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This review covers the two last episodes of the West Wing.

The roll-up episode to the season finale of the West Wing, and the season finale itself, both were pretty incredible from an insider's perspective. While the story is believable, it's portrayal through the roles of staff in various White House rooms is not. Viewers will recall that both episodes built up to the President's announcement of whether or not he will run for a second term of office in light of the fact that he has just disclosed that he has MS and that he lied about it. The staff prepare for the disclosure of the illness and its political aftermath from a secret, guarded room in the basement while attempting to carry on their regular duties dealing with the budget, the tobacco lawsuits, and a military crisis in Haiti. In the meantime, the President's personal secretary, Mrs. Lannaham, is killed in a car accident. With this tragic turn of events the show transforms into a Shakespearean drama in which the President resembles the mad King Lear confronting the all powerful in the tempest. In this case the President speaks to God in the National Cathedral and steps out into a storm before making his announcement (evidently the storm was meant to symbolize the storm in his mind regarding the scandal and forthcoming announcement).

Although your reviewer was never privy to any secret meetings regarding Presidential scandal during his time at the White House, it is probably pretty safe to say that there never has been a secret, guarded room where one is only admitted after giving the secret password. First, the show portrays a Secret Service agent guarding the room. Secret Service agents only guard rooms in which a protectee is present or is expected to be present. In the show there were scenes where only the staff were present in the secret room. Also, it is doubtful the Secret Service would admit someone to a room in which the President is located because that person knows a secret word. One is allowed access to a protectee if they have the appropriate clearance (in the form of a security badge or ID) or they are escorted by someone with such clearance. Finally, the secret room was portrayed as being in the basement of the Old Executive Office Building (the "OEOB"). Generally, the most secret meetings are held in the residence of the White House, not the West Wing or OEOB. It may be interesting for viewers to know that many of President Nixon's "Oval Office" tapes where actually recorded in his second office which was located in the OEOB. However, Nixon's second office was not secret and it was not located in the basement.

C.J. plays a very crucial role in both episodes as she prepares for the press to learn about the President's illness. Her role was probably the most accurate portrayal as she determined which news agencies would get the story, which agency would do the interview and who would ask certain questions. C.J. is able to control the press in this way because she ultimately controls their access to the President. Therefore, if the press do not want to play by her rules, they may not get the coveted access to the President that they desire. Therefore, it was probably a very accurate portrayal when, in the season finale, C.J. asked certain reporters to her office on the premises that there was a problem with the sitting on Air Force One. Viewers will recall that the scene started with the reporter apologizing for complaining about his seat. The reporter probably though that C.J. was going to not allow him to fly on Air Force One, or some other reprimand. Instead, the reporter got access to a huge story before other reporters. C.J. probably picked him for his history of fairness in reporting on the President and hoped that his lead would set some sort of standard in the way other reporters picked up the story.

One incorrect portrayal involving C.J. was when she was speaking to the press in the final scene before the President entered. In that scene C.J. is behind a podium that holds the President's seal. That was a mistake. The seal is only hung on the podium when the President is behind the podium. There is a military staff person who is responsible for placing the seal on the President's podium and for removing it. The seal is usually quickly placed on the podium just before the President speaks and is immediately removed when the President finishes.

Any Washingtonians watching the season finale would have commented that the travel scenes in which the President is moving around the city were very flawed. When the President and First Lady are portrayed in the limo traveling to the National Cathedral the Capitol is in the background. The Capitol building and the National Cathedral are two different sides of town, and the White House is between the two. Also, when the President travels to the State Department it shows the motorcade passing the National Cathedral. The State Department is basically next door to the White House and the National Cathedral is in a different direction.

Finally, viewers may notice that several of the West Wing office scenes in the show often change from episode to episode. For example, sometimes the formal rooms White House reception rooms are portrayed as being connected to the working staff offices or the President is portrayed as walking through large staff areas in order to enter the Oval Office. The television show takes great liberties with the arrangement of the West Wing offices and the White House reception rooms. In real life, the West Wing is a quiet place with small offices. There is room for only one desk outside the Oval Office. Moreover, there are only a handful of staff in the West Wing. The majority of the President's staff are located in the OEOB. All the formal reception rooms are completed unconnected from the staff offices, or if a staff office is nearby it is well hidden.

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It was the intention of the founders of the United States that the Presidency and the offices holding the Presidency be modest. The founders were breaking away from the grand and glorious monarchies of Europe. If the founders could see the West Wing they most likely would not be happy with the shows attempt at making the Presidency and its environs larger and more prestigious than they intended. Certainly the comparison of President Bartlett to Shakespeare's regal, divinely anointed King Lear in the season finale would not have been something the founders would have approved.

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