Nguyen The West Wing

The West Wing portrays the fact that the White House is run by other individuals not just the president who almost seems insignificant to running the country. From the very beginning of the show, the president is only mentioned but never actually appears until the very end. The West Wing displays the White House as being run by the people behind the scene and the president as being the one in charge of damage control.

In the beginning of the episode "Pilot," the president crashes his bicycle and causes an enormous commotion across the country. His staff attempts to contain the situation but is hit with another problem. Josh Lyman, the Deputy Chief of Staff, made a rude comment that offended Mary Marsh, a Christian activist. Although Mary provokes Josh, Josh Lyman gets into a world of trouble. Josh fears he may lose his job and tries to apologize but is faced with animosity from Mary. Adding to the trouble, a boat of Cubans were sailing across the Gulf of Mexico to enter the United States illegally.

When things are just about to all go downhill, the president makes his appearance. He ironically defends Josh against the Christian activists and ultimately saves Josh from losing his job even though he originally planned on firing him due to his comment about God. Then the president addresses the Cubans journey through the waters as a miraculous feat and demands that they are greet with open arms and proper treatment.

Throughout the show many issues arise but are calmly settled by the president. The most noted issue was Josh's outburst on national television. However, the president stood by his staff and protected the image and status of his office with dignity.