Got an anecdote for you, Boston Celtics fans. There’s a great episode of The West Wing about ten-word answers. President Jed Bartlet is about to enter the ring for the first debate of his re-election campaign, and his staff have spent the week agonizing about how to answer the questions of the nation in a mere ten words.
The President’s lead attack dog Josh Lyman is sweating the event, worried that the tepid, unsure version of Bartlet—nicknamed Uncle Fluffy—will emerge instead of the sharp and ruthless political master that the moment requires.
Republican nominee Rob Ritchie crushes the opening fastball from the moderator, nailing a ten-word answer that Bartlet’s camp had been searching for.