The Vice President refuses to fall in line with Bartlet. Sam discusses the problem of Laurie with Josh and Toby. Bartlet hires Mandy as his consultant.

Five votes keep a very important gun-control bill from being passed and the staff has 72 hours to track down the errant congressmen. Toby is accused of manipulating the stock market by having a friend testify to Commerce on internet stocks. Leo's wife gets fed up with his long hours.

Toby and Mandy push for a commerce bill with a census-counting provision, with three votes as the deciding factor. Sam tutors CJ on the finer points of the census. Josh & Sam take Charlie out for a beer and are joined by Zoey and Mallory.

The president of Indonesia is honored at a state dinner. The staff deals with Hurricane Sarah, a potential teamster strike, and a raid involving children in Idaho while a reporter flirts with CJ.

"In the Shadow of Two Gunmen" is the two-part second season premiere of the American political drama television seriesThe West Wing. Both parts were written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Thomas Schlamme.