Written by Peter Noah
Directed by Paul McCrane
“You’re smirking again?”
“Yeah…”
In the aftermath of the announcement of the death of John (Leo McGarry) Spencer, what better tribute could there be than to come out of a cycle of repeats with (a) an episode that showcases everything that Leo is about, and (b) a poignant introduction by Martin Sheen, explaining the death of the actor, and echoing the sentiment of the previous point.
Running Mates is a glorious deconstruction of Leo McGarry as a political candidate. From his nervous moments of weakness and self-doubt…to his straightforward, laid back Irish charm…John Spencer spends the entire episode demonstrating that both he AND Leo are multi-faceted, rich characters in every conceivable way: powerful, gentle, commanding, soft-shoed, and fiercely intelligent.
He’s exactly the type of crafty, intelligent Boston Irish Catholic Vietnam vet/ policy wonk you’d expect to be working in a Democratic White House…only better! 
However, it wouldn’t be The West Wing if the title wasn’t indicative of the thematic games the episode plays with — we have mates all over the place. We have the calm, self-assured rapport that has developed between Leo and Matt Santos…we have the 1930s comedy teaming of Leo and Annabeth (who finds him hot in all the right ways!)…and then it gets even deeper.
First of all, we have the delightful telephone conversation between Josh and Toby. So much strain and bad feeling between them, ever since the start of the campaign…and yet they still reach out to each other, despite the animosity. This is more than friendship…this is family, and it’s played for all it’s worth by two amazing actors, who can share deep emotion using simple, clipped, jokey-black-humour dialogue.
Then there’s the ultimate set of running mates: Matt Santos and his wife, Helen. So much strain on their family, on their love life, on their security…but played with gentle, engrossing reality — the reality of two people who love each other. What we’re seeing is the surrogate scenes of early Jed & Abbey Bartlett: everything they must have gone through on the way to the White House, being played out again by a younger couple, on the threshold of that same, incredible journey. No sweet resolution to their problems…no sugary happy ending or moral…just real, painful, passionate love.
Perhaps there’s TOO much in this episode…more than is good for it. Perhaps the two plot threads of Leo and the Santos family are too powerful, taking away from each other as much as they give each other gravitas. Perhaps the direction isn’t quite as artistic and sharp as it would be under Alex Graves or Christopher Misiano. But those minor quibbles don’t detract from the kind of shiny little gem that Running Mates is…a wonderful treat in the heart of a dismal, bleak January evening of television viewing. If only all TV drama aimed for this type of bottom line.
8.5
