Good Clips from The West Wing
Constitution and Federalism
The 25th Amendment (Bartlet et al montage): The Twenty-Fifth (season 4)
We need a monarch (Toby and congresswoman): Third Day Story (season 6)
How a constitution works (Toby and Christopher Lloyd): The Wake Up Call (season 6)
Public Opinion, Campaigns, and Voting Behavior
FEC & soft money ban (Leo & Haskel): Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics (season 1)
Polling (‘let’s get our report card’): Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics (season 1)
Primary strategy (whole gang on campaign): In the Shadow of Two Gunmen Part II
(season 2)
President hates green beans but needs to win Oregon (CJ & Charlie): Galileo (season 2)
Polling numbers lie (Joey & Josh): The War At Home (season 2)
Swing states (Bruno schools Josh on election): Manchester II (season 3)
How to get a vote (multiple scenes): Ways and Means (season 3)
Soft money (Bruno & Sam): Gone Quiet (season 3)
State of the union real time polling: 100,000 Airplanes (season 3)
Using free media for campaign ad (Sam gets played): The Black Vera Wang (season 3)
Donna tells it like it is (campaigning v. listening) (Donna, Josh, Toby): 20 Hours in
America (season 4)
Anti-intellectualism (fortune cookie seminar and great authors): Red Mass (season 4)
Ridiculous campaign prep (picking Bartlet’s tie): Game On (season 4)
Election ideals (Will runs a dead guy): Game On (season 4)
Exit polls (Will and Josh): Election Day (season 4)
Choosing to back a candidate (Leo and Josh): Impact Winter (season 6)
How to get free media (Josh and Santos, staffers): Freedonia (season 6)
Candidates & religion (Vinnick press conf.): In God We Trust (season 6)
Likeability and candidacy (Josh & Joey): the Ticket (season 7)
Campaign message and “the question― (Josh & Edie): The Mommy Problem (season 7)
527 attack ads (Bruno, Vinick, and Sheila): The Al Smith Dinner (season 7)
Debates – real or a show (Vinick): The Debate (season 7)
Linkage Institutions
Press Secretary job (CJ’s dentist – Josh fills in): Celestial Navigation (season 1)
Press Secretary prep (CJ messes with Josh in hook): The Midterms (season 2)
Press power (Capitol v. White House): The Leadership Breakfast (season 2)
Answering every shot in the press (CJ, Sam, and Toby): H. Con-172 (season 3)
FCC lets corp. buy all stations/reporters don’t report (CJ and 3 reporters): Talking Points
(season 5)
How to do the press secretary thing (Toby and Kristin Chenowyth): The Hubbert Peak
(season 6)
Debt ceiling & political convention (CJ, Toby, Annabeth): In God We Trust (season 6)
Congress, Presidency, Bureaucracy, and Budget
Census (Sam tutors CJ): Mr. Willis of Ohio (season 1)
Press Secretary job (CJ’s dentist – Josh fills in): Celestial Navigation (season 1)
FEC board (appointment – Josh & Donna, Josh & Rep. ldrshp staff): Let Bartlett Be
Bartlett (season 1)
Pres. under anesthesia (Nancy, Leo, CJ, Danny): In the Shadow of Two Gunmen Part I
(season 2)
Pendleton Act (Leo & Zoe, then Bartlet): The Midterms (season 2)
State of the Union (whole episode): Bartlett’s Third State of the Union (season 2)
Filibuster (whole episode): The Stackhouse Filibuster (season 2)
CJ screws up (pres is relieved): Manchester I (season 3)
Veto (hook): On the Day Before (season 3)
The president’s day acc. Secretaries (Charlie & Deb): 20 Hours in America (season 4)
Newbie staffers (Josh, Sam, Donna): Debate Camp (season 4)
White House pushing a Senate vote (Josh et. al): Guns not Butter (season 4)
What’s a Press Secretary? (CJ intro on Access episode hook): Access (season 5)
Inside look at White House staff day (all – whole episode): Access (season 5)
The Judiciary, Civil Rights and Liberties
Full faith and credit (Josh and Ainsley re: gay marriage): The Portland Trip (season 2)
Dawes Act and broken treaties (CJ and guests): Indians in the Lobby (season 3)
