Original subtitles

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Standby open.

Opens up.

Standby Jack's mic.

ANNOUNCER: This is WMUR TV's News 9 New Hampshire Close-Up.

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: And we go in five, four,

ANNOUNCER: A weekly discussion of news--

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Three,

ANNOUNCER: --and political events--

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Two,

ANNOUNCER: --that affect New Hampshire.

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: One.

Mic and queue him.

Play it.

I'm Jack Heath.

Welcome to Close-Up.

Well, the cold weather has been big news this week

as we can testify.

And cold weather has caught up to some of us,

including those of who chased the would-be presidential

candidates around the state.

But despite the cold weather, things are heating up

with the New Hampshire primary.

And our guest this week is one more

candidate who wants to be the next president

of the United States.

He is Jack Tanner.

And he wants you to know that he's

a serious democratic candidate for

the presidential nomination.

Well, who is Jack Tanner, and where did he come from?

Good morning, Mr. Tanner.

Good morning, Jack. Nice to meet you.

JACK HEATH: Where did you come from?

East Lansing, Michigan.

[applause]

And Warm Springs, Georgia.

[applause]

San Antonio, Texas?

[applause]

And how about Walla Walla, Washington?

[applause]

Riverside, California.

[applause]

And, uh--

JACK HEATH: Pearl Harbor?

Well, let's not forget Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

I was born in Pearl Harbor.

You know, I have to say, Jack, you

sound like George Bush a little bit, the vice president.

It's hard to know what state he's from.

Well, that's true.

But I actually lived in all these states.

I was an Air Force Dependent.

And, as you know, when you're an Air Force Dependent,

you move around a lot.

JACK HEATH: I know you've been out-- you resigned

from the House in 1976.

And some of your candidates-- I saw Gary Hart the other day,

and he said you've been out of it too long.

What do you say to that?

Well, I guess Mr. Hart has been

busier than I have, but, uh--

I think the national impression of you

is that you had a unanimous draft from your state

You were a popular congressman.

to run for Congress.

And, on a sadder note, I know your daughter

had a serious illness.

Yes, she did.

JACK HEATH: But you got out of it.

Now you're back.

And tell us what brought you back into this crazy world

of running for president.

Well, I mean, it's always presumptuous to say

that you want to be the leader of this country.

But I felt that the way things looked, the way this race is

wide open-- the sort of lack of leadership

that's been demonstrated, the way, to my thinking,

we've gone way, way off the track in the last eight years--

um, the issues are there.

JACK HEATH: You also stand out from some of the candidates

because you received a PhD.

JACK TANNER: Yes.

Tell me, do you feel-- and I don't-- I want to put it

bluntly-- do you feel smarter than some of the people

running for president?

Yes.

[MUSIC - "EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE"]

SONG: Exercise your right to vote.

Choose the one you like the most.

It's your individual right to choose the one

you want to fight for you.

TJ: Mm hm.

I got the media buy for the 14th, two days

before the primary.

Yeah, we got DC and Boston.

EMILE: [inaudible]

STRINGER: Yeah, at least he bothered to write off Jack.

Broder did a follow up on Iowa.

He didn't even mention him.

TJ: [inaudible] Jack, this is a great position.

I'm working on the other two stations.

EMILE: Something to do here.

STRINGER: See, the thing I told Jack--

EMILE: Eggs, eggs. Gordon was right about Iowa.

STRINGER: Exactly.

And the thing I told Jack about Iowa

is that there's no, just-- hardly any point.

You've got to get there two years ahead of the vote.

You gotta gain their confidence, marry their daughters,

fix their plumbing. [inaudible]

EMILE: Iowa, we hardly knew ye.

Ye hardly knew us.

Fuck me.

STRINGER: Now, listen--where is--where

is Deke with the film? TJ: No, I haven't seen it yet.

Dick's supposed to be coming here with a rough cut.

But I haven't seen it yet.

STRINGER: He is sticking it to us, I can tell.

TJ: No.

He's not going to let us make any changes.

No, Jack, Jack, Jack, you can't change one thing.

I've got exactly 36 hours until I

have to deliver the cassettes.

ANDREA: Do you guys save this half-and-half?

Because I could use it for that homeless project.

STRINGER: Uh. EMILE: Yeah.

That's-- that's fine, Andrea.

Thanks a lot.

Hey, listen where are my hashbrowns?

Are those my hashbrowns, Stringer?

STRINGER: Oh.

Yes, they are.

EMILE: Come on, [inaudible] my breakfast.

TJ: Jack, you're in charge.

ANDREA: Do you want me to go get you some more?

STRINGER: On second thought, uh, you

can-- you can have these back.

Hey, we made [inaudible] column today.

TJ: Now, I've got Alex coming to the airport to pick you up.

EMILE: Is it a positive?

TJ: If you get any further behind, please give me a buzz.

STRINGER: Oh. Oh, yeah.

It's-- it's a positive.

Not. Come on.

