The West Wing
Bartlet's Third State of the Union
TV Flash files “Bartlet's Third State of the Union” as hour 35 of 154 in the TV Flash guide — The West Wing (1999–2006) on NBC, season 2, episode 13, aired 2001-02-07, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E13: listed hour 35 of 154 in the The West Wing guide, hour 13 of 22 in season 2. It aired 2001-02-07 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Drop-In” (S02E12). Next is “The War at Home” (S02E14).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
The President delivers his 3rd State of the Union address, what critics call "the speech of his political career" and ends up angering Abbey by what he does and doesn't say; Josh must work the polling center with Joey Lucas, but a power outage delays the results; Sam attempts to introduce Ainsley to the President with disastrous results; CJ must juggle a live recording of the show "Capitol Beat" being broadcast within the White House and run damage control when a cop has a (possibly undeserved) black mark on his record; Leo and Bartlet must handle the matter of five DEA officials who are taken hostage by Columbian terrorists.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Bartlet's Third State of the Union sit in the The West Wing guide?
S02E13 is listed hour 35 of 154 — hour 13 of 22 in season 2, season 2 episode 13.
When did The West Wing S02E13 air?
Bartlet's Third State of the Union aired 2001-02-07 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Where should I start?
The pilot. The walk-and-talk contract is the show. If the first hour’s pep talk feels like a recruitment ad, that is the thesis, not a bug.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Watch it for the music of people who still believe the job can be noble — network prestige as civic romance, not documentary. The Sorkin years are the novel; later seasons are the building after the composer leaves. If you want power ugly, that is another desk. This one wanted the walk.
Listen to the footsteps first. The West Wing is a drama of motion: staffers cutting corners of the set as if speed were a moral quality. Aaron Sorkin did not invent the walk-and-talk, but he made it a civic rhythm — information as music, governance as a job you could love if the lighting were kind. Martin Sheen’s Bartlet is not a president so much as a conductor. The orchestra is the communications shop, the counsel’s office, the people who speak in complete sentences because the show believes they should.
Filed against
- Martin Sheen as President Jed Bartlet
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- Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman
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- Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler
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- John Spencer as Leo McGarry
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- Dulé Hill as Charlie Young
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