The Stormy Present
Encyclopedia
Plot
When former President Owen Lassiter dies, two other ex-Presidents (former President D. Wire Newman and former Acting President Glen Allen WalkenGlen Allen Walken
Glen Allen Walken is a fictional character on The West Wing played by John Goodman....
) fly on Air Force One
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
with President 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...
to attend the funeral. Onboard, Bartlet's two historic guests partake in a lively debate about their administrations. Lassiter's and Newman's past mistakes haunt the current administration when massive pro-democracy protests are held across Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and the protesters surround a compound containing 50 Americans, leaving Bartlet to decide whether to support the Saudi regime or to risk the fragile status quo by supporting the protesters' efforts. Meanwhile, C.J. Cregg investigates claims that DARPA is conducting experiments on mind control. Leo discovers his ex-wife is engaged to be married. And Josh referees a debate between representatives of Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
and North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, concerning an original copy of the Bill of Rights
United States Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and...
allegedly stolen by Connecticut at the end of the civil war
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Much of the episode centers on this quote of Abraham Lincoln, from which the title is taken: "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present."
Owen Lassiter
A RepublicanRepublican 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...
, from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Early in the episode, Lassiter dies of post-operative complications from a hip replacement, a procedure which worsened his existing infirmity. While his frail hands are observed at the start of the episode writing a letter to President 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...
, the camera never focuses in on the actor's face. Indeed, the only image of the former president is an artist's rendering of the man displayed on decorative banners outside his presidential library
Presidential library
In the United States, the Presidential library system is a nationwide network of 13 libraries administered by the Office of Presidential Libraries, which is part of the National Archives and Records Administration...
in Costa Mesa, southern California.
White House Communications Director
White House Communications Director
The White House Director of Communications, also known as Assistant to the President for Communications, is part of the senior staff of the President of the United States, and is responsible for developing and promoting the agenda of the President and leading its media campaign...
Toby Ziegler
Toby Ziegler
Tobias Zachary 'Toby' Ziegler is played by Richard Schiff on the television serial drama The West Wing. For most of the series' duration he is White House Communications Director.-Creation and development:...
, unhappily saddled with writing a Lassiter eulogy
Eulogy
A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...
for Bartlet, privately derides those left from Lassiter's former administration as the "GOP
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...
Geriatric Brigade," lamenting: "These great and terrible old men... spent the better part of the late 20th century trying to play God in other countries. And the regimes they anointed are the ones that haunt us today".
Libby Lassiter, the former president's widow, tells Bartlet that her husband spent his last years making pilgrimages to battlefields all over the world, wherever Americans spilled blood. Almost obsessively, Lassiter collected soil from those sites, which he in turn placed in glass jars and displayed on the shelves of an 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...
replica at his presidential library. Lassiter had made the museum his home and a hospital bed was eventually moved into the complex.
In his final months, Lassiter placed rambling telephone calls to Bartlet. When Bartlet stopped taking the calls, Lassiter turned to paper and pen. In what is presumably one of his final acts, Lassiter writes a letter to Bartlet entitled: The Need for an American Empire.
Lassiter planned a low-key funeral before his death, opting for a modest service at his presidential library rather than a pomp-and-circumstance event at Washington National Cathedral
Washington National Cathedral
The Washington National Cathedral, officially named the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church located in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. Of neogothic design, it is the sixth-largest cathedral in the world, the second-largest in...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Although he has a state funeral
State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
, Lassiter does not lie in state. His funeral is attended by President Bartlet, former President D. Wire Newman (see below) and former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
Glen Allen Walken
Glen Allen Walken
Glen Allen Walken is a fictional character on The West Wing played by John Goodman....
, in addition to his former cabinet officers and aides.
Walken, who apparently regarded Lassiter as something of a mentor or personal hero, reminisces during the episode about how he and Lassiter were forced to improvise when they couldn't find a bathroom while on a trip to the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. It is not clear whether Lassiter was president at the time.
The scenes at the Lassiter Presidential Library and Museum were filmed at the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California
San Marino, California
San Marino is a small, affluent city in Los Angeles County, California. Incorporated in 1913, the City founders designed the community to be uniquely residential, with expansive properties surrounded by beautiful gardens, wide streets, and well maintained parkways...
.
D. Wire Newman
Newman is the last DemocratDemocratic 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...
to have occupied the White House
White 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...
before President Bartlet.
Exactly where Newman fits into the show's timeline is uncertain. Evidence says he must have served his four years sometime after 1972, when Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
was President in the West Wing time-line, and prior to 1991, since the Bartlet Administration (1999 to 2007) in the West Wing time-line immediately followed the presidency of a two-term Republican (1991 to 1999).
One of the focuses of the Newman Administration was America's interests in the Middle East, with Newman explaining to Bartlet that in his day they had to prop up the Saudi government and sell them arms to ensure the flow of oil. Newman appears to have been a fairly liberal president, criticizing former Acting President Walken for his hawkishness
War Hawk
War Hawk is a term originally used to describe members of the Twelfth Congress of the United States who advocated waging war against the British in the War of 1812...
when dealing with Qumar, his support of school vouchers and school prayer and his devotion to capitalism. When debating President Bartlet's potential response to the Saudi crisis, Newman is regretful of his own administration's policies in the region and strongly encourages Bartlet to quietly support regime change in Saudi Arabia, in contrast to Toby Ziegler (who is wary of any change) and Walken (who supports military intervention).
As is the prerogative of former Presidents, Newman — somewhat to Bartlet's chagrin — opts to receive daily national intelligence briefings, similar to the President's Daily Brief
President's Daily Brief
The President's Daily Brief , sometimes incorrectly referred to as the President's Daily Briefing or the President's Daily Bulletin, is a top-secret document produced each morning for the President of the United States...
.
Glen Allen Walken
The former Acting President of the United States. See Glen Allen WalkenGlen Allen Walken
Glen Allen Walken is a fictional character on The West Wing played by John Goodman....
.