Amy and Mr. President - You don't have to be here at all

[johnskudris]

"It stinks in here...It's like Moby Dick's gym locker."

[NJLII]

Surprised people here giving Amy so much stick, if you've seen the whole episode she was, as she said, just getting Abbie's agenda on the table after Josh had run rings around her previous chief of staff.

[Ares99999]

@NJLII I've seen the whole episode. Bartlett was right to tell her off.

[NJLII]

@Ares99999 Which is why he apologizes to her at the end of it I suppose.

[Ares99999]

@NJLII Even when he's right, Bartlett has a tendency to apologize when he reacts angrily. That's all he was doing.

[NJLII]

@Ares99999 I suspect wish might be father of the the thought in your case, I imagine the writers meant for him to have overstepped the mark. There are less ambiguous ways of making a character graceful.

[Ares99999]

@NJLII Yes, yes. Whatever can keep your fantasy going. Keep defending a bitch by saying a bitch is really not a bitch. I was done with your nonsense long ago. Ciao.

[NJLII]

@Ares99999 And yet Hoynes, Santos even Bartlett kept calling back on her, but that's fine we watch these shows for enjoyment and if you enjoy it more with you're abstract interpretation of it than with the conventional one intended by the writers, more power to you.

[Ares99999]

@NJLII Why are you so obsessed with her, anyway?

[NJLII]

@Ares99999 With the show perhaps but with her hardly, I get an email for every response and it takes about 15 seconds to write so the grand total of 1 and a quarter minutes I've spent on the topic doesn't really amount to an obsession. But you're done with my nonsense remember? or have you forgotten?

[Ares99999]

@NJLII No, just wondering why you're incapable of taking a hint. I get it. Now just answer one last time to satisfy your need to have the last word (I won't read that one anyway), and we'll be done.

[fjnjn]

I can't describe the delight I felt when Amy got that long-deserved telling off. She is insufferable. Way too big for her boots.

[fidelio1980]

All of the characters had tremendous courage in their convictions. In the episode "Let Bartlet Be Bartlet," the president was willing to risk losing re-election in order to push through campaign finance reform.

What made Amy different from the others was that she often didn't care about the consequences of her actions. She just wanted to feel ideologically pure. She didn't even care if her actions put a right-wing nut in the oval office - all that mattered to her was her self-righteousness.

[Sammathnar]

Amy was the only character on this show with the courage of her convitcions, and if you consider her ultra-left wing, you really need to travel a bit outside of the US. All US politics are right-of-centre politic, even in this TV show.

It became apparent time and time again that non of the charaters on the show are interested on making any real changes, except maybe Toby and Amy. That is the problem with "centre" pulitics. Nothing changes, and everyone gets paid....

[msjennhill]

@Sammathnar Dude, the ep where the SS agent guarding CJ died, Amy was such a douchenozzle. Because she is unable to compromise, she will block everything that might benefit the people. She's so intent on pushing her ideals through that she can't see no, she's not always right. She's the kind of woman who makes me cringe and pissed off that she thinks she's speaking for me. Center politics means compromise, not that nothing happens.

[jiveturkey25]

When exactly did Josh and Amy broke up?

[kmrs1959]

I think the character was necessary to show the problems of the ultra left wing agenda. All great President's become centrists. She is an example of someone abusing their power or assumed power. The strength of this Presidential character was being a centrist and representing all of America, not just their political base. The smart ones do not disenfranchise any section of America.

[shiftyLN]

@kmrs1959 you clearly do not understand the range of the political spectrum if you think amy is 'ultra left wing'. actually u appear to know absolutely fuck all about politics in general. so maybe don't preach your infantile views on the great, unifying powers of the centre with all the gravitas of someone educationally equipped to intelligently comment until you stop getting all your information from fox news. saying that, amy was an arrogant twat.

[17R3W]

Season 5 was very weak, but still had some good moments. This is one of them.

Thanks for posting!

[tfn105]

@17R3W I don't think S5 was weak per se. Probably the weakest of all 7 seasons, but it had a lot of excellent moments. What it lacked was a thread throughout the season. It felt like a lot of individual episodes stitched together. But the 'holding pattern' was understandable given the changes in writers. Also, there seemed to be a greater intent to make characters fall out with each other, e.g. Toby and Will, Josh and Donna, Jed and Leo over time. Something the new writers did.

[17R3W]

@tfn105

Good point. Sorkin has a way of writing where he sets thing up well in advance, so when it happens it feels natural. And as you say, that gives the whole season a thread or theme.

S1 - a president tries to get his presidency off the ground

S2 - the MS

S3 - the assassination and getting ready for the election

S4 - the re-elect and fallout from the assassination

S6 - The peace deal and the primaries

S7 - The election and hand off from one administration to another

[tfn105]

@17R3W Yeah. I do think that 5,6,7 get an unnecessarily bad rap. I think 7 in particular is right up there with the best work on the WW. But there was a definite, but subtle change in the mood and feel to the show once Sorkin left, which I suppose I would characterise as a loss of heart. All the characters were very endearing in the early days, and you cling to those older feelings in the latter seasons because they lose that a bit.

[grumpytosnowwhite]

NAILED. I have no idea what Josh ever saw in that bitch. Thank god for Bartlet.

[sunnchilde]

This is one of the great Bartlett b1tch slaps of the show. When I first saw it I was like "Oh, my god."

Amy needed to be taken down a peg or two.

[kmrs1959]

I felt the character represented the absolute worst about American politics. She had a personal agenda, no matter how honorable or accepted by some, it was pushing not for what the people would have voted for but rather what a portion of a group wanted to "make" the rest of the populous adhere to.

[17R3W]

@kmrs1959

The thing that made the West Wing so good, was that everyone on the show, wanted to do "good". Even the republican's who were the "opponent" were largely seen as good people.

Her character (as well as the presidential challenger - Richie) were among the few exceptions to the rule.

[woohooboy]

Thank God!. Amy Gardner, hands down was the most annoying character on "The West Wing". No offense to the actress who porteayed her - Mary Louise Parker, who is fantastic. But Amy, just didn't know when to let up and shut the hell up. Throughout her time on the series, she was forever pushing her agenda in other people's faces. I'm glad the President put her back into place and reminded her that in the grand scheme of things, her presence wasn't really needed after all......

*B%#CH GOES DOWN!*

[jillhbaudhaan]

u nailed it on the head...she annoyed the crap out of me, she was so out of place on this show esp w/ the looks she made

[wrestlingdog]

Personally, I thought Mandy was worse, but Amy is definitely way up there. You're right, she didn't know when to keep her mouth shut.