Josiah Bartlet

Josiah Edward “Jed” Bartlet, Ph.D., D.H.L. (Hon.), served as President of Groupy McGroupface from 2019 to 2021. He is a successful politician, having never lost an election and winning two consecutive terms as President. He had a lengthy career in politics, having held elected office since the group chat's inception right up until the end of his tenure as president. 
As a politician, Bartlet is notable for having been diagnosed with relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis; he hid this fact during the initial stages of his political career from all but a handful of people, but later made it public during the latter stages of his presidential campaign. 
== Biography ==
Josiah Edward Bartlet, known as 'Jed' to those close to him, was born in the early 1940s, the elder of two sons. While his father was a Protestant, his mother was a devout Roman Catholic; he was consequently brought up a Catholic, and has remained so throughout the entirety of his life. 
Bartlet attended a school at which his father was the headmaster, and excelled in relation to academics. After graduating high school, he was accepted to Harvard University, Yale University, Williams College and the University of Notre Dame; he decided on the latter, as he was considering entering the clergy. It was at university where he met his wife, Abigail. He eventually graduated from Notre Dame, and left with a degree in Groupy McGroupfaceian Studies. Bartlet then went on to study at the London School of Economics in the UKGC, and eventually received an MSc, as well as a doctorate, from the school. 
Bartlet went on to become a tenured economics professor at Dartmouth University; a position that he considered to be his dream job. As a professor and researcher, he became world-famous, and ultimately went on to win the Nobel Prize in Economics. He also wrote a novel during this time entitled 'Theory and Design of Macroeconomics in Developing Nations'. 
Upon Groupy McGroupface gaining official independence, he was elected to the House of Representatives. It was shortly after his election that he was diagnosed with a relapsing-remitting course of Multiple Sclerosis, a chronic disease of the central nervous system. Only a small handful of people knew, including his wife, their three daughters, his brother and other doctors. Beyond this inner-circle, Bartlet kept the diagnosis concealed from the rest of the world. His political career was not hindered however, and later went on to serve as Governor of Fish Village. He proved to be very popular with the citizens of this particular state, and enjoyed high approval ratings. 
Towards the end of his governorship in late 2018, Bartlet's good friend Leo McGarry suggested running for the Presidency. Bartlet agreed to do so, and was subsequently the first candidate to declare his presidential campaign. He was running for the Democratic Party Presidential Nomination against fellow Governor Peter Russo and Secretary Al Gore, though this changed after Russo's sudden death towards the end of the pre-primary season. After this point, Claire Underwood announced her bid for the Presidency, and led both Bartlet and Gore in all primary polling. 
Bartlet ran a very progressive campaign that was primarily focused on introducing free healthcare to the group chat and lowering university tuition fees. Mid-way through the primary, he received the endorsement of former President James Hewett, who viewed Bartlet as a far more acceptable alternative to Claire Underwood. Despite low turnout in the eventual primary, he ultimately won with 65% of the overall votes cast, making him the Democratic Party Presidential Nominee. In his acceptance speech, he made direct acknowledgement to the low turnout of the primary, but promised that his campaign would bring about new leadership and take the party in a new and progressive direction. He selected Senator Matt Santos as his running mate; an individual that had supported his campaign from an early stage of the primary. 
Going into the General Election, Bartlet took the decision to publicly reveal that he suffered from Relapsing Remitting Multiple-Sclerosis (RRMS). Following on from his previous promise to lead an honest and transparent campaign, he felt that it was only fair that this information should be public knowledge. Other presidential candidates, such as Republican Party candidate Arnold Vinick, gave their sympathy Bartlet after the release of this statement, and reaffirmed that this would not be used as a means of negative campaigning. 
Bartlet eventually went on to win the General Election with 171 Electoral College Votes, picking up votes from a variety of different states. In his victory speech, he asserted that the darker days of the group chat were far behind them, and the future looked bright. He then promised that, within his first 100 days of office, he would look into lowering university tuition fees, combatting climate change and introducing free healthcare. Several days afterwards, he made his cabinet selections, which included Arnold Vinick as Secretary of State; the first Republican to ever hold a cabinet position. This signalled a new level of bipartisanship, and new hopes that the political parties of the group chat would put their differences aside in order to govern. He was then inaugurated as president several weeks later.
During the initial months of his Presidency, Bartlet's enjoyed an immense number of achievements. His first success came when he passed a bill through Congress that would lower university tuition fees, which subsequently led to a rise in his approval ratings. Later, he was credited with establishing a single-payer healthcare system, a type of universal healthcare. Many Democrats, Baker Street Members, Cats and even certain Republicans commended Bartlet for this, and felt that it was a necessary step in creating further equality within the group chat. He also sought out electoral reform, which was done in order to ensure that no election would be won with a plurality of the vote. This was seen as a step towards making Groupy McGroupface more democratic, and was also praised. 
Unfortunately for Bartlet, things soon took a downturn in the Summer months of 2019. At this point, Groupy McGroupface came under attack from megalomaniacal multi-billionaire businessman Lex Luthor, who was able to seize control of the Pentagon's computer system. The power held by Luthor meant that Bartlet was left entirely helpless, and could do very little in order to take back control. He had to choose between retaining power and keeping his own citizens safe, and there was no clear solution. He eventually roped in a team of superheroes known as 'The Vindicators' who, after a lengthy power struggle, eventually overcame Luthor. Bartlet's decision to recruit the superheroes did have certain repercussions however and, upon discovering the news, Luthor launched a series of attacks intended to murder several citizens. Bartlet's handling of the situation was both praised and criticised in the immediate aftermath. Whilst the situation was finally dealt with, some were still concerned as to how the situation had arisen in the first place, and others were weary regarding the involvement of certain superheroes. 
