A succession of characters take the role of "teacher" or "lecturer" in the cafeteria scene, giving long explanations of the nature of terrorism and the ways the United States should respond. Some characters, during their time as metaphorical teacher, seem to support specific real-world government policies. Lyman's and Sam Seaborn's explanations—Lyman comparing the terrorists to the Ku Klux Klan and Seaborn comparing the Taliban to the Nazis—echo the George W. Bush administration's reasoning for invading Afghanistan. C. J. Cregg, by arguing for phone tapping and increased intelligence funding, is implicitly supporting the real-world Patriot Act. For most of the episode, Leo McGarry is depicted as angry, paranoid, and racist; this is at odds with his usual characterization as cool-headed and straightforward. Sorkin intended it as a depiction of how easily people are "pushed right over the line of racism." Reception "Isaac and Ishmael" had the highest viewership of any West Wing episode, and was the highest viewed show that week. The episode was met with mixed reviews, with many describing its tone as "pedagogical" or "preachy." Tom Shales, writing for The Washington Post, criticized the focus on Islamophobia, lamenting that "even in this moment of pain, trauma, heartbreak, destruction, assault and victimization, Hollywood liberals can still find some excuse to make America look guilty." In a retrospective review, The A.V. Club's Steve Heisler unfavorably compared "Isaac and Ishmael" to a Lifetime original movie, though concluded that the episode was important for its moment as "no one was really in a place where they could think about things intelligently, or rationally" in the wake of the September 11 attacks. References Bibliography External links The West Wing (season 3) episodes 2001 American television episodes Works about the September 11 attacks