“The streets of Heaven are too crowded with angels tonight... This is the time for American heroes, and we reach for the stars.” Never fails to make me and my father sob every damn time.

I remember the first time I saw this scene. Right after 9/11 and I realized Sorkin wrote the speech to the First Responders. First time I ever saw the 4th wall broken in that way. I went back and rewatched Seasons 1-4 giving them my full and proper attention. I still tear each time I see this scene.

This is what I'd like my President to sound like. Not just capable of great oratory, but to also be the embodiment of the sentiment behind it.

I lived in California on 9/11, and at about 2pm a group of my friends went down to the Red Cross to donate blood. The line was IMMENSE, and though the wait was long, NOBODY was short tempered. We shared food and drinks, played cards, and talked to our neighbors. At about 4 a spokesperson for the Red Cross came out and told us that they were going to have to shut down, because the volume of donations that day had depleted the Red Cross’s supplies for the entire region! That blew my mind! Before the dust had literally settled in NY, 3000 miles away, Americans had overwhelmed the Red Cross! What I love most about this scene is that it is NOT fictional. The storyline is, but the inspiration behind it happens all the time.

In my opinion, this is second ONLY to Bartlett's 'rant to god' in Two Cathedrals. Martin Sheen is magnificent in this scene and the writing is out of this world. The whole sequence is perfection. A great moment in tv history.

The speech is great but I really like the last bit, where Ron Silver asks Rob Lowe when he wrote the last part. When he says in the car, Silver just says "Freak." Mad respect.

President Bartlet's speech always makes me cry, but especially after tragedies like the bombing today in Boston and the Newtown shootings last December. The West Wing was one of the most brilliant shows on television because it actually reflected reality, often painfully but always in ways that gave you hope. Aaron Sorkin and the cast of the show have left a lasting legacy.

Possibly no other tv show captures the “feeling” of a national tragedy. The image of Toby, Josh, and Donna just looking at the tv is somehow almost as power as President Bartlett’s own speech. Almost

"When did you write that last part?" "In the car". "Freak"! LOL West Wing had the best writing with Sorkin and the actors delivered the lines perfectly, making it one of the best shows on television.

The Song “I don’t like Mondays” was written by an Irish band, The Boomtown Rats. It’s about a US school shooting in 1979, when asked why she did it, the shooter said it was become she didn’t like Mondays

"The streets of heaven are too crowded with angles" I've forgotten just how powerful that line was

"When did you write that last part?" "In the car." "Freak" xD

This is not only one of the best speeches in the show, it's one of the best monologues in TV history, up there with Bartlett cursing God.

"The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels tonight." The number of days we've had in this country where this line was all too relevant. Too many of those days.

"ran into the fire" always gets me. theres always one moment in almost every episode that chokes you up.

Jed Bartlett the best president we’ve ever had!

"Ran INTO the fire." If only we, as non fictional humans could be -- even once -- as metaphorically good and strong as those fictional characters we aspire to be. We should just keep trying.

When Sandy Hook happened, these lines kept running through my head. The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels tonight.

One of the finest segments of one of the finest shows ever put on TV in the history of the medium..

My God ... Every time I hear that speach, I get a very cold chill up my spine ... Not just because of the content. Not just the situation that invoked it. Not just Tori Amos's cover of 'I Don't Like Mondays' by Bob Geldof and The Boomtown Rats. But because, when I hear Pres. Bartlett speak, I hear the same tones, the same inflections, as JFK, who turned mere oritory into art ... ... and yes, Sam is a freak ...

Brilliant pairing of a background song with one of the most powerful scenes in television history.

Doesnt matter how many times I watch this scene. I always tear up. The writing, the performance, the meaning beyond the show.

"If our job teaches us anything, it's that we don't know what the next President's gonna face. And if we choose someone with vision, someone with guts, someone with gravitas, who's connected to other people's lives, and cares about making them better - if we choose someone to inspire us, then we'll be able to face what comes our way and achieve things we can't imagine yet. Instead of telling people who's the most qualified, instead of telling people who's got the better ideas, let's make it obvious. It's going to be hard." "...Then we'll do what's hard."

I want my President to be 100% just like this. To not only say the right thing but to feel heart and soul and mind what he or she is saying. For this year's Presidential election, i vote we write in a fourth choice -- President Jeb Bartlett ❤

After the events in Paris yesterday, I felt the need to come and watch this scene. Really does sum it all up perfectly. May all of those that died rest in peace.

I have to smile when she says "Kennison Hawkeyes." I was a student at the University of Iowa at the time this episode aired, which of course are the Hawkeyes and a Big Ten school. Cedar Rapids is 30 minutes from Iowa City. Sorkin could have just written "Iowa Hawkeyes", no one would have mistaken this for a real story.

I always thought the scene of Toby then Josh then Donna looking at the television set to be the most depressing. There they are, wet from the rain, still stranded, and ultimately defeated, and yet, they have it better than the bombing victims.

