Directed by Christopher Misiano
Written by Lawrence O'Donnell & Lauren Schmidt
Senator Vinick has won the Republican nomination for President and he is being hailed by the party as the new leader. But he is being called into question as to why he doesn't go to church.
Tropes:
- A Day in the Limelight: This episode is focused primarily on Senator Vinick as he is coping with being the Republican candidate, picking a vice-president of his own and being asked why he won't go to church.
- Entitled Bastard: Bartlet calls in Santos and Russell for a photo-op and when Will Bailey got word, he said that it was an insult to the vice-president to allow the Santos campaign into his White House.C.J.: Oh, so it's Russell's White House, now?Bailey: It's the vice-president's turf. He belongs here, they don't.
- Exact Words: President Bartlet noted that the Constitution spoke much of the separation between church and state, but it didn't say anything of the separation between church and politics.
- The Fundamentalist: Downplayed with Reverend Don Butler. He is respectful and courteous toward the Pro-Choice Arnold Vinick. Still, he makes it plain that, whatever political ambitions he has and however much they could accomplish together, he won't join Vinick's ticket due to their differing opinions on abortion.
- Genius Sweet Tooth: Bartlet and Vinick help themselves to the giant containers of ice-cream in the White House kitchen while debating their relationships with faith.Bartlet: The hardest part of this job is knowing that this stash is down here 24 hours a day.
- Hollywood Atheist: Vinick's absence from Sunday services causes friction with the Republican base, especially after Reverend Butler extends an invitation to his church. Vinick tells his staff that he hasn't attended church since his wife passed away, giving the impression that her death caused a Crisis of Faith. In reality, as he later admits to Bartlet, he became an atheist after thoroughly reading a King James Bible he got as a gift once and finding that he disagreed with many of its teachings. He declines Butler's invitation as attending would be a political move, and he doesn't agree with using the church that way.
