 According to Sorkin , the episode benefited greatly from input by two former White House employees . The scene where Donna stays up all night sorting through documents in cartons was the idea of Eli Attie , Al Gore 's chief speechwriter . Meanwhile Gene Sperling , Bill Clinton 's chief economic adviser , came up with the sub @-@ plot involving the estate tax . Sorkin , however , had certain misgivings about the estate tax story 's appeal , considering the prevalent bipartisan spirit of the time , in the aftermath of the 9 / 11 attacks . 