Race and the draft (Toby & congressman): Angel Maintenance (season 4)
Mediocrity of choosing Supreme Court justices (Chief & Bartlet) ): Separation of Powers
(season 5)
A balanced Court (Lange, Mulready, and Toby): The Supremes (season 5)
Flag burning (Penn and Teller hook, then with Josh later): In the Room (season 6)
Children suffrage (Toby and the kids): A Good Day (season 6)
Public Policy
Estate tax (whole episode): On the Day Before (season 3)
Poverty formulas (Sam): Indians in the Lobby (season 3)
Tax returns (Bartlet and Charlie, then Leo): Stirred (season 3)
Tax policy explained con. & lib. (Will and interns): The California 47th (season 4)
Progressive tax (Will and interns): Red Haven’s On Fire (season 4)
Social security crisis (Toby and walking lawsuit): Slow News Day (season 5)
Debt ceiling & political convention (CJ, Toby, Annabeth): In God We Trust (season 6)
Foreign and Defense Policy
Russian silo episode (secrecy): Galileo (season 2)
Receiving ambassadors (Thailand: Leo’s contraption): The Drop In (season 2)
China/Taiwan (Bartlett on phone w/ Leo + more): Hartsfield’s Landing (season 3)
Britain/Ireland conflict (Toby and Sir John Marbury): Dead Irish Writers (season 3)
Differentiated responsibility (Bartlet & Sec. of En.): 20 Hours in America (season 4)
$400 ashtray explanation (Christian Slater & Donna): Process (season 4)
Foreign diplomacy – presidency (Bartlet & Russian pres.): Evidence of Things Not Seen
(season 4)
Taiwan and China and flag (Josh, CJ, Toby): A Change is Gonna Come (season 6)
China and Taiwan and chief of staff (Leo and CJ): A Change is Gonna Come (season 6)
US policy on Cuba (Bartlet and CJ): Ninety Miles Away (season 6)
Miscellaneous
How oil companies avoid litigation (Sam in the boardroom): In the Shadow of Two
Gunmen Part I (season 2)
Puerto Rico and statehood : Galileo (season 2)
Lend Lease Act (Josh and Donna): Bad Moon Rising (season 2)
Cartographers for social change (big block of cheese): Somebody’s Going … (season 2)
Human trafficking (Josh and Amy): The Women of Qumar (season 3)
Clips
Affirmative Action (Chapter 19)
Season 3 Episode 13, 17:52-19:32
Black Reparation (Chapter 19)
Season 1 Episode 18, 16:55-19:19, 23:20-24:33, 39:36-42:38
Census (Chapter 8)
Season 1 Episode 6, 16:00-17:00, 20:58-21:30, 21:45-28:05
Death Tax (Chapter 11 or 16)
Season 3 Episode 4, 17:04-19:46
Democratic Ideal (Founding Fathers) (Chapter 1-3) Season 6 Episode 14,
33:00-34:53,
ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) (Chapter 19) Season 2 Episode 18,
10:00-10:50, 21:53-22:33, 30:13-31:35, 36:00-37:07
Euthanasia (Chapter 19)
Season 5 Episode 9, 18:56-20:43
Flag Burning (Chapter 19)
Season 1 Episode 16, 16:42-19:35, 27:35-27:50
Filibuster (Chapter 11)
Season 2 Episode 17 (whole episode)
Illegal Immigrants (Amnesty) (Chapter 11) Season 3 Episode 4,
35:25-36:58
Islam 9/11
Season 3 Episode 1 (whole episode)
Marijuana (Chapter 17)
Season 2 Episode 15, 0:45-2:48, 3:50-6:30, 18:34-19:02,
Nuclear Proliferation (Chapter 20)
Season 5 Episode 13, 00:00-2:19, 3:05-5:35, 15:50-19:35, 32:45-33:46,
36:20-39:35
Press Secretary (day in the life of) (Chapter 12) Season 5 Episode 16
(whole episode)
School Prayer (Chapter 18 or 19)
Season 2 Episode 8, 16:14-19:13, 28:03-29:42
Separation of Powers (Chapter 3)
Season 6 Episode 8, 23:36-24:53
Social Security (Chapter 16)
Season 5 Episode 12, 4:51-7:08, 8:24-9:54, 14:20-14:58, 26:52-27:54,
38:37-42:50
Supreme Court (Chapter 14)
Season 1 Episode 9 (whole episode)
Supreme Court (Conservatives vs. Liberals) (Chapter 7 or 14) Season 5
Episode 15, 32:18-32:43, 33:00-34:21, 34:43-35:10, 39:15-39:41
Taxes (Chapter 16)
Season 4 Episode 16, 12:22-14:30
Terrorism (pre-emptive murder) (Chapter 20) Season 3 Episode 21,
29:00-32:2
Vouchers (Chapter 15)
Season 1 Episode 18, 20:58-22:42, 30:09-30:45
Here is also a list I found online. There is some overlap but also some new stuff.