TJ: OK? I can't wait to see you.

EMILE: Well, all right.

TJ: Yeah, we're working real hard.

[interposing voices] TJ: OK.

Get on that plane!

All right. Goodbye.

Bye bye.

Damn it.

ANDREA: That's a good slogan, though.

EMILE: What?

His plane was grounded in Durham.

ANDREA: I was in Durham once.

EMILE: But he's going to be here, right?

TJ: Yeah.

STRINGER: Oh, now here's something

What?

you don't see every day. TJ: Yeah, he'll be here.

STRINGER: The word debacle used twice in the same sentence.

ANDREA: What does debacle mean?

Yeah, well, come on.

Nobody edits that paper.

It's computers in some room.

TJ: What's going on with the focus group?

ANDREA: You want some ketchup? TJ: Has Hughes arrived yet?

EMILE: Yeah, Hughes is in the hotel.

He's getting all the stuff set up and everything.

He was under the impression that he was testing some spots

for Super Tuesday, but--

TJ: I don't know why Reznick's being such [inaudible]

Go Tanner.

Jack Tanner [inaudible]

EMILE: Uh, they're coming in about 10:00.

There should be about 30 people. STRINGER: That's a good number.

TJ: We're not going to have a thing to show 'em.

Stringer, go see if you can find Deke.

We've really got to get moving.

STRINGER: All right, all right, all right.

Should I start setting up the chairs?

Oh, here he is.

Showtime.

Did you make all the changes?

[humming "hail to the chief"]

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you

the next President of the United States, Mr. Jack Tanner.

[beeping]

TJ: I thought-- I thought he was going to be raking leaves.

People vote in November, you know.

Hi, how are you?

Good to see you.

Come on up.

DEKE: I can't control the weather.

[phone ringing]

Whoops, there's my phone.

[laughter]

TJ: Deke?

DEKE: What?

TJ: What's with the (LAUGHING) Mr. Rogers opening?

DEKE: No, think "Pee Wee's Playhouse."

Hello?

[music playing]

NARRATOR (ON TV): Early last year

in a modest family home in East Lansing, Michigan,

a phone began to ring.

At first there were only a few calls a day.

Then several.

Then the phone began to ring off the hook.

The callers-- community leaders, public officials,

party officers from all around the country.

The message-- we want Jack Tanner for President.

I'm glad you called.

NARRATOR (ON TV): Who's Jack Tanner?

He looks really handsome.

You notice that?

That transition?

I like--I like it, yeah.

Yeah?

Nice.

NARRATOR (ON TV): The son of a career Army Air Force officer--

EMILE: What, that's not Jack.

NARRATOR (ON TV): John Quinton Tanner was born--

Oh, his mother is beautiful.

STRINGER: Quinton, should he use that?

NARRATOR (ON TV): Three years later--

EMILE: Wait a minute, aren't those American planes?

A plane's a plane.

EMILE: Not in Pearl Harbor.

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT (ON TV): December 7,

1941-- a date which will live--

Is that Woodrow-- that is Woodrow Wilson's voice.

TJ: Uh, Deke.

This footage looks very, very familiar.

This looks very familiar.

What is this?

I lifted it from a Dole film campaign.

TJ: You what?

EMILE: What?

Well, I mean, hell, he lifted it from stock, right?

You-- you don't really think that they--

they sent a crew out to film a future wounded president, then,

do you?

STRINGER: Jack's father was a pilot.

EMILE: Uh, yeah.

We'll have to use Bush's footage.

Yeah, is-- is Bush a pilot?

NARRATOR (ON TV): Young Jack learned

firsthand about the rigors of--

EMILE: Oh, this is dignified.

[laughter]

TJ: You really think maybe they don't have to scoot

across the floor [inaudible]

ANDREA: Men in underwear.

STRINGER: Men in underwear rate very highly with women.

You'd be surprised.

This is more stock footage.

See, no, he's a team player.

That's what we're getting at.

ANDREA: Do you have to rate a film like this?

DEKE: He works with men well. STRINGER: Yeah.

That's what the focus group [inaudible]

ANDREA: G, PG, R?

Wait.

EMILE: Deke, is that your voice?

(LAUGHING) Yeah.

[inaudible]

DEKE (ON TV): The game goes into overtime.

Wilt Chamberlain.

DEKE (ON TV): Tanner is down.

DEKE: I want to associate him with the-- the big guys.

DEKE (ON TV): This could be a real blow for the Jayhawks.

Tanner is out of the game.

TJ: Oh, I love that face.

Vote for that man.

NARRATOR (ON TV): Jack became a tireless leader

in the civil rights and antiwar movements.

[guitar solo]

ANDREA: What happened?

STRINGER: Can you fix that?

Is that just on the monitor, or--

Well, you can play off of that one.

TJ: Where did you get the civil rights stuff, Deke?

Uh, off of "You Are There."

Old "You Are There."

EMILE: Yeah, the old Walter Cronkite show.

