The White House/YouTube
“Is it ‘Total Crackpot Day’ again?”
President Bartlet’s Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman was never a huge fan of “Big Block of Cheese Day,” but his real life counterpart is helping the White House promote its virtual version of this populist tradition. Bradley Whitford and his costar Josh Malina teamed up with White House Press Secretary and known West Wing geek Jay Carney for this clip.
On Wednesday, Jan. 29, White House officials will take to social media to answer questions from the public. It’s a digital take on President Andrew Jackson’s famous open houses, wherein he invited the people to visit for open conversation with their country’s decision makers as well as a wholesome dairy snack. West Wing fans know “Big Block of Cheese Day” as Chief of Staff Leo McGarry’s baby, which most of his staff loathed because they were forced to interact with some determined and passionate constituents. Most memorably, C.J. Cregg met with a young and idealistic Ron Swanson; Nick Offerman played an environmentalist asking for the construction of a “wolves-only roadway.”
No promises of a meeting with Sam Seaborn, but having a real “Big Block of Cheese Day” is a small victory for those of us who just can’t let go of the dream of a Bartlet White House.