•
"On The Day Before" (Season 3, Episode 3)--Congress repeals the Estate Tax, President vetoes,
Congress holds an override vote the same night and White House staff have to negotiate with members to
uphold the veto
•
"The Short List" (Season 1, Episode 9)--President picks a Supreme Court nominee; outstanding
discussions of strict v. loose constructionism, consequences of making the 'wrong' lifetime appointment, and
consultation with Senate Judiciary
•
"A Proportional Response" (Season 1, Episode 3)--President has to order his first military strike; a good
way to introduce the characters, the importance of senior White House advisors and see how Commander-inChief responsibilities weigh on a new President
•
"The State Dinner" (Season 1, Episode 7)--Our textbook talks about the many 'hats' a President has to
wear at various times of the day (Commander-in-Chief, Head of State, Chief Law Enforcer, Leader of Political
Party, Spokesman for National Policy, etc.), and this episode is a great way to show how these different roles are
juggled: they're hosting a state dinner for the President of Indonesia, there's a military situation with a carrier
group getting caught in a hurricane, there's a hostage situation with Idaho survivalists in a standoff with FBI and
ATF, and the Teamsters Union are threatening to strike if they don't get concessions from the trucking industry
•
"He Shall From Time to Time..." (Season 1, Episode 12)--President is about to give State of the Union;
when teaching about Presidential line of succession, I show just the final scene where he's talking to the
Secretary of Agriculture, who's the person who's been 'left behind at a secure location' on this particular night
Other possibilities:
•
For Legislative Branch/bill becoming law--"Five Votes Down" (Season 1, Episode 4); trying to pass
gun control legislation and 5 Congressmen change their minds at last minute
•
For Judicial Branch--"The Supremes" (Season 5, Episode 17); an AMAZING episode (one of my alltime favorites), where there are actually 2 Court vacancies at the same time and they decide to try and appoint
one ultra-liberal (Glenn Close) and one ultra-conservative (William Fichtner). The debates that come up are
phenomenal, but I think it might be a bit over the head of some of many students, plus it's one of those episodes
that doesn't make as much without a couple episodes' worth of back-story leading up to it
•
There were also a few episodes from the final season-and-a-half, which followed the election for who
would follow President Bartlet. Again, parts of these may not make a ton of sense without backstory, but certain
scenes would probably work.
•
"King Corn" (Season 6, Episode 13)--all about the Iowa caucuses
•
"Freedonia" (Season 6, Episode 15)--all about New Hampshire primary
•
"2162 Votes" (Season 6, Episode 22)--all about Democratic convention, but where nominee isn't settled
going into it and 3 candidates must fight for every delegate; seemed pretty relevant during part of ObamaHillary campaign
•
"The Last Hurrah" (Season 7, Episode 20)--after the election, President-Elect Santos (Jimmy Smits)
asks his vanquished Republican opponent, Sen. Vinick (Alan Alda) to be his Secretary of State; again, a lot of
resonance with Obama-Hillary
•
"Tomorrow" (Season 7, Episode 22)--series finale, when Bartlets leave White House and new President
is sworn in. I showed this on Inauguration Day and it worked very well for the classes who couldn't watch the
Obama Inauguration live
"Five Votes Down" is also good, as is the finale of season 3 "Posse Comitatus" which deals with a welfare
reform bill, plus there's some good Commander-in-Chief stuff for the President as he contemplates whether or
not to order an assassination of a terrorist.
I always use the episode "Shutdown"...that focuses on a budget battle...and "Five Votes Down"
The "Stackhouse Filibuster" is a good one, also, to show the relationship between the president and his own
party in Congress and the political manipulation behind closed doors.
"The Crackpots and These Women" is a great episode where staffers are meeting with various groups who
normally don't get a chance to talk to the White House.
For identifying key issues, show "The Debate" on the 7th season of West Wing. You would not believe the
relevant issues-identical issues in the 2008 election...down to Santos' slogan-"America, we can"!
Season 1 Episode 14 Sabbath Day (Capital Punishment)
Season 2 Episode 17 Stackhouse Filibuster
Season 3 Episode 1 Isaac & Ishmael (1st week sudent expectations)
Season 5 Episode 17 The Supremes (Politics of SC appointments)
Season 7 Episode 7 Live Debate
Season 7 Episode 22 Tomorrow (after AP Exam wraps up class)