ANDREA: I love this speech.

PRESIDENT KENNEDY (ON TV): Ask what

you can do for your country.

EMILE: Whoa!

[inaudible]

I have a dream today.

ANDREA: Who's Walter Cronkite?

Who owns the rights?

EMILE: Michael Jackson.

I loved that video.

The Michael Jackson video.

NEIL ARMSTRONG (ON TV): Small step for man--

TJ: Giant step--

EMILE: [inaudible] Michael Jackson doing the moonwalk.

[laughter]

NARRATOR (ON TV): Turbulent 60s, Jack's effectiveness

as an activist and community organizer

eventually led to a successful run for Congress in 1970.

(SINGING) I read the news today, oh boy.

(WITH BRITISH ACCENT) I buried Paul Simon.

[laughter]

Oh, if you do the record backwards?

NARRATOR (ON TV): Once in office--

Yeah.

NARRATOR (ON TV): Congressmen Tanner

proved himself an astute and capable legislator.

Out front on such--

EMILE: What's that?

NARRATOR (ON TV): --critical issues as the environment--

STRINGER: It's a balloon.

NARRATOR (ON TV): --and consumer safety--

EMILE: What's this? Eggs?

NARRATOR (ON TV): Jack Tanner quickly emerged--

TJ: [inaudible] the eggs, Deke? ANDREA: Why--why eggs?

There's a lot of chicken farmers in New Hampshire.

TJ: Yeah, maybe we could take a second look at that.

STRINGER: Yeah, that should go.

EMILE: That's nice light.

Is that real light?

NARRATOR (ON TV): Landslide reelections followed,

and the future is bright. DEKE: [inaudible]

STRINGER: Sound Solution Muffler.

Oh, it's love American style.

NARRATOR (ON TV): But in 1976 Jack's young family--

TJ: Uh, Deke?

I'm not real wild about his poster burning up.

ANDREA: What--

STRINGER: Deke, you do a burn away--

TJ: I really want [inaudible]

STRINGER: --you do a slow burn away.

[inaudible]

OK, guys, quiet.

Where did you get these pictures of his daughter?

DEKE: His bedroom.

NARRATOR (ON TV): His only child, eight-year-old

Alexandra, was stricken with Hodgkin's disease,

and Jack abruptly resigned from office in order

to spend more time with her.

The Tanners returned to East Lansing, where

Alexandra gradually recovered--

[piano notes]

NARRATOR (ON TV): --while Jack resumed part-time teaching

to support his family.

TJ: You got to cut it, Deke.

He's never going to go for that.

[laughter]

Don't worry about the color balance.

I can bring that around.

ANDREA: Is that really their house?

Well, there's no question those years

in the political wilderness were tough ones.

But they weren't wasted.

I discovered I'd been given a valuable chance to learn,

to challenge my most cherished assumptions about both

myself and my country.

It was a rare opportunity.

So I engaged.

I took stock.

I read, I traveled.

But most importantly, I listened.

He's such an intellectual.

TJ: Wait a minute.

Where's the rest of that speech?

STRINGER: That's all he says?

Well, he says a little more.

But I thought it would be more important to watch him listen.

You know? He's a listener.

Listen. Watch.

TJ: No, but he had a lot more to say, Deke.

See?

TJ: He's got a wonderful quality.

I think when we come in on him, he's coming across very well.

He's steady.

He's concentrated.

You trust him.

ANDREA: He's handsome.

People around today like to talk in terms of limits.

Not too many of them live in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire's on the move.

New Hampshire's accessed the future.

New Hampshire knows the future is now.

[saxophone music]

TJ: All right.

OK, look.

[clapping]

We've got all the cuts, all the changes loaded.

Yep.

So you go back and do your work.

And it's on to New Hampshire!

[stirring patriotic music]

TJ.

We're in New Hampshire.

Oh.

(LAUGHS) Well, then on with New Hampshire!

STRINGER: Yeah!

ANDREA: Yeah!

[MUSIC - "EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE"]

Daddy?

Hi!

Hi, Sweetie.

How are you?

How are you? I just got here.

- Yeah? - [inaudible]

[inaudible] Goddamn Bush and the goddamn White House,

you know, they've blocked off all the exits to the airport.

(LAUGHING) Is that right?

Can you believe the nerve of that man?

Well, that's nothing new.

ANDREA: Welcome, welcome.

[inaudible] electrical shocks, or something, if that happens.

- Cold enough out there for you? - Hi, Anthony.

How's it going? - Good.

- We're all set up? - All set.

OK.

You won't believe this group we've got here.

We've got a shepherd out there.

We've got barmaids, we got tax collectors.

There's a black guy.

We've got everything.

It's going to be a great group.

I'm so excited.

All right, we're all ready?

- Mm hm. - OK.

OK. Here we go.

Here we go.

TJ: Take a seat.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Stringer, are we ready to start?

Andrea.

Andrea, are we ready to go now?

