Jed Bartlet

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the fictional West Wing character. For the real-life signatory of the Declaration of Independence, see Josiah Bartlett.

Josiah Bartlet
code names)
OccupationPresident of the United States
(1999–2007; two terms)
Pre-series
Governor of New Hampshire (1991–1999; four terms)
U.S. Representative for New Hampshire's 1st district
(1985–1991; three terms)
Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
(1971–1985; seven terms)
Professor at Dartmouth College
Economist
AffiliationDemocratic
FamilyDr. Bartlet (father)
Mrs. Bartlet (mother)
Jonathan Bartlet (brother)
Annie Bartlet Westin (granddaughter)
Gus Bartlet Westin (grandson)
Unnamed Faison (grandchild)
SpouseDr. Abigail "Abbey" Bartlet
ChildrenElizabeth Bartlet Westin
Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Dartmouth College

Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character from the American television serial drama

Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 2001, as well as two SAG Awards
.

Bartlet's tenure as a fictional

Matt Santos
.

Bartlet is characterized by manifest integrity, quick witticisms, a fierce intellect, and compassionate stoicism.

Creation and development

Show creator Aaron Sorkin had not initially intended to feature the president at all. He envisioned the series as focused on the White House senior staff who execute and advise on major policy and political matters. "Then I felt that would become hokey," he said. "We'll constantly be just missing the president. As he walks around the corner, we'll see the back of his head." The character of Josiah Bartlet was then created as a recurring figure, and Martin Sheen was signed to appear in four episodes. Alan Alda (who went on to portray Senator Arnold Vinick), Jason Robards, and Sidney Poitier were also considered for the role.[1] After seeing Sheen's dailies, the producers were so impressed that they asked him to join the regular cast. "They realized that people might catch on that I'd be there only once a month, so they talked to me about a longer commitment," says Sheen. The actor said that part of the reason he took on the role of Bartlet was because of his involvement in social issues.[2]

Sorkin's main interest in writing for the character was exploring the side of the president that the public does not generally see.[3] Sheen described the character as being drawn largely from Bill Clinton: "He's bright, astute, and filled with all the negative foibles that make him very human," he told Radio Times.[2] Sheen said elsewhere that he adored Clinton and was welcomed into the Clinton White House for visits during the period between the show's beginning in the fall of 1999 and the inauguration of George W. Bush as president in January 2001. Sorkin said he took some of Bartlet's characteristics from his own father, namely his "great love of education and literature [and] all things old," his "[belief] in a genuine goodness in people," and his "'Aw, Dad' sense of humor."[4]

In the middle of the show's first season, it is revealed that Bartlet has

episode in which the president was in bed watching a soap opera and the audience discovered that the first lady was a physician. "When I wrote the pilot, I didn't have any idea what was going to happen in Episode 2, much less 12," he says.[2]

Character biography

Personal life

Bartlet was born in 1942 and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire. He is a descendant of Dr. Josiah Bartlett, a real-world signatory of the Declaration of Independence.

Bartlet is a devout

Protestant. His relationship with his father was often strained and abusive. In a discussion with his subconscious, personified by the "ghost" of Mrs. Landingham, his father is described as "a prick who could never get over the fact that he wasn't as smart as his brothers."[5] Sorkin has stated that Bartlet's father, "obviously convinced he married some Catholic whore, treats his son terribly for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that he adopted his mother's religion." Sorkin said that Bartlet's tirade against God in the episode "Two Cathedrals" is therefore directed just as much at Bartlet's own father as it is at God.[2] However, when his father's unkind and sometimes abusive treatment of him is mentioned by Toby Ziegler, Bartlet attempts to defend his father. Though he is long dead, Toby suggests that Bartlet is still trying to get the man to like him, hoping that "maybe if you get enough votes, win one more election," Bartlet will finally be able to earn his father's approval.[6]

He displays a remarkable ability for chess. Once, he engaged several members of his staff in separate matches at the same time and won.

Bartlet scored 1590 out of 1600 on his

Keynesian views. He was required to split his Nobel Prize with another economist, a much more conservative Japanese man whom Bartlet respects but does not particularly like. He is the author of a book entitled Theory and Practice of Macroeconomics in Developing Countries,[9] and his research in economics is described as being focused on the developing world
.

