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{{Person
  
{{Person
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|name =Josiah E. Bartlet
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|name =
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|image = Josiah Bartlet.jpg
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|image = josiahbartlet.png
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|caption =
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|seasons = [[Season 1|1]], [[Season 2|2]], [[Season 3|3]], [[Season 4|4]], [[Season 5|5]], [[Season 6|6]], [[Season 7|7]]
  
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|birthname = Josiah Edward Bartlet
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|jobs = [[President of the United States]]<br>([[1999]] – [[2007]])
  
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|first = [[Pilot]]
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|dob = 1942
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|profession = Politics<br>Economics
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|last = [[Tomorrow]]
  
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|jobs = <small>'''[[1999]] – [[2007]]'''</small><br/>[[President of the United States]]<br/>Congressman<br/>[[Governor]] of [[New Hampshire]]
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|actor = [[Martin Sheen]]
  
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|affiliation = [[Democratic Party]]
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|nickname = Jed<br>Liberty (Secret Service code name)<ref>"Liberty is down!" from [[He Shall, from Time to Time...]]</ref>
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|nickname = Jed<br>Liberty (Secret Service code name)<ref>"Liberty is down!" from [[He Shall, from Time to Time...]]</ref><br>Eagle (Secret Service code name)<ref>"Eagle's moving." from [[Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc]]</ref>
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|gender = Male
  
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|hometown = Manchester, NH
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|dob = 1942
  
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|family = [[Dr. Bartlet]] (father)<br>[[Jonathan Bartlet]] (brother)<br>[[Elizabeth Bartlet]] (daughter)<br>[[Ellie Bartlet]] (daughter)<br>[[Zoey Bartlet]] (daughter)<br>Annie Westin (granddaughter)<br>Gus Westin (grandson)<br>[[Doug Westin]] (son-in-law)<br>[[Vic Faison]] (son-in-law)
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|hometown = Manchester, NH
  
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|romances = [[Abigail Bartlet]] (wife)
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|affiliation = Democratic Party
  
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|haircolor = Light Brown/Grey
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|family = Dr. Bartlet (father)<br>[[Jonathan Bartlet]] (brother)<br>[[Elizabeth Bartlet]] (daughter)<br>[[Eleanor Bartlet]] (daughter)<br>[[Zoey Bartlet]] (daughter)<br>Annie Westin (granddaughter)<br>Gus Westin (grandson)<br>[[Doug Westin]] (son-in-law)<br>[[Vic Faison]] (son-in-law)
  
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|eyecolor = Blue
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|romances = [[Abigail Bartlet]] (wife)
  
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|actor = [[Martin Sheen]]
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|birthname = Josiah Edward Bartlet
  
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|seasons =
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|profession = Politics<br>Economics
  
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|first = "[[Pilot]]"
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|haircolor = Light Brown/Grey
  
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|eyecolor = Blue
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|last = "[[Tomorrow]]"
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|only =
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}}'''President Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet, Ph.D., D.Hum.Litt.,''' was [[President of the United States]] from [[1999]] to [[2007]]. He was a popular politician, having never lost an election, and winning a second term as President in a landslide. His career in politics spanned 36 years, starting in 1971 and ending in 2007. Sometime in 1991, Bartlet had been diagnosed with relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis (MS). He kept this condition concealed, even during his first presidential campaign, for almost a decade and only a handful of other people knew. But in 2001, during his election to run for a second presidential term, he finally came out with it and told the entire world.
  
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}}{{Quote|If fidelity to freedom and democracy is the code of our civic religion, then surely the code of our humanity is faithful service to that unwritten commandment that says “We shall give our children better than we ourselves had”|Josiah Bartlett at the Nashua VFW Hall, 1997|In the Shadow of Two Gunmen (Part I)}}'''President Josiah Edward “Jed” Bartlet, Ph.D., D.H.L. (Hon.),''' serves as [[President of the United States]] from [[1999]] to [[2007]]. He is a successful politician, having never lost an election and winning a second term as President in a landslide. His career in politics spans 36 years, from 1971 to 2007. Sometime in 1991, Bartlet is diagnosed with relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis; he hides it during his first presidential campaign for all but a handful of people until, in his 2001 reelection run, he finally makes it public.
   
 
==Biography==
  
==Biography==
   
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Josiah Edward Bartlet, known to people close to him as "Jed," was born in the early 1940s in [[New Hampshire]], the elder of two sons. His great-great-great-great grandfather was Dr. [[Josiah Bartlett]], a signer of the [[wikipedia:United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]]. <ref>"My great grandfather's great-grandfather was Dr. Josiah Bartlett, who was the New Hampshire delegate to the second Continental Congress" from [[What Kind of Day Has It Been?]]</ref> While his father was a Protestant, his mother was a devout [[wikipedia:Roman Catholic|Roman Catholic]]. Jed was brought up in the Catholic faith and remained Catholic for the rest of his life. As a child, his brother, [[Jonathan Bartlet|Jon]], locked him in a steamer trunk. He claimed there were actually steamers in the trunk and young Jed remembered being surrounded by seafood.<ref>"Yes. I remember being locked in a steamer trunk." "There were actual steamers in there with me, Charlie. I was in there with seafood." from [[Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail]]</ref>
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Josiah Edward Bartlet, known to people close to him as “Jed”, was born in the early 1940s in [[New Hampshire]], the elder of two sons. His great-great-great-great-grandfather was Dr. [[Josiah Bartlett]], a signer of the [[wikipedia:United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] <ref>''“My great grandfather’s great-grandfather was Dr. Josiah Bartlett, who was the New Hampshire delegate to the Second Continental Congress”'', from “[[What Kind of Day Has It Been?]]”</ref>. While his father was Protestant, his mother was a devout [[wikipedia:Roman Catholic|Roman Catholic]]; he was brought up a Catholic and remained so for the rest of his life. As a child, his brother [[Jonathan Bartlet|Jon]] locked him in a steamer trunk <ref>''“Yes. I remember being locked in a steamer trunk. There were actual steamers in there with me, Charlie. I was in there with seafood”'', from “[[Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail]]”</ref>.
   
 
== Education ==
  
== Education ==
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Every morning, Jed walked to his school from his house a short distance away with a fresh hanky in his pocket, and a spring in his step.<ref>"I walked to school every morning in weather colder than this." from [[Inauguration: Over There (Part II)]]</ref> [[Bartlet (Headmaster)|His father]] was the headmaster of a prestigious preparatory school. Dr. Bartlet used his position as headmaster to allow his son to enter the school.<ref>"You're at the school because I'm the headmaster." from [[Two Cathedrals]]</ref>While attending school in 1960, Bartlet got in trouble with his father for a stunt he pulled on Professor [[Loomis]], the professor of literature at the school. Bartlet and a group of friends wrote an article condemning Loomis for banning books such as "Fahrenheit 451," and works by D.H. Lawrence and Henry Miller. This was one of the many times Bartlet received a slap from his father.<ref>From a scene in [[Two Cathedrals]]</ref> Their relationship would always be strained (or as Jed later categorized it, "complicated").
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He walked every morning from his house to his school, a short distance away, with a fresh hanky in his pocket and a spring in his step <ref>''“I walked to school every morning in weather colder than this”'', from “[[Inauguration: Over There (Part II)]]”</ref>. [[Dr. Bartlet|His father]] was the headmaster of a prestigious preparatory school. Dr. Bartlet used his headmaster positoin to allow his son to enter the school <ref>''“You’re at the school because I’m the headmaster”'', from “[[Two Cathedrals]]”</ref>. While attending it in 1960, he got in trouble with his father for a stunt he pulled on [[Loomis]], the school’s Literature professor, co-writing with a group of friends an article condemning him for banning books such as “Fahrenheit 451,” and works by D.H. Lawrence and Henry Miller. This was one of the many times Bartlet’s father slapped him <ref>From a scene in “[[Two Cathedrals]]”</ref>; their relationship would always be strained (or, as he later described it, "complicated").
   
