Meanwhile, the staff deals with a crisis in Haiti and questions from congressional Democrats regarding Bartlet's health, following his disclosure that he has multiple sclerosis (MS).
Throughout the day, Bartlet revisits his early memories of Mrs. Landingham (Kirsten Nelson) when she was a secretary at the school where he studied and where his father was headmaster.
[4] In one flashback sequence, she pushes a young Bartlet (Jason Widener) to challenge his father about pay inequality between women and men working at the school.
[6] Aaron Sorkin was inspired to write the death of Mrs. Landingham into the show after Kathryn Joosten told him that she had auditioned for a role in a pilot episode for another series (CBS's Joan of Arcadia).
[7] Sorkin explained how he opted to "embrace the problem rather than just sweeping it away", and find the drama in the opportunity: I decided in that moment that, by the end of the season, I wanted to push Bartlet to the place where he would renounce his faith in God—this very devout Catholic.
[8]Sorkin explained that the Latin monologue in the National Cathedral was written in the language in order to avoid censorship by network NBC.
[12] Lawrence O'Donnell, a writer and producer on The West Wing, was cast as Bartlet's father after impressing Sorkin and Schlamme during a read-through for the episode.
[16][better source needed] "The reason I think the song worked so well in it, [is] the piece was about rising above something for self, and doing something for the collective, and in The West Wing there was always a battle going on between right and wrong."
"[17] Sorkin, however, explained in 2017 that he initially had some reservations about the use of the track: Driving around in my car trying to work on the episode was really the first time I listened to the words and thought 'this is too good to be true.