Josh is hanging out by Charlie's desk, as Charlie ponders all the imponderable things that go into picking Bartlet's new assistant. Charlie worries about the indefinable "X-factor" that goes into picking out somebody who will connect well with POTUS. Suddenly, he exclaims, "I've got the lady!" about fifteen times, then rushes off to call Lily Tomlin's agent.

Josh heads into the Oval Office. Several staffers are standing around chatting, while POTUS reads through something in a folder. Bartlet demands an explanation from Josh about what happened to the welfare bill. Josh explains the trick of moving the vote to get Bartlet out of the play. Bartlet insists that he's going to the play. Ed or Larry pipes up from the background to explain that they all thought it was a bad idea for him and Ritchie to attend the play together. Bartlet tells them that the charity event was his idea, and that he's not playing politics with the Catholic Church (because it's not like the Church tries to influence government or anything) and asks if anybody was actually going to ask for his input about this decision. Well, maybe if you didn't respond to every question with a non-sequitur, they'd come to you more often. I imagine somebody already asked POTUS about it, and Bartlet would only respond if he or she guessed how many different sharks were on the endangered species list. Bartlet asks about the votes. Josh admits that they're slipping in the votes. Bartlet spits at him, "True or false, Josh: my life would be better right now if you and your girlfriend switched places." If Bartlet thinks his life would be better with Amy right now, I say Josh should go ahead and agree to it. That would certainly teach Jed a lesson. Bartlet complains that he has to endure three mistakes for every accomplishment. He rips Josh for Sam's mistake with the ad, and for the aborted tobacco battle last season. He concludes by shouting, "And why the hell don't you know what Ritchie's commitments are before you get anywhere near my schedule?" What? Okay, Bartlet just said that he was the one responsible for the charity event, so Ritchie couldn't have arranged to attend the event until after Bartlet put it on his schedule. And obviously the staff didn't play any role in picking the date because it's clear here that he didn't tell them that the event was his idea. So really, it's Bartlet's fault for picking the date without consulting with them to find out what Ritchie's plans were. But of course, Josh can't say anything like that. Well, he could freak out and tell him everything he wants to say, then blame it on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but he doesn't. Bartlet orders Josh to win the vote. Josh slinks away like a kicked puppy.