Calderon The West Wing

Many political issues came up in the pilot of the West Wing. A pressing political issue involved the idea of politics mixing with religion. The beginning of the episode involved Josh's uproar earlier on a morning talk show. He was being pressed to his limits by a Christian activist while he yelled, "Lady, the God you're praying to is probably too busy being indicted by tax fraud." Josh crossed the line and put the President in a very bad position. The President would then have to consider Josh's position in the office because it would look bad if Josh stayed in the office. Also, the President read in a magazine that his granddaughter stated her opinion on teenage pregnancy to a teen magazine. The President later heard that his granddaughter received a raggedy, old doll with a knife struck through it on her doorstep. She was terrified because she was already receiving hate mail and she was just thirteen years old. The President outraged at the extremist group for sending the doll asked the leader of the Christian group to ban the extremists and leave the office immediately. This issue shows us how difficult religion and politics come together. It was hard for the President to keep his tongue until his family became involved. How far can the President go before reaching his limit? It gives us a different perspective on what the President can say about the Christian groups and how he deals with them. In the end, the President outraged at the Christian group called them out of his office and out of the White House until they ban the extremist group. The damage control was handled well by the White House staff and the President chose well with keeping Josh.