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It is a long airplane ride from Washington, DC to Portland, Oregon. President Bartlet, C.J., Toby, Sam, and Charlie are flying to Portland on Air Force One and working on a major education speech, while Leo and Josh remain in the West Wing dealing with gay issues presented in federal legislation and a international crisis involving U.S. military action in the Persian Gulf.

This week's West Wing took advantage of the President's travel time to portray yet another day in the "power-glam" lives of the staff serving him. And the most exciting aspect of this week's show was that it introduced the viewing audience to the White House Mess. The White House Mess is an eating facility that is operated by the U.S. Navy, and it is one of the most popular and coveted places to eat among the political junkies in Washington, DC because of its location in the basement of the West Wing.

The Mess, as correctly portrayed on the television show, is a small facility with no windows and lots of paintings of ships. It evolved out of the Navy's responsibility to make sure there is food for the President to eat, wherever he is located. At the White House, it has also evolved into a service for the White House staff. The Mess does not take money; instead, all food expenses are put on account. Therefore, in order to use the Mess, a White House staff person has to have an account (and exactly which White House Staff member gets their own account has become an issue of contention over the years).

As explained in previous reviews, the White House complex is make up of several buildings including the Old Executive Office Building, or the "OEOB," and the New Executive Office Building, called the "NEOB." White House staff members have an orange security pass if they work in the OEOB and a green security pass if they work in the NEOB. The White House staff that work in the West Wing have a blue security pass. However, many staffers that work in the OEOB or NEOB also have blue security passes, because they need to have access to the West Wing. Generally, any staff person with a blue pass who has access to any office or desk in the West Wing is eligible to have an account at the Mess. However, a senior White House staff person with offices in the OEOB, also can have an account at the Mess.

The confusion surrounding the logistics behind Mess accounts goes on. Once someone has a Mess account, there is a further designation that permits that account holder to either have "take-out" privileges or to actually eat in the Mess. The television show portrays the "take-out" window at the Mess in a scene where Ainsley is picking up some lunch and is carrying a fan, while complaining that the Mess does not have fresca soda. Because Ainsley is not a senior staff member like Josh or Sam, she is probably only permitted to use the take-out window and would not be allowed to eat at the Mess unless invited to do so by an account holder that has those privileges. Josh, who is a Deputy Assistant to the President, definitely has the eat-in privilege and is portrayed using the privilege in the show, when he has beers with a Congressman in the Mess.

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Regarding the complaints by Ainsley that the White House should have fresca, the White House receives complimentary sodas from both the Coke and Pepsi companies. Generally, every refrigerator in the White House, including refrigerators in the staff offices, is loaded with free soda drinks. Although the White House may not regularly receive fresca, it is likely the Navy Mess could request it and receive it free from Pepsi or Coke (The White House also receives free M&M candies and other snacks such as potato chips and pretzels, all of which are received and controlled by the Navy Mess).

Finally, regarding the fan that Ainsley was carrying and later showed as using in her basement office. Like the Mess, that is another true depiction of life at the White House. Ainsley's basement office is in the OEOB. The OEOB is a very hot place in the winter. Because the building is over 125 years old, the heat is very difficult to regulate. Most staffers run their air conditioning units all winter long, because there is no easy way to control the temperature of the heat.

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