Author's note : I don't own any of these characters except for a handful. The ones I do own, well, I wouldn't own them if it wasn't for Sorkin's so I really can't lay 100% claim to them. This takes place two years into now Vice President Russell's first term. Also, this is my first attempt at writing something for the West Wing, but I have had this idea in my head for awhile now. Please read, enjoy, and review. All reviews are welcome, good bad or indifferent. And now....
"....And so let it ring out from this moment forward, I, Samuel Norman Seaborn hereby announce my candidacy for the president of the United States of America."
Sam reaches for the remote and clicks off the television. It has been a long day and was now dark, he checked his watch and it was just after 11:00 p.m. on the west coast. He walked over to the desk and picked up a glass and dropped three ice cubes into it, then removed the lid on the bourbon and poured a glass. He then walked over to his chair, sat down, took a drink and loosened his tie. At that moment a very beautiful woman walked in.
"Honey, I just got Toby to bed and former President Bartlett is on the phone for you." He looked at his wife; god was she a stunning woman. He had met Maggie a year after he had left the White House. They were both doing a lecture circuit and they had gone out for drinks one night. From then on they were inseparable, in fact, in August it will be their five- year anniversary. "Thank you Maggie. I am surprised you were able to get him to go to bed, I mean, he hasn't even had his story from me yet." Sam smiled at the thought of his son Toby. He was almost 4, and all the handful you could imagine. He figured that there was no better way to honor his mentor and friend Toby Ziegler. "It was quite simple, I just told him that you would take him out tomorrow afternoon and get him a new book. Now, you should answer that call, you don't want to keep the former president waiting." She had crossed over and closed the curtains that he was looking out, and then she came over and kissed him. "I'll be upstairs, come on up when you are off the phone." Sam looked her over one time, and smiled in anticipation of what was to come later, "I'll be up shortly." He then proceeded to watch her saunter out of the room and close the door behind her.
He spun his chair back around to his desk, being one to never not know what was going on with the news, he clicked the television back on, and muted CNN. They kept flashing excerpts of his declaration speech, and going over his past records. He was the first major Democratic candidate to announce a run for the presidency, and it hadn't been an easy decision. A lot of people weighed in on the decision, Toby, C.J., Leo, President Bartlett, a lot of people that he respected all talked to him about this. He had even received a very nice email from another friend suggesting he do this. He took another drink of his bourbon, cleared his throat and picked up the phone.
"Mr. President, how are you this evening?" Sam was having a hard time believing that he was getting a call this late from the president, cause in Massachusetts it was now after two in the morning. "I am good Sam. A little tired, but that is given considering the hour. Was that Maggie who answered the phone a little bit ago?" The president was always interested in the personal lives of those he cared about, even when he was in office. "Yes it was sir. Usually one of us will answer the personal line, as we know it will be someone who was given the number." He leaned back in his chair, he knew that with them talking about his wife that they would soon move on to Toby and that they would be discussing families for probably half an hour or so before they got around to the real reason that President Bartlett was calling. "You aren't stressing her out with this new presidential campaign are you?" Sam couldn't help but chuckle remembering how much it had stressed Dr. Bartlett during each of President Bartlett's campaigns. "No, she was actually very supportive of this idea. Especially after I told her that you were behind me 100%." This time the president had to chuckle. Jed had always known that Sam would be president someday, and that there would be nothing to prevent it from happening if Sam had the right people in place. "Of course you have my support, as well as the rest of the family. We will campaign for you and do whatever you ask, and whatever your campaign chair feels is best."
For the next thirty-five minutes they just talked about the campaign and how since he was the first major Democratic candidate how President Russell's camp will probably start doing some anti-campaigning against him. The one thing that President Russell didn't want to happen, or even more so, Will Bailey, his chief of staff, would be to loose to a former Bartlettite, as the Republican party had come to call the people who worked closest with President Bartlett.
