u/Johnsendall

It’s long but bear with me.

We are better than this.

One of the most controversial storylines in the show is Toby ultimately deciding to leak the information about the military shuttle to force Bartlet’s hand to rescue the astronauts. Most people think it was out of character for Toby and that he would never betray the president. But let’s take a look at the last four years of Toby’s life:

Andrea: She was willing to have children with him but unwilling to remarry him. Despite grand gestures and show of true love for her, he felt betrayed and devestated that she said no.

Sam: a little brother figure who promised to leave his job to run for congress despite not informing Toby. Toby may have seemed like he encouraged Sam, but he missed his partner and felt like he dropped him without any notice. And when Sam was willing to return, he returns to help Josh. Not him.

Will: His handpicked replacement for Sam ultimately spent 15 minutes on the job before leaving to work for someone Toby had zero respect for.

Leo: Toby wanted to work on big picture legacy stuff for the second term and Leo kept him pushing the current message and writing speeches. He also let the VP take Will which made him feel betrayed.

Josh: Decides to pick a candidate to run for president and leaves without so much as consulting him or asking for help. When Josh does want help, he comes far too late and the animosity and resentment is already there, so much so that they get into a physical altercation because the anger was so high.

Brother: Toby’s brother commits suicide. Toby felt betrayed his brother left him, and his own children, and felt betrayed and saddened that his little brother didn’t seek help from him.

CJ: Despite not wanting the COS job he most likely didn’t think CJ was super qualified for it. Seeing her career develop under the current administration while his was stalled due to choices outside his control. Furthermore, he had to fill in and do the Press Secretary job, furthering his distance from legacy planning.

Bartlet: Despite being one of his closest advisers, Toby’s role seems to be minimalized in the final years, with Toby’s advice often being ignored by the president. Furthermore, Bartlet begins working on his legacy, which is exactly what Toby wanted to be doing.

Toby’s final years at the White House made him feel bitter, unappreciated, and betrayed. One thing he could do and had full control over, was helping the astronauts, and deciding when and how his time with the administration would end.

Just a sweet connection I like to live with.

I know why she was written out and understand the behind the scenes politics of bringing her back, but her return would have rounded out the series since she just vanished. Or at least Patricia Richardson’s character working for the Vinick Campaign.

Despite the narrative of Charlie being a stand up dude, taking care of his sister, it would have been nice to see what she was like. She must have been a pretty special lady. Also, we never met Charlie’s sister.

I had surgery and a rod installed in my tibia, and during my rehab I was given an ultrasound bone stimulator to help heal it quicker. I followed the doctor’s instructions to the letter. To this day the spot where I broke my tibia there is a callous on my skin that never heals. It gets pretty hard like a scab, but as soon as that scab heals it bleeds and opens up again. There is a bump where the bone healed, and it seems to me that the skin issue is a result of that bump sretching my skin. It’s either always painful or itchy. I keep it clean but it gets infected and inflamed often. I put lots of skin products on it, aquaphor baby ointment works the best. Anyone experience this after using a bone stimulator? Any advice? My surgeon and rehab team seem to be complacent about it.