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Bartlet received a 1590 (ten points shy of a perfect 1600) on his SATs. After retaking the test, he again received a 1590.<ref>"I got 800/790. For the life of me, I can't imagine what I got wrong. Then I took them again, and got 800/790. I mean, is it possible there was some sort of number-two pencil anomaly that could've...?" from [[Holy Night]]</ref>Many people, including [[Leo McGarry|Leo]] and [[Stanley Keyworth]], thought that it was strange that he took the test again after receiving a near-perfect score. After high school, Bartlet was accepted to Harvard University, Yale University, Williams College, and the University of Notre Dame. He decided on Notre Dame because he was considering entering the clergy.<ref>"You were accepted at Harvard, Yale, and Williams." from [[The Portland Trip]]</ref> According to Abbey, Bartlet speaks four languages (presumably including Latin and German); none of them, however, is French<ref>[[The Indians in the Lobby]]</ref>.
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Bartlet scored 1590 (ten points shy of a perfect 1600) on his SAT, retook the test, and again received 1590 <ref>“I got 800/790. For the life of me I can’t imagine what I got wrong. Then I took them again, and got 800/790. I mean, is it possible there was some sort of number-two pencil anomaly that could’ve...?”, from “[[Holy Night]]”</ref>; many, including [[Leo McGarry|Leo]] and [[Stanley Keyworth]], thought it strange that he took the test again after receiving a near-perfect score. After high school, Bartlet was accepted to Harvard University, Yale University, Williams College and the University of Notre Dame; he decided on the latter as he was considering entering the clergy <ref>''“You were accepted at Harvard, Yale, and Williams”'', from “[[The Portland Trip]]”</ref> According to Abbey, Bartlet speaks four languages (presumably including Latin and German); none of them, however, is French <ref>“[[The Indians in the Lobby]]”</ref>.
   
 
=== '''University of Notre Dame''' ===
  
=== '''University of Notre Dame''' ===
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Bartlet did his undergraduate studies at the [[wikipedia:University of Notre Dame|University of Notre Dame]]<ref>Bartlet is seen wearing a Notre Dame sweatshirt in [[Five Votes Down]]</ref>. Bartlet's consideration about becoming a [[wikipedia:priest|priest]] ended when he met his future wife, [[Abigail Bartlet|Abigail]], and changed his studies<ref>From a conversation with [[C.J. Cregg]] in [[The Portland Trip]]</ref>. Notre Dame, however, would have been an all-men's school at the time, thus it is likely Abigail attended [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Mary%27s_College_%28Indiana%29 Saint Mary's College], the sister institution across the street. Bartlet might have attempted to play [[wikipedia:baseball|baseball]] for Notre Dame, but would be noted by [[Toby Ziegler]] and [[Charlie Young]] years later as being a bad pitcher.<ref>From a conversation in [[Memorial Day]], paraphrasing that the Notre Dame Athletic department would agree to make Bartlet wear a special pitching vest, instead of attempting pitching by himself.</ref>("[[Memorial Day]]") Bartlet "hated America's Pastime." ("Memorial Day") Bartlet graduated ''[[wikipedia:summa cum laude|summa cum laude]]'' from Notre Dame with a degree in [[wikipedia:American Studies|American Studies]]. He minored in [[wikipedia:theology|theology]].<ref>"For the record, the President graduated ''summa cum laude'' from the University of Notre Dame with a major in American Studies and a minor in theology." from [[The U.S. Poet Laureate]]</ref>
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Bartlet did his undergraduate studies at the [[wikipedia:University of Notre Dame|University of Notre Dame]] <ref>Bartlet is seen wearing a Notre Dame sweatshirt in “[[Five Votes Down]]”</ref>. His consideration of becoming a priest ended when he met his future wife [[Abigail Bartlet|Abigail]], and changed his studies <ref>From a conversation with [[C.J. Cregg]] in “[[The Portland Trip]]”</ref>. Notre Dame, however, would have been an all-men school at the time; thus it is likely she attended [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Mary%27s_College_%28Indiana%29 Saint Mary's College], the sister institution across the street. Bartlet might have attempted to play baseball, but [[Toby Ziegler]] and [[Charlie Young]] noted years later he was a bad pitcher <ref>From a conversation in “[[Memorial Day]]”, paraphrasing that the Notre Dame Athletic department would agree to make him wear a special pitching vest, instead of attempting pitching by himself.</ref>, and “hated America's pastime”. He graduated ''[[wikipedia:summa cum laude|summa cum laude]]'' from Notre Dame with a degree in [[wikipedia:American Studies|American Studies]], and minored in [[wikipedia:theology|Theology]] <ref>“For the record, the President graduated ''summa cum laude'' from the University of Notre Dame with a major in American Studies and a minor in theology”, from “[[The U.S. Poet Laureate]]”</ref>.
   
 
=== '''London School of Economics''' ===
  
=== '''London School of Economics''' ===
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After Notre Dame, Bartlet was accepted into the prestigious [[wikipedia:London School of Economics|London School of Economics]]. This was one of his major goals in life.<ref>According to [[Stanley Keyworth]] in [[Night Five]]</ref> When he was 26 years old, he wrote a paper supporting the deregulation of Far East trade barriers. This created an uproar in his school and he was "nearly thrown out."<ref>"When I was 26, I wrote a paper supporting the deregulation of Far East trade barriers. Nearly got thrown out of the London School of Economics. I was young and stupid, and trying to make some noise." from [[The Short List]]</ref>Regardless of this paper, Bartlet would go on to receive an MSc and eventually a doctorate from the school.<ref>"He received a Masters and a Doctorate at the London School of Economics" from [[The U.S. Poet Laureate]]</ref>
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After Notre Dame, Bartlet was accepted to the prestigious [[wikipedia:London School of Economics|London School of Economics]] <ref>According to [[Stanley Keyworth]] in “[[Night Five]]”</ref>. When he was 26 years old, he wrote a paper supporting the deregulation of Far East trade barriers that created an uproar in his school, and he was “nearly thrown out” <ref>''“When I was 26, I wrote a paper supporting the deregulation of Far East trade barriers. Nearly got thrown out of the London School of Economics. I was young and stupid, and trying to make some noise”'', from “[[The Short List]]”</ref>. Regardless, he would go on to receive an [[wikipedia:Master of Science|MSc]] and eventually a doctorate from the school <ref>''“He received a Masters and a Doctorate at the London School of Economics”'', from “[[The U.S. Poet Laureate]]”</ref>.
   
