Tuesday November 10, 2026; 5:14 PM EST
- President Bartlet is the president we all wish we could have but can't. He's a rich chocolate cake with ice cream and hot fudge topped with whipped cream and nuts and a cherry. A cookie on the side.#
- He sees a Republican consultant on a political show clean the clock of bright Sam Seaborn, one of the leading minds of his generation, and insists that Leo McGarry, the grizzled chief of staff with the big heart, hire her. Leo protests that he'll change his mind in the morning, but the President assures him he won't.#
- The Republican consultant gets the job, and becomes less snotty but not much. She's assigned to work on a case with her former nemesis Sam Seaborn, the bright guy who helps a hooker because he's got a big dumb streak in him (but we love him even more because of it). She's given the task of summarizing a memo that Sam wrote about helping small business people, but in doing so, changes Sam's opinion to something very Republican. At first Sam is pissed, but then he stops and says "Wait a minute she's right." So he presents her idea to Leo McGarry, at the end of a long day with the lights turned down low, he's sipping a cup of coffee, with a stack of work waiting for him, but he has time for Sam and his Republican consultant assistant.#
- "I thought we were going the other way," Leo says to Sam, lowering his eyeglasses so we can tell he's surprised, but thoughtful,. "Yes, we were but this spunky and sassy Republican consultant you hired convinced me to go the other way." Leo puts down his coffee, pauses for a moment, says Okay and signs the memo and moves it to his out box. Sam and his young consultant friend are whisked out of the room so Leo can resume dealing with other important affairs at the end of a long but satisfying day at the White House.#
- As they're walking away, the consultant is shrill. "But but you weren't supposed to do what I told you to do!" she shouts. You can tell she's panicked because she didn't think anything would come of her having a contrary opinion and being so sassy about it. Sam says "But you were right," and walks off stage.#
- She's left standing in the middle of the White House offices, with people whirring by purposefully, all doing important things that change our lives, because they work in the best place in the world and can do powerful things.#
- The point of this story, I feel like the Republican consultant. You guys weren't supposed to do what I told you to do! I was just having an opinion.#
#- I wrote this on 5/2/2005. I was looking for something else and tripped over this piece and thought it was worth sharing. Then I noticed the date. It was my 50th birthday. ;-)#