On the eve of Jed's participation in a national television conference with thousands of school children as the Galileo probe arrives at Mars, NASA loses the communication link; Leo contends with a Russian ambassador who denies that a fire has broken out in a nuclear missile silo; C.J. and Sam accompany Jed to a concert where they're each faced with people they'd rather not see; Josh and Donna work on the nomination for the next person to appear on a postage stamp; C.J. wrangles a minor controversy ignited by a leak that Jed doesn't like green beans.

During an online chat, the Surgeon General comments favorably on the legalization of marijuana. The controversy heightens when Ellie Bartlet tells a reporter that her father would never fire the Surgeon General. Toby asks his ex-wife, a Congresswoman, for her help in strongly persuading Seth Gillette to participate in the Social Security panel.

While Bartlet worries about where he will be on Thanksgiving--and how to best cook a gourmet turkey -- C.J. meets with two Native Americans, Maggie and Jack, who are camped in the White House lobby.

On the day of the Democratic Caucus, Bartlet, Toby and C.J. go to Iowa to kick off the presidential race, and disagree over Bartlet's making a statement about affirmative action. Back in Washington, Leo forces Josh to intercede with an old friend leading a protest against Navy arms testing at Vieques, Puerto Rico. Sam meets with Bob Engler again, who is now acting on behalf of two congressmen who want an inventory of Fort Knox because they believe that most of the gold bullion has been replaced with alien bodies recovered from Area 51 in Roswell, New Mexico. After Josh rebuffs her request, Donna seeks Sam's help in getting out of jury duty. Josh brings a little bit of Tahiti to his relationship with Amy Gardner.

The 15-year old son of an Iranian leader needs a heart transplant in the U.S. Problem is, the only man who could do it is an enemy of the Iranian government; The Senate minority leader threatens to thwart the President's legislative agenda when he believes that Hoynes is doing some political maneuvering for the next Presidential election; Toby offers a Congresswoman a Cabinet position but is forced to take back the offer.

Josh, determined to make sure a foreign aid bill passes even though it's a hopeless cause, sends Donna out to track down a reluctant senator; in an attempt to impress Zoey's new boyfriend, Charlie unwittingly gets over his head with the Department of Defense; Danny continues to pursue the Shareef matter; a Bartlet photo op with Heifer International creates unexpected opportunities -- for C.J. to perfect her spin-doctoring techniques, and for the staff once again to test Will's mettle and sense of humor.

Air Force One is forced to keep aloft for almost 24 hours when an indicator light leads the flight crew to believe that the landing gear isn't functioning properly; Bartlet and Will have a spirited discussion on Colombian recertification, which is ultimately rendered moot when Air Force One doesn't land on time; the Black Caucus plays hardball with the Oval Office to gain a Congressional debate on the merits of reinstating the draft; legislation to clean up Chesapeake Bay is sacrificed to partisan politics; Will is unsuccessful in hiding his fear of flying from C.J. and Charlie; deaths in Kundu continue to mount.