"This is a great job." ~Bartlet
So you know Josh is the Deputy Chief of Staff now, but what exactly does that mean?
Josiah "Jed" Bartlet:President of the United States of America.
Well, this is a little obvious, don't you think? ;) We're starting easy. This is the head honcho, the big cheese, the el pollo loco. However, his consitutional powers are fairly limited, though through the help of congress, the power of the executive has expanded. He is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, and the head of all the federal agencies. The FBI, the EEO, the CIA, the Pentagon, HUD, State, Justice (you get the idea) all have appointed heads. There are 14 cabinet offices (State, Justice, Defense, HUD, Labor, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Transportation, Interior, etc.) that are headed by Presidental-appointed Secretaries. He also nominates all federal judges and ambassadorships, though those also have to be confirmed by the Senate. He has the final say in the executive branch, and really is the "face" of the government.
Leo McGarry: Chief of Staff.
Chosen by the President, the CoS is often the President's most trusted advisor. This is especially true of Leo, who not only ran the presidental campaign, but convinced Bartlet to run in the first place. His duties are plentiful. He oversees all the staff in the White House, advises the President on domestic and foreign affairs. Leo has served in the armed forces, unlike POTUS, and is always part of military discussions and Situation Room Crises. Leo has a ton of political power. He is the boss of everyone in the White House except the President, though there is a chain of command.
Joshua Lyman: Deputy Chief of Staff.
Brought on by Leo in the beginning of the campaign, Josh serves as Leo's right-hand man. This often means he doesn't have a specifically defined role in times of chaos or crisis. Josh's main function seems to be acting as the equivalent of the Congressional Whips, which means he is in charge of finding out who is voting which way, and getting the necessary votes in order to get legislation passed. He is the "President's bulldog."
Toby Ziegler: White House Communication Director.
Toby is in charge of making sure the administration has a pretty political face. When the President's approval ratings are down, it's a good indication that Toby's have a rough time at work. He worries about when/where/to whom the President gives speeches, writes various commendations and speeches, what he says in them, and most of all, the implications that they will have in the press and in the public. Basically, he's paid to be a tight-ass worry-wart, something that he does remarkably well.
Sam Seaborn: Deputy Communications Director, Speechwriter.
Toby's deputy, Sam acts on Toby's behalf when he is not around or away. He is also the main speechwriter in the White House, and writes pretty much everything that comes out of the President's mouth. In addition, Sam is the only one of the senior staff that actually spent time in litigation, and therefore tends to be a legal consultant to members of the staff and provides that perspective to the grand scheme of things.
Claudia Jean "CJ" Cregg: White House Press Secretary.
The press room is her domain, and the press is her problem. She is the literal "face" of the administration, in charge of leaking and plugging stories, making sure that the message Toby wants to get across gets across. She is the one that actually spins, and the briefings require her to have an immense knowledge of everything she mentions, and be able to think quickly on her feet to either divert or draw attention to a subject without appearing to. If you want to see what a real life press briefing runs like, visit White House Press Briefings and see what Ari Fleischer, President Bush's press secretary does on a daily basis. I think you'll have an even greater appreciation for CJ's quick mind and clever wit.
Madeleine "Mandy" Hampton: Media Consultant.
Besides being incredibly annoying and completely pointless, Mandy was around to give another PR perspective. In the beginning of the Bartlet administration, they could do no right, and apparently Toby didn't really have a grasp of what looked good to the public. Mandy was hired to pay attention to stupid things, like the fact that they got over 3,000 letters in a week asking for new Panda bears in the zoo.
Charlie Young: Personal Aide to the President.
This job apparently does not have a real-life counterpart, however, for Aaron Sorkin's purposes, it is quite a difficult job. Charlie keeps the President on schedule, delivers messages, makes sure everything flows smoothly, listens to him complain, wax poetic, and ask inane trivia, wakes POTUS up in the morning, gets his glasses/coffee/letters/etc. and deals with his moods. Not an easy job, as Josh concurs in "Celestial Navigation". Then again, I don't think anyone would want to wake POTUS up.
Margaret, Donna, Bonnie, Ginger, Cathy, Nancy, the late-Mrs. Landingham, and Carol: Assistants to the Senior Staff.
They are the assistants to Leo, Josh, Toby, Toby, Sam, POTUS, and CJ respectively. NOTE: THEY ARE NOT SECRETARIES. Cathy has been MIA since the end of season one, and Bonnie and Ginger seem to have adopted Sam in her absence. They make sure their bosses don't fall apart, do research, organize, make phone calls, and generally make sure everything runs smoothly. For the record, they are probably very under-appreciated also.
It is fairly safe to assume that the Senior Staff we see on the show all serve as domestic policy advisors to the President, though we only know officially that Toby serves as one.
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