The West Wing/Characters

President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen)

 * Absent-Minded Professor: Lampshaded
 * His inability to remember the names of several White House staffers is Played for Laughs. Later, it results in a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming when, during the final episode, he thanks each of the staffers personally on his way out of the White House, and remembers each of their names correctly this time.
 * Doubles as an Actor Allusion, as Martin Sheen himself is awful with names.
 * As the Good Book Says...: Bartlet's encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible lets him kick ass.
 * Badass Boast: "Now, I have a Nobel Prize in economics, and I'm telling you guys, you have no clue what you're talking about". He then goes on to threaten the two warring parties, employees and employers of the trucking industry: The former with a forced enlistment of every employee to the US army and the latter with a nationalization of the entire trucking industry. "You have 47 minutes, gentlemen", indeed.
 * Badass Bookworm
 * Badass Grandpa
 * Benevolent Boss
 * Berserk Button: Hurting an American citizen. Or god forbid, a member of his staff or family.
 * Also, don't say anything bad about his father.
 * The Chains of Commanding: Especially with regards to the military.
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Deadpan Snarker: Extraordinaire
 * Deus Angst Machina: He's the freaking President, and isn't the type to be callous about all the crap he's exposed to. What did you expect?
 * A Father to His Men
 * Good Is Not Soft: He's the President, not Santa Claus. Bartlett isn't above secrecy or ordering assassinations if it's for the greater good. Despite his warm, fatherly demeanor, he does not take kindly to insubordination; more than one advisor has been abruptly let go for disobeying him.
 * The Greatest Story Never Told: The public only gets to see a filtered sliver of the amazing things he does in any given episode.
 * Happily Married: Well, mostly happily.
 * I Did What I Had to Do: Some of his decisions.
 * The Kirk
 * Overprotective Dad: Not only to his daughters but to his staff. He treats Josh, Sam and Charlie likes sons.
 * Papa Wolf: The 82nd Airborne works for him.
 * Rage Against the Heavens: A Most Triumphant Example in "Two Cathedrals".
 * Reasonable Authority Figure
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red, with Leo.
 * Smart People Know Latin: Though it also helps that he's Catholic and considered the priesthood. This appears most memorably in "Two Cathedrals", but shows up throughout the series.
 * Smart People Play Chess
 * Smite Me, O Mighty Smiter!: Several times, most notably in "Two Cathedrals".
 * Team Dad
 * "Well Done, Son" Guy: Jed keeps trying to win his father's approval, despite the fact that his dad is dead and was a Jerkass of a father. Toby thinks it's hurting his Presidency.

Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer)

 * The Alcoholic: Formerly. He has one or two relapses in the flashbacks, pointing out that he will always be an alcoholic, and as such "can't have just one drink."
 * The Atoner: Based on his past alcoholism and played subtly, but profoundly, throughout the series. Right down to a near Redemption Equals Death style moment in Bartlet for America.
 * Benevolent Boss
 * Colonel Badass: A former Lt.Colonel in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.
 * The Conscience
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Da Chief
 * Genre Savvy: Whenever a military operation doesn't go as planned, Leo realizes just how badly it went wrong a moment before Jed does. Of course, he is former-military.
 * Jerkass Facade: maintains a mild one.
 * The Lancer
 * Married to the Job
 * The Not Love Interest: To Jed
 * The Mentor: To Josh. Also CJ.
 * Only Sane Man
 * Real Life Writes the Plot: When actor John Spencer died of a heart attack. Ironically, the character himself had suffered a non-fatal one a couple of seasons earlier.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue, with Jed.
 * The Spock: If a cold decision needs to be made or a justification for one given, it will fall to Leo.
 * Team Mom
 * Undying Loyalty
 * What Could Have Been: : Other characters of the series (Josh and even Bartlet in flashbacks) imply that Leo could have run for President himself - impressive military and public record - if not for his alcoholism.

Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford)

 * Badass: nicknamed "Rambo" for the nerve of his attacks.
 * And as a nod to the inspiration for his character, Rahm Emanuel, who is nicknamed "Rahmbo".
 * The Big Guy: Shares this role with CJ. She's The Enforcer, he's the attack dog.
 * Breakout Character: Though it started in Season 2, by the final seasons it became pretty much The Josh Lyman Show, with everyone else featured in only about half the episodes and the lame-duck Bartlet Administration itself taking a backseat to Josh's quest to pass the torch.
 * Cannot Spit It Out: He can't ask women out properly, which Donna points out in relation to Joey Lucas and Toby in relation to Amy.
 * Can't Hold His Liquor
 * The Chew Toy
 * Combat Pragmatist: When it comes to politics, Josh doesn't much care what he has to do, so long as he wins.
 * Dead Big Sister
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Expy: A Brilliant young lawyer who isn't afraid to be ruthless and pragmatic. Issues with his father, an incredibly sarcastic personality, a tendency to act without thinking, a far more relaxed approach to work than His colleagues, Idealistic with a touch of cynicism and an attractive female co worker with a potential relationship. You could be forgiven for mistaking Josh for Tom Cruise's character Danny Kaffee from the Sorkin penned A Few Good Men.
 * Genius Ditz
 * Guilt Complex: A massive unjustified one due to the number of bad things that have happened to friends and loved ones.
 * Heroic BSOD: Josh goes through more breakdowns, and Freak Outs than the rest of the cast combined, complete with developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder courtesy of his Dead Little Sister and the shooting.
 * Hot-Blooded
 * Informed Ability: For a supposed political genius, he sure screws up a lot politically. Starting with the pilot episode. Bartlet even points this out during one of these screw-ups.
 * Manipulative Bastard: They're all politicians, but Josh is the most underhanded when it comes to getting what he wants.
 * The Spock: While not as much as Leo, he's definitely colder, more calculating and more ruthless than others in getting stuff done.
 * Stepford Smiler
 * Troubled but Cute: A mild version.
 * Undying Loyalty
 * UST/ Will They or Won't They?: With Donna..

Communications Director Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff)

 * Amicably Divorced: so much so that
 * Ambiguous, though, because one scene shows them at a clinic freezing some samples.
 * Badass Bookworm
 * Badass Beard
 * Bald of Awesome
 * Big Applesauce: Is a very proud New Yorker and has attended over 400 Yankee Games
 * Brooklyn Rage: A Native of Brighton Beach
 * Buffy-Speak: Provides the page quote.
 * Commander Contrarian: This is a staple of the Bartlet/Toby dynamic from the very beginning to the very end
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * The Eeyore: His ex-wife specifically calls him out as one of these (hearing it from her deeply disturbs him, though).
 * Grumpy Bear: Subverted; Toby's grouchiness comes from being even more idealistic than everyone around him.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Kuudere
 * Like Brother and Sister: With CJ.
 * Martyr Without a Cause: Bartlett accuses him of this, though it's left ambiguous whether the President is merely speaking from a bruised ego. After numerous attempts to resign, Tobey turns in his papers for the last time.
 * The McCoy: He's the one who most believes in the power of the Government to be a source for good.
 * Papa Wolf: After his twins are born.
 * Pet the Dog: Hoooo boy.
 * Sarcastic Devotee
 * The Smart Guy: I mean, they're all smart, but Toby's intellect is shown to be the only one that rivals the President's.
 * The Snark Knight
 * Troll: If he doesn't think he needs you or if you mess with Sesame Street, he'll really screw with you. Partly to win and partly for laughs.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: Type 1 with Sam, Type 2 with CJ.

Press Secretary C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney)

 * The Big Guy: Job-wise (her nickname is The Enforcer). The fact that she's about 6'1 just adds to the effect.
 * The Chick: Averted hard.
 * Played straight in some episodes. "The Women of Qumar" as one example.
 * Dating Catwoman: She falls in love with White House reporter Danny Concannon, but since his job is finding out the things the Administration doesn't want the public to know, and her job is to keep that information secret at all costs... well, you can imagine how that goes.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Daddy's Girl: Figuratively, see Team Dad above.
 * Embarrassing First Name and/or Embarrassing Middle Name: C.J. stands for Claudia Jean
 * Hot Chick in a Badass Suit
 * The Ladette
 * Like Brother and Sister: With Toby.
 * Mama Bear: Towards the White House Staff, of course, but also towards the press corps. Yes, theirs is an antagonistic relationship, but she secretly adores them and will move mountains to protect them (often from themselves).
 * Manipulative Bastard: Towards the press corps (and the entire political community); but never towards her colleagues.
 * Nerves of Steel
 * The Nicknamer
 * Tsundere

Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe)

 * Adorkable
 * Alliterative Name
 * Back for the Finale
 * Big Brother Worship: With Toby
 * Cloudcuckoolander: occasionally.
 * Honor Before Reason: If its right, Sam will support it regardless of how bad it may turn out.
 * Incorruptible Pure Pureness: It works against him more often than not. He quit his job as a high-class lawyer in protest of the client, some rich oil executives, intentionally using faulty metal on their tankers. And though his positions are noble, they don't endear him to campaign contributors, dooming his future in politics.
 * Kid Appeal Character
 * The Klutz
 * Legacy Character: Bartlet predicts that Sam will be President some day. Subverted by Sam's failed bid for higher office. He ends up right back where he started, irking out a living as an attorney -- except this time with a pitiful salary.
 * No, ridiculous salary, to the point that when Josh asks him to come back to politics he replies that his salary will make Josh vomit
 * The McCoy: Even in a cast of idealism, Sam reigns supreme.
 * Nice Guy
 * Person as Verb: does it all the time.
 * Put on a Bus
 * Skilled but Naive
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist

Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff Donna Moss (Janel Moloney)

 * Blessed Are the Cheesemakers: Josh thinks her parents' line of work is funny.
 * The Chick
 * Crazy Prepared
 * Dogged Nice Guy: Type 2.
 * Dumb Blonde: massively subverted.
 * Fake Guest Star: "guest starred" in every single episode of Season 1, leading to...
 * Promotion to Opening Titles: By Season 2.
 * Genki Girl
 * Girl Friday
 * Motor Mouth
 * Sassy Secretary
 * UST/ Will They or Won't They?: With Josh..
 * The Watson

Personal Aide to the President Charlie Young (Dulé Hill)

 * Hidden Depths: Would you believe he's The Prankster and a Badass?
 * Like a Son to Me: With Bartlet, even more so than the rest of the staff.
 * Maligned Mixed Marriage: with Zoey. Although it's just dating, the relevant persecution tropes apply.
 * Married to the Job
 * The Quiet One
 * Rags to Royalty: Cinderella style. Granted, he remains poor throughout the series (one episode notes that he donates part of his paycheck to charity) but by the end of Bartlet's second term his resume is so impressive it's pretty clear that he's made it to the big leagues. Late in the final season it's mentioned that he's finally starting law school (part of a deal made with Bartlett in the first season).
 * Servile Snarker
 * The Stoic
 * Teen Genius: now a young adult genius.
 * Token Minority
 * Wrong Side of the Tracks: comes from Southeast D.C.

Vice President John Hoynes (Tim Matheson)

 * The Alcoholic: It's revealed that Hoynes has his own issues with the bottle, stemming from his rowdy college days.
 * Big Bad Wannabe: Still seething from Bartlett stealing the Presidency from him -- even moreso once he found out about Bartlett's medical condition, and was obliged to drop out of the race anyway. Unfortunately for Hoynes, he's a bit of a lush.
 * The Casanova: Shown to have slept with many women..
 * Hoist by His Own Petard
 * Karma Houdini
 * Smug Snake

Associate White House Counsel Ainsley Hayes (Emily Procter)

 * Adorkable: Shows signs of this.
 * Affably Antagonistic
 * Big Eater
 * Blonde Republican Sex Kitten: the Trope Namer.
 * Bottle Fairy
 * Captain Obvious: When she's nervous.
 * Character Tics
 * Dumb Blonde: Subverted
 * Enemy Mine
 * Genki Girl
 * Motor Mouth
 * MSNBC Conservative
 * Photographic Memory
 * Southern-Fried Genius
 * Strawman Political: Generally averted but sometimes played straight. See MSNBC Conservative above.
 * Strawman U: Despite being a born and bred republican, she went to the extremely liberal Smith College, before studying law at Harvard.
 * Token Minority
 * Trademark Favourite Food: Muffins and Fresca.
 * Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Sam Seaborn.

