West Wing's Stormy Present

[MegaObserver1]

It's pretty clear they just took the "Oval Office" set and stripped it to turn it into Lassiter's "replica". But what is strange is that while it it common for RL ex-Presidents to have Oval Office replicas built, they are always in the Presidential libraries/museums, and open to the public, not in their personal homes.

[darkthunder84]

@MegaObserver1 During the episode, it was made quite clear that former President Lassiter, started behaving quite "strangely" after leaving office. Recreating the Oval Office is in his home residence for one, visiting every battleground where US soldiers had fought, collecting soil samples from each etc.

[yahwhous]

Like most of the West Wing after Sorkin left--humorlous and pompous.

I watched very little after season 4--this cliip reminds me why.

[stevertr]

There's a very interesting, and obviously very deliberate thing that was placed in this scene that would be picked up on by very few people. If you look at the letter written by Lassiter, I want you to look at the letter "L" in Lassiter as it was signed. Then go to google and check out Abraham Lincoln's signature. They could just as easily have signed it in the same printing that the whole letter was in, but they deliberately mimicked Lincoln's.

[darkthunder84]

@stevertr This could be caused by Lassiter's admiration of Lincoln. Lassiter even had a recreation of the Oval Office made in his home. He had gathered dirt from various battlefields where american soldiers had fought (including Gettysburg). But a very cool observation nonetheless :)

[17R3W]

This is one of the better episodes from this (the worst) season of the west wing.

This is also the episode where Toby sings the MASH theme (suicide is painless).

[TimThomason]

I'm a bit disturbed at the end. They do a pretty good pan away from the Lincoln Memorial, showing President Bartlet standing alone in front of Lincoln's statue. That's all fine and well, but there's no Secret Service or police protection or anything in sight. Surely, they'd keep close by when he's out in the open like that.

[vatosharpei]

@TimThomason

Look at the pillars to both sides, you can see other figures in the scene.

[TimThomason]

The Need for an American Empire

America. A country founded by refugees. Populated by immigrants. Made strong by

the sweat of the tired, the poor, until it became America.

An idea, a flame, a city on a hill. A vision for all who believe in liberty. An

experiment in-

(cannot read lines here; missing. "democracy" is glimpsed, as well as "Islam".)

-men seek to douse the flame, douse the ideal, to return to a different age

entirely, to return to the age from which our forefathers fled.

[TimThomason]

@TimThomason (continued)

Fundamentalism is a vision, an ideal as rigid as democracy is flexible and we

cannot let it overcome what we have worked so hard to learn.

Jed- Go see Lincoln and listen.

Owen Lassiter

[drakematric73]

anyone have the text for the letter?

[proken58]

Newman was TWW's version of Jimmy Carter, with Lassiter supposedly representing a Ronald Reagan-style President.