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The January 10, 2001, The West Wing, will not be remembered as one of the better episodes, especially at a time when there is much excitement regarding the real Presidency - our real First Lady being sworn in as a United State Senator, and the son of a former President preparing for a historic, festive inauguration as the next President, after loosing the popular vote by more than half a million votes.

Unable to capture this real life excitement on television, viewers instead learn about the politics between the President and Congress, when the West Wing staff and the Senate Majority Leader's staff battle over the minimum wage and the backdrop (the Capitol verses the White House) for a press briefing. Viewers also get to learn why it is important that the White House Press Corps remain situated close to the Oval Office in the West Wing versus why they haven't moved to a larger, more accommodating space somewhere else on the White House grounds.

The show normally opens with an impressive scene, usually portraying the power and aura of the Presidency, before breaking into patriotic theme music and the opening credits. This week's opening, however, was not only unimpressive, but also an inaccurate portrayal of the Presidency. The show starts off with the White House staff working late in the West Wing where the heat apparently is not working. All the characters are dressed in warm coats as they work. Josh and Sam attempt to start a fire in a fireplace located in one of the rooms. This seems silly because the characters are usually portrayed as too busy to care about such atmospheric conditions, as well as being too smart to attempt to make a fire in a historic fire place that is obviously sealed. At any rate, the fire is made and smoke fills the room. Charlie enters (remember they have informed viewers that it is after midnight), and declares that he will have to get the President out of bed because of the fire. It is an inaccurate portrayal because, first, waking up the President because of fire is not Charlie's job (the Secret Service would be responsible for removing the President in case of a fire), and second, Charlie would never knock on the President's bedroom door after midnight; it is much more likely a telephone call would be placed to the bedroom to wake the President.

Another inaccuracy in the show's opening was the scene where C.J., the Press Secretary, and her staff are preparing for a breakfast meeting that the President will attend. The staff is attempting to prepare the seating arrangement for the attendees using name cards arranged around a mock table that represents the table where the President and attendees will meet. This activity is representative of what the White House Social Secretary does, not the Press Secretary. The Social Secretary spends quite a bit of time with a mock set up of the tables and the names of attendees on cards - moving the cards repeatedly around the different tables to come up with the perfect seating arrangement for the event.

The show was accurate for the way it portrayed the checks and balance system in our Federal government. It correctly showed the way the Congress and the White House must work together, especially when the President is not elected with a mandate (President Bartlett was elected with only 48% of the vote) and when the Congress is made up of a majority of the opposite party of the President. In one exchange, the Majority Leader's Chief of Staff says to Toby that the Leader will never call a vote on a bill to increase the minimum wage. This is true, the majority leader of the Senate does decide whether a proposed bill will come up for vote in the Senate. Toby responds that it does not matter because in such a case, the increase to the minimum wage will simply be added as an amendment to a popular bill that the majority leader definitely wants to bring to the floor for a vote. This is also true; issues that would never pass in stand-alone bills are always added to other legislation. Often this activity is known as pork barreling -- when something is added to a bill to give money to a specific project that a member favors (this project is usually in the member's home state).

In regards to the possibility of moving the Press Corps out of the West Wing: In real life, this has been a proposal that has been seriously kicked around in just about every administration. The space that the Press Corps occupies is small and crowded, and it is located on top of what use to be FDR's swimming pool (as Sam correctly points out in this week's show). While there is much better space in several locations around the White House complex, the Press Corps are adamantly opposed to moving because they would loose proximity to where the President sits. The same is true for most staff members. As discussed in previous reviews, almost any staff member would give up a large, fabulous office located in some other part of the White House complex in order to have a closet size office with no windows in the West Wing. Why? To be close to the President and the seat of power.

Speaking of power, Sam blurts out in a conversation with Leo, the Chief of Staff, that Leo is the second most powerful may in the country (the President being the most powerful). This is so wrong. Why? Primarily because the Chief of Staff is not an elected official. Moreover, the Chief of Staff is not confirmed by the Senate, and the Chief of Staff is not in the line to take over the Presidency, should the President die or resign from office. Certainly other officials in Washington such as the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, etc . . . would take issue with such a statement.

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