I would have *REALLY LOVED* to have seen a spin-off of TWW, based on Josh's role as Chief of Staff (and by extension, Donna's role as the First Lady's Chief of Staff). I think Bradley Whitford and Janel Maloney would have knocked that out of the park.

I loved Josh's response to the question at the end of this scene, "What are they doing?" "Making plans."

At that very minute it was like Leo truly knew who Santos was all about and Leo was totaly on board

Tuneman1984 He lived for what he did. Being an actor. We all can just hope that we can do what we love.

I completely agree! He poured his heart and soul into this role and it showed.

That line was written and shot and aired long before John Spencer died. Chalk it up to "things we say and only learn to regret after a tragedy. It's like the child that screams at a parent, "I wish you were dead!" only to have that parent die shortly thereafter.

@@hermannmuller7303 I thought this scene was written and shot after he died.

@@hermannmuller7303 That's what "unfortunate" means.

Actually, WW would end its run anyway. However, his death changed the outcome of the "election". Vinnick was supposed to win originally.

@@ERYTHROGRAPHOS no there were talks of going to the 8th season before John Spencer died

@@darkgable85 Uhm, really? I saw all the documentaries and could nit find anything related..however, how awesome is we still talk about WW huh? Wish Jed would run again today 🙂

@@ERYTHROGRAPHOS martin sheen said that in a article

@@darkgable85 ahh ok!!

Exactly. If a sitting president is doing a good job though, they should t have to campaign too much. But they feel like they have to.

it s true sometimes the most ..................simple........thing was pointed out to me by Leo. Fiction meets reality is no accendent , it s a gift

The show must go on

You could really, really, really see and/or feel the shock and despair in the main cast. Everybody from Martin Sheen to Allison Janney to Bradley Whitford to Allison Smith (played Leo's daughter, Mallory) was shattered by Spencer's death. The odd thing is, *Leo's* death didn't happen for another 2-3 months after *John Spencer's* death, so it was almost like reliving it. The grief the cast felt was palpable and *SO* evident in their body language and on their faces. I applaud John Wells, et. al, for letting the cast kinda just run with Spencer's death and letting it all hang out, in terms of emotions and reactions. I mean, yeah, of course they had dialogue to do, but this was their chance to really, really grieve John Spencer's AND Leo's death, and they just ran with it.

@@storyofcory AMEN . if looks can break your heart, and they can, the whole main cast should have gotten an award but then you have to ask, where they REALLY acting, wrestle with THAT one

@@MoviePolitikagreed and in John’s honor!

They did, he also had cancer.

yes dude well written ty

Is Kamala the right successor for Biden?

Definitely not she's not who you want in a President

@@MoviePolitik Why not? What reasons do you have for saying that. I can only see two that you could possibly have and both do not put you in a good light.

@@robshepherd3782 The first woman President should be an inspiration to future women seeking the office they should have worked hard to get there, not be catapulted and put into the right place at the right time conveniently for them

NOT EVEN CLOSE.

@@chuckharner829 agreed. 2nd place could never catch up.

Further evidence of my great paranoid delusion, that the producers terminated Spenser with extreme prejudice to avoid having to do another season, with Vinnick (R) as president.

I see your point but the way they honnored John / Leo was as heartbreeating yet beautiful as you can get. just the look on each face when thet learn Leo died , they didnt have to say a word, broke me, that s the kind of honor both John and Leo deserved

They'd already left it to the end of the convention to choose the Presidential Nominee they had to choose fast

That's assuming the candidate really chose the running mate. Someone referred to the Gov. Palin nomination to the VP slot. Can we consider that was a party recommendation that the nominee was talked into accepting... A nominee chosen more to make the ticket younger, maybe cause the men in younger demos to vote with their smaller brain... Rather than a VP candidate being selected on qualifications, accomplishments, and strategic importance... like being a politician that's a big name in a state with major electoral implications (Reagan being the Governor of California putting California on the GOP column for instance... Texas gave the US 12 years of the Bush family and now has every politician who serves as Governor of Texas think the White House is their next destination. Or being Governor of Florida... something the last 3 Governors of Florida explored WH runs and the current one probably will do in 12 months...) So the idea that in this model... the nominee's chief of staff basically brokered the VP for the ticket... and the candidate hit the campaign trail and left team building as a "we'll get to that". Not hard to believe... considering I didn't get the impression a first-term senator from Illinois and a career politician from Delaware had much crossover before sharing a presidential ticket in 2008.

