The Cold

"The Cold"
The West Wing episode
Episode no.	Season 7 Episode 145
Directed by	Alex Graves
Written by	Debora Cahn (teleplay) Debora Cahn & Lauren Schmidt (story)
Production code	2T6213
Original air date	March 12, 2006
Guest stars
Ron Silver Patricia Richardson Lily Tomlin Brett Cullen Stephen Root Ron Canada Steve Ryan Dean Norris Matthew Del Negro Diana-Maria Riva Melinda McGraw
Season 7 episodes
September 25, 2005 – May 14, 2006 The Ticket The Mommy Problem Message of the Week Mr. Frost Here Today The Al Smith Dinner The Debate Undecideds The Wedding Running Mates Internal Displacement Duck and Cover The Cold Two Weeks Out Welcome to Wherever You Are Election Day Part I Election Day Part II Requiem Transition The Last Hurrah Institutional Memory Tomorrow
List of The West Wing episodes

This article is about TV episode. For other uses, see Cold (disambiguation).

For the New Wave rock band called The Cold, see The Cold (rock band).

"The Cold" is episode 145 of The West Wing. This episode contained the final performance of cast member John Spencer (Leo McGarry), who died of a heart attack before the next episode could be filmed.

Plot

When it emerges that Santos is ahead in the California polls and tied nationally, Donna rushes to Josh's hotel room to share the news. In his excitement, Josh impulsively kisses Donna and they end up kissing until Santos bursts in on them. Everyone is on a high. The Democrats gleefully learn that Vinick has a cold; however, this is being kept quiet by Vinick's aides. He's under a lot of pressure now to lean further to the right. The religious conservatives are ready to take the reins, especially as the campaign is now falling behind in the polls. Vinick is reluctant to lose his trusted advisors, Bruno Gianelli and Sheila Brooks.

C.J. finds out that romance could be blossoming between Donna and Josh, but has no idea that Will and Kate have embarked on a relationship, despite their lamentations that they are "really bad" at hiding it.

The President summons Santos, Leo, and Vinick to the White House, to brief them on the Kazakhstan situation. Before meeting with the candidates, the President has a private meeting with Leo to discuss the situation, after which Josh asks Leo whether everything is okay. Leo replies: 'yeah,' the character's final line.

Bartlet meets with the candidates and informs them that they cannot wait until after the election to send in troops, and that whoever wins the election will inherit the situation. Vinick muses aloud that he will lose his tax cuts, and Santos' education plan is off the table.

External links

• The West Wing Episode Guide