcoholism from being made public and Leo supporting Josh as he struggles with post traumatic stress disorder, promising that "as long as I got a job, you got a job." After Leo's death, President Bartlet says that Leo thought of Josh as a son.
Donna Moss
Josh's assistant Donna MossDonna Moss
Donnatella "Donna" Moss is a fictional character played by Janel Moloney on the television serial drama The West Wing. Donna is a recurring character during the first season, although she appears in every episode, making her a de facto regular...
, portrayed by Janel Moloney
Janel Moloney
Janel Moloney is an American actress, best known for her role as Donnatella "Donna" Moss on the television series The West Wing.-Personal life:...
, was originally slated to be a minor recurring character; however, the chemistry between the two actors caught producers' attention early on. After seeing Moloney and Whitford perform together in the pilot, Aaron Sorkin added a scene in which Donna argues with Josh to change his shirt before attending a meeting, eventually convincing him by saying that "All the girls think you look really hot in this shirt." Although Mandy Hampton
Mandy Hampton
Dr. Madeline 'Mandy' Hampton is a fictional character played by Moira Kelly on the American serial drama television series The West Wing. She was White House media consultant during the first season of the show, and the former girlfriend of Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman, with whom...
was originally intended to be Josh's romantic interest, by the end of the show's first season the character had been written out and the role taken over by Donna.
During the first four seasons, the relationship remains in stasis, with neither daring to make any real romantic move on the other. Sorkin admits that he was more inclined to move the relationship forward, but every time he discussed the possibility fellow executive producer Thomas Schlamme would shout, "No! Wait another year!" Besides, adds Sorkin, "Sexual and romantic tension is, to me, much more fun than taking the tension away by having the sex and romance."
Other characters occasionally speculate on the pair's relationship. When Donna encourages Josh to ask Joey Lucas
Joey Lucas
Josephine "Joey" Lucas, is a fictional character on the television serial drama The West Wing, a California-based pollster and political operative played by Marlee Matlin...
on a date, Joey guesses that Donna is attempting to cover her own feelings for Josh through misdirection. During the same episode Josh and Sam Seaborn discuss why Donna was being so pushy about asking out Joey Lucas; Josh comments that he wonders why Donna wouldn't be jealous to which Sam asked if Josh gets jealous when Donna has dates. Josh says he doesn't but does everything in his power to stop or hinder the dates from happening. During her first meeting with Josh, Amy Gardner
Amy Gardner
Amelia "Amy" Gardner is a fictional character on the American television series The West Wing, portrayed by Mary-Louise Parker. Politically skilled and a strong advocate on feminist causes, the character holds various jobs throughout the timeline depicted on The West Wing, both in public-advocacy...
asks him if he is dating his assistant, and later asks Donna directly, "Are you in love with Josh?", we do not see Donna's answer. When Donna recruits Josh to help her get a date with Jack Reese
Jack Reese
Lieutenant Commander Jack Reese, U.S. Navy, is a fictional character played by Christian Slater on television serial drama, The West Wing.Upon commissioning, he evidently entered the Navy's Submarine Service...
, Josh's behavior leads Jack to wonder whether he is getting "in between anything".
Following Sorkin and Schlamme's departure from the series at the end of the fourth season, the relationship takes some new turns, with Donna attempting to broaden her horizons past Josh and pursue her own social life outside of the White House. When Donna is badly injured in a terrorist attack in Gaza, Josh rushes overseas to keep vigil at her bedside at a military hospital in Germany. In the sixth season episode "Impact Winter
Impact Winter (The West Wing)
-Plot:In China, an impaired President Bartlet is having trouble sitting through meetings following his MS attack, but pushes through on his plans to meet individually with the Chinese Premier about North Korea--a step that produces an extraordinary agreement for a regional conference on the North's...
," Donna finally breaks loose and quits her job as assistant to Josh, seeing no chance of career advancement. She joins the Russell
Bob Russell (The West Wing)
Robert 'Bingo Bob' Russell is a fictional character played by Gary Cole on the television serial drama The West Wing.After the resignation of Vice President John Hoynes due to a sex scandal in May 2003, the Bartlet Administration was forced to replace him with another Democrat...
campaign, which later puts her in direct confrontation with her former boss. After Santos
Matt Santos
Matthew Vincente "Matt" Santos is a fictional character on the American television show The West Wing, played by Jimmy Smits. His initial appearance is as a Democratic U.S. Representative from Houston, Texas. According to West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie, Santos was based on the then...
beats Russell for the Democratic nomination, Donna wants to return as Josh's deputy in season 7 premiere "The Ticket
The Ticket (The West Wing)
"The Ticket" is episode 133 of The West Wing, and the first episode of the seventh season.-Plot:The season opener starts with a scene from three years in the future; a reunion of several main characters at the opening of Bartlet's Presidential library. References are made to the lives of the...
," but he finds himself forced to reject her as she is on record trashing his candidate while she was still working for the other team. During their conversation he reveals that he misses her "every day." Donna is eventually hired anyway and Josh gets over his objections when he realizes her past working for Russell is not a problem for the Santos campaign.
