Gaffs

Politics One of my favourite episodes of The West Wing is The US Poet Laureate. It's set during a presidential campaign and opens with President Bartlet giving short interviews to local tv stations. After one of the interviews, he's exchanging pleasantries with a newscaster and when we think he thinks the mike is off, he says of his opponent, the Bushalike Senator Ritchie, ". . . I think we might be talking about a .22 caliber mind in a .357 magnum world. . . ."

Cue scandal, recriminations, generally a bad week in the campaign with the administration's token Republican, Ainsley Hayes, appearing on as many talk shows as possible in order to try and spin the story back their direction, as Bartlet is confirmed as the elitist his opponents suggest he is. At the close of the episode, press secretary CJ, who's also spent her time cleaning up the mess, questions her President on what really happened:

BARTLET
C.J.?

She heads back towards him.

C.J.
Yes, sir?

BARTLET
I've been meaning to tell you, you've done really well this week with the open-mike thing.

C.J.
Thank you.

He slips on his glasses and looks up at her.

BARTLET
Didn't turn out too bad.

C.J.
No sir, it didn't turn out too bad at all. In fact, the whole country's talking about whether Ritchie's smart enough to be President. And you didn't take hit, 'cause it was an accident. You know, it occurs to me that even your choice of language was interesting. "A .22 caliber mind, in a .357 magnum world." That's unusual for you, a gun metaphor.

Bartlet doesn't look up, seeming to be engrossed in whatever he's reading.

C.J. [cont]
Toby mentioned to me that when each interview was over, all the interviewers wanted to talk to you about was Ritchie, and you took a pass each time. Until Philadelphia.

Now Bartlet slowly looks up at her.

C.J. [cont]
Mr. President, is it possible you saw that the green light was on?

He slips the glasses off and gives her an unreadable look.

ANNOUNCER [VO]
Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.

C.J. smiles.

C.J.
That was Old School.

He turns back to look at her.

C.J.
Go knock 'em dead.

Bartlet walks away from her towards the microphones as cameras flash. He reaches the bank of microphones, and nods to his audience.

In other words, Bartlet made a deliberate gaff so that one of the subjects which wouldn't necessarily have entered the news cycle, entered the news cycle. If only politicians in the real world were this cunning.