Plot
The West Wing staffers, especially Toby, hope to defeat an amendment prohibiting population sampling as a means of taking the census, as opposed to a head count, which could be inaccurate. C.J. is confused about the difference, and asks Sam to teach her. The debate over the sampling amendment is also holding up the annual appropriations bill. Donna wants to know why the government doesn't return the surplus to the taxpayers, and Josh explains the Democratic Party's approach to extra money.
Toby meets with three Congressmen from the Republican Party; one vote from them would defeat the amendment and allow the appropriations bill to move through Congress. Among them is Mr. Willis, an African-American man from Ohio. His wife was a Congresswoman from the state, but her sudden death has placed him in the seat. The Republicans argue that the Constitution clearly defines that a head count is necessary for a census. Toby and Mandy read that particular portion out loud, but omit several words. Mr. Willis, an eighth-grade social studies teacher, provides the missing phrase—one that demands that all free men be counted, and others be counted as "three-fifths" of a person. Mr. Willis abruptly ends the meeting by announcing that he will vote against including the amendment, shocking his fellow Republicans. Toby asks him why, and Willis explains that it was Toby's intelligent argument that persuaded him. The amendment ends up remaining in committee, while the rest of the appropriations bill is sent for a full House vote.
Meanwhile, the President asks Josh to take Charlie out for a beer, as he fears his young aide does not have friends. Zoey and Mallory tag along, inviting Sam and C.J. At the bar, Charlie feels uncomfortable, as he is not a college student. When a group of troublemakers pays unnecessary attention to Zoey, Charlie goes to her aid, only to be met with racial and homophobic abuse. Josh and Sam join him, and use Zoey's panic button to summon Secret Service agents to arrest the youths.
When Bartlet hears about Zoey's encounter, he loses his temper and illustrates the nightmare scenario in which she goes
out to a bar or a party in some club, and you get up to go to the restroom, somebody comes up from behind, puts their hand across your mouth, and whisks you out the back door. You're so petrified, you don't even notice the bodies of the two Secret Service agents lying on the ground with bullet holes in their heads, then you're whisked away in a car. It's a big party with lots of noise, and lots of people coming and going, and it's a half hour before someone says "hey, where's Zoey?" this country no longer has a Commander in Chief, it has a father who's out of his mind because his little girl is in a shack somewhere in Uganda with a gun to her head!
Zoey is stunned and scared by her father's reaction, and he apologizes. Bartlet's anger is stemming from the news that Leo is breaking up with his wife. Bartlet makes amends with Leo, and tells him to "fix it." When Josh tells Bartlet about Charlie's willingness to defend Zoey, the President invites Charlie to join his infamous poker game. The episode ends with the other staffers preparing to play poker, while Toby watches the vote on the appropriations bill for "one vote": Mr. Willis's.
Read more about this topic: Mr. Willis Of Ohio
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