Then Shut It Down

Bartlet says "no go" to the Speaker of the House.

A disastrous fiscal crisis looms when the federal government is shut down after the President and the powerful Republican Speaker of the House (Steven Culp) disagree over an extra two percent in budget reductions that would trim many of Bartlet's key social programs. Opinion polls reveal that the public blames the Democrats for the impasse. As Leo, Josh and Toby send the staff home, the trio remains uneasy as the President refuses to compromise -- until he hatches a bold plan to personally and publicly challenge the Republicans in the halls of the Capitol. By marching to the Capitol, the President humbles himself and thus re-gains public support by symbolically proving that he is the one who is willing to make the effort to overcome the impasse. Speaker Haffley's counter-measure -- snubbing the President by refusing to meet with him right away -- backfires when the President eventually leaves, indicating to the public that after the President had taken the first step to resolving the shutdown crisis, it was Congress who had chosen politics over negotiation.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• West Wing
• Bartlet
• Donna
• Angela

[matipriegue]

"Then shut it down"

Bravo!!!

[iybutt]

God bless you, Jed Bartlet.

[woundupuy]

all my life i've only had ideological cohesion with republicans, yet sometimes i wish they had the stones to hold firm on their beliefs and shut down the government. I mean can you imagine boehnor or cantor having the courage to pull the trigger like bartlet did and risk EVERYTHING?

[templar19]

See that Obama?  THAT'S how you be President.

[Misstaylor441]

Boy does this have relevancy with present circumstances.

[jordinho13]

@QaranTV Brave comment.

[QaranTV]

Obama is such a weakling, it makes me sick.

[Jimpich]

Has Obama ever negotiated anything in his career? Has he ever run anything? Has he ever been an executive before he became President? He's a nice man and all that. But he seems to play the victim all the time. Nothing is ever his fault, which is a way of saying that nothing is ever his responsibility. He should have stuck to writing books. He just doesn't know how and when to play hardball. His supporters are just as wimpy as he is. Oh well as the US crumbles, they can keep praying to him.

[DoubleTwistingDouble]

@Datajlzone funny how this episode was modeled of of the republican government shutdown under President Clinton, and he emerged as the victor in that fight and the republicans looked like the childish, schoolyard bullies that they were being...

[Datajlzone]

People who watch this show and says that is how Pres Obama should do is NOT living in reality. You people are CLUELESS to what happens when gov shut down. No ss checks, interest rates rises for EVERYONE and so on and so on...

So stop living in fantasy. You watch too much television and get educated of how government works and don't work.

[mouseinthehouse09]

I have a genuine Bartlett for President bumper sticker given to me by a member of the crew. What do you think it's worth?