In one scene Sam Seaborn speaks to a Latino labor leader, and as the discussion heats up he switches into Spanish. The lobbyist, Victor Campos, claims that he has been used for public relations purposes, something Sam denies. Rob Lowe, who plays Seaborn, had to learn to speak the language convincingly especially for this episode. Sorkin commented, "I tend to torture Rob a little."
According to Aaron Sorkin, the episode benefited greatly from input by two former White House employees. The scene where Donna stays up all night sorting through documents in cartons was the idea of Eli Attie, Al Gore's chief speechwriter. Meanwhile Gene Sperling, Bill Clinton's chief economic adviser, came up with the sub-plot involving the estate tax. Sorkin, however, had certain misgivings about the estate tax story's appeal, considering the prevalent bipartisan spirit of the time, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
Regarding a fire at Yellowstone National Park, Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) says to Josh Lyman "Technically, I'm not a professional firefighter, though there was a time I wanted to be." Lowe would eventually star on 9-1-1: Lone Star (2020) as fire captain Owen Strand.
While Clement Rollins (Nicholas Pryor) reads off the legal names of the White House staff being subpoenaed, he lists Toby (Richard Schiff)'s legal name as "Toby Zachary Ziegler." Later, during his deposition with Freedom Watch over Andrea Wyatt (Kathleen York) concealing her pregnancy during the 2002 election, Toby states his full name is "Tobias Zachary Ziegler".
In the scene where C.J. (Allison Janney) is walking on the National Mall - she is walking away from the U.S. Capitol toward the Washington Monument, when she is met by two Congressional Staffers. They mention they had a meeting at the OEOB (Old Executive Office Building) and were going to stop by to see her. However, where C.J. is on the Mall (south side, near the Smithsonian Castle) is nowhere near to the White House or the OEOB.