18th and Potomac

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“18th and Potomac”
The West Wing episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 43
Written by	Aaron Sorkin (teleplay) Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. (story)
Directed by	Robert Berlinger
Guest stars	Stockard Channing Oliver Platt Marlee Matlin Anna Deavere Smith John Rubinstein Peter Michael Goetz Richard McGonagle Robert Walden Kathryn Joosten NiCole Robinson Gregalan Williams Victor McCay Glenn Morshower Bill O'Brien
Production no.	226221
Original airdate	May 9, 2001
Season 2 episodes
In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part I In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part II The Midterms In this White House And It's Surely to Their Credit The Lame Duck Congress The Portland Trip Shibboleth Galileo Noël The Leadership Breakfast The Drop-In Bartlet's Third State of the Union The War at Home Ellie Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail The Stackhouse Filibuster 17 People Bad Moon Rising The Fall's Gonna Kill You 18th and Potomac Two Cathedrals
List of The West Wing episodes

"18th and Potomac" is the 43rd episode of The West Wing.

1 Plot
2 Series continuity
3 Syndication/Broadcast differences
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Plot

In this episode Donna is told by Toby about the President's condition. He tells her "You're the first at the assistant level to know." In a brief conversation with Mrs. Landingham, directly before she goes to collect her new car, the President says he'd like to have a word with her on her return. Later in the show we find out that she was killed in a car accident that occurred on 18th and Potomac. (The title of the episode references this pivotal event). The President is thus never able to tell her this news.

A crisis in Haiti takes much of the President and Leo's time, while the senior staff are planning the announcement of the President's MS. Eventually the President agrees with Leo that he should have a discussion with the staff about whether or not to seek reelection.

[edit] Series continuity

This episode confirms that Bartlet won Florida in the 1998 Presidential Election.

[edit] Syndication/Broadcast differences

The episode was being broadcast in Australia while the 9/11 attacks were underway. A decision was made not to interrupt programming until during the final commercial break, just after the news concerning Mrs. Landingham was made apparent.^[1]