The West Wing Persuasion Essay

In the episode Five Votes Down of The West Wing, the President and his staff were adamant about getting the five votes they lost back so their gun control bill could pass. However, getting the votes back was no easy task and some executive branch methods of persuasion was needed to complete the task. Some of the various types of persuasion techniques present in the text and notes that was featured in The West Wing episode includes, carrots and sticks. Persuasion techniques present in Richard Neustadt’s text include, the need of the President’s influence to progress a Congressman’s career, the ability to convince Congressmen that partaking in a course of action is something they should do for their own sake, and how the need of the President …show more content…
Also present in the series that is from Neustadt’s text is his statement that President can persuade them to do something by making them believe that they should do it “for their own sake and on their own authority.” As seen when the Vice President tells Tillinghouse to relay among the rest of the five voters that they should vote ‘yes’ since he may not be able to compensate for their vote at the moment, but one day he would be president and voting ‘yes’ would benefit them in the long run. The series also contains examples of Richard Neustadt’s theory on how the President could use people’s need of him to his advantage. An example of this is seen when the staff convinces chief of staff, Leo, to seek the Vice President’s help in getting the last vote from Tillinghouse, despite his reluctance to do so. Their plan works and the Vice President gets them the last vote and secures the others, but he turned their seeking of his help into his advantage by taking credit for the passage of the