Bartlet's wife,

C.J. Cregg (his press secretary and later chief of staff) that she is part of his family.[14]

Bartlet suffers from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, which at one time puts the future of his presidency in doubt. He and his wife concealed his illness during his initial presidential run and would not disclose the information until well into his first term, leading to allegations of fraud. He receives a Congressional censure for covering up his MS while running for president.

Bartlet began his political career when he was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives. He later served three terms in the United States House of Representatives, representing New Hampshire's 1st congressional district. Like his ancestor, he was a two-term Governor of New Hampshire and won re-election with 69% of the vote.

A recurring motif throughout the series is Bartlet's inability to remember the names of junior staffers, a trait taken directly from Sheen's own memory tendencies. However, in the series finale episode, he meets and thanks a long series of White House staff members and addresses them all accurately by name. Bartlet also displays an obsession with trivia, often quizzing staffers, whether they are interested or not.

Presidency

Bartlet's best friend,

Electoral College
. He is sworn into his first term on January 20, 1999.

Bartlet's accomplishments as president include appointing the first Hispanic

Social Security reform plan (although it is never made clear whether the plan is passed by the United States Congress, the show indicates that a revolutionary agreement is achieved with bi-partisan support). He does, however, express regret at his inability to balance the budget in his eight years in the White House.[16]

Bartlet does not shy away from using the military when he feels it is necessary during his eight years in the

Equatorial Kundu lead Bartlet to intervene militarily and declare a bold interventionist foreign policy doctrine. In Asia, Bartlet deals with tensions and near-conflicts between India and Pakistan, China and Taiwan, and Russia and China. The latter crisis, in his final year, leads to him deploying 140,000 peacekeepers to prevent a full-blown conflict over oil in Kazakhstan
, and this becomes a key issue in the 2006 presidential campaign to succeed him.

President Bartlet shows the most affection among his staffers to

Bob Russell, saying at one point he does not know what either of them is good for. For reasons presumably tied to his own lack of military service, he is somewhat intimidated by acid-tongued Secretary of Defense Miles Hutchinson and deferential to respected Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Percy Fitzwallace.

Bartlet is shot in the first season

bodyman Charlie Young was the intended target of the assassination attempt, not Bartlet himself.[19]

In the second-season finale, "

Robert Ritchie of Florida, by a landslide and is returned for a second term. The election is forecast to be close until Bartlet scores a decisive debate win over Ritchie.[22]

25th Amendment, declaring himself incapacitated and transferring the powers of the presidency to the next person in the presidential line of succession. Due to the resignation a few days earlier of Vice President Hoynes, the Speaker of the House, Republican Glen Allen Walken, becomes Acting President of the United States.[23]
Zoey recovers with only minor injuries several days later and President Bartlet reassumes his office shortly thereafter.

Soon after Bartlet resumes the presidency, he faces off against Jeff Haffley, the newly elected

shutdowns
during the Clinton administration). Eventually, Bartlet topples Haffley's influence and sees to it that the Speaker's power declines thereafter.

At the end of the fifth season and the beginning of the sixth, the Bartlet administration is dragged into the Israeli-Arab dispute after terrorists attack U.S. government officials on a trip to

CJ Cregg
succeeds him as chief of staff.

On a trip to China, Bartlet is left temporarily paralyzed by an attack of multiple sclerosis. As a result, he briefly uses a wheelchair but soon recovers although he is left somewhat weakened by the attack. After seeing Congressman Matt Santos' stirring speech at the Democratic National Convention, Bartlet has a chat with a New York Democratic leader who had previously refused to support Santos due to concerns over education policy; the leader reverses his course and Santos becomes the Democratic nominee for president.

In the seventh and final season of

Matt Santos of Texas defeats the Republican nominee, Senator Arnold Vinick of California, in the 2006 presidential election and thereby becomes Bartlet's successor. After Santos' inauguration, Bartlet returns to his New Hampshire home aboard Air Force One
with his wife and while en route has the last word of the series. Mrs Bartlet asks the introspective former president what he is thinking about, and Bartlet replies: "Tomorrow."

The Bartlet Presidential Library opens three years after the end of his term and Bartlet is present at the opening ceremony, along with Kate Harper, C. J. Cregg, Danny Concannon, Charlie Young, Toby Ziegler, Josh Lyman, and Will Bailey. The new president does not appear, as this scene occurs in a flash forward during season seven, before the election.

