"Bartlet for America" is the tenth episode of the third season of American serial political drama The West Wing. The episode aired on December 12, 2001 on NBC. The episode features Leo McGarry, the White House Chief of Staff, testifying before a congressional committee after it is revealed that the administration has been covering up the President's multiple sclerosis. Reception of the episode was mostly positive, and the slogan of "Bartlet for America" has been reprised in popular culture and real-life American politics. Plot The episode centers around the continuation of a storyline in which Democratic President Josiah Bartlet publicly admits that he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and concealed it from the public throughout his campaign for the presidency. In this episode, set in the Christmas holiday season, Leo McGarry has been served with a subpoena to testify before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform as a high-ranking official in the Bartlet campaign and one of Bartlet's closest friends. Leo is asked by the committee how he initially persuaded Jed Bartlet to run for office, causing the show to flash back to a scene where Leo stops by Bartlet's office as Governor of New Hampshire. In trying to persuade him to run for President, Leo pulls out a cocktail napkin, licks it, and sticks it on a nearby easel, revealing that it reads "Bartlet for America". A recess is called when Leo, while being questioned by Congressman Darren Gibson, admits that Bartlet had a previously undisclosed multiple sclerosis "attack" while campaigning for office, on the night of the third debate. Leo tells his lawyer that on the night of the debate, he was meeting with Gibson, then a CEO, and another wealthy individual; he trying to shore up the campaign's money. Leo tries to avoid the drinks offered to him without revealing that he is a recovering alcoholic, but ends up having a glass of scotch. After the two leave, Leo gets drunk, and when Congressman Gibson re-enters the room—having forgotten his wallet—he sees the several empty bottles Leo has left on the table. Meanwhile, the Republican Senate Majority Leader and Majority Counsel Cliff Calley have pulled Gibson into another room, where he tells them the same story and signals his intent to use the debate collapse as an excuse to publicize Leo's story and embarrass him. Calley objects, telling Gibson that the questioning is immoral