'Parks and Recreation' Season 4, Episode 17 Recap - 'Campaign Shake-Up'

You had to wonder how long this wave of success could go for perpetual underdog Leslie Knope after her recent victory over Bobby Newport with her first campaign ad. Answer: up until right about now.

Threatened by Leslie's rising poll numbers, Bobby hires on a hotshot campaign manager from Washington by the name of Jennifer Barkley (played by Kathryn Hahn). This solves two problems for the show: one, it makes Leslie's campaign problems seem insurmountable again (and thus more interesting), and it also allows us to have an enemy to speak for the Newport campaign since Paul Rudd can't be there for every episode.

So Jennifer sets out whooping Ben and Leslie all over town, earning the all-important senior citizen vote (the "grey vote") and taking them to task on Perd's show. Things are not looking great. And that's just how we like it for Leslie, don't we? Of course, provided it all turns out okay in the end.

Ron, meanwhile, faces a dilemma: Chris knows that Leslie normally does the work of about four people, so without her around, he feels the need to hire on another person. Ron's response is about what you'd expect, and he's given an impossible choice (for him): complete a project, or hire on a new person.

Enter Ann, whom Ron assigns the task of figuring out a way to make drinking fountains more sanitary. We're introduced to a rather hilarious quirk of Pawnee residents: they all place their mouths completely over the drinking fountain spout when they drink. Of course they would.

Eventually April comes up with the answer (no spout), which puts Ron in another tough situation: he has to put his protoge into a position of more responsibility. Thus, April takes over some of Leslie's territory. Poor April.

Notes & Quotes:

- "NoooooOOOOOOO!"

- "Trust me, you can do better than Joe." "Nonoooononnonononoooo I don't think I can."

- Leslie's increasingly ridiculous descriptions of Ben's body are amazing.

- "Should I go?" "Oh, you're still here? Yes."