I'm not even American and I still got chills from this speech.

Boomtown Rats cover of I don’t like Mondays playing in the background, a song about one of the first publicized school shooting, a song about personal internal rage erupting into tragedy and easy access to a weapon.

I am not an American, I don't know much about American political system until I watched this show. But man, number of times I have watched this speech just surprises me and I will watch it again and again. The rhythm , the content the delivery, Aaron's best work in my opinion.

This is what made the show great in the first 4 seasons, and why Sorkin is one of the great writers/producers. The words,combined with the actors the music the lighting all work together to make this amazing.

"The streets of heaven is too crowded with angels.". That line has been playing repeatedly in my head since yesterday's tragedy.

So needed to watch this after yesterday's attack in Boston. Pres. Bartlett always knows what I need to hear.

We did not seek nor did we provoke an assault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive.For Manchester Today and all other cities and people that fell victime of terror attacks

That's when television programs were awesome

Allison Janney here is just as professional as it gets- the presidents speech is incredible. Martin Sheen is more presidential than what we’ve dealt with lately.

This has to be one of the best bits of a truly awesome show. Despite the tragic nature of the storyline, I could watch this video over and over.

It so weird to think that two of the men in this scene are dead. Both John Spencer and Ron Silver were brilliant actors.

Bruno: When did he write that last part? Sam: In the car. Bruno: ... Bruno: Freak.

"We will do what is hard, we will achieve what is great. This is the time for American Hero's and we reach for the stars." Thank you Arron Sorkin and Thanks for the post.

I just discovered the show on Netflix. It is amazing! How did I miss it all these years?

one of the best scenes from one of the best TV shows ever.

Cry everytime I see this.. The reaction from all of them and OOTUS speech😭😭😭😭

The three of them standing there watching the news and President Bartlet speaking in the next moment gets me every time.

02:48 "Everytime we think we have measured our capacity to meet a challenge, we look up and are reminded that that capacity may well be limitless. This is a time for American heroes, we will do what is hard..." The West Wing "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." President John F. Kennedy, Texas, September 12 1962

I love that scene. Aaron Sorkins writing and Martin Sheen delivering the words. Can't any better than that.

Still get chills watching this. The American people should have this kind of administration.

EVERYTIME I watch this scene I cry. Whenever I feel bad about the world I turn to this show and this president.

Aaron Sorkin your words have never been spoken louder than now

This clip while being one of the best 3 minutes in The West Wing series, is a microcosm of just how amazing this show was. I think sometimes it was overshadowed by the Sopranos which pretty much aired side by side. It is, as so many people have said before me, THE BEST....written, acted, directed and especially casted show in network TV history. I’ve watched the series from start to finish 4 times now and it gets better every single time.

Freak One of my fave parts of this show.

I REALLY MISS THE WEST WING!! NOTHING LIKE IT SINCE.

I've had this on repeat for the past 10 minutes. Just numb, no idea how to comprehend senseless evil like what happened last night.

This is my favorite episode ever. So many wonderful acting points by a number of people in a number of scenes. What a great show.

“The streets of Heaven are too crowded with Angels tonight.”

I miss this kind of television so much, it hurts. I want west wing to come back. Please Mr. sorkin. Bring it back.

I’ve probably seen this speech 30 times and I’ve cried every time. Amazing

20 hours in America is some of the best tv ever made.

I love the ending. Bruno: When did you write the last part? Sam: In the car. Bruno: Freak!

During the events in Paris I was struck by similarity to this episode when witnesses reported that one of the security guards, hearing the shooting, ran towards the sound. He was one of the dead and a truly brave man.

This is truly one of my favorite scenes from TWW and I seek it out to watch every year around this time.

This just aired again here this morning on Bravo. This speech gets me everytime. Man is Martin Sheen good.

This is a time for American heroes and we reach for the stars..May God bless their memory..God bless you..and may God Bless THE United States of America...thank you..

The most moving moment of all 7 seasons - sheer unadulterated dramatic brilliance - with a touch of wry humour at the end

Every time I hear Tori Amos 's I don't like Mondays. I begin to cry recalling this episode. If only our next president could have this kind of presence and thought in his speeches. After Trump and Biden we desperately need it.

Simply outstanding! From timeless message, to capturing a peoples' hopes, to poetic expression. Simply outstanding!

Im not an American and I'm not a Hero, but for 29 Years and 10 Months I was a Person who Walked into Danger whenever it occurred. Running into Danger only gets you killed, because the faster you move the narrower becomes your Field of Vision. For almost 30 Years I walked.