"So Sam, what are you going to do about a staff?" Leave it to the President to get down to business. Sam had give thoughts to who he would ask to be on his staff. There were people he would like to ask, one in particular, but there was no way he could ask that person to serve him, since they had served together under President Bartlett. "Well, Mr. President, I have some of the positions filled. You remember Ed and Larry?" Sam couldn't help but smile, the two of them always came as a pair, it never failed, that if there was one, the other would be right there as well. "They were speech writers under you and Toby right?" "Yes sir, they are going to be my Joint Communication Directors. They share that position on my Senate staff, and of course I will bring them with me." "You mean, you don't write all of your own speeches anymore Sam?" With that thought, they both started laughing. When Sam first tried running for office, he had tried to write all of his own speeches and it just didn't accomplish anything for him.
"Have you thought of a Press Secretary yet Sam?" Sam sat there for a moment, he knew he needed a special individual to handle this, and he hadn't given it much thought yet. "No, not really. Do you have any suggestions sir?" Sam knew that he did, otherwise he wouldn't have brought the position up by name itself. "I think that someone would be perfect for the job Sam. He has always held up under pressure, and when he worked for a former president, he did a spectacular job. As I am sure you know, Charlie has graduated with his communications degree and the last three years he has been working as the chief P.R. guy for the Yankees." Sam smiled, he remembered how awkward and shy Charlie had been the first time Josh had introduced them during the interview process and how much he had grown up, and matured into a confident and respectful man. "I have seen how he has handled the big Yankee scandal as of late. Do you really think that he would want to leave that high profile job and take this one?" By high profile he meant it, cause just before the last season it was discovered that George Steinbrenner, owner of the Yankees, had committed a grievous act against the sport and was now the subject of a grand jury investigation, and as lead man for the Yankees, Charlie was all over television. "Sam, just like you, Charlie has a greater sense of duty than that. If you asked him to serve you in that role, he would be very honored you asked him, and would drop everything in a heartbeat and take you up on the position." Sam set back and smiled for a moment, knowing that Charlie would be an excellent addition to his staff. Cause he had the smarts to handle anything thrown his way, and yet would do everything that he could to protect Sam, the staff, the presidency, and the country. "I will definitely call him and see if he is interested. I think he would make a great addition to the staff." "I will get the number and call you back with it tomorrow Sam." "Thank you sir."
Sam looked down at the clock. It was now pressing 12:30 his time, and he knew that he had an early morning tomorrow. So, even though he was relishing this opportunity to speak to his friend, he knew he had to let him go. "Mr. President, I am honored that you have called me tonight, for all the help and support you have given me. But, it is getting late. And even later on your coast." "I know Sam, but first, there is one other thing I want to discuss with you tonight." Sam knew that when the president had something else on his mind that there would be no getting him off the phone until he was finished. "Okay sir, and that is?" "Have you figured out who you are going to have for chief of staff Sam?" Sam paused; cause that was the one position out of the rest who he knew he wanted, but also knew there was no way to have that happen. "I haven't figured it out yet sir. I have a person in mind, but I don't know if I can ask him." "Of course you can Sam. He would not expect anything less than to have you ask him for that. Before the state of the union our second year, when the Secretary of Agriculture was in my office, I gave him a piece of advice, I told him that if anything happens to me to ask himself these questions. Do you have a best friend," Sam nodded, "is he smarter than you," Sam smiled at that one cause they were really pretty equal on that one, "do you trust him with your life? If you answer yes to all three of those then that is your chief of staff. I know you can answer yes to all three of those Sam." Sam just sat back and let a sigh escape his mouth. He had poured another glass of bourbon while he was on the phone, and it was mostly water, he took a drink and sat the glass back down. "What are you thinking about Sam?" "How I can ask him to do this. He held a higher position than me when we both served you." "It doesn't matter Sam, he has never had this position, and he would be more than willing to do this for you, and personally, I can't think of a better person for you to ask." "Besides the occasional email from time to time, we haven't spoken on the phone once since the wedding two years ago sir." "Sam, it doesn't matter, the bond that is shared between you two will always be there, and something that you can rely on." Sam smiled, he remembered the wedding, he was the best man, and that was part of his speech. "I know sir, but..." Jed interrupted him, "Sam, look, I know you feel unsure of this, and I can understand, but just as Leo came to me, what was the deciding factor in you making this run. I know it wasn't me, or Leo, or Toby, even though he would like to say that you did it because of him. It was that email you got, the one that gave you the confidence, the one that said 'Sam, I have faith in you for this, you need anything, all you have to do is ask.' He knew you wouldn't want to ask him, so that was his way of telling you." Sam sighed; he knew that without him, he wouldn't be able to get thru this, at least not the way he wanted. Sam also knew that the president was right. "You're right sir, I will call Josh tomorrow."