West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin briefly revived the character for

New York Times column, where he scripted a hypothetical meeting between Bartlet and then-Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. He did the same after Obama's first debate against Mitt Romney in 2012.[24][25]

Reception

The West Wing's portrayal of multiple sclerosis through Bartlet was applauded by Mike Dugan, president of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Dugan stated that the group was especially pleased that the affected character was a world leader, that the show educated viewers about MS and made it clear the disease is not fatal, and that Bartlet was shown as taking advantage of medical breakthroughs to treat his condition. "Since fiction often becomes more real to people than fact, President Bartlet's life with MS has the potential for great good," he said, suggesting that as Bartlet was able to overcome the challenges of his disease to succeed, "the public will become more accepting of individuals with MS and individuals with MS will become more accepting of themselves and their abilities to lead fulfilling lives."[2]

Buddha."[28]

At one point, the producers of The X-Files considered having Sheen portray Bartlet in the final episode of the show, in a scene where he would be informed by members of The Syndicate that Fox Mulder escaped from government custody. Instead, Bartlet was replaced by an actor playing George W. Bush, although the scene was cut from the final episode altogether.[29]

A Wall Street Journal poll in 2016 named Martin Sheen's Josiah Bartlet as the second greatest fictional president, behind Harrison Ford's President James Marshall in Air Force One.[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ Salem, Rob (January 25, 2005). Decision '05 sure to shake up West Wing Archived October 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Toronto Star. Accessed on December 8, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e Topping, Keith (2002). An Unofficial and Unauthorized Guide to The West Wing: Inside the Bartlet White House. London: Virgin Books Ltd.
  3. ^ Schlamme, Thomas (November 11, 1999). Interview with Thomas Schlamme, Director and Executive Producer, "Sports Night" Archived June 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Directors World. Accessed on December 13, 2007.
  4. ^ Sorkin, Aaron (May 22, 2002). Interview with Aaron Sorkin Archived July 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. The Today Show. Accessed on December 13, 2007.
  5. ^ a b c The West Wing, Episode 2.22: Two Cathedrals. Original airdate: May 16, 2001.
  6. The Two Bartlets
    . Original airdate: January 30, 2002.
  7. Holy Night
    . Original airdate: December 11, 2002,
  8. The Portland Trip
    . Original Airdate: November 15, 2000.
  9. ^
    The U.S. Poet Laureate
    . Original Airdate: March 27, 2002.
  10. He Shall, from Time to Time
    . Original Airdate: January 12, 2000.
  11. The Women of Qumar
    . Original Airdate: November 28, 2001.
  12. The Indians in the Lobby
    . Original Airdate: November 21, 2001.
  13. Shibboleth
    . Original airdate: November 22, 2000.
  14. Enemies Foreign and Domestic
    . Original airdate: May 1, 2002.
  15. ^ The West Wing, Episode 3.09: "Bartlet for America." Original airdate: December 12, 2001.
  16. A Good Day
    ." Original airdate: March 2, 2005.
  17. ^ The West Wing, Episode 3.14: "Hartsfield's Landing." Original airdate: February 27, 2002.
  18. Tomorrow
    ." Original airdate: May 14, 2006.
  19. In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part II
    ." Original airdate: October 4, 2000.
  20. ^ The West Wing, Episode 3.03: "Ways and Means." Original airdate: October 24, 2001.
  21. H. Con-172
    ." Original airdate: January 9, 2002.
  22. ^ The West Wing, Episode 4.06: "Game On." Original airdate: October 30, 2002.
  23. ^ The West Wing, Episode 4.23: "Twenty Five." Original airdate: May 14, 2003.
  24. ^ Dowd, Maureen. "Aaron Sorkin Conjures a Meeting of Obama and Bartlet." The New York Times.
  25. ^ Dowd, Maureen. "Two Presidents, Smoking and Scheming." The New York Times.
  26. ISBN 978-1442260757
    .
  27. ^ Nissen, Beth (August 18, 2000). A Presidential Sheen Archived February 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. CNN.com. Retrieved on December 13, 2007.
  28. ^ Poniewozik, James (March 25, 2002). "The new capitol gang: Once a prime-time pariah, government is hot. But will viewers vote with their remotes?". CNN.com. CNN. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  29. FOX Home Entertainment
    .
  30. ^ "44 Fake Presidents From Worst to Best". WSJ. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
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