Boy o Boy, Hannah I was thinking of you last night while watching CJ do her new "COS" thing. I bet you were loving it! I was too.

Once you get past the ridiculous notion that CJ would be the choice to replace Leo, things went pretty well. They threw in some lines from Jimmy Smits about Josh being better off where he is so he can do "his kind" of politics.

Issues with the storyline aside, I'm reminded of a quote from Bartlet when talking about his second Inaugural address. "They're not saying it was badly written", he said. This certainly was not.

Some great lines.....

CJ to Margaret: "Hutchison is a son of a •••••, is that just me?"

and later, as CJ is heading into a meeting with Nancy McNally and 4 different cabinet secretaries, she turns and quickly says to Margaret: "You're an odd little woman and frankly I've never understood you, but you are highly qualified and you run this office like a Swiss watch and if Leo still needs you I certainly understand, but if he can stand to part with you, I hope you'll stay on."

You go girl!

I've always loved CJ and Margaret.

This episode was classic West Wing. While I too was surprised at the choice of CJ for COS, she will be able to handle it. I loved it when Charlie showed her the direct door to the Oval office.

However, both my wife and I knew that the Toby resigning thing was a major PAL! CJ should have known that was coming.

Was it just me, or did Jimmy Smits' "Texas" accent sound more like Al Pacino's Carlito Brigante accent from "Carlito's Way"?

I'm having a hard time with CJ as COS. I like her a lot, but the simple fact is that she's a press secretary with no foreign-policy or national-security experience. I agree that neither Toby nor Josh were qualified for the post, but CJ seems less so. The others, at least, have been seen meeting with foreign nationals and various domestic officials. All I can remember CJ doing is meeting with the wolf people during Leo's "Big Block of Cheese Day."

Jesse: Oh I KNOW! He is so New York!

I agree with you guys, but I think she can handle it.

The Senator/whatever *did* have a good point about Josh, though.

(BTW, guys, I've taken over Crime & Justice now)

I think CJ is doing a great job so far. Her choice seems a little shaky up front, but it seems to be working. Something came to mind. There was a comment a few eps ago about being able to "manage down" versus "manage up." In the ep where CJ is chosen, we see Toby, Josh, and CJ each handle a situation. Toby and Josh try to tackle the domestic angle for the support of the Gaza coalition and CJ works on the foreign angle. CJ not only pulls off her task, she does so WITHOUT dragging the Prez into it. In contrast, both Toby and Josh fail, AND they track their failure right into Bartlett's office! CJ alone displays the ability to "manage up" by keeping the details out of the Oval Office, freeing up the Prez. A COS must be able to do this, to keep the Prez sane.

The only problem I have with CJ as the new COS is: why her? I would have thought that Josh, as the Assistant, would be the logical choice. Isn't that why there's an assistant? Sort of like why we have a Vice President - just in case something happens to the President. So why was the Assistant not the obvious choice?
(And, yes, I had this question ages ago, and just never got around to posting it. I've been having a hard time lately.)