Undecideds
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| “Undecideds” | |
|---|---|
| The West Wing episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 7 Episode 140 |
| Written by | Debora Cahn |
| Directed by | Christopher Misiano |
| Guest stars | Janeane Garofalo Teri Polo Nina Siemaszko Ben Weber Cress Williams Ron Canada NiCole Robinson Matthew Del Negro Karis Campbell Diana-Maria Riva Shelley Robertson Lou Beatty, Jr. |
| Production no. | 2T6208 |
| Original airdate | December 4, 2005 |
| Season 7 episodes | |
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| List of The West Wing episodes | |
"Undecideds" is episode 140 of The West Wing.
[edit] Plot
In this episode Santos finds himself in the middle of a situation in which a black boy is shot dead by a Latino Police officer in LA. His staff calls in a trusted black advisor from Washington, he advises a visit from Santos to the bereaved mother. However, this turns into a farce when security stop her sister from coming to the house, and the boy's father angrily throws Santos and his advisers out of the house.
Santos does not want to be seen as the Latino President who must condemn what the officer did. It is a dilemma and Lou feels Santos is not happy with her advice. Further, Santos is scheduled to speak to a church congregation in LA and he will have to bring up the tragedy. The African-American and Latino community are at loggerheads with each other, for various, complex reasons. However, the former group is the "undecideds" of the episode's title; the relatively high number of African-Americans who are not supporting Santos is a concern because the election can't be won without them, and they don't hate Arnold Vinick. Josh calls C.J. to see whether the President will show his support at the church, but C.J. declines to even bring it to the President's attention. Ellie's wedding is imminent and C.J. and Kate have their hands full with a situation developing in Kazakhstan. Josh goes to visit Toby for the first time since he was fired for leaking the NASA information, and Toby angers Josh by saying the President won't help him with the crisis in Los Angeles because he's sure Santos will lose the election. But Josh goes back to see Toby when Toby's prediction came 100% true, and Toby bluntly tells him that Santos won't win because he quit his job in Congress to do important but small-scale work in Houston, and Josh doesn't know for sure that he's capable of making the impossible decisions that a President must face every day--"that's why the other guy wins".
Leo flies in to LA to introduce Santos. Earlier a tentative Lou gives Santos his speech. Predictably Santos throws it in the trash. He tells his wife of his total frustration of being in the middle simply because he is a Latino. She tells him there is no right thing to say and he should speak from the heart.
When Santos gives his unscripted speech to the black church community, he is a success. He talks of compassion, and does not condemn either the dead boy (he was in a stolen car) or the officer (he thought the boy had a weapon).
As the episode ends, Santos and his wife leave the church, hand in hand, to rapturous applause.
