The Debate

"The Debate" is episode 139 of The West Wing. The episode was broadcast live. Because of this, there are actually two versions of this episode; one performed live for east coast audiences and a second performed a few hours later for west coast broadcast. Only the west coast version appears on the season seven DVD. The episode features a debate between Arnold Vinick and Matt Santos, the two presidential candidates, with Forrest Sawyer serving as m... more

"The Debate" is episode 139 of The West Wing. The episode was broadcast live. Because of this, there are actually two versions of this episode; one performed live for east coast audiences and a second performed a few hours later for west coast broadcast. Only the west coast version appears on the season seven DVD. The episode features a debate between Arnold Vinick and Matt Santos, the two presidential candidates, with Forrest Sawyer serving as moderator. This is the only episode of the series which does not feature any of the original cast members. In fact, aside from Bruno Gianelli, none of the characters in this episode were introduced before season 6. less