The President faced many issues during the first episode of the West Wing. The episode begins with Josh Lyman getting into a controversial argument with a Christian activist, Mary Marsh. He gets himself in trouble by saying "Lady, the god you are praying to is probably to busy being indicted for tax fraud". This outburst put the President in a very bad position. If he decided not to fire Lyman, other Christian activists may present a backlash. Tobias Ziegler, the White House Communications Director, invites Josh to attend a lunch with Mary Marsh and two other Christian men, one being a reverand that has known the president for awhile. Seeing that this may be the only way that he can retain his position, Josh comes to the lunch.
During the lunch, Josh apologizes to Marsh for his comment. Instead of simply accepting the apology, Marsh demands that the President either has to illegalize pornography, dissalow the distribution of condoms in school, or allow prayer in the classroom. Not only does she make these extreme demands but she also insults Tobias and Josh, making anti-semetic comments towards them. When this all happens, the President tells the Christian group they must leave and also tells the reverend he must denounce an extremist group that sent a threat to the President's granddaughter. Once the group leaves, the President tells Josh that he has decided to keep him but he cannot mess up again.
The big problem that the President faces during this episode is the general public's view on him. If he fires Josh, the public will be pleased because the controversial comment would lead to disapproval from a large group of the President’s supporters. However, the President feels that Josh is the right man for the job. The big conflict that the President has to deal with is whether he should try and please the public or go with his heart. The President decides to go with his heart and keeps Josh. This shows strong moral qualities and also shows that the President cares more about what he considers right than what the public wants.
Some of the public might be pleased, but others might not be happy if the President were to fire Josh. Why is the general public's view more important than hundreds of boat people? You need to say why image is the most important issue for a President.
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