ANDREA: I think so.

OK.

OK.

OK.

Good morning.

Good morning.

FOCUS GROUP WOMAN: Good morning.

Hi, my name is TJ Cavanaugh.

And I am Jack Tanner's campaign manager.

FOCUS GROUP MAN: It's really cold in here.

Are we gonna--

EMILE: We're-- sir, we're working

on getting some heaters.

TJ: Yeah, well, it'll get-- it'll get warmer.

And I'd like to introduce Doctor--

ANDREA: Do you want me to take that?

Yeah, just a second.

Dr. David Hughes, who's going to help

describe some of these gizmos that you're

holding in your hand.

You don't have to be afraid of Dr. Hughes.

His doctorate is in philosophy.

All right, talk to you later. Bye.

Thank you, TJ. ANDREA: Here.

Here, TJ. - Thank you, honey.

Thank you very much.

And thank you for coming.

And the kind of thing you're going to do today

is part of a new technique--

STRINGER: We need some space heaters

in here because it's freezing.

There's no heat.

No.

No, that's not going to be enough.

TJ: Will you please get off the phone?

Take them out of the other rooms.

We need them here.

TJ: Get off the phone.

For Tanner.

Yes.

I'll be right there.

Thank you.

All right.

Let's go, let's go, let's go. Get two, OK?

There's only one. Heat's out everywhere.

- Then get two. - I'll try.

I don't want people to freeze to death in there.

Come on.

Come on.

Would anyone like a blanket?

[chatter]

EMILE: Sir, we're going to be getting to that.

And as I said, we will have the heaters as soon as possible.

Andrea, could we, uh--

FOCUS GROUP MAN: Can we get on with this?

I got things to do.

In case, I uh-- in case I haven't introduced myself

to you outside, my name is Emile Berkoff, and I'm the pollster

for the Tanner campaign.

Excuse me.

Mrs. Cavanaugh, they're really complaining about the cold.

I know.

Stringer just went out for the heaters.

He's going to be back in a minute with hopefully two

of them.

OK, because they're complaining a lot.

Why don't you should give them some coffee?

Uh, what-- from room service or something?

No, we don't have money for room service.

Get the coffee right in there.

There's a ton of it.

Oh, great.

Oh, it's already made.

Yeah.

Is Mr. Tanner going to be here soon?

I really want them all to meet him.

No, he's not going to be here.

He's having a television session at a farmhouse this afternoon.

CAMPAIGN WORKER: Farmer Bob?

We're not sending him to Farmer Bob?

ANDREA: You're kidding.

CAMPAIGN WORKER: He's right across the street

from the airport. Every politician [inaudible]

TJ: I know. I know, I know.

But he is conveniently located.

And besides, he had an opening.

[knocking]

ALEX: Mr. Bob!

Are-- are you coming in, or not?

ALEX: Yes, sir, we are.

Hi, Mr. Bob.

Are you my 10:30 people?

- Yes, we are. - You're late!

Hi, I'm Jack Tanner. How are you?

We're very sorry. My dad's plane was late.

It's the weather. It's the snow.

Now--now--now, don't be tracking

snow all over the place.

Mrs. Bob's got plenty to do without having

to mop up after people.

We're very sorry.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Forgive us.

Oh, those-- those mini cam people are the worst.

I've seen holsteins with better manners.

I--I-- I really-- I had to threaten

to-- to-- to sue NBC when one of them trucks tore up my lawn.

Oh, dear.

- Is that right? - Yes.

Oh, dear.

You're not expecting anybody, I hope?

Yes, we are.

WMUR.

We're sending over a TV crew to--

I sent them away.

You got to try to be here on time.

Sent them away-- [inaudible]

We have to get them back.

We have to call them.

All right.

All right.

[inaudible] everybody-- everybody takes it black.

Except Gephardt.

He turned his coffee into a damn milkshake.

Do you have Sweet'N Low?

My dad likes Sweet'N Low.

JACK: No, no, no I don't, actually.

I--I drink it black.

This is tolerable.

It's not as fresh as it was 40 minutes ago.

Thank you.

Mrs. Bob didn't really take to that Gephardt fellow too much.

ALEX: Here you go, black. - Uh, thank you.

She called-- no, no, no, no, no.

I don't drink coffee.

That's yours.

She called him a blow dried, uh, blow hard.

JACK: Is that right?

OK.

So you all have the idea of the importance of opinions.

And, of course, what we're doing here today

is very important to the candidate.

What is Deke doing with that damn camera?

Why is he shooting these people?

What's the point?

PROFESSOR HUGHES: We're going to use that scale,

which is on the box.

And you'll notice it goes from "Very

Unfavorable," which is one to "Very Favorable," which is 7.

I need a flight reservation for a Dr. [inaudible]

Deke, what are you doing?

Why are you shooting those people?

Little something of my own I'm working on.

Don't worry, I'm not paying for the tape.

TJ: Well, what are you doing?