 
==Economics Career==
  
==Economics Career==
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Bartlet became a tenured economics professor<ref>"I am an economics professor..." from [[The Crackpots and These Women]]</ref> at [[Dartmouth University]], which was another major goal in his life<ref>According to [[Stanley Keyworth]] in [[Night Five]]</ref>. While at Dartmouth, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters<ref>"...a Doctorate at the London School of Economics and an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Dartmouth University where he was a tenured professor." from [[The U.S. Poet Laureate]]</ref>. As a professor and researcher, Bartlet became world famous, eventually winning the Nobel Prize in Economics.<ref>"Jed Bartlet, Nobel Laureate in Economics..." from [[Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc]]</ref> He actually "tied" with another economist from Japan for that year, a point that always annoyed him. He also wrote the book ''[[Theory and Design of Macroeconomics in Developing Nations]]'' (which judging from Toby Ziegler's reaction to the President's less-than-serious suggestion he talks about the book on live television, it was not a major page-turner).<ref>According to [[Josh Lyman]] in [[The U.S. Poet Laureate]]</ref>
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Bartlet became a tenured economics professor <ref>''“I am an economics professor...”'', from “[[The Crackpots and These Women]]”</ref> at [[Dartmouth University]], another major goal in his life <ref>According to [[Stanley Keyworth]] in “[[Night Five]]”</ref>. While at Dartmouth he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters <ref>''“...a Doctorate at the London School of Economics and an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Dartmouth University where he was a tenured professor”'', from “[[The U.S. Poet Laureate]]”</ref>. As a professor and researcher, Bartlet became world-famous, eventually winning the Nobel Prize in Economics <ref>''“Jed Bartlet, Nobel Laureate in Economics...”'', from “[[Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc]]”</ref>; he actually “tied” for that year with another economist from Japan, which always annoyed him. He also wrote the book ''[[Theory and Design of Macroeconomics in Developing Nations]]'' (which, judging from Toby Ziegler's reaction to the President’s less-than-serious suggestion to talk about it on live television, wasn’t a major page-turner) <ref>According to [[Josh Lyman]] in “[[The U.S. Poet Laureate]]”</ref>.
 
:''It is likely he won the Nobel Prize while he was a politician, as he references his daughter [[Ellie Bartlet|Ellie]] being in third grade at the time of his award (presumably the late 1970s), and he entered politics presumably in the early 1970s.''
  
:''It is likely he won the Nobel Prize while he was a politician, as he references his daughter [[Ellie Bartlet|Ellie]] being in third grade at the time of his award (presumably the late 1970s), and he entered politics presumably in the early 1970s.''
   
 
==Political Career==
  
==Political Career==
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By 1971, [[Josiah Bartlet]] had been elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives<ref>"28 years ago, I come home from a very bad day at the State House." from [[Pilot]]</ref>. From the New Hampshire State House, Bartlet started his political career, and learned the basics of politics<ref>"What about state legislature? It's the place to learn. The President started there..." from [[Abu el Banat]]</ref>. Bartlet served in the House, not the US Senate, so is unaware of Senate rules. (Ref. "Grandfathers- The Stackhouse Filibuster") Bartlet ran against [[Republican]] [[Elliot Roush]] for United States [[House of Representatives]] and won.<ref>"I don't know who Elliot Roush is..." "I beat him in my first Congressional campaign." from [[The Midterms]]</ref> Despite the win, Bartlet seemed to harbor resentment towards Roush due to what Bartlet perceived as a tendency to twist Scriptural teachings in order to support bigoted beliefs. Bartlet would go on to serve three terms in the House.<ref>"Jed Bartlet, Nobel Laureate in Economics, three-term congressman..." from [[Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc]]</ref>
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By 1971, [[Josiah Bartlet]] had been elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives <ref>''“28 years ago, I come home from a very bad day at the State House”'', from “[[Pilot]]”</ref>, where he started his political career and learned its basics <ref>''“What about state legislature? It's the place to learn. The President started there...”'', from [[Abu el Banat]]</ref>. He served in the House, not the US Senate, and so is unaware of Senate rules. <ref>“[[The Stackhouse Filibuster]]”</ref>. Bartlet ran against [[Republican]] [[Elliot Roush]] for United States [[House of Representatives]] and won <ref>''“I don't know who Elliot Roush is... I beat him in my first Congressional campaign”'', from “[[The Midterms]]”</ref>, but seemed to harbor resentment towards Roush due to a perceived tendency to twist Scriptural teachings in order to support bigoted beliefs. Bartlet would go on to serve three terms in the House <ref>“Jed Bartlet, Nobel Laureate in Economics, three-term congressman...”, from “[[Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc]]”</ref>.
   
 
=== '''MS Diagnosis''' ===
  
=== '''MS Diagnosis''' ===
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Sometime in the early 1990s, over a time of several months, Bartlet started to feel somewhat unwell and had a pain in his right leg, both of which eventually went away. However, the pain came back about two years later, in addition to numbness. Bartlet also would feel dizzy and his vision would sometimes be blurry. After an eye-exam doctor detected abnormal pupil responses, the doctor ordered an MRI. A radiologist discovered plaques on Bartlet's spine and brain, leading the doctors and Bartlet himself to learn that he had, and still has, a relapsing/remitting course of MS, or Multiple Sclerosis, a chronic disease of the central nervous system. And originally, prior to the start of the series, only a handful of other people (at least a little over a dozen) knew he had MS, including himself as well as his wife Abbey, their three daughters, his brother, the vice president, the chairman of the joint chiefs, and several other doctors. After the diagnosis, Bartlet kept this information concealed from the rest of the world.
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Sometime in the early 1990s, over a time of several months, Bartlet started to feel unwell and had a pain in his right leg, both of which eventually went away. However, the pain came back with numbness about two years later; he’d also feel dizzy and his vision blurred sometimes. An ophthalmologist detected abnormal pupil responses and ordered an MRI; a radiologist discovered plaques on his spine and brain, leading the doctors and Bartlet himself to learn that he had a relapsing-remitting course of Multiple Sclerosis, a chronic disease of the central nervous system. Prior to the series’ start, only a little over a dozen people knew, including himself as well as Abbey, their three daughters, his brother, the Vice-President, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and other doctors. Bartlet kept the diagnosis concealed from the rest of the world.
   
 
=== '''Governor of New Hampshire''' ===
  
=== '''Governor of New Hampshire''' ===
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Bartlet served two terms as the Governor of New Hampshire.<ref>"...three-term congressman, two-term
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Bartlet served two terms as Governor of New Hampshire <ref>''“...three-term congressman, two-term
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Governor" from [[Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc]]</ref> He served his first term as Governor from [[1991]] to [[1995]] and his second term from [[1995]] to [[1999]]<ref>"I remember a time in the Governor's mansion. It was about ten years ago..." from [[In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part I]]</ref>. As Governor, Bartlet was very popular with the people of New Hampshire, and won his second term with 69% of the vote, a margin very impressive for a Democrat in the Libertarian-conservative leaning state. <ref>"I was saying, what I don't understand is you guys were such fans of the President, you loved him when he was governor." from [[Hartsfield's Landing]]</ref> He was so popular, in fact, that when he decided to later run for President of the United States, his staff encouraged him to all but ignore the New Hampshire primary as he had no chance of losing it. Governor Bartlet was for strict state seatbelt laws, but failed to act on it, because it would waste time in the state legislature.<ref>"And I was for it then. Never did anything about it because nobody wanted it." from [[The Women of Qumar]]</ref>
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Governor”'', from “[[Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc]]”</ref>, from [[1991]] to [[1995]], and then from [[1995]] to [[1999]] <ref>''“I remember a time in the Governor's mansion. It was about ten years ago...”'', from “[[In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part I]]”</ref>. As Governor, Bartlet was very popular with the people of New Hampshire and won his second term with 69% of the vote, a very impressive margin for a Democrat in the Libertarian Conservative-leaning state <ref>''“I was saying, what I don’t understand is you guys were such fans of the President, you loved him when he was governor”'', from “[[Hartsfield's Landing]]”</ref>; so popular in fact that, when he later decided to run for President of the United States, his staff urged him to all but ignore the New Hampshire primary, as he had no chance of losing it. Governor Bartlet was for strict state seatbelt laws but failed to act on it, which wasted time in the state legislature <ref>''“And I was for it then. Never did anything about it because nobody wanted it”'', from “[[The Women of Qumar]]”</ref>.
   
