The most pressing issue in the first episode of the "West Wing" seemed to be the repercussions of Josh Lyman's faux pa of insulting Mary Marsh, a religious fanatic, on public television. He told her that "[her] God.... is too busy being indicted for tax fraud." This put the President in-between a rock and a hard place, as he would either have to fire his close friend, or keep Josh and become less popular to the American people. On top of that, Mary Marsh wanted condoms taken out of the school systems, in order to suffice for Josh's publicly humiliating her. Bartlett made a wise decision in denying Marsh's request, and denouncing her religious group for its insulting and dangerous fanaticism-- they sent Bartlett's grand-daughter a doll with a knife through its throat, because she supported "pro-choice" in a teen magazine interview.
Though it was a minor part of the episode, Sam Seaborn's predicament after sleeping with Laurie, a prostitute, put him in a bind as well. Most politicians today that have slept with prostitutes are guaranteed to gain a horrible reputation, despite that many everyday persons do the same thing and get away unscathed and unnoticed by the media. After realizing that Sam was unaware that Laurie was a "call girl," we, as the viewers, feel sympathetic towards Sam as well as several other politicians in similar situations.
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