It’s Bruno’s eye movement with a completely serious look that sells that last Freak comment. Perfect

The song is what gets me. Its a direct quote from the perpetrator of the Cleveland Elementary School shooting. The original is by the boomtown rats. It never made it big in the US, but it was number one in the UK for a month. Just the pain and the despair in the refrain. The kid who did it lived across the road from an elementary school, and fired upon the playground as people were arriving. Killing both the school principle and custodian. By some *miracle*, the 8 children she shot all survived their injuries. The girl in question was 16. Both she and her father slept on a single mattress on the living room floor in a house strewn with empty beer bottles. She'd tried to seek psychiatric help and been refused by her father. The summer before, she'd been arrested for shooting people out the window with a BB gun. Her probation officer for this offense said she needed psychiatric help and treatment for depression. Her father refused, and bought her a rifle for Christmas: She herself said she thought he wanted her to use it on herself. In 2001 she finally admitted her father had sexually abused her. She was charged as an adult, and sentenced to life in prison, the day she turned 18. After 25 years in prison, she was refused parol, on the grounds that she had committed selfharm four years earlier. The self harm consisted of carving the words "Unforgiven" and "Alone" into her skin. As its later said in this episode, nobody is born wanting to do this kind of thing. Nobody. It doesn't happen. Everytime I see a kid guilty of some appalling crime, my heart breaks because it means they were failed. They were failed by the people who should have helped t hem, long before they became capable of that. I can't imagine living that kind of life. I imagine those kids. I imagine the kids she tried to kill. The teachers she killed. Their families. And I think of how many opportunities there must have been throughout the years where some compassion, some mercy, some love might have been shown that could have averted some a calamity. Instead you have a broken, ruined person, and dozens of lives destroyed. And more than anything, I think, God. How is it possible that wasn't the moment that people said "okay, we need to change things." That that wasn't the year we look at the way that American society changed for good? There are so many people people out there, every single day. And we don't notice until they do something so appalling that we can punish them as adults and absolve ourselves and society of any possible responsibility or blame for not doing something sooner. Its just so... wrong. Its barbaric. The fact that its even possible for a child to do something like that, shows a complete breakdown of society. The fact that it happens time after time, again and again, reveals the soul of a society that is fine with punishing the guilty, but refuses to help the innocent. Its almost sacrilegious.

Years after this series ended, I still remember scenes with speeches such as this one. It's hard to think of a speech by any of the last half dozen or so US Presidents that is as powerfully moving as what we view here. It's a shame that the amazingly talented script writers from programs such as West Wing don't lend their skills to assist a President or a Presidential candidate whose agenda they support.

Bruno is probably the best guest character. You love him, but you also hate him. Over time, you realize that he has a soul after all.

Parts 1 & 2 were simply beautifully well written & stunningly well acted..Nothing else needs to be said..

Very, very good writing in this show. Not just here, but every episode.

⚽️Great🎞📽🎬 television series 👈

One of the best speeches I have ever heard and watched

I coach the debate team at my old high school. I make them watch things like Bartlet's speech in this for inspiration. Still makes me want to cry. 'The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels tonight'.

The writing in this show. Stunning

This is one of the best moments of The West Wing.

What an unbelievably Great T.V. Show. I wish there was more...

Don't know if it's Tori Amos or the inspiring words but, this scene always gives me chills

Will The West Wing ever stop being horribly relevant???

I so fondly remember the days when a President could not only speak in complete, grammatically accurate sentences, but also go more than 2 minutes without using the word "I"...

"Ran INTO the fire." As if there was any other choice to make.

Still gives me chills when I hear the speech.

"Ran into the fire" CHILLS !!

"The Streets of Heaven are too crowded with angels...." was actually used by Tom Hanks in his acceptance speech for the Acadamy Award in 1996.

The most brilliant 3:30 seconds in television history. Nothing is even close.

"The streets of Heaven are too crowded with angels tonight." One of the best lines in the whole series. A true homage to any heroes. Bravo.

This show should be "required viewing" for every President-Elect.

For most the best episode of TWW was Two Cathedrals, for me the best one (technically two) is 20 Hours In America It switches between the WH and real places in America, it's a perfect blend of TWW sense of humor (funniest moment in the series being the Timezones scene), dialogue, character relationships and emotions (with what is one of the greatest Bartlet speeches). Alll in all it delivers everything we love about the series, a perfect episode.

Such a chilling and haunting episode.

The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels tonight....

When the virus struck ... no inspiring speeches, no bold plans from Americans reaching for the stars, ... just excuses and rationalizations and stolen valor. Jed Bartlett would be awesome ... but we'll settle for some measure of competence and honor at this point. SOME measure.

Chills. Every time.

I miss the time in America when tragedies would actually cause everyday people to stop in the tracks. Now we just walk on by...

Martin really channeled JFK on that one

I MISS THIS SHOW!!!

What is so sad is that many people don't even stop to listen to information about things like this anymore.

Brilliant episode

Someone may have already mentioned this, but a part of that speech is “borrowed” from Lerner and Loewe’s CAMELOT. “This is the day of King Arthur, and we reach for the stars. This is the day of King Arthur, and violence is not strength and compassion is not weakness. We are civilized!” Aaron Sorkin was a musical theater major at Syracuse University, so he undoubtedly would have known this. Camelot would also play a major part in The Newsroom a few years later.