In "The West Wing" pilot episode that we watched, the President's cabinet was being pressured by a religious group. The President's Deputy Chief of Staff, Josh Lyman, was aired on a TV show and scandalously stated "Lady, the God you pray to is being indicted for tax fraud." While there were several political issues that were shown within the White House, the most pressing were the consequences of Josh's actions. An extremist religious group called "The Lambs of God" comes to the White House in an attempt to make a deal with some of the cabinet members. They give three of the cabinet members, including Josh, three options for the President to make public remarks about: public morals, school prayer, or pornography. After some arguing goes back and forth, the president eventually comes in at the moment where one of the extremists states the first commandment incorrectly. He yells the correct first commandment and then goes on a tangent about how much he dislikes the group, and eventually kicks them all out.
It was interesting to see how instead of simply accepting an apology from Josh Lyman and the rest of the cabinet members that were present, The Lambs of God wanted something in return for denouncing their God on TV. It makes me wonder if the President is actually ever bribed like that, because it seemed very real. I think the way the President in the show handled the situation was incredible, considering the religious extremists' attitude.
The extremist group, the Lambs of God, sends the doll to President Bartlett's granddaughter when she says in an interview that women should have the right to choose. Mary Marsh did, indeed, want something, so you might wonder if her religion is really just a political stance. She does seem a bit manipulative. Why is religion such a political nightmare for American politicians? Why must they always cater to the religious right? Think about that.
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