Even Death Can't Stop The Leslie Victory Train

Parks And Recreation, S04E21

Leslie was campaigning for one more day before the election, via a bus and having great success with her speeches and appearances.  However, the sudden death of Bobby Newport's father put a halt to it all.  After saying some negative things about the deceased man and barging in on his memorial with her campaign bus, Leslie finally apologized to Bobby in private for her comments.  Thanks to her cheering him up and being a decent human being, Leslie got endorsement from Bobby in a press conference about his father, even though he had stolen a story Leslie told him about her childhood and made it his own.  Chris tried to distract himself from dark thoughts by keeping busy with any task he could volunteer for in the campaign.  Andy was busy investigating a pie that had almost hit Leslie.  Tom, accompanied by Donna and Ron, had to get back the vans they had paid for from the owner who had been paid by the competition to withhold the vans from Leslie's group.

It's kind of disgusting that someone's death can be turned into a "political sideshow" as they put it in this episode.  I could really see that Leslie was so determined to win and continue her bus tour because she refused to listen to Ann's advice to do the right thing for the longest time.  I think it was funny that Leslie couldn't spin her negative opinion of the deceased owner of Sweetums to her advantage, but instead called him a jerk and said other things to dig her hole deeper.  The way that Jennifer played her hand in making Leslie look like a monster, though, was much more contemptible.  It's too bad that she's such an aggressive and calculating manage and Bobby is such a moron because all of her tactics basically went to waste.  I really didn't think that after Leslie rammed her bus into that portrait of Bobby's father at the memorial that she would be able to recover from that, but I guess Leslie really has luck on her side.

I liked when Leslie told Bobby about her running a marathon and winning her mother's pride, and Bobby understood from that story that he and Leslie both had dicks as parents.  Wow.  I think that conclusion he drew was much more amazing than him taking that story and changing it so he could use it in a speech later on.  I thought he wasn't too bad of a guy until he did that.  But now that I think about it, maybe he told the story because he didn't have any nice stories about his own dad and didn't want to share with others how much of a dick his father really was.  But he redeemed himself by saying that Leslie was awesome for comforting him and that anyone not voting for him should vote for her.  It's hard to hate him after that, and like I've said before, Paul Judd is just too cute sometimes.

The only thing I liked about Chris' story was that April had the opportunity to cheer him up again.  It didn't work, but I still thought her words were sweet for someone like her.  She told him that he wasn't as alone as he was claimed and must have friends out there somewhere.  Aww.  She's too embarrassed to admit that Chris is her friend.  Sadly, what did get Chris out his sad spiral (although his last major one was so hilarious) seemed to be the sex that Jennifer offered him.  I hope that's all it turns out to be.  I couldn't stomach to see someone as cheery as Chris with a snake like her.  Eww.

I thought Andy's story was just stupid until he found out that the pie was meant for Ben.  I liked that someone was disgruntled for Ben's actions and thought that throwing at pie at him would satisfy his anger.  Andy solved the mystery, but he surely didn't protect Ben from getting pie on his face.  Still, for Andy I think that qualifies as a success.  What I liked best about Andy's story was when he gave everyone code names, which were mostly based on sex he had had with each person.  My second favorite name was Donna's, which was "It Happened Once In A Dream," but my favorite was Tom's: "If I Had To Pick A Dude."  Love it!   Most of them seemed pretty content about the names he came up with.

Tom's story made with mad, with that guy who was taking advantage of the demand for his vans.  It was really smart of Leslie not to send Tom alone to handle Butler because if Ron couldn't get through to that stubborn man, no one would have been able to.  It was really nice that Ron agreed to pay what the competition was offering out of his own pocket.  It's too bad that guy bumped up the price, and it was too bad that Ron didn't knock the hell out of him for being such a greedy dick.  I also admire that Donna, who loves her Mercedes more than anything else, would back into Butler's car so that she could claim he rear-ended her.  She would have to pay for the damages herself, but they got the vans back in the process.  Wow.  It just really shows how far everyone is willing to go to help out Leslie.  I love all the love.

I liked this episode, but I always have to complain when I don't get a good Ron quote from it.  I did like Ron trying to handle Butler, but I was disappointed he couldn't really do anything to change the ass' mind.  I also would have preferred a little more Tom because you know I love me some Aziz.  However, I'm just glad to see that Leslie may very well be celebrating her victory in the next episode.  Although, I'm fairly certain that Obama isn't going to make an appearance at her ceremony, no matter how much she envisions it.

No Debate About It--Leslie Is A Winner

Parks And Recreation, S04E20

Leslie finally had her debate for city council.  Bobby, despite having no idea of how to improve Pawnee, was a considerable opponent for her and her attacks upon his character only made her look like a bully at first.  Leslie did her best to present herself in the best light, but Bobby was the favorite of both the audience and the moderators.  Bobby looked like he had the debate in the bag when he claimed that Leslie's victory over him would cause the Sweetums factory to be sent to Mexico, killing the largest supplier of jobs in town.  However, Leslie won over the crowd (even Bobby) with a heartfelt closing statement that displayed her passion and drive to make Pawnee better and her determination to work toward that goal until the end.  Outside of the debate, Chris suggested to Ann that they try to date again, while Tom tried to convey to Ann that he deserved another chance too.  Andy also had to entertain Leslie's supporters while Ron had to steal cable for them to watch the debate on TV.

I felt bad for Leslie that she started to look like a monster when she told the harsh truth about Bobby.  However, Paul Rudd is just so adorable as Bobby, I can see how the audience was swayed by his positive, yet childish manner when he answered the questions.  It really spoke to the idea that a lot of voters are simple people who aren't smart enough to notice the difference between competent and charismatic.  Leslie has her own charm, but that was being stolen by the other female candidate, Brandi, who chose to copy Leslie in both fashion and policy.  I wanted to punch Joan when she made it seem like Brandi and Leslie were essentially the same.  Despite all of these roadblocks, Leslie pulled through with an amazing speech.  Even I was a little moved by her closing remarks.  I guess it's because she was being treated like some kind of heartless jerk and hadn't been given a fair chance to shine, so I was just happy to see her get the result that she deserved.

I kinda wish that Ann had thought about taking Chris back, but at least Chris didn't seem too bummed about her rejection.  I also felt bad for Tom who isn't the douche that he sometimes acts like.  He is sweet (although a bit creepy at times), so I was glad that he still has some hope to win Ann back one day.  But Ann was smart to break it off with him after him telling such intimate details over the radio.  What the hell, Tom??  He needs to kick that nervous and insecure habit fast.  He could be good for Ann, if only he toned down the "swag" as April put it.

I was disappointed Ron didn't have much of a chance to shine beyond being super handy in stealing cable.  He said he would pay for it later, and he went up the electric pole like it was something he did every day.  I thought he might get arrested before he finished that job, but luckily the siren we heard in the background wasn't meant for him.  Inside the house, Andy was pretty cute in the way he acted out his favorite movie scenes.  He has incredible energy.  I would have gotten tired of doing that after a few minutes.  He was so animated and lively about the movies he was talking about even Donna felt moved during his rendition of Babe.  Andy may be a dork and a moron, but he's too loveable for you to hold that against him.

I'm excited to see what impact Leslie's debate will have on her campaign.  She may have killed in the debate, but something easily could come up before the election day to damage her (especially with that high-priced campaign manager that Bobby has).  Hopefully, it won't be something that Leslie and her friends can't handle.  They are really becoming an unstoppable team!  I know it would never happen, but it would be the greatest show if you could take all the Parks and Recreation department and put them in the White House.  I'm just saying, a sequel to this show could be Leslie in the White House!  I'd gladly watch that!