the Clinton White House for visits during the period between the show's beginning in the fall of 1999 and the inauguration of George W. Bush as president in January 2001. Sorkin said he took some of Bartlet's characteristics from his own father, namely his "great love of education and literature [and] all things old," his "[belief] in a genuine goodness in people," and his "'Aw, Dad' sense of humor." In the middle of the show's first season, it is revealed that Bartlet has multiple sclerosis. According to Sorkin, this was not planned; the plot came about because he wanted to write an episode in which the president was in bed watching a soap opera and the audience discovered that the first lady was a physician. "When I wrote the pilot, I didn't have any idea what was going to happen in Episode 2, much less 12," he says. Character biography Personal life Bartlet was born in 1942 and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire. He is a direct descendant of Dr. Josiah Bartlett, a real-world signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Bartlet is a devout Catholic. This is due to the influence of his mother, as his father would have preferred that he be raised Protestant. His relationship with his father was often strained and abusive. In a discussion with his subconscious, personified by the "ghost" of Mrs. Landingham, his father is described as "a prick who could never get over the fact that he wasn't as smart as his brothers." Sorkin has stated that Bartlet's father, "obviously convinced he married some Catholic whore, treats his son terribly for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that he adopted his mother's religion." Sorkin said that Bartlet's tirade against God in the episode "Two Cathedrals" is therefore directed just as much at Bartlet's own father as it is at God. However, when his father's unkind and sometimes abusive treatment of him is mentioned by Toby Ziegler, Bartlet attempts to defend his father. Though he is long dead, Toby suggests that Bartlet is still trying to get the man to like him, hoping that "maybe if you get enough votes, win one more election," Bartlet will finally be able to earn his father's approval. He displays a remarkable ability for chess. Once, he engaged several members of his staff in separate matches at the same time, and won. Bartlet scored