It's a neo-realistic political film documentary, actually.

Excuse me.

Excuse me.

Would you mind if I took your picture, here?

All right. - Oh.

All right. There we go.

Oh, good.

[inaudible] Thank you so much.

That's good.

That flash, you know, it doesn't work all the time

and then I have a terrible time. - I know.

They're very funny, those cameras.

I know it.

But she's not really committed yet.

I'm-- I'm probably going to vote for Dudakis.

Uh huh.

Well, now, you don't want to vote for a guy

unless you know his name.

- Don't know his name? - That is a good Dukakis.

Isn't that good?

That looks just like him.

And then I've got a whole batch of Kemps here.

But I thought that maybe my neighbor

down the road, Ellie Duncan, that maybe she would

trade me some of her Doles.

And then I would have a complete set up with this fellow.

Listen.

I want you to sign in my guest book.

All right? - Oh, sure.

Yeah, here we go.

I'd be glad to. - Yeah.

All right.

You got them all, haven't you?

(LAUGHING) Yeah, sure.

Robertson, Kemp.

That's a pretty scary page.

FARMER BOB: It's a whole rogues gallery. [laughs]

Let's see.

You want me here under Smiling Al Haig?

Yeah.

Would you--would you like a button?

Oh, well, no thanks.

I don't collect those.

Buttons, you know.

I collect the Polaroids instead.

ALEX: Oh. - Sure.

Margaret Burke does those.

There you go.

Jack Tanner?

Who's that?

MRS. BOB: Never heard of him.

Now, please dial your political philosophy, number

one if you're a conservative.

Number two if you're liberal.

And then, again, the same thing.

Press the button on top of your box to enter.

But dial first, and then press the button.

[laughter]

PROFESSOR HUGHES: OK. [inaudible] this moves up

and down so that you can, uh--

(CHANTING) It's time to work the phones.

It's time to work the phones.

Al Haig kicks ass, [inaudible] It's time to work the--

TJ: Excuse me.

We're in the middle of a meeting.

No, we got an Al Haig Phone-A-Thon we gotta be at.

Excuse me.

[interposing voices]

You have the wrong room.

Jack Tanner, that bum?

Give me a break

[interposing voices]

ANDREA: The heater, the heater!

[inaudible]

[interposing voices]

OK, guys, just get the fuck out of here!

Whoa. [inaudible]

[interposing voices]

[applause]

He's 1.2 in the polls.

They get nervous.

They get angry.

OK, you know, let's have some pizza.

Pizza.

You want some pizza? - Hooray!

Yeah! [cheering]

Good.

FRANK: I read some of your pieces occasionally.

HAYES: Oh. FRANK: Pretty good stuff.

HAYES: Thanks.

FRANK: Yeah.

HAYES: How's Elizabeth?

Hey, did you ever marry that, uh, that tall blonde that

wore the retainer?

FRANK: No, I didn't.

She was crazy.

She was a hop head.

She was a drunk.

Oh, gosh.

ALEX: Who's he?

FRANK: I don't know him.

[inaudible]

HAYES: Jack.

He's our entourage.

His name's Hayes Taggerty.

He's with the Boston Globe.

Hiya, Hayes. - Jack.

How you doing? ALEX: Guys.

Are you guys here to cover the Tanner [inaudible] campaign?

Oh, hey, I've been trying to catch up with you all day.

You were supposed to be at Farmer Bob's at 10:00

Well, you're media, right?

I mean, you're not just individuals?

That guy hasn't been the same since Carter

posed with his chickens in '76.

Hey, this--

I'm Jack Tanner, how are you?

This is Frank Gatlin from Time.

- Time Magazine. - Time?

Oh, really?

ALEX: You know, if you've got a few minutes, [inaudible]

I guess I'm coming up in the world.

I gotta get going.

I've got a meeting [inaudible] assignment in Concord.

JACK: Oh.

FRANK: Let's go.

JACK: Nice to meet you, anyway.

It would really only take a couple minutes.

I think it'll be very valuable time spent.

- He worked with my father. - Yeah?

He's a good man.

Alex?

HAYES: He married the craziest girl.

Yeah, I'm sorry. What?

This is-- this is a friend of mine.

Hayes Taggerty. This is my daughter Alex.

Hi.

It's nice to meet you, Mr. Taggerty.

Ah, yeah. Let me see.

HAYES: Yes.

BU, right?

Second year.

ALEX: Yes.

Arrested in the shanty town incident, suspension revoked.

Right? - Why?

Do you support apartheid?

Where do you get this stuff, Hayes?

The interest is there, Jack.

Listen, I'm writing a series of columns

on the events and figures that helped shape the characters

of the various candidates. - Oh, great.

Which am I?

A figure or an event?

This is great.

(LAUGHING) She's charming.

Afternoon.

Can I get 10 of your large pizzas, please?

Sure.

10 large pizzas? - Yeah.

Would you like something on them?

No, nothing.

How long's it going to take?

