The Midterms 

With the midterm elections coming up, Toby looks for a way to stop hate groups; Charlie and Zoey decide whether to continue their relationship; President Bartlet discovers the egg cream and... See full summary »

Director:

Alex Graves

Writers:

Aaron Sorkin (created by), Aaron Sorkin

Stars:

Rob Lowe, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Rob Lowe	...	Sam Seaborn
Dulé Hill	...	Charlie Young
Allison Janney	...	C.J. Cregg
Janel Moloney	...	Donna Moss
Richard Schiff	...	Toby Ziegler
John Spencer	...	Leo McGarry
Bradley Whitford	...	Josh Lyman
Martin Sheen	...	Jed Bartlet
Elisabeth Moss	...	Zoey Bartlet
Claire Yarlett	...	Dr. Jenna Jacobs
Rebecca Creskoff	...	Sarah Jordan
James Denton	...	Tom Jordan (as Jamie Denton)
NiCole Robinson	...	Margaret
Alfonso Freeman	...	Andrew Mackintosh
Myles Kilpatrick	...	Jeffrey Mackintosh (as Myles Killpatrick)

Storyline

With the midterm elections coming up, Toby looks for a way to stop hate groups; Charlie and Zoey decide whether to continue their relationship; President Bartlet discovers the egg cream and is concerned about an ultra-right-wing candidate running for school board in his old district in New Hampshire; and Sam is asked to put White House help behind an old friend running for Congress. This episode includes the President's confrontation with a right-wing radio talk show host using a famous list of modern applications of Biblical laws. Oh, yes, and psychics at Cal Tech and the Fermi National Accelerator Lab ...

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Plot Keywords:

school board | reference to genesis | right wing politics | tech support | radio personality | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 October 2000 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 23, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

John Wells Productions,Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

44 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

President Bartlet criticizes a religious fundamentalist radio talk show host named Jenna Jacobs with his detailed knowledge of scripture. The segment was adapted from a famous Internet chain letter allegedly sent to Dr. Laura Schlessinger, on whom the Jacobs character was based, and several of Bartlet's questions are identical to the questions posed in the letter.

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Goofs

President Bartlet says that the Manchester, NH school district has about 1,100 kids in it. That is more appropriately the size of the Manchester, MA school district, a district in a small town that does not even have its own high school. Manchester, NH is the largest city in the state and has 3 public high schools, each school having far more than 1,100 children in it. In fact, the Manchester, NH school district has well over 11,000 students in it. A New Hampshire native, as Bartlet is supposed to be, would definitely know this.

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Quotes

C.J. Cregg: You're pissed at me?
Toby Ziegler: I'm saying, I could've used your support in there.
C.J. Cregg: You get my support the same way I get yours: when I agree with what you're saying or when I don't care about what you're saying. This time I disagreed.

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Connections

Edited into For the Bible Tells Me So (2007)

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Soundtracks

West Wing Main Title
(uncredited)
Written by W.G. Snuffy Walden
Performed by Pete Anthony

User Reviews

Excellent

This episode is fantastic. Not only does it show the best duologue and development of character and relationships on the program, but the skewering of the Dr. Laura character was well done. It's not about what faith you believe in, it's a bout how seriously you take yourself. Sorkin presents the clear message that whether you're Muslim or Christian, you can't go around calling people infidels or abomination. If you're going to cherry pick from you're sacred text, why do you have to pick the most negative parts? The part where they all meet with Josh is particularly moving. Sorkin has that perfect mix of funny and serious that you only really see on Scrubs. Not that the shows are similar, but they have stylistic similarities. This episode was a good refrain from the drama of the first and second episode of this season.