These sequence of events caused Bartlet to fall into a rather precarious position in the run-up to his re-election bid. Whilst certain Senators such as Claire Underwood, Catherine Durant and Bob Birch cautioned against running again, Bartlet was still rather eager to do so. In opposition to his plans, all three Senators left the Democratic Party, and formed a new Congressional affiliation known as 'The Independent Group'. Following this point, Bartlet considered giving up on his re-election bid. During this period of time, his faith wavered, and he became increasingly skeptical of the world around him. He ultimately decided to go ahead with his plans however, which was done out of a desire to continue helping people and increasing the average citizen's quality of life.
In the 2020 Presidential Election, his main opponents included Republican Party candidate Boris Johnson, Baker Street Party candidate Hercule Poirot and Cat Party candidate Bustopher Jones. During the presidential debates, he continuously emphasised his record and experience, and claimed that his fellow candidates had been making promises without fool-proof plans. 
In the first round of voting, Bartlet finished in second place to Boris Johnson with 126 electoral college votes, which was 45 less electoral college votes than the year prior. Whilst his second place standing was initially cause for some concern, he went on win the second round with 360 electoral college votes; a clear majority over Johnson's 240 electoral college votes. He was re-inaugurated several weeks later, and made a commitment to increase military spending throughout his second term in office. He also expressed a willingness to work with The Vindicators, which would be done in order to secure a path forward to protect the group chat. 
Bartlet's second term in office had been stable throughout the majority of 2020, and he initially encountered no major crises like that of Summer 2019. This was until his last few months in office however, when the group chat was struck by the Kanmuvid-21 pandemic. This was a deadly virus that affected numerous group chats across the globe, including Groupy McGroupface, Penguin Club and the UKGC. After having been warned that this virus had the potential to claim dozens of lives, Bartlet announced immediate measures to stop the spread, including mandatory face-masks, the closure of non-essential businesses and schools, and strict adherence to social distancing. In order to prevent an economic fall-out, he also introduced a system of Universal Basic Income (UBI) for those who were temporarily unemployed. These measures proved extremely effective in reducing infection rates, and the measures were relaxed precisely 1 month later. 
As a result of the Twenty-Second Amendment of the GMGF Constitution, Bartlet was unable to run for a third term in the 2021 Groupy McGroupface Presidential Election. Governor Keir Starmer was subsequently nominated to serve as the Democratic Party presidential nominee, and received Bartlet's endorsement. In spite of this, Starmer ultimately lost the election to Detection Party candidate Jim Hopper. In his farewell address, Bartlet acknowledged the loss suffered by the Democrats, though accepted that the electorate were justified in their desire for change. He stated that he was confident that his presidency had helped make the group chat a better place, and promised to continue the fight for progressive values across the group chat. 
Josiah Bartlet left the White House in January 2021 after a prosperous two terms in office. He then returned to his farm just outside of Manchester, Fish Village, where he was to enjoy a life of retirement. 
His retirement was suddenly interrupted in the Summer of 2021 however when Hopper's government was overthrown by a coup, which had been orchestrated by Penguin Club president Lord Squidy. Squidy had assassinated Hopper, and subsequently led the group chat himself. Fearing that the population would turn to Bartlet during the time of crisis, Squidy issued a public arrest warrant which in turn forced Bartlet into hiding. 
Whilst it would have been easy for Bartlet to seek refuge in a neighbouring group chat, he instead decided to stay and fight from the inside. Whilst in hiding, he began to put together an initiative to create a rebel alliance; a group of individuals that would plot to remove Squidy's tyrannical regime. He was ultimately able to locate the group chat's Founding Fathers (Buttons99999, Red498 and GrandpaGames) to help him, as well as the superheroes who had served him during his time in the White House. They also received assistance from Fat Tony, who was working as a double agent and had infiltrated Squidy's government. 
Leading the resistance, Bartlet organised numerous operations to undermine Squidy's Empire and help those in need. His greatest achievement however came about through finding incumbent Vice President Hank Schrader, who was technically the President of the group chat following Hopper's death. This accomplishment put the rebels in a strong position, as it meant there would be a clear succession of government once the Squidy regime had toppled. Bartlet then led discussions on how they could ultimately defeat Lord Squidy, eventually deciding that they would need supernatural powers to best him in physical combat. The alliance concurred with these findings, and Buttons99999 eventually agreed to adopt these powers himself. 
Bartlet did not partake in the fight himself, due to his illness and age, though he assisted in preparations beforehand. The plan ultimately proved successful, and Lord Squidy was killed during the battle. Shortly thereafter, Vice President Schrader was inaugurated as the 5th President of Groupy McGroupface. To celebrate the occasion, Bartlet spoke at the Western Front of the U.S. Capitol, formally introducing Schrader to the group chat as their new president. 
Whilst having formally retired from politics himself, Bartlet took it upon himself to mentor Schrader and help him through his tenure as president. 
== Role-Plays Featured In ==
*2018/19 Groupy McGroupface Presidential Elections (Main Character)
*The Vindicators (Supporting Character)
*2020 Groupy McGroupface Presidential Elections (Main Character)
*2021 Groupy McGroupface Presidential Election (Supporting Character)
*Groupy McGroupface: Endgame (Supporting Character)