Christmas draws near as an unstable Josh is ordered by the President to consult with a doctor who specializes in analyzing trauma victims. What’s particularly telling is Josh’s identification with a dead fighter pilot who recently took his own life by deliberately crashing his jet — a man who coincidentally shared his birthday and experienced emotional trauma after being shot down over Bosnia. Elsewhere: the President wants to personally sign all of his Christmas cards — which total hundreds of thousands; Sam confronts a representative of the Energy Secretary who publicly advocates release of federal oil reserves; C.J. gets personally involved when a foreign White House tourist becomes extremely agitated at the sight of a painting donated by the French government.

From TV Guide: It’s the Christmas season at the White House but Josh is anything but merry. For one thing, the holiday music that Toby insists fill the halls sounds to Josh as though it belongs in a shopping mall. Beyond that, he’s being rude to everyone, even raising his voice to the President, something that just isn’t done. So Leo orders therapy. Meanwhile, C.J. takes interest when an elderly woman on a tour of the White House loses her composure at the sight of a painting. And the President decides that he wants to sign all his Christmas cards — well, maybe just 100,000 of them — personally. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma has a cameo.