"....And so let it ring out from this moment forward, I, Samuel Norman Seaborn hereby announce my candidacy for the president of the United States of America."
Sam reaches for the remote and clicks off the television. It has been a long day and was now dark, he checked his watch and it was just after 11:00 p.m. on the west coast. He walked over to the desk and picked up a glass and dropped three ice cubes into it, then removed the lid on the bourbon and poured a glass. He then walked over to his chair, sat down, took a drink and loosened his tie. At that moment a very beautiful woman walked in.
"Honey, I just got Toby to bed and former President Bartlett is on the phone for you." He looked at his wife; god was she a stunning woman. He had met Maggie a year after he had left the White House. They were both doing a lecture circuit and they had gone out for drinks one night. From then on they were inseparable, in fact, in August it will be their five- year anniversary. "Thank you Maggie. I am surprised you were able to get him to go to bed, I mean, he hasn't even had his story from me yet." Sam smiled at the thought of his son Toby. He was almost 4, and all the handful you could imagine. He figured that there was no better way to honor his mentor and friend Toby Ziegler. "It was quite simple, I just told him that you would take him out tomorrow afternoon and get him a new book. Now, you should answer that call, you don't want to keep the former president waiting." She had crossed over and closed the curtains that he was looking out, and then she came over and kissed him. "I'll be upstairs, come on up when you are off the phone." Sam looked her over one time, and smiled in anticipation of what was to come later, "I'll be up shortly." He then proceeded to watch her saunter out of the room and close the door behind her.
He spun his chair back around to his desk, being one to never not know what was going on with the news, he clicked the television back on, and muted CNN. They kept flashing excerpts of his declaration speech, and going over his past records. He was the first major Democratic candidate to announce a run for the presidency, and it hadn't been an easy decision. A lot of people weighed in on the decision, Toby, C.J., Leo, President Bartlett, a lot of people that he respected all talked to him about this. He had even received a very nice email from another friend suggesting he do this. He took another drink of his bourbon, cleared his throat and picked up the phone.
"Mr. President, how are you this evening?" Sam was having a hard time believing that he was getting a call this late from the president, cause in Massachusetts it was now after two in the morning. "I am good Sam. A little tired, but that is given considering the hour. Was that Maggie who answered the phone a little bit ago?" The president was always interested in the personal lives of those he cared about, even when he was in office. "Yes it was sir. Usually one of us will answer the personal line, as we know it will be someone who was given the number." He leaned back in his chair, he knew that with them talking about his wife that they would soon move on to Toby and that they would be discussing families for probably half an hour or so before they got around to the real reason that President Bartlett was calling. "You aren't stressing her out with this new presidential campaign are you?" Sam couldn't help but chuckle remembering how much it had stressed Dr. Bartlett during each of President Bartlett's campaigns. "No, she was actually very supportive of this idea. Especially after I told her that you were behind me 100%." This time the president had to chuckle. Jed had always known that Sam would be president someday, and that there would be nothing to prevent it from happening if Sam had the right people in place. "Of course you have my support, as well as the rest of the family. We will campaign for you and do whatever you ask, and whatever your campaign chair feels is best."
For the next thirty-five minutes they just talked about the campaign and how since he was the first major Democratic candidate how President Russell's camp will probably start doing some anti-campaigning against him. The one thing that President Russell didn't want to happen, or even more so, Will Bailey, his chief of staff, would be to loose to a former Bartlettite, as the Republican party had come to call the people who worked closest with President Bartlett.
"So Sam, what are you going to do about a staff?" Leave it to the President to get down to business. Sam had give thoughts to who he would ask to be on his staff. There were people he would like to ask, one in particular, but there was no way he could ask that person to serve him, since they had served together under President Bartlett. "Well, Mr. President, I have some of the positions filled. You remember Ed and Larry?" Sam couldn't help but smile, the two of them always came as a pair, it never failed, that if there was one, the other would be right there as well. "They were speech writers under you and Toby right?" "Yes sir, they are going to be my Joint Communication Directors. They share that position on my Senate staff, and of course I will bring them with me." "You mean, you don't write all of your own speeches anymore Sam?" With that thought, they both started laughing. When Sam first tried running for office, he had tried to write all of his own speeches and it just didn't accomplish anything for him.
