William "Will" Bailey, is a
fictional character played by
Joshua Malina on the
television serial drama The West Wing, holding various posts in the White House Office of Communications, Office of the Vice President and a backbencher Congressman (as seen in Season 7, Episode 1).
Character biography
Will grew up in
Belgium, as his father was the former
NATO Supreme Allied Commander Thomas Bailey, in whose ideological footsteps he seems to follow while making a name for himself with quiet resolve. Will is also an
Air Force reservist, a fact that President
Josiah Bartlet applauds, serving in the
JAG Corps. In the episode Guns Not Butter he says he is an
Eton valedictorian. He may have attended
Carnegie Mellon University, since he was seen wearing a Carnegie Mellon shirt while jogging at
Camp David. He appears also to have attended the
University of Cambridge,
England, since he claims he was "President of
Cambridge Union Society" on a
Marshall Scholarship. Will went into politics, working as a campaign speechwriter on three congressional races. These included the 2002 Horton Wilde campaign (see below) and a 1994 congressional race in
Oregon's 4th congressional district, in which Will's candidate, Chulo (D), had lost by 15 points to Congressman John Heffinger (R).
Will was originally introduced as the manager of the Horton Wilde campaign to represent
California's 47th congressional district, and he gained notoriety for forcing a run-off election despite...
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