Last December, John Spencer died suddenly from a heart attack. His death stunned and saddened his cast mates and fans of West Wing alike. His death also spawned a change, according to the writer’s of The West Wing for what would happen during the Election between Presidential Candidates Matt Santos(Jimmy Smits) and Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) as the inheritor of the soon to be exiting Josiah Bartlett’s (Martin Sheen) Presidential office.
The ramp up to this showdown began in Season 6 with Joshua Lyman being courted by several presidential contenders, including Senator Arnold Vinick. The campaigns, the primary elections, the upheaval at the Democratic National Convention and the live debate last November were a culmination of the talents of the ineffable Alda (beloved from his days as MASH’s Hawkeye Pierce) and the intense Smits (L.A. Law & N.Y.P.D. Blue).
Santos’ running mate, Leo McGarry served as White House Chief of Staff for Jed Bartlett for the first five seasons before a massive heart attack laid him up. Ironically, his character’s health issues paved the way for a transition to CJ Cregg as the White House Chief of Staff and his own eventual ascension as the Vice Presidential candidate for Santos.
A mentor, friend and political mastermind, McGarry’s trademark gruffness was made all too human in the talented hands of John Spencer. Even understanding that with Spencer’s death, we would soon lose our beloved Leo – the episode ‘Election Night’ was still bittersweet.
Discovered by Annabeth at the end of the April 2nd episode, Election Night Part II begins with the news of Leo’s collapse circulating. Donna had the unenviable task of delivering the dark news to Josh and CJ delivered the same news to President Bartlett. Once again, Santos and Vinick were placed on the hot spot of having to make the right decision about how to handle the fallout of Leo’s heart attack and death. They both handled it with aplomb and respect for who Leo was.
The episode hit the right notes of fraught tension of slow news returning in a neck and neck presidential race, but the race seemed anticlimactic in light of Leo’s death. There was no person on either the campaign staffs or in the White House who was not affected. Even the final announcement, which gave Santos the win for the race and Vinick the concession did little to lift the pall of death.
For Josh Lyman, Leo McGarry had been like a father to him. He was definitely a mentor. He came to Josh and picked him to come and here Bartlett all those years before. Together they worked to bring Bartlett into the White House. The pivotal night of their victory nine years before in the Presidential primaries sealing Bartlett for the Democratic nominee was made bittersweet with the death of Josh’s father to a heart attack. Now, the night that should have been a crowning achievement as he helped an unlikely candidate take the Oval House was diminished by the death of his second father.
The loss of John Spencer was keenly felt and keenly honored in this episode that paid tribute to the history and the characters that have populated The West Wing for the last seven years.