Celestial Navigation (The West Wing)

"Celestial Navigation" is the 15th episode of The West Wing.

Plot

Sam and Toby have to go to Connecticut to get the President's Supreme Court nominee, Roberto Mendoza, out of jail after he is wrongfully arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. Matters are complicated by Sam's less-than-stellar sense of direction in driving himself and Toby there, Mendoza's refusal to bite his tongue on policy matters that then cause headaches for the Bartlet administration, and the shame and humiliation felt by Mendoza when he refused a breathalyzer and was arrested in front of his wife and young son. Mendoza wants to speak out about the fact that he was unfairly targeted because of his race, and is willing to spend the night in jail in order to underscore the point. Toby tells Mendoza if he refuses to leave jail with him, his nomination is finished, and then tells the cops pointedly that they have apologies to make.

Josh relates this and other stories during a speech to a group of university students about a typical day at the White House. His other stories include a clash between Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Deborah O'Leary and an abrasive Republican Congressman, an emergency root canal for C.J. Cregg, and a gaffed press conference by Josh himself. (Josh, covering for a post-root-canal C.J., manages to completely bungle the daily press briefing: in a span of a few minutes, he comes up with a (non-existent) secret plan to fight inflation, calls the White House press corps stupid, and lets them know that the President has started smoking cigarettes again.) The President returns from a trip to let Josh know that under no circumstances will he ever do a press briefing again. Despite the gaffes, everything works out in the end.

Emmy Awards

Won

• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (recipient: Allison Janney) (submitted along with "Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics").

External links

• The West Wing Episode Guide