LBJ: The Early Years in thousands of dollars worth of debt. This revelation, combined with the high cost of running a campaign, forces LBJ to becoming a friend to lobbyists in order to find money. These new connections mean that not only he can begin to get financial help, but his stalled hydroelectric project gets the help it needs in order to happen. At a party held by his largest backer, Johnson meets a vivacious and attractive woman, Alice Glass (Morgan Brittany), who becomes a lightning rod for his ambition. Despite the threat of another woman, Lady Bird is determined to keep her husband
The American President Minnesota senator Howard Stackhouse (George Coe) in the two "West Wing" episodes "The Stackhouse Filibuster" and "The Red Mass". In the same way, the French President attending a state dinner in "The American President" seems to be the same President d'Astier that is often referred to in the "West Wing". Several actors from "The American President" reappear in "The West Wing", including Martin Sheen (whose character in "The American President", A.J., is at one point accused by Shepherd of lacking the courage to run for office himself) as President Josiah Bartlet, Anna Deavere Smith as National Security Advisor Dr. Nancy