Ways and Means

This is one of the episodes in which we see Connie Britton's and Evan Handler's characters who were obviously & clunkily inserted, most likely at the demand of some corporate executive pressure. Their performances of blurting Sorkin's dialogue show their obvious intimidation, along with their desperation to become regular cast members on The West Wing. Among the several problems behind the contrivance of forcing them into the story is just how inorganic they are to the story's development over previous seasons.

Consider Oliver Platt. His character - in large part because of his talent - fits the story perfectly, his dialogue and behavior make sense and fit easily into place with the regular cast.

Britton, and Handler especially, feel forced into the story, thus forced onto the viewers, making us feel that we need to accept them - believe them & their credibility. But, we don't, because of the obvious contrivances and the significantly lower level of talent brought to the effort. It feels like a speech that Sam Seaborne mercifully steps in to improve, except not this time. ...writing by committee. ...writing by some hack tasked by a bloated Republican Network executive, delivered by Network contract 'talent' who are desperate for TV exposure time.

Thankfully for viewers, this experiment is short-lived, as failure was apparently recognized. But, it's the kind of interference that led to Sorkin's departure and the decline of the series.