Arctic Radar
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“Arctic Radar” | |
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The West Wing episode | |
Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 75 |
Guest stars | Mary-Louise Parker Joshua Malina John Amos Christian Slater Vyto Ruginis Audrey Wasilewski Renee Estevez |
Written by | Aaron Sorkin (teleplay) Gene Sperling (story) |
Directed by | John David Coles |
Production no. | 175310 |
Original airdate | |
Season 4 episodes | |
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List of The West Wing episodes |
"Arctic Radar" is episode 75 of The West Wing.
[edit] Plot
Sam heads out to California to begin his campaign, leaving Toby in need of speechwriting help. Sam's suggestion: Will Bailey. Meanwhile, a celebrated female fighter pilot is about to be dishonorably discharged after having been caught having an affair, and women's groups (not to mention the women in the White House men's lives) want the president to do something about it. And Donna asks Josh to find out if Cdr. Jack Reese likes her.
[edit] Trivia
In this episode, President Bartlet is disgusted that the female officer is being discharged for an offense that undoubtedly would not have been an issue had she been a man. He sites as an example an affair between Dwight Eisenhower and Kay Summersby as proof. There is no conclusive evidence that Eisenhower and Summersby had any affair, however--Summersby 1948 autobiography makes no mention of it, and her 1978 autobiography (published after her death) was ghost written. It is in this latter book that the affair is talked about as though it was common knowledge in Washington D.C. at the time--however, the book explicitly says that the affair was not sexual. Critics of this account charge the ghostwriter with exaggerating the relationship of the two based on rumors of the day and later reflections by Summersby on what might have been.