Leo Thomas McGarry, former United States Secretary of Labor, former White House Chief of Staff, Senior Counselor to Democratic President Josiah Bartlet, and the Democratic vice presidential nominee for the 2006 election, is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing.
Having resigned from his post as Secretary of Labor to a Republican president some time in mid-1997, Leo went to New Hampshire to persuade Governor Josiah Bartlet, an old friend, to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Having so persuaded Bartlet, Leo became his campaign manager, dubbing the campaign "Bartlet For America" and hiring such top political talent as Josh Lyman, Toby Ziegler, C.J. Cregg, and Sam Seaborn to work for the campaign. Eventually, Governor Bartlet, who was considered to be an insurgent candidate by the media, defeated Senate Minority Leader John Hoynes of Texas (who Leo picked as Bartlet's vice presidential nominee to balance the ticket) for the nomination and went on to win the presidency.
As President Bartlet's top advisor, Leo had an office adjacent to the Oval Office and sat in with the President in the Situation Room. Leo was very involved in the formation of policy and the day-to-day operations of the White House and its staff. Leo is a former United States Secretary of Labor (during a Republican administration, six years before Bartlet's election), an Air Force veteran in the Vietnam War, and is a recovering alcoholic and valium addict. His problems with alcohol, as well as his workaholic attitude towards his job as Chief of Staff, contributed to his divorce from wife Jenny.
In season six, McGarry had a heart attack outside Camp David, leading to his replacement by C.J. Cregg, the White House press secretary. He later returned to work after Bartlet's last State of the Union Address in his new role as Senior Counselor to the President. He stated that he would not work in any presidential campaign to succeed Bartlet. However, Bartlet asked him to run the Democratic National Convention when it seemed likely to deadlock. In the finale of the last episode of the sixth season, it was revealed that the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, Congressman Matt Santos, had selected McGarry as his vice presidential nominee and that McGarry had accepted. This was particularly ironic, because McGarry had earlier repeatedly insisted that Santos drop out of the race for the sake of party unity.
Although it has never been specifically stated, various references and flashbacks during the course of the show seem to suggest that Leo is a native of Boston, Massachusetts, who later moved to Illinois.
Leo and Jenny have a daughter, Mallory, who is a recurring character and was a potential love interest for Sam Seaborn. They spent most of their time arguing; Mallory usually picks the fights just to have Sam argue with her. Since Sam left the White House, Mallory has been largely absent from the show as well.
It should be noted that Leo's approximately seven-year tenure as Chief of Staff would be rather extraordinary in our world (though that may change since the current real-life White House has announced that first-term Chief of Staff Andrew Card is staying on during this now second-term administration). The average tenure since 1945 has been approximately two years — however this may not be true in the West Wing universe. Leo would also be considered historically a very powerful Chief of Staff, but it remains to be seen how C.J. Cregg will define the position.
See also
Last updated: 10-16-2005 06:44:16
