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Samuel Norman Seaborn is a fictional character played by Rob Lowe on the television serial drama The West Wing. From the beginning of the series in 1999 until the middle of the fourth season in 2003, he is deputy White House Communications Director in the administration of President Josiah Bartlet played by Martin Sheen. The character departed from subsequent seasons after Lowe decided to leave the series, although he returned for several episodes in the final season when he became Deputy Chief of Staff to the new president portrayed by Jimmy Smits.
Series creator Aaron Sorkin originally conceived Sam Seaborn as the main character in The West Wing. The pilot episode makes him the main protagonist and he remains a focal point through the first season. However, as other characters developed—particularly Sheen's role as President and his ability to govern despite obstacles such as his previously undisclosed multiple sclerosis, his campaign for re-election, foreign policy, and terrorism—this greatly diminished the emphasis on the Seaborn character. When the series started, Lowe was the series' highest paid actor. However, due to the change in plot direction over subsequent seasons, many cast members negotiated or received significant pay increases as their roles expanded, while Lowe did not see any change. Unhappy with the situation, Lowe decided to leave the series in season 4.
When the show premiered, Seaborn was considered the lead, and the pilot centered on the character. But the acclaimed cast of the show—including Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Dulé Hill, John Spencer, Whitford, and Martin Sheen (whose role as President was initially scripted as a small role) and Stockard Channing (whose First Lady was initially scripted as a guest role)— were all strong actors and eventually Lowe's character was no longer the lead. Lowe and series creator Aaron Sorkin soon found themselves at odds over the network's meddling with the show, most notably the network demanding changes in the Sam Seaborn character. Eventually, Lowe left the series.
Lowe's performance as Seaborn received a Emmy nomination, two Golden Globes nominations, three Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations and a Satellite Award win.
It is hinted in several episodes that Sam has a difficult relationship with his father and that they do not speak regularly.
Sam attended Duke Law School and was the editor of the Duke Law Review (which, in reality, is known as the Duke Law Journal). While Josh Lyman is also a lawyer, and it is implied in the episode "And It's Surely to Their Credit" (by the statement "everyone in the room is a lawyer") that several other senior staffers are also attorneys, Sam is the only one of these shown actually practicing law (before, during, and after serving in the White House) and is the only one who is ever consulted on legal matters. The West Wing, Episode 2.05: "And It's Surely to Their Credit".
Sam's trademark — both his greatest strength and greatest flaw — is his unflinching idealism. His unwavering faith in and love for the American political process and the positive impact that government can have in its citizens' lives define his character. Sam believes in doing the right thing simply because it is right, even when the consequences might be politically disastrous. This often causes him to clash with the other members of the senior staff, who tend to be more practical when approaching political problems. Occasionally Sam's idealism and faith in people are disappointed, to which he reacts very strongly. In the second-season episode "Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail", Sam finds out that his father has been having a 28-year affair while married to his mother, a revelation that deeply shakes his sense of what he can and cannot count on. This feeling is reinforced by his discovery that a White House staffer convicted of treason during the Cold War, who Sam has always believed was innocent, actually had been a spy.
Another trademark of Sam is his ability as a speechwriter. He is an extremely talented writer, one of the very few people Toby recognises as an equal in his field. Sam is seen in many episodes to rewrite speeches over and over, unwilling to put words in the President's mouth that he isn't completely satisfied with.
In an episode in the third season, Sam is awed by President Bartlet's foresight and wisdom when resolving an apparent impasse among the Chinese, the Taiwanese and the United States. President Bartlet predicts that Sam will run for President someday and should not be scared; Bartlet believes that he can do it.
Sam is expected to lose in a landslide. President Bartlet goes to California to lend his support, taking with him Sam's friends on the senior staff, who believe campaign manager Scott Holcomb is wasting Sam's time by having him run a safe, timid campaign. In the midst of the visit, Sam learns that Bartlet is putting off announcing the Democratic tax plan Sam himself had helped design, so that Sam won't feel pressured to support it and further stigmatize himself during the election. Sam is appalled and decides to put things right. While introducing the President at a campaign event, he adds that the audience shouldn't "let him off this stage" until he has announced the tax plan. Backstage, Bartlet watches Scott Holcomb react with distress and asks why he is running Sam's campaign the way he is. Holcomb admits that he is anticipating Sam's loss and trying to smooth the way for a less divisive candidate the next time around, prompting Bartlet to (unofficially) fire him and get Toby to take over the campaign for the final weeks. Toby runs a thoroughly honest and liberal campaign, not until the very end of which does Sam realize, "I'm going to lose". Toby confirms it, explaining, "They're going to throw rocks at you next week, and I wanted to be standing next to you when they did." They hug, and this is the last scene in which Sam appears until the end of the final season of the series.
When Sam does reappear, it is implied that Sam lost the election to Congressman Webb, and then declined the promotion to Senior Counselor to the President that had been suggested by Toby. Instead, he quit politics, remained in his home state of California, and joined an unnamed law firm in Los Angeles which pays him a salary that would "make Josh puke".
In a development reminiscent of his recruitment of Sam into Josiah Bartlet's campaign for the presidency eight years earlier(Ep 23), Josh Lyman (now Chief of Staff-designate in the incoming Santos Administration) flies to Los Angeles on a same day round trip to offer Sam the post of Deputy White House Chief of Staff. Although initially hesitant because he is again engaged, Sam ultimately agrees as he later sees that Santos is part of a bright future for the country. Sam accepts on the condition that Josh take a vacation after witnessing the toll of post-election stress, insisting that Josh will need to be at his best when helping govern the country.
Sam's final appearance of the series comes in the final episode, meeting with new Matt Santos and Josh Lyman in the Oval Office.
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