Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a
fictional character played by
Martin Sheen on the
television serial drama The West Wing. He is
President of the United States for the entire series, until the last episode, when his successor is inaugurated.
Bartlet represents, in many ways, an idealized liberal president, endowed with a fierce intellect, great (though not infallible) personal integrity, toughness tempered with essential compassion for the less fortunate, and a sense of humor.
Personal life
President Bartlet was born and raised in
New Hampshire. He is a direct descendant of the real-life
Josiah Bartlett, a signatory of the
Declaration of Independence.
President Bartlet is a devout
Roman Catholic; this is due to the influence of his mother, as his father would have preferred that he be raised
Protestant. His relationship with his father was often strained, punctuated by periods when the father would physically hit young Jed. His father was once described as "a prick who could never get over the fact that he wasn't as smart as his brothers."
Jed scored a 1590 on his SAT test and still took them again. He graduated
summa cum laude from the
University of Notre Dame with a
B.A. in
American studies and a minor in
theology. Bartlet received his
Masters and
Ph.D. in economics from the
London School of Economics. Before entering politics, Bartlet was a tenured professor of economics at
Dartmouth College, where he received an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters. He was a
Nobel Laureate in Economics, and generally is portrayed by his commentary as a macroeconomist sympathetic to
Keynesian views.
Prior to choosing economics as his career, Bartlet considered becoming a priest. He changed his mind upon meeting his future wife,
Abigail Bartlet, who became a thoracic surgeon. They had three daughters: Elizabeth Anne "Liz" Weston (whose unfaithful husband runs for the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire later in the series), Dr. Eleanor "Ellie" Bartlet, and
Zoey. He is depicted as a stern but loving father, in contrast to his own father, who (as is seen in flashbacks) was cold and physically abusive. In addition to his three daughters, President Bartlet has paternal feelings towards members of his staff, referring to
Charlie Young (his former personal aide) and
Josh Lyman (his deputy chief of staff) as his sons (as established in the episodes "
Shibboleth" and "
Two Cathedrals"), and telling
C.J. Cregg (his then press secretary) that she was part of his family (in the episode "
Enemies Foreign and Domestic").
President Bartlet suffers from relapsing-remitting
multiple sclerosis, which at one time put the future of his presidency in doubt. He and his wife concealed his illness during his initial presidential run and did not disclose the information until about halfway through his first term, leading to allegations of voter fraud.
Like his ancestor, he was governor of New Hampshire for two terms, winning re-election in 1996 with 69% of the vote. Prior to becoming governor, Bartlet served on the
New Hampshire State Board of Education and was a three-term member of the
U.S. House of Representatives. He also served in the
New Hampshire state legislature; apparently in the House of Representatives, as is referenced in the Pilot to the series.
Presidency
Bartlet's close friend,
Leo McGarry, convinces him to run for president around the fall of 1997, writing the slogan "Bartlet for America" on a cocktail napkin (the napkin became an offbeat icon of the show, and is given to Bartlet by McGarry's daughter Mallory in the final episode of the show, "
Tomorrow"). Although initially a
dark horse, Bartlet eventually defeats the presumptive nominee, Texas senator
John Hoynes, whom Bartlet asks to join the ticket as his vice-presidential
running mate. He defeats the Republican nominee for President, whom fans speculate to be two-term Republican President
Owen Lassiter's Vice President. Bartlet wins a close election with just 48 percent of the vote, 48 million popular votes and a 303â€"235 margin in the
Electoral College. In 2002, Bartlet is elected to a second term,
defeating the Republican nominee, Gov.
Robert Ritchie of
Florida, by a landslide in what had been expected to be an election as close as the one four years earlier.
Bartlet's accomplishments as President include: granting amnesty to illegal immigrants from the Americas, appointing the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice and first female Chief Justice, negotiating a peace settlement between Israel and Palestine, creating millions of new jobs, support for alternative energy, and balancing the budget.
Bartlet is shot in the first season
cliffhanger finale (roughly early summer of 2000). Bartlet's wounds are not serious and quick medical intervention has him on his feet within a few hours. It is later discovered that the shooters were white supremacists and that his
bodyman Charlie Young was the actual target of the assassination attempt, not the President himself.
In the second season finale "Two Cathedrals", Bartlet announces to the country that he suffers from multiple sclerosis, and has been keeping it a secret, although this had previously been revealed to the viewers in the first season episode "
He Shall, From Time To Time..."
Zoey Bartlet is kidnapped on the day of her graduation from
Georgetown University, possibly in retaliation for the assassination of the
Qumari defense minister, which her father authorized. While Zoey is missing, President Bartlet fears he is incapable of maintaining the necessary dispassion while his daughter is in such danger and invokes Section 3 of the
25th Amendment, declaring himself incapacitated and transferring the powers of the presidency to the next person in the
presidential line of succession. Due to the resignation a few days earlier of Vice President Hoynes, the Speaker of the House,
Glen Allen Walken, a Republican, becomes
Acting President. Zoey is recovered with only minor injuries several days later; President Bartlet re-assumes his office shortly thereafter.
On a trip to China, Bartlet is left temporarily paralyzed by an attack of multiple sclerosis. As a result he is briefly confined to a wheelchair, like the real-life president
Franklin D. Roosevelt, but he soon recovers.
In the seventh and final season of
The West Wing, Bartlet is in the last year of his term. He is succeeded by Democrat
Matthew Santos, an ex-Congressman and former
Houston Mayor, who defeats Republican Senator
Arnold Vinick of California in the
2006 presidential election. Bartlet returns to his New Hampshire home aboard
Air Force One with his wife, and has the last word of the series: when Mrs. Bartlet asked the introspective former President Bartlet what he is thinking about, Bartlet replies, "Tomorrow."
According to show creator
Aaron Sorkin, Bartlet was not originally intended to be a key member of the cast. He was only meant to make occasional appearances, approximately once every four episodes.
Alan Alda (who went on to play Sen. Vinick),
George C. Scott,
Jason Robards and
Sidney Poitier were also considered for the role of President Bartlet.
Cabinet Officials
Other appointments
Bartlet appointed the following Justices to the
Supreme Court of the United States:
* Roberto Mendoza (
Edward James Olmos) –
2000* Evelyn Baker Lang (
Glenn Close) –
Chief Justice,
2004* Christopher Mulready (
William Fichtner) –
2004The West Wing**
Equatorial Kundu**
Qumar*
The West Wing presidential election, 2002*
List of characters on The West Wing*
List of politicians on The West Wing*
List of The West Wing episodes
