Will Bailey
"I was initially hired to help Toby Ziegler write President Bartlet's second inaugural speech but ended up staying a bit longer; I was Deputy Communications Director for two years. After the inauguration I became Toby's deputy but I couldn't hear what anyone was saying because there was a strange humming or buzzing in my ears, drowning out all the other words.
"President Bartlet taught me that it is possible for a small group of committed citizens to change the world, and that's the only thing that ever has. He was right and although I may have jumped ship later, and caused Toby to hate me somewhat, I'll never forget or regret working for President Bartlet.
"Throughout the writing of the inaugural address I remained focused despite my office being covered in Seaborn For Congress posters, filled with bicycles and containing a goat. I was not easily accepted by the rest of the speech writing staff and quite a few of the senior members quit a few weeks after I was named deputy.
"Despite the occasional blip on the radar, my time working as Toby's deputy was good. I learnt a lot about the inside workings of the White House and gained a great deal of respect for the senior staff. Sometimes I do wish that I hadn't left and wonder what would have happened but I couldn't deal with the pressure, the lifestyle. I had spent a long time running Horton Wilde's campaign in the California 47th before he died and put even more effort into it after, when Sam Seaborn took over as the nominee I wanted a holiday, a well deserved break. I didn't get it, instead I worked the inaugural address and then worked in the White House full time for nearly two years. In the end I was too tired and too stressed to continue working, I handed in my resignation and finally took the holiday I had been promising myself for four years.
"I will never regret my time in the White House and often wish I had stayed longer. I learnt so much during that time and gained such a respect for the people around me that I continue the Bartlet legacy even now, 15 years since I left. I crossed the holy line of demarkation, that marked the start of the West Wing, when Toby could no longer stand me working in the hallway and I remained pleased that I did so."
Will sighed slightly remembering the feeling of working in the White House, playing late night poker games with the senior staff and C.J. leaving olives in his suit jacket pockets.
"Thank you, and good luck to all of you with your future careers."