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Bartlet also signed into state law the Historic Barn and Bridges Preservation Act, an act that he later regretted when it interfered with his plans for his Presidential Library. The law provided that certain barns, bridges, and other buildings more than a century old needed to be preserved. <ref>"What plaid flannel-wearing, cheese eating, yahoo of a milkman governor signed that idiot bill into state law? It was me, wasn't it?" from [[Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail]]</ref> As Governor, Bartlet had to deal with several state lawsuits.<ref>"Have I ever been party to a lawsuit? I was governor of New Hampshire. Anybody who..." from [[Bad Moon Rising]]</ref> One of his primary concerns as governor was tourism. During his terms, he somewhat reluctantly approved the use of the slogan "New Hampshire, It's what's new" and increases in snowmobile and "fall foliage" tourism.<ref>From a scene in [[Bartlet for America]]</ref> He appointed Robert Nolan to the New Hampshire State Medical Board, possibly because he was a colleague of Bartlet's wife, Abbey.<ref>"Yeah, they worked together for 20 years, and I was the governor who appointed him to the Board." from [[Dead Irish Writers]]</ref>
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Bartlet also signed into state law the Historic Barn and Bridges Preservation Act, which he later regretted when it interfered with plans for his Presidential Library—it provided that certain barns, bridges, and other buildings over a century old were to be preserved <ref>''“What plaid flannel-wearing, cheese eating, yahoo of a milkman governor signed that idiot bill into state law?... It was me, wasn’t it?”'', from “[[Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail]]”</ref>. As Governor, Bartlet had to deal with several state lawsuits <ref>''“Have I ‘ever been party to a lawsuit’? I was governor of New Hampshire! Anybody who...”'', from “[[Bad Moon Rising]]”</ref>. One of his primary concerns as Governor was tourism; during his terms, he somewhat reluctantly approved the use of the slogan ''“New Hampshire, It’s what’s new”'' and increases in snowmobile and "fall foliage" tourism <ref>From a scene in “[[Bartlet for America]]”</ref>. He appointed Robert Nolan to the New Hampshire State Medical Board, possibly because he was a colleague of his wife <ref>''“Yeah, they worked together for 20 years, and I was the governor who appointed him to the Board”'', from “[[Dead Irish Writers]]”</ref>.
   
 
==President of the United States==
  
==President of the United States==
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:''See [[United States presidential election, 1998]], the [[Bartlet Administration]] and [[Bartlet for America]] for more information.''
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:''See [[United States presidential election, 1998]], the [[Bartlet Administration]] and “[[Bartlet for America (1998)]]” for more information.''
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[[Image:Josiah_Bartlet.jpg|thumb|left]]It was at the end of his governorship that Bartlet's good friend, Leo McGarry, suggested a run for the Presidency. Following the concession by Senator John Hoynes, the one-time front-runner, Bartlet offered him the position of running mate. Governor Bartlet won the 1998 election with 303 electoral votes to 228 electoral, but only won a plurality of the popular vote.
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[[Image:Josiah_Bartlet.jpg|thumb|left]]It was at the end of his governorship that Bartlet’s good friend Leo McGarry suggested a run for the Presidency. Following the concession by one-time frontrunner Senator John Hoynes, Bartlet offered him the position of running mate. He won the 1998 election with 303 electoral votes to 228 electoral, but only a plurality of the popular vote.
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As President-Elect, Bartlet was angered that the outgoing Republican President seemed to be sticking him with a military conflict in the Philippines.[37] He remarked that he would have to remember to "fire Fitzwallace," but thankfully this never came to pass.
  
   
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As President-Elect, Bartlet was angered that the outgoing Republican President seemed to stick him with military conflict in the Philippines; he remarked that he’d have to remember to “fire Fitzwallace”, but this never came to pass.
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Bartlet was inaugurated as President of the United States on January 20th, 1999. His administration was a relative success in his first term. In May 2000, an attempt was made on the president's life while coming out of a town hall meeting in Rosslyn, Virginia. It was later revealed that Bartlet was not the original target of the assassination and made a full recovery. In the spring of 2001, Bartlet announced that he suffered from a relapsing-remitting course of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) which threatened his chances of being reelected in 2002. In spite of this, Bartlet announced that he would seek a second term against his Republican opponent Robert Richie. After a presidential debate in which Bartlet clearly came out on top, he won re-election in a landslide victory. Bartlet's second term began on January 20th, 2003.
  
   
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Bartlet was inaugurated as President of the United States on January 20th, 1999. His administration was a relative success in his first term. In May 2000, an attempt was made on the president's life while coming out of a town hall meeting in Rosslyn, Virginia; it was later revealed that he wasn’t the original target, and made a full recovery. In the spring of 2001, Bartlet disclosed that he suffered from a relapsing-remitting course of Multiple Sclerosis, which threatened his chances for reelection in 2002; still, he announced he’d seek a second term against his Republican opponent [[Robert Ritchie]]. After clearly coming on top in a presidential debate, he won reelection in a landslide victory. Bartlet’s second term began on January 20th, 2003.
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In May 2003, Vice President Hoynes resigned in the wake of a sex scandal. Later that same month, Bartlet's youngest daughter Zoey was kidnapped. Bartlet felt that he couldn't perform his duties objectively while worrying about his daughter, so he invoked the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, temporarily handing over the powers of the presidency to the next in line of succession. As the administration had no vice president at that time, the Republican Speaker of the House Glen Allen Walken was sworn in as Acting President. Zoey was eventually found alive and Bartlet resumed power three days later. 
  
   
  ⚫
In May 2003, Vice-President Hoynes resigned in the wake of a sex scandal. Later that same month, Bartlet's youngest daughter Zoey was kidnapped. Feeling that he couldn't perform his duties objectively while worrying about his daughter, he invoked the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, temporarily handing over presidential powers to the next in line of succession; as the administration had no vice president at the time, Republican Speaker of the House [[Glen Allen Walken]] was sworn in as Acting President. Zoey was eventually rescued, and Bartlet resumed power three days later.
⚫
In December 2005, Bartlet, while traveling aboard Air Force One to a summit in China, was left working from a wheelchair after having a massive MS episode. He gradually regained feeling but was relegated to walking with a cane. When President-Elect Matt Santos was inaugurated as the new President on January 20th 2007, Bartlet returned to his farm just outside Manchester, New Hampshire to enjoy retired life. The Josiah Bartlet Presidential Library was opened at the beginning of 2010 in Manchester, New Hampshire.
  
