In season 2 there was a string of what I thought were four slightly underrated episodes, starting with The Leadership Breakfast and ending with The War at Home. One of those episodes was Bartlet's Third State of the Union, which made the interesting choice of skipping over the making of the speech, providing just a glimpse of the preparation, and just a glimpse of the speech itself, and focusing on the reception. 100,000 Airplanes, a highlight of season 3, is also about a state of the union, but it's focused on the making of the speech. I'm not going to argue whether the season 2 or season 3 episode was better: both were great at looking at something from different angles.
This episode is also interesting partly because we learn a little more about Sam. I learnt he was engaged (although I'm not sure if that wasn't mentioned before), and we met the girl and heard why the relationship ended. He describes to her how the White House staff considered promising that they would find a cure for cancer by the end of the decade. Maybe it's good that they didn't because it's 2010 now and there's still no cure. Still, for a moment the thought was uplifting. Is it true we're close to a cancer breakthrough? It was good to see the president wanting to take charge and pursue the possibility. It may seem like an impossible promise to make, but Bartlet takes inspiration from President Kennedy's promise to land on the moon, and it inspired me too. As Sam noted, it was "optimistic"- it's one of those things that makes you feel good about government. It's the kind of thing that makes a president's legacy.
But then we get a reality check. Sam and the president were the only ones who thought the promise would be a good idea, but then they admit to themselves that this is a promise they can't make. Still, Sam's speech regarding the promise is nice, we can share in the dream one last time.
This episode is also interesting partly because we learn a little more about Sam. I learnt he was engaged (although I'm not sure if that wasn't mentioned before), and we met the girl and heard why the relationship ended. He describes to her how the White House staff considered promising that they would find a cure for cancer by the end of the decade. Maybe it's good that they didn't because it's 2010 now and there's still no cure. Still, for a moment the thought was uplifting. Is it true we're close to a cancer breakthrough? It was good to see the president wanting to take charge and pursue the possibility. It may seem like an impossible promise to make, but Bartlet takes inspiration from President Kennedy's promise to land on the moon, and it inspired me too. As Sam noted, it was "optimistic"- it's one of those things that makes you feel good about government. It's the kind of thing that makes a president's legacy.
But then we get a reality check. Sam and the president were the only ones who thought the promise would be a good idea, but then they admit to themselves that this is a promise they can't make. Still, Sam's speech regarding the promise is nice, we can share in the dream one last time.