VINNIE: 20, 25 minutes.

Uh, 15, 20?

That'd be great.

I'm in a hurry.

VINNIE: Push 'em in for you.

STRINGER: [inaudible] a milk while I'm waiting.

VINNIE: OK, the name?

STRINGER: Stringer.

VINNIE: Stringer.

All right.

There you go.

OK. Here's your milk.

STRINGER: Thank you.

VINNIE: You're welcome.

Uh, Vinnie, you know, better make that nine.

VINNIE: OK, no problem.

Thanks.

ROGAN: Hey, Stringer.

Hard to find a good massage parlor when you're on the road,

isn't it?

You're the expert, Rogan.

ROGAN: Yeah, I used to be.

When your candidate's hot, you gotta send out.

You know what I mean?

By the way, when are you going to get

yourself a job, Stringer?

STRINGER: Enjoying your 15 minutes, are you, Rogan?

What can I say?

The Duke cuts at New Hampshire.

Hell, folks around here, they like

tooling down I-95 just to see what

economic miracle looks like.

STRINGER: Yeah, and what it looks like is an SDI pig out.

Reagan's build up saved Dukakis' ass.

His own party'd won, he'd now be selling

elevator shoes in South Boston.

That mouth of yours got a real [inaudible] Stringer.

Look, you ever get over your version of winning,

call me at campaign headquarters.

I'd call yours, but I wouldn't want to tie up the lines

at the Sleepy Bear Motor Lodge.

Oh, and Stringer.

Gore's got enough problems without you, uh, canceling

his volunteer meetings.

LADIES AUXILIARY MEMBER: And, as you can see, all of the squares

have been signed by celebrities.

JACK: Oh, yes.

There's Governor Sununu.

And Annette Funicello.

And Mildred is working on Paul Mooney.

He comes to the [inaudible]

JACK: Oh, really.

No, I didn't know that.

[chatter]

Where's Congressman Tanner?

He's the, uh, male one.

If you would be willing to unwrap one of our squares,

we'd be so honored.

Oh, I'd be more than happy to.

Mildred, would you hand me that?

Thank you. Thank you.

It's for a good cause.

Mm hm.

The quilt will be auctioned off.

And the proceeds will go to benefit

the library at Trinity School.

Now, just take this pen.

[inaudible]

Ladies.

Woo hoo!

Woo hoo!

Ladies.

In case some of you don't know, this handsome gentleman

is Congressman Jack Tanner.

And he's graciously consented to sign one of our squares.

[chatter]

He's also agreed-- he's also agreed

to-- to say a few words to us.

So let's give him a warm, Ladies Auxiliary welcome.

[applause]

JACK: Thank you very much, ladies.

It's a pleasure to be here.

I'd like to, first of all, introduce my daughter, Alex.

She's, uh, up here helping me.

- Oh, hello, Alex. - How are you?

And, uh--

Would you like to make a quilt?

I wanted to say--

[chatter]

--first of all, I'm-- I'm inspired to, uh, see that, um--

How come you're here?

Welcome to New Hampshire.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

- --this beautiful work. - Are you helping him?

Maybe you should run for president.

Uh, it moves me to say that I think there's a lot--

[chatter]

Uh, Boston University.

Uh--

[inaudible] about volunteerism in this country.

Your first trip to New Hampshire?

Very much. Very much.

Volunteerism is, uh--

Yes, it is.

[excited chatter]

JACK: I just wanted to say--

ALEX: Uh, she's in California.

JACK: --a couple of things about volunteerism in this country.

Where it's warm.

JACK: Volunteerism--

Uh, no, she's not, actually.

My parents are divorced.

JACK: --people like yourselves are--are--are truly

the backbone of this country. LADIES AUXILIARY: Awww.

JACK: There's no doubt about it.

ALEX: [inaudible] BU. Boston University.

JACK: This country, without women like yourselves, uh--

The second year.

Excuse me.

I told your people were [inaudible]

LADIES AUXILIARY MEMBER: Would you like to try [inaudible]

I think you should [inaudible]

I don't think I'm very good at it.

Now, you just put your needle in and then back up again.

[inaudible] OK?

Who's this now?

This is Bert Convy.

You know Bert Convy.

Oh. Bert Convy.

I don't know.

HAYES: Tanner sews up New Hampshire.

Leaves them in stitches.

JACK: "To Jesse Jackson, New Hampshire's an anomaly.

So why does Jackson seek validation in this icy

political no man's land?

One might as well ask why the boy, born to Helen Jackson

and Noah Robinson Sr. that October night in 1941,

spent his childhood in pursuit of legitimacy,

shamed by the taunts of--"

Jesus H. You don't miss a Freudian freckle, do you?

HAYES: Hey, it's the only way to understand the man, Jack.

I mean, it's easy to evaluate the manager.

But the leader-- that's something else.

You have to determine not just what the candidate is, but why.

You have to ask what drives them.

Listen, Jack, don't get me wrong.

