"Hi. I'm Josh Lyman, I was Deputy Chief of Staff for President Bartlet and I'm a graduate of Harvard and Yale. I never was a great public speaker and I'm not exactly sure what you want to know, so I'll give you a bit of history then answer questions.
"I joined the Bartlet campaign 13 weeks before the New Hampshire primary. I had previously worked for: ex-vice president and ex-senator, John Hoynes; as floor manager to the House Minority whip and for Congressman Earl Brennan; I worked for 3 years in the Senate; 2 years as legislative director in the House and 2 years as floor director in the Senate. I am now General Chairman and Chief of Staff to Sam Seaborn is his campaign for President.
"I joined the Bartlet campaign after Leo McGarry asked me to come and watch Jed Bartlet speak. Leo told me to come because 'that's what sons do for old friends of their fathers'. On my way to New Hampshire I stopped to see Sam Seaborn and to ask him to come and work for Hoynes. Sam asked me if I though Hoynes was 'the real thing' I said he wasn't but if I saw the real thing in Nashua should I come get him. Sam told me that I wouldn't need to because I've got a pretty bad poker face.
"I returned from Nashua knowing that Jed Bartlet was the real thing; I got Sam to leave his job at Gage Whitney Pace then I handed in my notice to Hoynes. We joined the campaign, and as they say 'the rest is history'. With Toby Ziegler and C.J. Cregg we got President Bartlet elected.
"Two years after President Bartlet was elected our group was shot at, at Rosslyn, Virginia. West Virginia White Pride hated the fact that Charlie Young, a young black man, was dating the President's daughter Zoey. President Bartlet was shot in the abdomen and I was shot in the chest. I was in surgery for fourteen hours and that Christmas I was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which I no longer suffer from.
"In 2002 we got President Bartlet reelected and a year or two later Zoey was kidnapped. I imagine you heard about it on the news. Afterwards the administration slowly recovered. There were more than a few setbacks during out time in the White House but we achived a lot too. Hell, Toby got Justice Mendosa elected to the Supreme Court and that's saying something.
"Jed Bartlet is a good man and I wouldn't trade anything for the time I had serving him."
Josh stopped and smiled, dimples and all.
"Questions?" He suggested and a few people raised their hands.
"Did you really marry your assistant?" Asked a boy, incredulously, from the back.
Josh grinned. "Yeah I did. Donna and I got married in 2004 and we've got four children."
"Do you still keep in touch with your collegues from the White House?"
"Yeah. Sam, Governor Seaborn of California and I speak and meet regually and our wives and children are friends. C.J. and Toby got married so we just phone or e-mail each other and meet up occasionally. The biggest meetings are at Jed and Abbey's farm in Manchester which they have every couple of months."
As the questions flowed and Josh looked around at the sea of students, he liked teaching and he liked being a guest speaker but he liked going home to his family even more.
A/N: Toby next!