Members of the sitting administration are often seen as a drag to the electorate. They want a clean break. It’s why Obama convinced Biden not to run in 2016 due to the baggage of his era. I think Gerald Ford is the biggest example of someone who lost due to his historical ties. The problem with Leo running is that he was the architect of the Bartlett administration, which the GOP would use to suggest that Bartlett was still pulling the strings while out of office.

Can’t relate to politics but as someone who has been the second in command and then THE guy. It’s completely different when your the one who has to answer the tough questions on your own. It’s easy to sit back and analyze, much different when the spotlight is on you.

There were a few post-Sorkin contrivances but I don't think this was one of them. We tend to forget how easy it is to know what you're doing when you're watching someone else do it rather than doing it yourself. He knows politics very, very well as the man running things from behind the camera. What he's a novice at is being in front of it

Leo was a strategist. A brilliant political mind who knew how to run a campaign. Knowing how to run a campaign is far different than knowing how to campaign. Leo was a guy who could do everything behind the camera but was not comfortable in front of it.

@@jasonkoch3182 HIs press conference about drug addiction, and particularly his talk in front of the aids of the senators who had known drug issues would run counter to your point - he seemed very comfortable speaking publicly in a powerful way.

The point is, Santos and Leo bring different things to the ticket; there's a lot of similarities between them and Obama and Biden. Santos is young, charismatic and a skilled campaigner. Leo brings experience. Not just as Chief of Staff, but also as a former Labor Secretary. The other point is that at this point in the series, the Republicans control both houses of Congress. One of the functions of the VP is to serve as President of the Senate. Leo potentially could've wielded a lot of influence over the Senators.

actually no I think it was the PERFECT choice for Leo, at that point. Because the day to day responsibilities of WH Chief Of Staff (at least, a good one) are so overwhelming it's damn near incomprehensible. Especially after the previous heartattack, it would be very unfair to put those sort of expectations on Leo. No, you get the youth that Josh has in the CoS but also having significant experience already, and as the VP Leo doesn't technically have a ton of regular responsibilities, but he's like the perfect bullpen arm you can go to and get guidance just on a more limited, as needed basis.

Which also has the benefit of having the next in line for the presidency be someone who actually knows how the presidency works. Too often these days VP candidates are window dressing, picked for purely political purposes rather than to find the best person to actually take over the job should the need arise.

The job of the CoS is the run the administration. (Technically, since it's a position not created by law, the CoS's job is whatever the president says it is, but managing the administration is the most common). The VP has two jobs-break ties in the Senate, and take over if the President dies. And presidential deaths tend to come quickly: of the eight who have died in office, four of them (Lincoln, Harding, FDR, and JFK) woke up one day with no indication it would be their last day. McKinley lived seven days after being shot, but was recovering before taking a turn for the worse the day before he died. WH Harrison lived a little more than a week after getting sick, and it was five days for Taylor. Only James Garfield lived a substantial length of time after being shot (11 weeks). Given how quickly those transitions typically are, there isn't a lot of time for a VP to get his or her feet under them. And it's not like it's the 19th Century, when the slower pace of things could allow for it. Even by the time of FDR's death, things simply moved too quickly to allow it to happen. I'd go so far as to say it was damn near criminally negligent for Roosevelt to leave Truman so uninformed about what was going on with the war and the economy.

it makes him a party elder and someone to go to for advice because he cant handle the stressors fo the job anymore, so Josh can do msot of it, but then Leo can move in and help when his experience is golden. and in the event of something going wrong you got someone type of thing. but yeah a little

I find I watch more of the shows Mr. Sorkin wrote than the remaining episodes.

No, this episode aired before John Spencer's death. Just an unfortunate coincidence.

"The West Wing" is like pizza and sex--even when it was bad, it was still pretty good. ;)