I haven't joined the character cops yet.

Unless you start twirling your trousers

around your head like Hart, I'm really not interested.

Why are you driving?

ALEX: What?

You've never driven me anywhere.

Why are you driving?

You're the candidate.

I'm the advance person.

That means I drive.

(SIGHS) She drives.

I didn't even know you had a license.

This is good.

JACK: Get out of the car, Hayes.

OK.

Now this is the event you've all been waiting for.

You've been wanting to see this Tanner tape.

And we want you to respond continuously.

We're all set.

Now, I'm going to go back and turn on the VCR.

And you just start responding immediately.

OK, I'll be back in the back room.

Take care of things.

Remember to keep dialing continuously, OK?

We need your reactions all the time throughout the tape.

ANDREA: I think you're going to like it, though.

I'm not supposed to say that.

FOCUS GROUP MAN: [inaudible]

CAMPAIGN WORKER: Any time.

Any feelings that you have, you like what you see--

You see that little red dot?

That's the average for the whole group.

And the bar each side is the standard deviation.

That's how much they differ among the [inaudible]

So you can see over here--

JACK (ON TV): There's my phone.

TJ, we're doing fantastic so far.

Yeah, they seem to like the snow scene.

I think they're [inaudible]

How's he doing with the women?

I'd just go right through the bushes.

We don't have that yet.

We'll have that in a few minutes.

JACK (ON TV): Hello?

[patriotic music]

[laughter]

[inaudible]

Is it going down, or is it holding steady?

No, it's going down.

Look at that.

It just went way down.

It's down to three.

NARRATOR (ON TV): Then the phone began to ring off the hook.

[laughter]

Where's this guy from?

Shh.

[MUSIC - "EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE"]

SONG: Pick the proper candidate.

You can change the course of fate.

It's a decision that you must make.

Select the one you think is great for you.

Pat, how are you?

Nice to see you. - Hey, nice to see you.

This is my daughter, Alex.

Hi, Alex, how are you?

Hi.

Good, how are you?

Sure tearing 'em up in my home state.

Well, Michigan is a strong one for me.

You know that, Jack.

I'll say.

I'll tell you, it made me glad to be a Democrat.

I wouldn't want to be up against you.

(LAUGHING) Well, the Republicans are

going to be tough this year.

But we wish you the best.

I know.

Looking tougher all the time.

[laughter] - Congratulations.

- Thank you, Jack. - Pat--

Take care of yourself, Pat.

--what about this term, "Christian hardball"

we keep hearing?

Well, I don't know about Christian Hardball--

[inaudible] thrown at their heads?

--this is plain ol'-- I used to be

a boxer in the Golden Gloves and a heavyweight wrestler.

And so I'm not afraid of political hardball.

I just don't want anybody to play dirty.

That's all. - Playing for keeps.

Playing for keeps.

And we're playing serious.

But not dirty.

All right.

All right.

Hey, lose the mic cord.

Excuse me.

Thank you.

NARRATOR (ON TV): 1976, Jack's young family was

struck by personal calamity.

FOCUS GROUP MEMBER: I hate when that happens.

NARRATOR (ON TV): His only child,

eight-year-old Alexandra--

Sob story.

It's not getting the women.

They're going down on it.

Not a handsome child.

TJ: Why do you think that is?

Well, it's the sympathy phenomenon.

Voters really resent using the family

to try to get a sympathy vote.

I've seen it go down in a lot of situations.

TJ: They're feeling manipulated?

PROFESSOR HUGHES: Oh, absolutely.

Bush, for example, when he introduced

his family in that Houston, little 90 second clip,

that was a disaster.

And he ended on a low note because the way

he treated his family.

People are getting really tired of that.

People even tuned down for Mrs. Dole.

They're getting tired of bringing family in.

But I haven't seen anything this bad.

JACK: Bob.

Hey, Jack, how you doing?

You're killing 'em.

You're really closing the gap, right?

Well, I'm hanging on by my fingernails.

Nah, you're doing a great job.

Well, thanks very much.

But you're really something.

You're really doing it.

Well, we've got 'em on the run.

- Yes, we have. - Beating the Bushes.

Well, I think it's going to be you

and me in the final stretch, if I--if I can hang in there.

It's good to see you. Good Good luck.

And we'll see you in November. - OK.

Take care. Take care.

Pleasure to see you again.

Thank you. Bye bye.

Nice to see you again.

Take care.

Come on, kiddo.

OK, let's go.

JACK (ON TV): They don't feel pain that's not their own.

And yet this is central to the way Americans

feel about themselves.

Wait a minute.

Look, it's going back up.

Again, the same shot.

What do you think they're responding to here?

CAMPAIGN WORKER: The scenes of New Hampshire, if you ask me.

No, they're responding to his face.

He's got a great face.

JACK (ON TV): [inaudible] to be stimulated

by the same disputes, even on either side, is to be alike.