  +
  ⚫
In December 2005, while traveling aboard Air Force One to a summit in China, Bartlet was left working from a wheelchair after a major MS episode. He gradually regained feeling but was relegated to walking with a cane. When President-Elect [[Matthew Santos]] was inaugurated on January 20th, 2007, Bartlet returned to his farm just outside Manchester, New Hampshire to enjoy life in retirement. The Josiah Bartlet Presidential Library was opened at the beginning of 2010 in Manchester, New Hampshire.
   
 
==Religion==
  
==Religion==
−
Jed Bartlet's mother was a Roman Catholic and his father was a religious Protestant. Due to the poor relationship between Bartlet and his father, Jed chose to follow the faith of his loving mother. To this day, Bartlet remains a devout Roman Catholic, attending church every Sunday.
 +
Jed Bartlet’s mother was a Roman Catholic, his father a religious Protestant; due to the poor relationship with him, Jed chose to follow the faith of his loving mother. To this day, Bartlet remains a devout Roman Catholic, attending church every Sunday.
   
 
==Resume==
  
==Resume==
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==Trivia==
  
==Trivia==
−
"Jed" Bartlet was played by [[Martin Sheen]]. Although the show had an ensemble cast, the main character in the series became President Bartlet. Bartlet represents, in many ways, an "ideal liberal president," endowed with a fierce intellect, great (though not infallible) personal integrity and toughness, but tempered with essential compassion for the less fortunate and a sense of humor.
 +
“Jed” Bartlet was played by [[Martin Sheen]] and represents, in many ways, an “ideal liberal president” endowed with a fierce intellect, great if not infallible personal integrity and toughness, and tempered with essential compassion for the less fortunate and a sense of humor.
   
−
Bartlet was not originally intended to be a key member of the cast. He was only meant to make occasional appearances. [[Alan Alda]] (who would play [[Senator]] [[Arnold Vinick]]), George C. Scott (the star of ''[[Patton]]'') and Sidney Poitier were also considered for the role of President Bartlet.
 +
He wasn’t originally meant to be a key member of what was an ensemble cast, only to make occasional appearances, but he became the series’ main character. [[Alan Alda]] (who would play [[Senator]] [[Arnold Vinick]]), George C. Scott (the star of ''Patton'') and Sidney Poitier were also considered for the role.
   
  ⚫
The MS scandal is based on Bill Clinton’s impeachment, with whom Bartlet shares several traits. He also has similarities to John F. Kennedy; like him, Bartlet is a New England Democrat that defeated a far more qualified competitor for the Democratic nomination who was a U.S. Senator from Texas and became Senate Democratic floor leader in a short period of time—in Kennedy’s case this was [[Lyndon Johnson]]; in Bartlet’s, John Hoynes. Like Kennedy, he hid a serious illness during the presidential campaign that could have prevented him from winning the Democratic primary. Also like Kennedy, after winning the nomination he had to beg his former rival to accept the Vice-Presidency to secure support from the South and win the general election.
−
The MS scandal is based on the Bill Clinton Impeachment and Bartlet shares several similarities with former President Clinton.
  
−  
⚫
Bartlet also has similarities to John F. Kennedy. Like Kennedy, Bartlet is a New England Democrat who defeated a much more qualified competitor for the Democratic nomination who was a U.S. Senator from Texas who became Democratic floor leader in the Senate in a short period of time. In Kennedy's case this was [[Lyndon Johnson]], in Bartlet's case it was John Hoynes. Bartlet, like Kennedy, hid a serious illness during the presidential campaign that could have prevented him from winning the Democratic primary. After winning the nomination Bartlet, also like Kennedy, had to beg his former rival to accept the vice presidency in order to get support from the South and win the general election.
  
   
 
== People Who Knew ==
  
== People Who Knew ==
 
This is the list of people who originally knew Bartlet has MS prior to the start of the series, including himself.
  
This is the list of people who originally knew Bartlet has MS prior to the start of the series, including himself.
−
* [[Abbey Bartlet]]
 +
* [[Abigail Bartlet]]
−
* [[Elizabeth Westin|Elizabeth Bartlet]]
 +
* [[Elizabeth Bartlet]]
 
* [[Ellie Bartlet]]
  
* [[Ellie Bartlet]]
 
* [[Zoey Bartlet]]
  
* [[Zoey Bartlet]]
 
* Six Original Doctors and Radiologists
  
* Six Original Doctors and Radiologists
 
* [[Jonathan Bartlet]]
  
* [[Jonathan Bartlet]]
−
* [[Percy Fitzwallace|Chairman Percy Fitzwallace]]
 +
* [[Percy Fitzwallace]]
−
* [[Vice President Hoynes|Vice President John Hoynes]]
 +
* [[John Hoynes]]
−
This is the list of people who were told of Bartlet's condition throughout the series:
 +
This is the list of people who were told of Bartlet’s condition throughout the series:
 
* [[Leo McGarry]]
  
* [[Leo McGarry]]
 
* David Lee
  
* David Lee
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* [[Donna Moss]]
  
* [[Donna Moss]]
   
−
==Notes==
 +
==Notes and references==
  +
{{References}}
−
<references />
  
   
⚫
<!--President Bartlet is an accomplished economist, with a Masters and Ph.D. in economics from the [[London School of Economics]] and a Nobel Prize in Economics. Based on his tentative date of birth (August of 1940), he was likely a student during the famous protests held at the LSE between 1967-1969. He is a descendant of the real-life Josiah Bartlett, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Before entering politics Bartlet was a tenured professor of economics at [[Dartmouth College]], where he received an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters.
 
   
  ⚫
<!--President Bartlet is an accomplished economist, with a Masters and Ph.D. in economics from the [[London School of Economics]] and a Nobel Prize in Economics. Based on his tentative date of birth (August of 1940), he was likely a student during the famous protests held at the LSE between 1967-1969. He is a descendant of the real-life Josiah Bartlett, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Before entering politics Bartlet was a tenured professor of economics at [[Dartmouth College]], where he received an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters.
⚫
Like his ancestor, he was governor of [[New Hampshire]]. Prior to serving two terms as governor, Bartlet served on the New Hampshire State Board of Education and was a three-term member of the United States House of Representatives and either a representative or senator in the New Hampshire State Legislature (the show does not make clear which).
 
   
  ⚫
Like his ancestor, he was governor of [[New Hampshire]]. Prior to serving two terms as governor, Bartlet served on the New Hampshire State Board of Education and was a three-term member of the United States House of Representatives and either a representative or senator in the New Hampshire State Legislature (the show does not make clear which).
⚫
His close friend, [[Leo McGarry]], convinced him to run for president around the fall of 1997 and, although initially a total outsider for the Democratic nomination in [[1998]], he eventually defeated the presumptive nominee, Texas senator [[VP_John_Hoynes|John Hoynes]], who was asked by Bartlet to join the ticket as his vice-presidential running mate. He defeated the Republican nominee for President, almost certainly two term Republican President [[Owen Lassiter|Owen Lassiter's]] [[Vice President]]. He won a close election with just 48 percent of the vote, 48 million popular votes and a 303-235 margin in the Electoral College. In 2002, Bartlet was elected to a second term, defeating the Republican Florida governor, Rob Ritchie, by a considerably wider margin in what had been expected to be an election as close as the one four years earlier.
 
