The War at Home

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After his State of the Union speech, Bartlet (Martin Sheen) boldly greenlights a daring military mission to rescue five federal drug agents taken hostage by Colombian terrorist commandos. The mission turns out to be a trap and some of the rescuers are killed, to Bartlets deep horror and rage. Eventually, Bartlet must agree to have the Colombian president release a drug kingpin to retrieve his men. Leo (John Spencer) tells Bartlet that they lost this one.

Toby (Richard Schiff) is confronted by angry liberal Senator Seth Gillette (Ed Begley, Jr.) who threatens to launch a third-party run for President.

Elsewhere, a frustrated Josh (Bradley Whitford) tries to conduct a poll to sample reaction to the speech which he hopes will provide support for a new gun protection law but he wonders why his assistant Donna (Janel Moloney) keeps urging him to ask out Joey Lucas (Marlee Matlin).

In addition, C.J. (Allison Janney) tries to convince Mark Gottfried (Ted McGinley), the host of a TV political program to include a controversial policeman (Richard Riehle) as a guest who was the President's invitee at his speech while Abbey (Stockard Channing) is livid with Bartlet for breaking his promise of only serving one term.

Cast

Starring

• Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn
• Dulé Hill as Charlie Young
• Allison Janney as C.J. Cregg
• Janel Moloney as Donna Moss
• Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler
• John Spencer as Leo McGarry
• Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman
• and Martin Sheen as Jed Bartlet

Special Guest Stars

• Stockard Channing as Abbey Bartlet M.D.
• Emily Procter as Ainsley Hayes
• and Marlee Matlin as Joey Lucas

Guest Starring

• Tony Plana as Mickey Troop
• Richard Riehle as Jack Sloan
• Ted McGinley as Mark Gottfried
• Bill O'Brien as Kenny Thurman
• Adam Alexi-Malle as Translator
• Kathryn Joosten as Mrs. Landingham
• Glenn Morshower as Mike Chysler
• Gregalan Williams as Robbie Mosley
• and Ed Begley, Jr. as Sen. Seth Gillette

Co-Starring

• Melissa Fitzgerald as Carol Fitzpatrick
• Kim Webster as Ginger
• Devika Parikh as Bonnie
• Sean Patrick Murphy as Floor Manger
• Ralph Meyering Jr. as Tom
• Thomas Spencer as Jeff
• Marvin Krueger as Officer #2
• Patrick Falls as Billy
• Emiko Parise as Carrie
• Lee Warren Jones as Aide
• J. Michael Flynn as Officer

Quotes

President Bartlet: I inherited the war on drugs from a President who inherited it from a President who inherited it from a President before that. I'm not a hundred percent sure who we're fighting but I know we're not winning. Ten years ago we spent five billion dollars fighting drugs and we did such a good job that last year we spent 16 billion. Sixty percent of federal prisoners are in jail on drug charges as opposed to two and a half percent that are there for violent crime. We imprison a higher percentage of our citizens than Russia did under Communism and South Africa did under apartheid. Somewhere between 50 and 85% of the prison population has a drug or alcohol abuse problem. We've tried "Just Say No," I don't think it's going to work.

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