[The West Wing] 1.09 "The Short List"

[hermionesviolin]

Okay, I liked this espisode a lot.

[Transcript source, as per usual.]

CJ is very pretty in this episode -- in particular, the tartan in the beginning and the sleeveless black near the end. [Sam, also, v. attractive this episode.] "CJ likes goldfish" Of course my immediate thought was "She likes cheese." Eric pointed out that Josh could mean the cracker, which totally never occurred to me, so points to him for turning out to be correct. ("I'm not a hundred percent sure I'm supposed to know that.") Wow, she kisses him on the cheek. I'm still not into Danny/CJ (though yes, he is a good guy).

Josh shows up drunk at Donna's apartment?! And all he does is yell at her cats? ;)

I love the easy sexual bantering amongst them all -- e.g. CJ's "I got to tell you something, Toby. You're hot when you're like this."

I totally validate Donna's cautious optimism, and yay her getting to have smart person lines ("You know what we're finally gonna have?" / "A WASPy old man in the Supreme Court?").

Sometimes I really like Josh when he gets all bad-ass-y -- "You're Leo McGarry. You're not gonna be taken down by this... small fraction of a man. I won't permit it." (Also, wow, actual physical touching in that scene. I feel like that doesn't happen much with Leo.)

Mandy made letterhead! ::hearts her sometimes::

Listening to all the ways in which Mendoza I couldn't help thinking, "I really like the sound of that." Yeah, despite all the ways in which The Left makes me twitch, I really am radical on a lot of things.

I really liked the discussion on the "right to privacy."

SAM: The third amendment says soldiers can't be quartered in private homes. The fifth provides protection against self-incrimination, and the fourth against unreasonable searches. You deny the right to privacy lived in those passages?
HARRISON: No. I do not deny it, but the fact that the framers enumerated those specific protections is all the more reason to believe that they had no intention of making privacy a de facto right.
SAM: They just fought a revolution; they had no question of their freedom. The Bill of Rights was meant to codify the most crucial of those rights not to limit the others.

[...]

SAM: In 1787, there was a sizable block of delegates who were initially opposed to the Bill of Rights. One member of the Georgia delegation had to stay by way of opposition: 'If we list the set of rights, some fools in the future are going to claim that people are entitled only to those rights enumerated and no longer. The framers knew...'
HARRISON: Were you just calling me a fool, Mr. Seaborn?
SAM: I wasn't calling you a fool, sir, the brand new state of Georgia was.

I disliked the "freedom of expression" bit, however, 'cause that's totally not in the First Amendment. It's freedom of speech.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
-copied from wiki

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Mary Alice says the one thing that rings false for her in this episode is Toby and Josh -- that Josh is technically Toby's boss so why/how is Toby ordering Josh to do anything? and saying to Josh "Number one: I don't report to you."

Edit: I forgot to mention that after CJ leaves the press conference and tells a staffer "Set fire to the room. Do it now," I couldn't help thinking of "Burn it down, gentlemen. Burn it down, and salt the Earth."