What was the scandal that tarnished the Prez's image? A Clintonesque affair? Something else?

Like Christian[?] said, he has MS and didn't disclose it. His wife (a doctor) medicated him. Biggest problem was that she signed their daughter's college admissions papers, which included a family medical history that didn't disclose it. The president accepted a deal whereby he was censured in exchange for his wife not being prosecuted for administering drugs without a prescription.

The partially balding guy playing chess in the office - was that the Prez's shrink?

That's Toby, the communications director. A couple of episodes ago, he disagreed with the way the president handled a particular issue at a press conference. He accused him of pandering to the electorate in a desparate attempt to be liked. The quote was something like, "Your father beat you, didn't he? And you always suspected he didn't like you? Well getting the American people to like you won't change that." The president was, shall we say, not amused by the theory. And couldn't sleep for four days afterwards.

What's the deal with his dad, anyways?

The deal is that Toby is right: the prez's father didn't like him, and did beat him, because he supported women's pay equality at the school where dad was the headmaster (among other things).

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