For those of us hoping constitutional interpretation of the law is a neutral, objective undertaking, it may be discouraging to realize there's a lot of politics in it. That's partly why judges often disagree with each other and write dissents; their politics are different. This episode, which is about President Bartlet's opportunity to nominate a Supreme Court justice, is aware of that. Bartlet's first choice for the job becomes less appealing when the White House learns this judge isn't committed to privacy rights. The retiring Supreme Court justice is a liberal and disappointed by Bartlet's moderate politics and his candidate.
Disagreement about whether Bartlet falls short of greatness, as the retiring justice argues, makes for good drama; the two men compare Bartlet to Harry Truman. The issue of privacy rights is good drama too since it deals with a fundamental freedom that is still hotly debated. And then there's Leo, who's a great character. We learn that in addition to alcoholism he may have once been hooked on drugs; the president and staff are still willing to support him, however. They should. Leo's a great man.
An amusing subplot has CJ getting a goldfish after a miscommunication. Because of this episode, I named one of my own pet goldfish CJ. CJ the fish didn't last long, I'm afraid. Altogether, this is yet another fine episode from The West Wing's first season.
Disagreement about whether Bartlet falls short of greatness, as the retiring justice argues, makes for good drama; the two men compare Bartlet to Harry Truman. The issue of privacy rights is good drama too since it deals with a fundamental freedom that is still hotly debated. And then there's Leo, who's a great character. We learn that in addition to alcoholism he may have once been hooked on drugs; the president and staff are still willing to support him, however. They should. Leo's a great man.
An amusing subplot has CJ getting a goldfish after a miscommunication. Because of this episode, I named one of my own pet goldfish CJ. CJ the fish didn't last long, I'm afraid. Altogether, this is yet another fine episode from The West Wing's first season.