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Taking out the trash is one of the themes of this week's episode of The West Wing. Not actual trash, but news trash. In the West Wing, taking out the trash means dumping all of the week's "trashy" news stories - those that are unfavorable or potentially embarrassing to the President or the White House -- onto the White House press corps all at once. This is done on the theory that, by having to report all of them at the same time, the press will not be able to give much ink or air time to any one of them. (These "trash" stories are thrown at the press on Fridays on the assumption that fewer people pay attention to the news on Saturdays.)

The "trash" stories that are "taken out" in this week's episode include an item about a controversial statement made by a professor at Georgetown University in a class in which Zoë, the President's daughter, was enrolled; a story about an advance person using a government helicopter to go golfing while on assignment for the Vice President; and the White House's reaction to an incendiary report on sex education that had been commissioned by the President. The most interesting of these is the story about the advance man, because it so closely resembles something that actually happened at the real White House. Readers may remember that David Watkins, Assistant to President Clinton for Administration, took a helicopter golfing in Maryland and claimed it was an "advance trip" in preparation for a presidential visit. Mr. Watkins was fired.

This week's episode also sends some thought-provoking messages about the politics of gay rights, the nature of alcoholism, and the system of checks and balances. Unfortunately, it also contains a disheartening depiction of women in the workplace that is out of synch with the progressive tone of the rest of the show, and deserved to have been taken out with the trash itself.

The show opens with a press briefing by C.J., the Press Secretary, in which she announces that the President will host a ceremony for the signing of a hate crimes bill. The ceremony is scheduled to take place in the Rose Garden, even though it is 22 degrees outside. When asked about the decision to hold the ceremony outdoors, C.J. explains that the President, who comes from New England, likes the cold. Funny that in the very next scene the President walks from the White House to the West Wing bundled in a warm coat. The West Wing is just steps away from the White House, and the covered walkway is sheltered. (That same scene also shows a military guard saluting the President as he enters the White House. In reality, no military personnel are posted at that entrance. A Marine is posted at the front door of the West Wing, but it's an entrance the President almost never uses.) C.J. announces that the President will sign the bill with 15 pens. This is an accurate reference to a real practice at the White House: presidents do sign legislation with as many pens as possible, so they can give the pens out as favors to people who where instrumental in passing the legislation.

The hate crimes bill the President will be signing is a response to the beating death of a young gay man, a story presumably borrowed from real-life headlines. The murdered man's parents have been invited to attend the ceremony, and will be made available to speak to the press in support of the bill. However, C.J. is perplexed by the fact that the murdered man's father does not appear to be very supportive of the legislation. She, and others in the West Wing, assume this is because he is embarrassed that his son was gay. In a meeting between C.J. and the parents, we learn that the opposite is true. The father does support the legislation, but has reservations about supporting the President. He believes the President is too weak on other gay issues, such as "don't ask don't tell," gay marriage, and gay adoption. The show very cleverly turns the tables by presenting what appears to be a stereotype of a narrow-minded, conservative father who is ashamed of his son, when in fact the father turns out to be a proud and loving parent who is more deeply committed to the principles of gay rights than the politically-motivated President.

The show also sheds light on the disease of alcoholism. There is a scene between Leo, the Chief of Staff, and a young staffer who leaked documents that revealed Leo had once been addicted to alcohol and pills. The source of the leak has been discovered and the staffer has been fired. Before she leaves, Leo confronts her about why she did what she did. She explains that she turned over the papers because of personal issues she had with her own father, also an alcoholic. Leo admits that his dad drank too much, too, and eventually committed suicide. He then explains to the young woman that alcoholics are never cured, and that any alcoholic could start drinking again at any time. It is another good, interesting spin on a subject rarely addressed in depth in television dramas. In the end, Leo decides to give the staffer a second chance, and allows her to keep her job. This is another message about alcoholism: recovering alcoholics often view every day as a second chance.

The show also did a good job of showing how checks and balances work in our system of government. When some members of Congress have threatened to hold official hearings on the subject of Leo's addictions, Sam, the Deputy Communications Director, and Josh, the Deputy Chief of Staff, go to Capitol Hill to try to reach a deal in order to avoid the hearings. In the end, the President agrees to temporarily shelve the controversial sex education report commissioned by the White House in exchange for not holding hearings. This is a perfect example how the system of checks and balances created by the Founding Fathers really works in practice. In this particular case, Congress appears to have gotten the upper hand.

Despite the show's progressive treatment of gay rights and alcoholism, there was a shockingly retro scene involving women in the workplace. Several female secretaries (their actual title is "staff assistant," but because I was a staff assistant in the real West Wing, I know that their real job duties are those generally performed by secretaries) are shown gossiping in a hushed, but excited, fashion. At that moment, the President's personal secretary enters the room and begins to reprimand the "girls" because they work "for very important people" and should be busy doing so. Two questions. First, where are the male secretaries? I was a male secretary in the real West Wing, and there were several other male secretaries as well. Second, why does this television show, which is, after all, about a generally liberal Democratic president, need to play to "Joe Six-Pack?" The whole, degrading scene reminded me of our current president, who, in one selfish liaison with a pretty female intern, threatened years of hard work by his own political party to provide equal rights and respect for women in the workplace.

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