'Wing' Uses Net Asset

 By ERIC MINK
 Daily News TV Critic

 In the Internet-driven 21st century, you
 never know what might turn up in the
 in-box of your e-mail server.

 For writer-producer Aaron Sorkin, it was a  nugget of material that he eventually
 transformed into the most riveting,  high-pressure scene of last week's episode
 of "The West Wing."

 "I was writing the third script," Sorkin told The News, "which takes place some 12 to
 14 weeks after the season opener, around the time of the midterm elections.

 A friend forwarded me a copy of an anonymous Internet posting in which the
 author sarcastically agreed with Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the controversial talk-radio
 host] that homosexuality was an abomination as cited in Leviticus. He or
 she then went on to point out other Old Testament passages that mentioned
 extreme punishments for what today are some pretty ordinary things."

 Sorkin already had written a subplot for the episode about President Bartlet (played
 by Martin Sheen) taking an obsessive interest in a New Hampshire school board
 election. The race was in the district where Bartlet, a former New Hampshire governor,
 sent his kids to public school. And the leading candidate was Elliot Roush, a Christian
 fundamentalist whom Bartlet beat in the first election of his political career.

 With that story line already percolating, Sorkin said he looked at the e-mail about Laura
 and thought, "Gee, this is right for this episode, and there's a way to dramatize it."

 The result was a scene (below) in which Bartlet used his own detailed knowledge of
 the Bible to make the Schlessinger-esque character Jenna Jacobs look ridiculous.
 But Sorkin said he was troubled by his use of the Internet material.

 "If you're a writer," he said, "the only thing worse than not getting credit for something
 you did is getting credit for something you didn't do."

 So Sorkin mentioned the situation in a weekly meeting of "West Wing" producers.
 "I wanted to make sure that nobody thought I was trying to pull a fast one,"
 Sorkin said. "Being called a plagiarist is like being called a sex offender. Even if it's not
 true, once the stench is out there, it's not easy to get rid of."

 Staff members were assigned to try to identify a specific author, and efforts
 included asking questions in some of the many anti-Schlessinger Internet chat
 rooms and contacting gay-oriented publications like The Advocate.

 "We came up empty," Sorkin said, "except that all the people we spoke to said they'd
 seen several different versions of the Laura/biblical] material over the last year or so."

 Had the search been successful, Sorkin said, the person would have received a
 modest payment and some kind of on-screen credit, even though lawyers had
 advised him that he was under no such obligation.

 * * * * * *

 Faithfully Following The Script-ures

 In last week's episode of "The West Wing," President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen)
 sarcastically confronted conservative radio personality Jenna Jacobs (Claire Yarlett),
 who alone remained seated when the President appeared at an informal White House
 reception for radio talk-show hosts.

 Bartlet, an economist and former governor of New Hampshire, possesses a precise
 knowledge of biblical text.

 Here is the tense and electric confrontation between Bartlet and Jacobs.
 
 President Josiah Bartlet: You're Dr. Jenna Jacobs, right?
 
 Dr. Laura-type character: Yes, Sir.
 
 Bartlet: ...Forgive me, Dr. Jacobs. Are you an M.D.?
 
 Jacobs: A Ph.D.
 
 Bartlet: A Ph.D.
 
 Jacobs: Yes, Sir.
 
 Bartlet: Psychology?
 
 Jacobs: No, Sir.
 
 Bartlet: Theology?
 
 Jacobs: No.
 
 Bartlet: Social work?
 
 Jacobs: I have a Ph.D. in English literature.
 
 Bartlet: I'm asking cuz on your show, people call in for advice and you go
 by the name Dr. Jacobs on your show, and I didn't know if maybe your
 listeners were confused by that and assumed you had advanced training in
 psychology, theology or health care.
 
 Jacobs: I don't believe they are confused, no, Sir.
 
 Bartlet: Good. I like your show. I like how you call homosexuality an abomination.
 
 Jacobs: I don't say homosexuality is an abomination, Mr.  President, the Bible does.
 
 Bartlet: Yes, it does. Leviticus.
 
 Jacobs: 18:22.
 
 Bartlet: Chapter and verse. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions
 while I had you here. I'm interested in selling my youngest daughter into
 slavery as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7.  She's a Georgetown sophomore,
 speaks fluent Italian, always cleared the table when it was her turn. What
 would a good price for her be? While thinking about that, can I ask
 another? My chief of staff, Leo McGarry, insists on working on the
 sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly says he should be put to death. Am I morally
 obligated to kill him myself, or is it OK to call the police?  Here's one
 that's really important cuz we've got a lot of sports fans in this town.

 Touching the skin of a dead pig makes one unclean. Leviticus 11:7. If they
 promise to wear gloves, can the Washington Redskins still play football?
 Can Notre Dame? Can West Point? Does the whole town really have to be
 together to stone my brother John for planting different crops side-by-side?

 Can I burn my mother in a small family gathering for wearing garments
 made from two different threads? Think about those questions, would you?
 One last thing, while you may mistaking this for your monthly meeting of the
 Ignorant Tight-ass Club, in this building, when the President stands, nobody sits.
 

 --Exchange between President Bartlet and a character clearly meant to be
 Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Oct. 18 on NBC-TV's The West Wing.