Undecideds

"Undecideds"

"Undecideds" is episode 140 of The West Wing.

In this episode Santos finds himself in the middle of a situation in which a black boy is shot dead by a Latino Police officer in LA. His staff call in a trusted black advisor from Washington, he advises a visit from Santos to the bereaved mother. However, this turns into a farce when security stop her sister from coming to the house. Santos does not want to be seen as the Latino President who must condemn what the officer did. It is a dilemma and Lou feels Santos is not happy with her advice. Further, Santos is scheduled to speak to a church congregation in LA and he will have to bring up the tragedy.The black and Latino community are at loggerheads with each other, for various, complex reasons.However, they are the "Udecideds" of the episode's title. Josh calls CJ to see whether the President will show his support at the churh, but CJ declines to even bring it to the Presidents attention. Ellie's wedding is imminent and CJ and Kate have their hands full with a situation developing in Kazakhstan.

Leo flies in to LA to introduce Santos. Earlier a tentative Lou gives Santos his speech. Predictably Matt throws it in the trash. He tells his wife of his total frustration of being in the middle simply because he is a Latino.

When Santos gives his unscripted speech to the black community, he is a success. He talks of compassion, and does not condemn either the dead boy (he was in a stolen car) or the officer (he thought the boy had a weapon).

As the episode ends, Santos and his wife leave the church, hand in hand, to rapturous applause.

External links

• The West Wing Episode Guide