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National security was the central theme of this week's The West Wing. The show revolved around an emerging military conflict between Pakistan and India, and its impact on operations in the West Wing. The national security theme was interwoven with a number of story lines about the personal and professional problems of the show's central characters, including: C.J, the Press Secretary, and her resentment at not being informed about the international crisis before a press briefing; Charlie, the Personal Aide to the President, and his interest in dating the President's daughter; Josh, the Deputy Chief of Staff, and his legal deposition regarding drug use by Leo, the Chief of Staff; and Mandy, a political consultant, and her desire to work for a Republican congressman.

The show opened with national security officials at the Pentagon viewing satellite images and learning about a military conflict developing on the Pakistani-Indian border. Because the Central Intelligence Agency had failed to "be in the know" about significant troop movements in Pakistan leading up to the crisis, the information, which was presented to the President in the Situation Room, took him by surprise. The show did a good job of recreating the real-life Situation Room, which is, in fact, a smallish room in the West Wing decorated in dark wood panels, with projection screens and a large wood conference table.

While the show did a nice job recreating the room, it did not do as good a job recreating a meeting that took place in the room, between the President and top military officials, regarding a developing international crisis. In the show, the meeting only lasted a couple of minutes; in reality, a meeting of that nature would probably last a couple of hours, with the President receiving a detailed briefing. Also, at least two very important players were missing. Where were the National Security Advisor to the President and the Secretary of State? The show seemed to replace their role in national security and foreign affairs with Leo, the Chief of Staff. Leo acted as the President's chief counsel and advisor in every meeting regarding the crisis, including the President's meetings with ambassadors from China, India, and Pakistan. In reality, numerous officials would be involved in a crisis like this, the most important of whom would include the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, as well as important members of Congress. The Chief of Staff and the other staff portrayed in the show probably would only have a secondary roles, such as acting as liaison between the President and the press, but they would have absolutely no decision-making role. In our government, decision-making of this nature is handled by elected or appointed officials who are confirmed by Congress.

The sub-plot involving C.J., the Press Secretary -- angry about not being informed about the crisis before she briefed the press, was reminiscent of the problems experienced by Dee Dee Meyers, President Clinton's second Press Secretary. It was widely known that Dee Dee was not kept "in the loop" at the White House and was often less informed than the press. In the show, Toby, the Assistant to the President for Communications, apologizes to C.J., and C.J. handles the problem in a mature, professional manner. Dee Dee, on the other hand, ran to the Oval Office crying to the President and was replaced a few months later.

The story about Charlie, the Personal Aide to the President, and Zoë, the President's daughter, was cute. The President delivered some good lines about his unease about Charlie dating Zoë being based not on Charlie's race (Charlie is black), but on the fact that Charlie is "a guy." Although cute, I was hoping the character of Zoë would be more like a Chastity Bono or Ellen. It is a Democratic White House, after all. We deserve a good dramatization of a politically-charged homosexual relationship.

Josh, the Deputy Chief of Staff, has a bad political attitude! Moreover, he is power- cocky. The belligerent way in which he and Sam -- the Deputy Communication Director -- handled themselves in the deposition regarding drug use by the Chief of Staff (Josh even roughed up the lawyer taking the deposition as they left) was shocking. Josh, like many White House staffers, sees the world through political lenses. Staffers forget that the President is everybody's President, not just the President of the political party to which he or she belongs. Generally, in real life, the kind of childish, caustic political attitudes demonstrated by Josh and Sam are more commonly displayed by the less-polished junior staff. A real senior staffer probably - or at least hopefully -- would have been more cooperative and less combative in such a situation.

The story line in which Mandy, the President's political consultant, wants to work for a Republican did not ring true for several reasons. First, Mandy is portrayed as a regular staff member, which is unusual for a political consultant. Political consultants usually are not located in the White House and most likely never would have free, unlimited access. Second, while senior staffers were opposed to her working for a Republican, it probably was not a bad idea. Washington is all about deal-making between the two big political parties, and it helps to have people like Mandy who know and work for senior players in both groups.

Finally, the best line of the show came when the President -- reacting to Leo's concerns about the debauched habits of a British foreign policy expert who was staying in the White House to help respond to the crisis between India and Pakistan -- said with a dismissive waive, "we can hide the women!"

Whatever.

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