In the season seven episode "The Cold
The Cold
"The Cold" is episode 145 of The West Wing. This episode contained the final performance of cast member John Spencer .-Plot:...
," Josh and Donna kiss passionately as she brings him the good news that Congressman Santos has caught up to Vinick
Arnold Vinick
Arnold Vinick is a fictional character on the television series The West Wing played by Alan Alda.-Biography:A Republican senator from California and Republican presidential nominee, he is narrowly defeated by Democrat Matt Santos in the 2006 presidential election, with Vinick winning the popular...
and that they are tied in the national tracking polls. Josh apologizes, saying the kiss was "inappropriate", but Donna says "it was bound to happen sometime." Donna talks to Will, who says pursuing a relationship with Josh wouldn't be inappropriate, and to talk to C.J. about the matter. Later in the episode, Donna discreetly leaves the key to her hotel room on the table for Josh, but Edith Ortega notices the key before Josh can retrieve it and returns the key to Donna. In "Election Day
Election Day Part I
"Election Day Part I" is episode 148 of The West Wing. It is set during the 2006 presidential election.- Plot :The episode opens with the Santos campaign staff enjoying drinking in a hotel bar and revealing the various "intimate relationships" between the staffers as they all head off to bed...
," Josh and Donna consummate their relationship, sleeping together twice, both times on her initiative. Donna gives Josh four weeks to figure out "what they want from each other." She insists that if this cannot happen within four weeks, their relationship will remain in a constant state of ambiguity, which is not what Donna wants. After talking to Lou as well as his deputy-of-choice Sam Seaborn
Sam Seaborn
Samuel Norman "Sam" Seaborn is a fictional character portrayed by Rob Lowe on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is best known for being Deputy White House Communications Director in the Josiah Bartlet administration throughout the first four seasons of the series.-Creation and...
, Josh realizes that he desperately needs to take a break from work. At the end of the episode, Josh and Donna go on vacation together.
In the series finale "Tomorrow
Tomorrow (The West Wing)
"Tomorrow" is the 154th episode and the series finale of the American television show The West Wing. It originally aired on May 14, 2006.-Plot:...
," Josh and Donna wake up in bed together on the morning of Inauguration Day – ten weeks after Donna set the four week deadline.
Sam Seaborn
Sam is Josh's best friend, to the point that Sam considers him a brother. After Leo recruited Josh to the campaign, Josh's first stop was to recruit Sam (who was working, unhappily, at a law firm) to join them. Although from opposite coasts and possessing distinctly different personalities (Sam is polite, organized, and awkward while Josh is more harried, aggressive, and cocky) the two manage to be very much in sync and possess a common intellect, sense of humor and idealism. As two of the youngest members of the senior staff they occasionally get themselves in trouble for various schemes and incidents, usually with the best intentions. Both of them share a very similar gap between their professional and personal competence—they are both portrayed as immature, simple-minded and lacking in common sense when it comes to unimportant issues, but in contrast, are extremely effective and brilliant at their jobs. Much like the relationship between Jed Bartlet and Leo McGarry, Josh and Sam's friendship extends far past their role as co-workers and the two are each other's confidants on personal matters and relationship troubles. They even spend some holidays together when not going home.After Sam leaves the White House at the end of Bartlet's first term to run for Congress, the role of Josh's counterpart is taken over by Toby Ziegler although that relationship becomes frayed due to Josh also leaving the White House to run the presidential campaign of Matthew Santos. After Santos is elected, once again Josh quickly resolves to include Sam (who lost his Congressional bid) by offering him the position of Deputy Chief of Staff, which Sam ultimately accepts, though after giving a frazzled Josh an ultimatum: get much-needed R&R for a few weeks or watch Sam return to California and never come back. Josh and Sam's last scene shows them together in the Oval Office for the new President's first briefing.
Toby Ziegler
Josh has a complex relationship with Toby throughout the show's run. The two do not have much in common (one of their few unifying traits, their mutual Judaism, is negated by Toby's tendency to imply Josh doesn't really count as Jewish) and are often at odds on policy matters, Josh being more pragmatic while Toby is more idealistic. They still respect one another tremendously, though, and tend to be equally politically ambitious. When Josh leaves the White HouseWhite House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
to run the Santos campaign, he discovers that Toby has been informally advising dark-horse candidate Sen. Ricky Rafferty and has given her position statements originally drawn up by the Bartlet campaign. In a confrontation that turns physical, Toby accuses Josh of abandoning Bartlet at a time when he was needed. Obliquely in that conversation, and more explicitly in the next season, Toby admits to Josh that one reason for his anger was that he wanted to run a campaign with Josh. Toby was also affected by the recent suicide of his brother, who was diagnosed with cancer. Toby complained that he could have had years, but instead he just walked away; unable to express his anger at his brother for abandoning him, he projected it onto Josh. Their anger expressed and confronted, the two appear to repair their professional relationship, and Josh seeks Toby's advice covertly throughout the general election campaign.