   
  ⚫
His close friend, [[Leo McGarry]], convinced him to run for president around the fall of 1997 and, although initially a total outsider for the Democratic nomination in [[1998]], he eventually defeated the presumptive nominee, Texas senator [[VP_John_Hoynes|John Hoynes]], who was asked by Bartlet to join the ticket as his vice-presidential running mate. He defeated the Republican nominee for President, almost certainly two term Republican President [[Owen Lassiter|Owen Lassiter’s]] [[Vice President]]. He won a close election with just 48 percent of the vote, 48 million popular votes and a 303-235 margin in the Electoral College. In 2002, Bartlet was elected to a second term, defeating the Republican Florida governor, Rob Ritchie, by a considerably wider margin in what had been expected to be an election as close as the one four years earlier.
⚫
He is a devout Roman Catholic, a graduate of the [[University of Notre Dame]] who once considered becoming a priest. He changed his mind upon meeting his future wife, [[Abigail Bartlet]], who became a thoracic surgeon. They have three daughters: [[Liz_Weston|Elizabeth Ann "Liz" Weston]], [[Ellie_Bartlet|Dr. Eleanor "Ellie" Bartlet]], and [[Zoey Bartlet|Zoey]], and he is depicted as a stern but loving father, in contrast to his own father, who (as we see in flashbacks) was cold and physically abusive. In addition to his three daughters, President Bartlet also thinks of [[Charlie Young]] (his former personal assistant) and [[Josh Lyman]] (his deputy chief of staff) as his sons (as established in the episodes "Two Cathedrals" and "Shibboleth"). The President suffers from multiple sclerosis, which at one time put the future of his presidency in doubt.
  
   
  ⚫
He is a devout Roman Catholic, a graduate of the [[University of Notre Dame]] who once considered becoming a priest. He changed his mind upon meeting his future wife, [[Abigail Bartlet]], who became a thoracic surgeon. They have three daughters: [[Elizabeth Bartlet]], [[Ellie_Bartlet|Dr. Eleanor “Ellie” Bartlet]], and [[Zoey Bartlet|Zoey]], and he is depicted as a stern but loving father, in contrast to his own father, who (as we see in flashbacks) was cold and physically abusive. In addition to his three daughters, President Bartlet also thinks of [[Charlie Young]] (his former personal assistant) and [[Josh Lyman]] (his deputy chief of staff) as his sons (as established in the episodes “Two Cathedrals” and “Shibboleth”). The President suffers from multiple sclerosis, which at one time put the future of his presidency in doubt.
⚫
Bartlet was shot in the first season cliffhanger finale. The President's wounds were not serious and it was later discovered that Charlie Young was the actual target of the assassination attempt, not the President himself.
 
   
  ⚫
Bartlet was shot in the first season cliffhanger finale. The President’s wounds were not serious and it was later discovered that Charlie Young was the actual target of the assassination attempt, not the President himself.
⚫
In the Season Two finale ''Two Cathedrals'', Bartlet announced to the country that he suffers from multiple sclerosis, and had been keeping it a secret, although this had previously been revealed to the viewers in the Season One episode ''He Shall, From Time to Time...''
  
   
  ⚫
In the season two finale ''“Two Cathedrals”'', Bartlet announced to the country to be suffering from multiple sclerosis, and had been keeping it a secret, although this had previously been revealed to the viewers in the Season One episode ''“He Shall, From Time to Time...”''.
⚫
President Bartlet's daughter, Zoey, was kidnapped on the day of her graduation from [[Georgetown University]], possibly due to the Bartlet-ordered assassination of the [[Qumar|Qumari]] defense minister. While Zoey was missing, President Bartlet invoked Section 3 of the 25th Amendment, giving up the power of the presidency. Due to the resignation a few days earlier of Vice President [[John Hoynes]], the Speaker of the House [[Glen Allen Walken]], a Republican, became Acting President. Zoey was recovered with only minor injuries several days later and President Bartlet reassumed his office a few hours later. On a trip to China, Bartlet was left temporarily paralyzed by an attack of MS.
  
  +
  ⚫
President Bartlet’s daughter, Zoey, was kidnapped on the day of her graduation from [[Georgetown University]], possibly due to the Bartlet-ordered assassination of the [[Qumar|Qumari]] defense minister. While Zoey was missing, President Bartlet invoked Section 3 of the 25th Amendment, giving up the power of the presidency. Due to the resignation a few days earlier of Vice President [[John Hoynes]], the Speaker of the House [[Glen Allen Walken]], a Republican, became Acting President. Zoey was recovered with only minor injuries several days later and President Bartlet reassumed his office a few hours later. On a trip to China, Bartlet was left temporarily paralyzed by an attack of MS.
   
 
Bartlet is currently in the last year of his term, with elections likely to occur in November of 2006 (early in the show's seventh season). His potential successors are Rep. [[Matt Santos]] (D-TX) and Sen. [[Arnold Vinick]] (R-CA).-->
  
Bartlet is currently in the last year of his term, with elections likely to occur in November of 2006 (early in the show's seventh season). His potential successors are Rep. [[Matt Santos]] (D-TX) and Sen. [[Arnold Vinick]] (R-CA).-->
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{{succession box|before=''unknown''|title=[[Governor of New Hampshire]]|current=[[1995]]-[[1999]]|after=eventually [[Wilkins]]|}}
  
{{succession box|before=''unknown''|title=[[Governor of New Hampshire]]|current=[[1995]]-[[1999]]|after=eventually [[Wilkins]]|}}
 
{{succession box|before=Republican|title=[[President of the United States]]<br><small>''[[Acting President|Acting]]: [[Glen Allen Walken]]''</small>|current=[[1999]] - [[2007]]|after=[[Matthew Santos|Matt Santos]]|}}
  
{{succession box|before=Republican|title=[[President of the United States]]<br><small>''[[Acting President|Acting]]: [[Glen Allen Walken]]''</small>|current=[[1999]] - [[2007]]|after=[[Matthew Santos|Matt Santos]]|}}
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{{Presidents}}
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[[Category:Bartlet family|Bartlet, Josiah]]
  
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[[Category:Democrats|Bartlet, Josiah]]
  
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[[Category:Politicians|Bartlet, Josiah]]
  
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[[Category:Representatives|Bartlet, Josiah]]
  
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[[Category:Governors|Bartlet, Josiah]]
  
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[[Category:Presidents of the United States|Bartlet, Josiah]]
  
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[[Category:1998 Candidates]]
  
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[[Category:Characters]]
  
 
[[Category:Main Characters]]
  
[[Category:Main Characters]]
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[[Category:Presidents of the United States|Bartlet, Josiah]]
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[[Category:Governors|Bartlet, Josiah]]
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[[Category:Representatives]]
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[[Category:Bartlet family|Bartlet, Josiah]]
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[[Category:Education]]
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[[Category:Doctors]]

Revision as of 13:21, 17 June 2020

〉If fidelity to freedom and democracy is the code of our civic religion, then surely the code of our humanity is faithful service to that unwritten commandment that says “We shall give our children better than we ourselves had”〈
—Josiah Bartlett at the Nashua VFW Hall, 1997[src]

President Josiah Edward “Jed” Bartlet, Ph.D., D.H.L. (Hon.), serves as President of the United States from 1999 to 2007. He is a successful politician, having never lost an election and winning a second term as President in a landslide. His career in politics spans 36 years, from 1971 to 2007. Sometime in 1991, Bartlet is diagnosed with relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis; he hides it during his first presidential campaign for all but a handful of people until, in his 2001 reelection run, he finally makes it public.