Vice President Bob Russell (Gary Cole)

 * Hidden Depths: Picked to fill Hoynes' spot as Veep, Russell was meant by Haffley to be a thorn in the side of Bartlet's administration AND a non-threat to Congressional Democrats who were hoping to run for President once Bartlet's second term ended. Russell spites both expectations by proving reliable to Bartlet as well as garnering front-runner status for the 2006 campaign.
 * Strawman Political: Russell is basically the walking personification of every negative stereotype about modern politicians: he's dumb, bland, graspingly ambitious, has no firm ideological convictions, takes special-interest money by the forklift-load, and will do just about anything to win an election.

Republican Senator/Candidate For President Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda)

 * Affably Evil: Make that Affably Antagonistic. Sure he's a Republican in a show focused on Democrats, but he's never portrayed as anything other than a decent guy.
 * Brooklyn Rage
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Hollywood Atheist: Subverted. He's set up as being one due to his wife's death, but later reveals that he'd given up on God after a thorough reading of the Bible years before.
 * MSNBC Conservative
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: Seems like he'd be one.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: Seems like he'd be one.

Democratic Congressman/Candidate For President Matthew Santos (Jimmy Smits)

 * Does This Remind You of Anything?: The show makes no secret of the fact that Santos is based on Barack Obama. Two years before Obama was elected.
 * Mr. Fanservice
 * Generic Guy: Santos is an Expy for then-Candidate Obama. As the minority ("brown") candidate, he doesn't have any defining traits other than a generalized goodness.
 * Happily Married
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: Has aspects of this, which Josh does his best to work around.

Will Bailey (Joshua Malina)

 * Adorkable
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Determinator: Once caused a rainstorm by raising his fists and commanding the heavens.
 * Dont Call Me Paul: Hates when his sister calls him Willie.
 * Geeky Turn On: Provided much fetish fuel for geeky girls of all stripes.
 * Grumpy Bear: Has a wide streak of idealism but quashes it ruthlessly.
 * Skilled but Naive
 * Suspiciously Similar Substitute: For Sam.
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist

Speaker Of The House Jeff Haffley (Republican) (Steven Culp)

 * The Big Bad: He's about as close as the later seasons come to having a main antagonist, and can usually be counted upon to be behind any attacks on the administration or its policy.
 * The Chessmaster: Fancies himself one.
 * Jerkass
 * Recurring Character
 * Smug Snake: Very bright, and capable of using the Republican majority in Congress quite effectively, but unable to alter his plans, and extremely stuck-up and unlikeable in person.
 * Villainous Breakdown: Has a minor one when the President pays him a surprise visit.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: He's an unlikeable jerk, but his portrayal never becomes significantly worse than this. He's not evil, just very, very right wing.

Director of the Women's Leadership Coalition Amy Gardner (Mary-Louise Parker)
"Amy: I fought you, I lost, I had a drink, I took a shower. 'Cause that's how it is in the NBA."
 * Abuse Is Okay When Its Female On Male: The episode where she cuts Josh's phone cord and throws his cellphone in the soup so that she can beat him on a bill is played for laughs. Please imagine if the positions were reversed.
 * Brainy Brunette
 * Deadpan Snarker: Has her moments.
 * Defeat Means Friendship: An unusual case. While they are dating, Josh and Amy find themselves on the opposing sides of fight over a welfare-reauthorization bill which ends when Josh manages to . They stay friends throughout the rest of show (even briefly dating again).


 * Romantic False Lead: for Josh
 * Straw Feminist: Averted. Hard.

Executive Secretary to the President Delores Landingham (Kathryn Joosten)

 * Last-Name Basis: All other assistants are "Donna" or "Carole" or "Bonnie" or what have you, but she is always "Mrs. Landingham." This is due to the fact that she's been looking after Jed since he was a child, and he's simply always known her as "Mrs. Landingham" due to the age difference. She was his father's secretary, but she ended up becoming the chief maternal influence in Bartlet's life.
 * Jed only calls her "Dolores" about twice in the show: In 18th and Potomac  and in the flashback to the first time they met, when she firmly corrects him.
 * No Badass to His Valet: Basically the only person in the cast other than Abbie who is never intimidated by the President.
 * Old Retainer: She was originally Bartlet's father's secretary.
 * Servile Snarker
 * Team Mom
 * Team Mom