Will Bailey
When Will started working for the White HouseWhite House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
Josh and Will developed a working friendship and was not initially angered by Will's defection to work with the Vice President. Will acknowledges Josh as "the finest mind in the Democratic party" second only to Leo McGarry
Leo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White...
and as such lobbies Josh to run the Vice President's campaign. As Will put it he wanted Josh to make the Vice President a candidate that America would vote for and when the Vice President won the Presidency the two would work together to make him a worthy President. Josh turns down the offer but the two work together to stop what Josh views as a faulty Patient's Bill of Rights that the Republican Congress was trying to pass which Will was against mainly because it was a campaign subject that he wished the Vice President to address. However it is through working against the bill that Josh realizes how politically savvy Congressman Matt Santos
Matt Santos
Matthew Vincente "Matt" Santos is a fictional character on the American television show The West Wing, played by Jimmy Smits. His initial appearance is as a Democratic U.S. Representative from Houston, Texas. According to West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie, Santos was based on the then...
is which leads to Josh picking him as his "fantasy candidate" for the Presidency several episodes later. However relationship between Josh and Will becomes considerably antagonistic during the '06 primaries when Josh became the campaign manager to Texas Congressman Matt Santos as Santos ran for the Democratic Nomination just as Will's candidate Vice President Bob Russell ran for the party's nomination. Will can't understand why Josh would pour that political talent into backing a candidate with such little chance of success, while Josh questions Will's integrity, both for backing an unworthy candidate, and for his methods. The two eventually come to a head as the Democratic National Convention heats up, the two spark an argument just prior to the convention in the Roosevelt Room in the west wing of the White House which irritates Leo McGarry who had become the Convention Chair under the orders of President Bartlet. Despite the tough politicking between the two, their aggression disappears once Santos is named the Democratic Presidential Nominee and the rivalry becomes moot. Following the nomination of Santos, the two are seen drinking beers together in the backroom of the convention.
President Bartlet
Although flashbacks reveal that President Bartlet initially had trouble remembering Josh's name and telling him apart from his other advisors, the President develops a special affection for Josh and even refers to Josh as his son in the season two finale Two Cathedrals. When Josh's father died, Josh booked a plane trip back to Connecticut when Bartlet made a surprise appearance at the airport terminal. Bartlet offers his condolences and asks Josh if he wants him to go to Connecticut with him, to which a visibly moved Josh says no. Josh tells Bartlet that his father was proud to have him working on the campaign, citing that his father wanted Bartlet to win the election. Bartlet regards his young Deputy Chief of Staff as an integral part of the machine that makes the White House run properly; the brain behind the political strategic planning of the administration. On one occasion, he jokingly remarks to his friend Leo McGarry that Josh "frankly, is a lot smarter than you." When Josh tells the President he wants to leave the Bartlet administration to run the Santos campaign, he says he had never imagined having the conversation, and tells Leo that he doesn't "know how to tell him."President Santos
When Josh first meets then Congressman Matt SantosMatt Santos
Matthew Vincente "Matt" Santos is a fictional character on the American television show The West Wing, played by Jimmy Smits. His initial appearance is as a Democratic U.S. Representative from Houston, Texas. According to West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie, Santos was based on the then...
he is impressed by his conviction and sees in him the same willingness to put his beliefs before political profit as he did in President Bartlet. Santos at that point was ready to leave Washington and national politics to go back to Houston and spend more time with his family. When Josh gets caught up between offers from both major democratic candidates for the presidential nomination 2006, Vice President Bob Russell and former Vice President John Hoynes, he decides that he doesn't want to work for either of them. After a discussion with his mentor Leo McGarry Josh discovers that he already found his guy, Congressman Santos. He flies down to Houston to pitch Santos his plan to make him President of the United States and after a few days Santos accepts by telling Josh "I'm in, if you're in with me". The two start a close relationship which appears to be complicated when they got into a number of fights, but it comes across very clear that they care for each other, like in the Season 6 episode "La Palabra" when Josh urged Santos not to put his personal financial future at risk just to continue the campaign. During the general elections campaign 2006 Santos seems to be ready to fire Josh as Campaign manager in "The Wedding" but he keeps him on and ends up winning the elections. In "Election Day Part II", just after the final state (Nevada) was called, Santos looks at Josh across the room and thanks him, acknowledging that Josh was the major architect behind his victory. Despite their close relationship Santos has his own mind and disagrees with Josh at times due to Josh's willingness to resort to dirty politicking (early on in the Democratic Primaries) and when Santos passes Josh over to run his Presidential transition team (however Santos argues that it kept Josh from "saying no" to the people Josh would later have to deal with in his capacity as Santos's Chief of Staff). Despite this Santos considers Josh his top advisor (akin to Leo McGarry to Jed Bartlet) and tends to listen to Josh more often than not (examples would be when Josh recommended Leo McGarry as Santos's running-mate and also when Josh told Santos not to meddle in the Speakership race). Another example of the connection the two have is shown when Santos begins to have concern for Josh's well-being when Josh seems to overwork himself during the transition. Santos questions Donna Moss about Josh's personal life and asks her whether Josh is seeing anyone or ever has any fun. When Josh decides to take a vacation, Santos remarks that he would "drive Josh to the airport himself if it didn't require a motorcade". In the final episode Josh assumes his new position as White House Chief of Staff.