Hartsfield's Landing

Infobox Television episode
Title = Hartsfield's Landing
Series = The West Wing


Caption =
Season = 3
Episode = 58
Airdate = February 272002
Production = 227215
Writer = Aaron Sorkin
Director = Vincent Misiano
Guests = Anna Deavere Smith
James Hong
NiCole Robinson
James Keane
Gregalan Williams
Thomas Kopache
Dennis Cockrum
Episode list = List of "The West Wing" episodes
Season list = Infobox The West Wing season 3 episode list
Prev =
Next ="Hartsfield's Landing" is episode 58 of "The West Wing".

Plot

Bartlet engages both Sam and Toby in intricate chess matches that mirror the wily game of brinksmanship that Bartlet is playing with the Chinese, who are conducting war games in the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese threaten real war if Taiwan begins test firing its new U.S.-made Patriot defense missiles, so a Navy group is ordered to be sent into the area. Leo laments how dangerous the area is (second only to Kashmir for global risk) and Josh wonders about the price of supporting Taiwan against such pressure. President Bartlet has just returned from a successful trip to India and the chess sets were a gift from the Indian Prime Minister. During the game with Sam, he is subtly but clearly giving Sam more information about the international crisis and testing his younger staffer's instincts in the process; during Toby's game, he is ending his estrangement from Toby that began during "The Two Bartlets" and grappling with the issue of how to win an election versus the Republicans and their anti-intellectual campaign. Toby pitches an idea that the President likes: rather than downplaying his intellect to appeal to mainstream America, the President should make the election about education and press the theme of "qualified versus un-qualified".

With the President's encouragement, Sam deduces that the President put together a deal that would save face for China and give Taiwan room to test a few Patriots, and is in awe the President's political skill. President Bartlet responds by telling Sam that he will one day run for President and that he believes in him. Sam is clearly touched by the exchange.

Meanwhile, Josh is nervous about the 42 votes in a remote New Hampshire town called Hartsfield's Landing. The town votes at 12:01 a.m., hours before the rest of the state, and has accurately predicted the winner of the presidential election for decades. In an attempt to win the town, Josh sends Donna outside into the February night's chill to make phone calls, and they both are surprised by a couple who campaigned for Bartlet before but are now supporting the Republican candidate. When Josh learns the issue is salmon fishing rights, he first tries to strong-arm the couple, then finally tells them to vote the way they feel is right.

A mischievous C.J. tries to upset Charlie by hiding his copy of the President's private daily schedule—prompting a spat of playful tricks that start funny (Charlie swaps C.J.'s ID with his so that she gets frisked by the Secret Service after a pizza run) but quickly escalate (C.J. refiles a key brief where Charlie can't find it). The prank war ends when Leo tells them to knock it off, but Charlie has a final gag set up: when C.J. throws a book on her desk, it collapses.

Trivia

* Dulé Hill, who plays Charlie Young, was nominated for an Emmy in 2002 for his performances in this and the Enemies Foreign and Domestic episodes. [ [http://www.hollywood.com/news/detail/id/1111039 New Faces Highlight 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Nominations] Huver, S. 2002-07-18]
* The fictional town of Hartsfield's Landing is loosely based on the true communities of Hart's Location and Dixville Notch.
* The actual community of Hart's Location, which declares its primary results early, is very close to a town called Bartlett.
* The Taiwan Strait crisis depicted in this episode exhibits many similarities with the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1996.
* At this time in season 3, the election is still in the primary cycle, making it completely inaccurate that Josh should be trying to get a couple from Hartfield's Landing to vote for President Bartlett instead of Governor Richie. In the primary, no voters chose between the candidates of two separate parties, they only chose between candidates for the general election candidacy of each party.

External links

* [http://epguides.com/WestWing/ The West Wing Episode Guide]