"Have you thought of a Press Secretary yet Sam?" Sam sat there for a moment, he knew he needed a special individual to handle this, and he hadn't given it much thought yet. "No, not really. Do you have any suggestions sir?" Sam knew that he did, otherwise he wouldn't have brought the position up by name itself. "I think that someone would be perfect for the job Sam. He has always held up under pressure, and when he worked for a former president, he did a spectacular job. As I am sure you know, Charlie has graduated with his communications degree and the last three years he has been working as the chief P.R. guy for the Yankees." Sam smiled, he remembered how awkward and shy Charlie had been the first time Josh had introduced them during the interview process and how much he had grown up, and matured into a confident and respectful man. "I have seen how he has handled the big Yankee scandal as of late. Do you really think that he would want to leave that high profile job and take this one?" By high profile he meant it, cause just before the last season it was discovered that George Steinbrenner, owner of the Yankees, had committed a grievous act against the sport and was now the subject of a grand jury investigation, and as lead man for the Yankees, Charlie was all over television. "Sam, just like you, Charlie has a greater sense of duty than that. If you asked him to serve you in that role, he would be very honored you asked him, and would drop everything in a heartbeat and take you up on the position." Sam set back and smiled for a moment, knowing that Charlie would be an excellent addition to his staff. Cause he had the smarts to handle anything thrown his way, and yet would do everything that he could to protect Sam, the staff, the presidency, and the country. "I will definitely call him and see if he is interested. I think he would make a great addition to the staff." "I will get the number and call you back with it tomorrow Sam." "Thank you sir."
Sam looked down at the clock. It was now pressing 12:30 his time, and he knew that he had an early morning tomorrow. So, even though he was relishing this opportunity to speak to his friend, he knew he had to let him go. "Mr. President, I am honored that you have called me tonight, for all the help and support you have given me. But, it is getting late. And even later on your coast." "I know Sam, but first, there is one other thing I want to discuss with you tonight." Sam knew that when the president had something else on his mind that there would be no getting him off the phone until he was finished. "Okay sir, and that is?" "Have you figured out who you are going to have for chief of staff Sam?" Sam paused; cause that was the one position out of the rest who he knew he wanted, but also knew there was no way to have that happen. "I haven't figured it out yet sir. I have a person in mind, but I don't know if I can ask him." "Of course you can Sam. He would not expect anything less than to have you ask him for that. Before the state of the union our second year, when the Secretary of Agriculture was in my office, I gave him a piece of advice, I told him that if anything happens to me to ask himself these questions. Do you have a best friend," Sam nodded, "is he smarter than you," Sam smiled at that one cause they were really pretty equal on that one, "do you trust him with your life? If you answer yes to all three of those then that is your chief of staff. I know you can answer yes to all three of those Sam." Sam just sat back and let a sigh escape his mouth. He had poured another glass of bourbon while he was on the phone, and it was mostly water, he took a drink and sat the glass back down. "What are you thinking about Sam?" "How I can ask him to do this. He held a higher position than me when we both served you." "It doesn't matter Sam, he has never had this position, and he would be more than willing to do this for you, and personally, I can't think of a better person for you to ask." "Besides the occasional email from time to time, we haven't spoken on the phone once since the wedding two years ago sir." "Sam, it doesn't matter, the bond that is shared between you two will always be there, and something that you can rely on." Sam smiled, he remembered the wedding, he was the best man, and that was part of his speech. "I know sir, but..." Jed interrupted him, "Sam, look, I know you feel unsure of this, and I can understand, but just as Leo came to me, what was the deciding factor in you making this run. I know it wasn't me, or Leo, or Toby, even though he would like to say that you did it because of him. It was that email you got, the one that gave you the confidence, the one that said 'Sam, I have faith in you for this, you need anything, all you have to do is ask.' He knew you wouldn't want to ask him, so that was his way of telling you." Sam sighed; he knew that without him, he wouldn't be able to get thru this, at least not the way he wanted. Sam also knew that the president was right. "You're right sir, I will call Josh tomorrow."