The West Wing: Season 3

The premiere episode of the third season of 'The West Wing' deals with some of the questions and issues facing the world in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy that occurred in America.

Bartlet announces that he intends to seek reelection. Storms complicate a Haitian rescue mission. Bartlet and his staff travel to New Hampshire to work on campaign matters. C.J. commits an error during a press conference.

Bartlet refines his speech for a major reelection announcement, while his staff works uneasily with a heavyweight political strategist on this issue of whether or not Bartlet should include a public apology in his remarks.

When a prosecutor begins investigating Bartlet's failure to disclose his illness to the staff, C.J. cunningly reveals clues to the press that could force Rollins to be ousted and replaced by someone more favorable to the administration.

As a State Department dinner nears, Bartlet boldly vetoes the "death tax" bill, but his staff must scramble when they learn that the House of Representatives has enough votes to immediately override the veto.

After a church shooting, Bartlet asks reluctant Vice President John Hoynes to speak at an antigun rally in Texas, but the uneasy allies confront each other in a starkly frank showdown.

When an American spy submarine suddenly loses contact with the U.S. in hostile North Korean waters, a concerned Bartlet receives advice from Assistant Secretary of State Albie Duncan.

While Bartlet worries about where he will be on Thanksgiving - and how to best cook a gourmet turkey - C.J. meets with two Native Americans, Maggie and Jack, who are camped in the White House lobby.

Josh meets with a powerful women's caucus over the proposed language of a United Nations treaty banning prostitution. Bartlet grapples with the possibility of a mad cow disease epidemic and ponders how much the public should know.

Leo fears the worst when he testifies in the congressional investigation into Bartlet's lack of public disclosure about his illness. Flashbacks reveal the background of Bartlet's decision, when he was governor,

Leo defiantly rejects the Congressional Oversight Committee's offer of a public censure of Bartlet that would finally bring an end to the investigation and spare Leo of any possible personal repercussions.

While the White House staff works intensely on Bartlet's crucial State of the Union speech, Bartlet suddenly demands the inclusion of a passage that ambitiously promises a crusade to cure cancer within 10 years.

Bartlet and his staff ponder whether or not to counter a Republican presidential candidate's verbal assault on affirmative action. Josh must postpone his vacation with Amy Gardner in order to defuse a risky situation in Puerto Rico.

Josh covertly brings a psychiatrist to the white house to meet with the President who has been unable to sleep for five days.

Bartlet engages both Sam and Toby in intricate chess matches that mirror the wily game of brinksmanship that Bartlet is playing with the Chinese, who are conducting war games in the Taiwan Strait.

Bartlet receives another visit from decorous British Ambassador Lord John Marbury, who argues against Bartlet's meeting with a murderous Irish terrorist.

Bartlet makes a disparaging comment about a potential Republican nominee after a television interview, not realizing that he is still being recorded. For days, C.J. must control the scandal.

When a large truck carrying uranium fuel rods crashes in a remote Idaho tunnel, Bartlet's staff prepares for a potential environmental--or terrorist--crisis.

A meeting with the new Russian president becomes politically dangerous when surveillance photos show Russia building a nuclear reactor in Iran. C.J. is assigned Secret Service protection after receiving death threats.

The President and Leo deal with reports of a planned terrorist attack, but more shocking is who is behind it. Sam receives an anonymous package with bad implications for the campaign. C.J. chafes under her Secret Service protection.

Bartlet agonizes over whether to forfeit the principle of diplomatic immunity for a Middle Eastern official who is known to be plotting terrorism. Josh debates with his lover, feminist activist Amy Gardner, over a key welfare reform bill.

Bartlet makes a life-or-death decision regarding a foreign diplomat who is a known terrorist. He ponders the situation during a charity benefit performance of a Shakespeare play about another conflicted leader, Henry VI.