Biography

Josiah Edward Bartlet, known to people close to him as “Jed”, was born in the early 1940s in New Hampshire, the elder of two sons. His great-great-great-great-grandfather was Dr. Josiah Bartlett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence [3]. While his father was Protestant, his mother was a devout Roman Catholic; he was brought up a Catholic and remained so for the rest of his life. As a child, his brother Jon locked him in a steamer trunk [4].

Education

He walked every morning from his house to his school, a short distance away, with a fresh hanky in his pocket and a spring in his step [5]. His father was the headmaster of a prestigious preparatory school. Dr. Bartlet used his headmaster positoin to allow his son to enter the school [6]. While attending it in 1960, he got in trouble with his father for a stunt he pulled on Loomis, the school’s Literature professor, co-writing with a group of friends an article condemning him for banning books such as “Fahrenheit 451,” and works by D.H. Lawrence and Henry Miller. This was one of the many times Bartlet’s father slapped him [7]; their relationship would always be strained (or, as he later described it, "complicated").

Bartlet scored 1590 (ten points shy of a perfect 1600) on his SAT, retook the test, and again received 1590 [8]; many, including Leo and Stanley Keyworth, thought it strange that he took the test again after receiving a near-perfect score. After high school, Bartlet was accepted to Harvard University, Yale University, Williams College and the University of Notre Dame; he decided on the latter as he was considering entering the clergy [9] According to Abbey, Bartlet speaks four languages (presumably including Latin and German); none of them, however, is French [10].

University of Notre Dame

Bartlet did his undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame [11]. His consideration of becoming a priest ended when he met his future wife Abigail, and changed his studies [12]. Notre Dame, however, would have been an all-men school at the time; thus it is likely she attended Saint Mary's College, the sister institution across the street. Bartlet might have attempted to play baseball, but Toby Ziegler and Charlie Young noted years later he was a bad pitcher [13], and “hated America's pastime”. He graduated summa cum laude from Notre Dame with a degree in American Studies, and minored in Theology [14].

London School of Economics

After Notre Dame, Bartlet was accepted to the prestigious London School of Economics [15]. When he was 26 years old, he wrote a paper supporting the deregulation of Far East trade barriers that created an uproar in his school, and he was “nearly thrown out” [16]. Regardless, he would go on to receive an MSc and eventually a doctorate from the school [17].

Economics Career

Bartlet became a tenured economics professor [18] at Dartmouth University, another major goal in his life [19]. While at Dartmouth he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters [20]. As a professor and researcher, Bartlet became world-famous, eventually winning the Nobel Prize in Economics [21]; he actually “tied” for that year with another economist from Japan, which always annoyed him. He also wrote the book Theory and Design of Macroeconomics in Developing Nations (which, judging from Toby Ziegler's reaction to the President’s less-than-serious suggestion to talk about it on live television, wasn’t a major page-turner) [22].

It is likely he won the Nobel Prize while he was a politician, as he references his daughter Ellie being in third grade at the time of his award (presumably the late 1970s), and he entered politics presumably in the early 1970s.

Political Career

By 1971, Josiah Bartlet had been elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives [23], where he started his political career and learned its basics [24]. He served in the House, not the US Senate, and so is unaware of Senate rules. [25]. Bartlet ran against Republican Elliot Roush for United States House of Representatives and won [26], but seemed to harbor resentment towards Roush due to a perceived tendency to twist Scriptural teachings in order to support bigoted beliefs. Bartlet would go on to serve three terms in the House [27].

MS Diagnosis

Sometime in the early 1990s, over a time of several months, Bartlet started to feel unwell and had a pain in his right leg, both of which eventually went away. However, the pain came back with numbness about two years later; he’d also feel dizzy and his vision blurred sometimes. An ophthalmologist detected abnormal pupil responses and ordered an MRI; a radiologist discovered plaques on his spine and brain, leading the doctors and Bartlet himself to learn that he had a relapsing-remitting course of Multiple Sclerosis, a chronic disease of the central nervous system. Prior to the series’ start, only a little over a dozen people knew, including himself as well as Abbey, their three daughters, his brother, the Vice-President, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and other doctors. Bartlet kept the diagnosis concealed from the rest of the world.

Governor of New Hampshire

Bartlet served two terms as Governor of New Hampshire [28], from 1991 to 1995, and then from 1995 to 1999 [29]. As Governor, Bartlet was very popular with the people of New Hampshire and won his second term with 69% of the vote, a very impressive margin for a Democrat in the Libertarian Conservative-leaning state [30]; so popular in fact that, when he later decided to run for President of the United States, his staff urged him to all but ignore the New Hampshire primary, as he had no chance of losing it. Governor Bartlet was for strict state seatbelt laws but failed to act on it, which wasted time in the state legislature [31].

Bartlet also signed into state law the Historic Barn and Bridges Preservation Act, which he later regretted when it interfered with plans for his Presidential Library—it provided that certain barns, bridges, and other buildings over a century old were to be preserved [32]. As Governor, Bartlet had to deal with several state lawsuits [33]. One of his primary concerns as Governor was tourism; during his terms, he somewhat reluctantly approved the use of the slogan “New Hampshire, It’s what’s new” and increases in snowmobile and "fall foliage" tourism [34]. He appointed Robert Nolan to the New Hampshire State Medical Board, possibly because he was a colleague of his wife [35].

President of the United States

See United States presidential election, 1998, the Bartlet Administration and “Bartlet for America (1998)” for more information.
Josiah Bartlet

It was at the end of his governorship that Bartlet’s good friend Leo McGarry suggested a run for the Presidency. Following the concession by one-time frontrunner Senator John Hoynes, Bartlet offered him the position of running mate. He won the 1998 election with 303 electoral votes to 228 electoral, but only a plurality of the popular vote.

As President-Elect, Bartlet was angered that the outgoing Republican President seemed to stick him with military conflict in the Philippines; he remarked that he’d have to remember to “fire Fitzwallace”, but this never came to pass.

Bartlet was inaugurated as President of the United States on January 20th, 1999. His administration was a relative success in his first term. In May 2000, an attempt was made on the president's life while coming out of a town hall meeting in Rosslyn, Virginia; it was later revealed that he wasn’t the original target, and made a full recovery. In the spring of 2001, Bartlet disclosed that he suffered from a relapsing-remitting course of Multiple Sclerosis, which threatened his chances for reelection in 2002; still, he announced he’d seek a second term against his Republican opponent Robert Ritchie. After clearly coming on top in a presidential debate, he won reelection in a landslide victory. Bartlet’s second term began on January 20th, 2003.

In May 2003, Vice-President Hoynes resigned in the wake of a sex scandal. Later that same month, Bartlet's youngest daughter Zoey was kidnapped. Feeling that he couldn't perform his duties objectively while worrying about his daughter, he invoked the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, temporarily handing over presidential powers to the next in line of succession; as the administration had no vice president at the time, Republican Speaker of the House Glen Allen Walken was sworn in as Acting President. Zoey was eventually rescued, and Bartlet resumed power three days later.

