| Josh Lyman |
Article Index for Josh |
Website Links For Josh |
Information AboutJosh Lyman |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT JOSH LYMAN | |
| fictional jews | |
| lyman, josh | |
| fictional united states democrats | |
| the west wing characters | |
| fictional characters from connecticut | |
| fictional characters with mental illness | |
|
Joshua 'Josh' Lyman, White House Chief Of Staff-designate and Campaign Manager for President-elect Matt Santos and former Deputy White House Chief Of Staff , is a Fictional Character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama '' The West Wing ''. Josh's character has one of the sharpest minds on the President's staff; he is a witty, somewhat cocky, boyishly charming know-it-all. He has been described by Will Bailey as "one of the finest political minds in the Democratic Party ." CHARACTER BIOGRAPHY Early life and family A native of Westport, Connecticut, Josh roots for the New York Mets. He graduated from Harvard University (where he worked at the '' Harvard Crimson ''), and Yale Law School . He was also a Fulbright Scholar . Josh is a non-practicing Jew; his grandfather was held in the Nazi concentration camp Birkenau , during World War II . Professional history Prior to working for President Jed Bartlet , Josh was a staffer for then-Senator John Hoynes , Bartlet 's opponent for the Democratic nomination for president in 1998. However, at the request of Josh's father's old friend Leo McGarry , Josh went to New Hampshire to see Jed Bartlet speak, and immediately left Hoynes's campaign to work for Bartlet; he also recruited his old friend Sam Seaborn to the campaign. Since Hoynes later became Bartlet's first Vice President, this was a source of tension between Josh and Hoynes in later episodes—with Hoynes specifically asking Josh in Season One if he thought that, had he listened to Josh while a part of the Hoynes team, he would have become President. Josh, with characteristic bravado and arrogance, replied that he didn't ''think'' Hoynes would be President—he ''knew it for sure''. Shortly after Josh joined the Bartlet campaign, he hired college dropout Donnatella Moss as his assistant despite her apparent lack of qualification. Except for a period that included the 2006 Presidential primaries, Donna has been Josh's assistant, close friend, and possible object of his affections ever since. On the night that Bartlet won the Illinois primary, Josh's father, respected New York attorney Noah Lyman, died. Josh rushed to the airport to fly home as soon as possible, and in a powerful scene, Bartlet delayed giving his victory speech in order to follow Josh to the airport and make sure he was okay. In the first season finale, Josh was seriously wounded by white supremacists trying to assassinate African-American presidential aide Charlie Young , then in a relationship with President Bartlet's daughter Zoey . Josh underwent fourteen hours of surgery and was subsequently put through intensive psychotherapy after displaying symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder . Josh's position in the Bartlet administration was temporarily compromised after he leaked information to the press about an anonymous hold on military promotions placed by Idaho senator Chris Carrick. Senator Carrick had been trying to secure a promise from the White House that a missile defense system would be built in his home state, but Josh's competitive nature would not allow him to make a compromise. After the leak, Senator Carrick released the hold but resigned from the Democratic Party , informing Josh that he would seek re-election as a Republican and citing Josh as a key reason for his defection. The embarrassment to the administration and to the party led Leo to leave Josh out of key budget negotiations, negotiations which eventually resulted in a complete shutdown of the federal government. Josh was the only senior staffer to support the President's firm stand against Speaker Jeff Haffley . Josh left his position at the White House to run the Dark Horse presidential campaign of Representative Matt Santos of Texas; he was succeeded by Clifford Calley as Deputy White House Chief Of Staff . The Santos campaign initially lost the Iowa Caucus , came in third in the New Hampshire Primary at 19% and went on to win a come from behind victory in the California primary. Santos won the Texas primary and the final New Jersey primary by a slim margin. Going into the Democratic National Convention no candidate had enough delegates to win the nomination with delegates split between front runner Vice President Bob Russell , Rep. Santos and former Vice President John Hoynes. At the convention class="copylinks">Pennsylvania Governor [[Eric Baker attempted an upstart campaign from the convention floor that further fractured the delegates. Ultimately Santos won the nomination after a stirring convention speech that was expected to be his concession, and behind the scenes maneuvering by President Bartlet. Josh was influential in recruiting Leo McGarry as the vice presidential nominee, and rose to become campaign manager for the Santos/McGarry Campaign . (The Santos nomination is similar to the struggles then Governor Bartlet had in his dark horse victory over Senator Hoynes during the 1998 campaign.) After Matt Santos was elected President Of The United States in a narrow victory over Republican Senator Arnold Vinick , Josh became the Chief Of Staff-designate of the incoming Santos Administration. Josh and Donna's relationship There is a continuing, unrequited love story — or so some would say — between Josh and Donna. The pair had not only a close working relationship, but a close personal friendship as well. Since the first episode of the show up until the middle of season 6, when Donna quit her assistant's job, the pair constantly flirted and bantered with each other:
TRIVIA
SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|