In December 2005, while traveling aboard Air Force One to a summit in China, Bartlet was left working from a wheelchair after a major MS episode. He gradually regained feeling but was relegated to walking with a cane. When President-Elect Matthew Santos was inaugurated on January 20th, 2007, Bartlet returned to his farm just outside Manchester, New Hampshire to enjoy life in retirement. The Josiah Bartlet Presidential Library was opened at the beginning of 2010 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Religion

Jed Bartlet’s mother was a Roman Catholic, his father a religious Protestant; due to the poor relationship with him, Jed chose to follow the faith of his loving mother. To this day, Bartlet remains a devout Roman Catholic, attending church every Sunday.

Resume

Education

  • Phillips Exeter Academy (1956-1960)
  • B.A. in American Studies (minor in Theology) - University of Notre Dame (graduated summa cum laude) (1960-1964)
  • Masters Degree - London School of Economics (1964-1966)
  • Ph.D. - London School of Economics (1966-1970)
  • Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters - Dartmouth University (1998)

Career

  • Professor of Economics at Dartmouth University
  • 1985: Nobel Laureate in Economics
  • Author: Theory and Design of Macroeconomics in Developing Nations

Politics

Trivia

“Jed” Bartlet was played by Martin Sheen and represents, in many ways, an “ideal liberal president” endowed with a fierce intellect, great if not infallible personal integrity and toughness, and tempered with essential compassion for the less fortunate and a sense of humor.

He wasn’t originally meant to be a key member of what was an ensemble cast, only to make occasional appearances, but he became the series’ main character. Alan Alda (who would play Senator Arnold Vinick), George C. Scott (the star of Patton) and Sidney Poitier were also considered for the role.

The MS scandal is based on Bill Clinton’s impeachment, with whom Bartlet shares several traits. He also has similarities to John F. Kennedy; like him, Bartlet is a New England Democrat that defeated a far more qualified competitor for the Democratic nomination who was a U.S. Senator from Texas and became Senate Democratic floor leader in a short period of time—in Kennedy’s case this was Lyndon Johnson; in Bartlet’s, John Hoynes. Like Kennedy, he hid a serious illness during the presidential campaign that could have prevented him from winning the Democratic primary. Also like Kennedy, after winning the nomination he had to beg his former rival to accept the Vice-Presidency to secure support from the South and win the general election.

People Who Knew

This is the list of people who originally knew Bartlet has MS prior to the start of the series, including himself.

This is the list of people who were told of Bartlet’s condition throughout the series:

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Liberty is down!" from He Shall, from Time to Time...
  2. ↑ "Eagle's moving." from Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc
  3. ↑ “My great grandfather’s great-grandfather was Dr. Josiah Bartlett, who was the New Hampshire delegate to the Second Continental Congress”, from “What Kind of Day Has It Been?”
  4. ↑ “Yes. I remember being locked in a steamer trunk. There were actual steamers in there with me, Charlie. I was in there with seafood”, from “Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail”
  5. ↑ “I walked to school every morning in weather colder than this”, from “Inauguration: Over There (Part II)”
  6. ↑ “You’re at the school because I’m the headmaster”, from “Two Cathedrals”
  7. ↑ From a scene in “Two Cathedrals”
  8. ↑ “I got 800/790. For the life of me I can’t imagine what I got wrong. Then I took them again, and got 800/790. I mean, is it possible there was some sort of number-two pencil anomaly that could’ve...?”, from “Holy Night”
  9. ↑ “You were accepted at Harvard, Yale, and Williams”, from “The Portland Trip”
  10. ↑ “The Indians in the Lobby”
  11. ↑ Bartlet is seen wearing a Notre Dame sweatshirt in “Five Votes Down”
  12. ↑ From a conversation with C.J. Cregg in “The Portland Trip”
  13. ↑ From a conversation in “Memorial Day”, paraphrasing that the Notre Dame Athletic department would agree to make him wear a special pitching vest, instead of attempting pitching by himself.
  14. ↑ “For the record, the President graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a major in American Studies and a minor in theology”, from “The U.S. Poet Laureate”
  15. ↑ According to Stanley Keyworth in “Night Five”
  16. ↑ “When I was 26, I wrote a paper supporting the deregulation of Far East trade barriers. Nearly got thrown out of the London School of Economics. I was young and stupid, and trying to make some noise”, from “The Short List”
  17. ↑ “He received a Masters and a Doctorate at the London School of Economics”, from “The U.S. Poet Laureate”
  18. ↑ “I am an economics professor...”, from “The Crackpots and These Women”
  19. ↑ According to Stanley Keyworth in “Night Five”
  20. ↑ “...a Doctorate at the London School of Economics and an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Dartmouth University where he was a tenured professor”, from “The U.S. Poet Laureate”
  21. ↑ “Jed Bartlet, Nobel Laureate in Economics...”, from “Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc”
  22. ↑ According to Josh Lyman in “The U.S. Poet Laureate”
  23. ↑ “28 years ago, I come home from a very bad day at the State House”, from “Pilot”
  24. ↑ “What about state legislature? It's the place to learn. The President started there...”, from Abu el Banat
  25. ↑ “The Stackhouse Filibuster”
  26. ↑ “I don't know who Elliot Roush is... I beat him in my first Congressional campaign”, from “The Midterms”
  27. ↑ “Jed Bartlet, Nobel Laureate in Economics, three-term congressman...”, from “Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc”
  28. ↑ “...three-term congressman, two-term Governor”, from “Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc”
  29. ↑ “I remember a time in the Governor's mansion. It was about ten years ago...”, from “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part I”
  30. ↑ “I was saying, what I don’t understand is you guys were such fans of the President, you loved him when he was governor”, from “Hartsfield's Landing”
  31. ↑ “And I was for it then. Never did anything about it because nobody wanted it”, from “The Women of Qumar”
  32. ↑ “What plaid flannel-wearing, cheese eating, yahoo of a milkman governor signed that idiot bill into state law?... It was me, wasn’t it?”, from “Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail”
  33. ↑ “Have I ‘ever been party to a lawsuit’? I was governor of New Hampshire! Anybody who...”, from “Bad Moon Rising”
  34. ↑ From a scene in “Bartlet for America”
  35. ↑ “Yeah, they worked together for 20 years, and I was the governor who appointed him to the Board”, from “Dead Irish Writers”



UNITED STATES CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION
New Hampshire
SENATORS
Englemann (D) | Gillis (R)
REPRESENTATIVES
Bartlet (D) | Bartlet | Campbell (D)


PREDECESSOR
unknown 		Governor of New Hampshire
1995-1999 		SUCCESSOR
eventually Wilkins
PREDECESSOR
Republican 		President of the United States
Acting: Glen Allen Walken
1999 - 2007 		SUCCESSOR
Matt Santos
Presidents of the United States
Washington 〉J. Adams 〉Jefferson 〉Madison 〉J.Q. Adams 〉Jackson 〉W. Harrison 〉Polk 〉Pierce 〉Buchanan 〉Lincoln 〉A. Johnson 〉Grant 〉Hayes 〉B. Harrison 〉McKinley 〉T. Roosevelt 〉Taft 〉Wilson 〉Harding 〉Coolidge 〉Hoover 〉F. Roosevelt 〉Truman 〉Eisenhower 〉Kennedy 〉L. Johnson 〉Nixon 〉Newman 〉Lassiter 〉Bartlet (Walken) • Santos
See Also: Monroe — Ford • Carter • Reagan • G.H.W. Bush • Clinton • G.W. Bush
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