Now, in my generation, the civil rights awakening compelled

people to choose sides.

For some of us, not to go to Selma

was to be on the wrong side.

Don't get me wrong--

FOCUS GROUP MAN: Who's Selma?

[chatter]

What's Selma?

Alabama.

He wasn't there. [inaudible]

[inaudible]

Oh, yeah, I certainly did.

It was quite a time.

GIRL ON VIDEO: What's Selma?

(LAUGHING) What's Selma?

What's Selma.

FOCUS GROUP MAN: Hey, that was my question.

- That's right. - You were ahead of 'em.

That's right.

CAMPAIGN WORKER: How do you want to approach this?

Do you want [inaudible]

Oh, hello, Congressman.

DEKE: I can't believe my work [inaudible] subjected

to this-- this computer.

I mean--

Hi, how are you?

Joe.

TJ: Listen, your work is going to be subjected to [inaudible].

Yeah, nice to hear from you.

Where's my cigarettes?

Somebody have a cigarette?

TJ.

TJ: [inaudible] context.

And I want to re-edit tonight. - TJ.

TJ: What?

It's Joe again.

TJ: Oh, great.

She's coming, Joe.

- OK. - OK.

Nice talking to you. Right.

Bye bye.

CAMPAIGN WORKER: Who?

EMILE: Can I take-- Joe Kennedy.

Hi, Joe.

Yeah.

Listen, can I call you back?

I--

- Joe Kennedy's on the phone? - Yes.

Excuse me, please.

TJ: Joe.

OK, um.

That's Robert Kennedy's son.

Hold on a second, will you?

Is he sliding or holding steady?

Sliding.

[cursing under breath] Joe, listen.

I've got kind of a situation.

OK?

So we've got to talk in another--

Let's just pick out the lows.

Mm hm.

CAMPAIGN WORKER: All right, then let's pick out the highs.

That's fine.

Yeah.

Oh yeah, I know.

But listen, I don't know that committee.

I don't know any of the people.

I don't know the players.

I don't know how the committee works.

I just can't help you.

I know.

I know.

It's getting to me, too.

I-- what?

What?

Where are you calling me from?

A basketball game.

Listen, Joe, why don't you just go ask your uncle?

REPORTER: Congressman.

Is hurting your campaign that you

can't travel the state without running

into the other candidates?

Oh, not at all.

You expect to run into the other candidates.

It's a small state with small towns.

We just ran into Bob Dole, here.

A lovely guy.

I've known him for years, you know.

I like seeing him, actually.

I don't agree with him for a second politically.

But that's the game, you know?

We like each other.

There's a collegiality about it all.

Yeah, people get a very skewed view.

I mean, they-- they see candidates

for the presidency as enemies.

And they're not, I mean, you know, we're all friends

and part of the same community.

There really is no antagonism between personalities.

REPORTER: Are you getting the impression

there might be a political career

for yourself somewhere down the road, 10 12 years from now?

Uh, I can't think about that right now.

I'm just here to help my dad.

Do not pull that on me.

That was a victory party.

I was drunk, and it was just a figure of speech.

OK.

I'm hanging up now, Joe.

You hear me?

I'm hanging up.

No, I'm not.

No.

I'm-- listen.

Bobby, I just don't have time for this.

I'm-- Did I say that?

CAMPAIGN WORKER: Never really recovered.

Well.

That's how tired I am.

It's true, I don't have a highly structured

campaign organization.

I don't have an army of [inaudible]

[laughter]

I certainly don't have much money.

But what I do have is infinitely more valuable-- the currency

and power of ideas.

[MUSIC - "EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE"]

[inaudible] how you doing?

Nice to see you.

How's it going?

This is my daughter, Alex. - Hi.

How are you?

Gary Hart, very nice to see you.

So how's it going? - Fine.

I'm tired. How you feeling?

I gave you a plug in there, so go get 'em.

Did you? Take care.

- Good luck in there. - I want to beat you.

But I'd rather have you in there than Kemp.

Well, I understand.

Same is true of you.

Good luck to you. I hope it goes well.

- It's good to see you. - Thank you.

- Take care of yourself. - OK, you too.

Nice to meet you.

Senator, if we, uh, get some time before I

leave tomorrow night. - Sure.

Yeah.

I'd be glad to. - Great.

I don't know whether [inaudible]

Right?

[inaudible] Warm.

OK, you too.

Thanks.

[MUSIC - "EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE"]

New Hampshire is on the move.

New Hampshire--

It simply isn't working.

CAMPAIGN WORKER: What's that, sir?

[inaudible]

Don't forget me on election day!

PROFESSOR HUGHES: This is symptomatic of no faith

in his ability to control the situation.

You know, he goes in.

He's supposedly going to be running the country.

But here he is.

[interposing voices]

DEKE: No, it adds to the realism of the man.

You don't understand neo-realism and the predominant theme

of a man's struggle against an indifferent society.

Yeah, yeah.

TJ: Deke, if I hear you use the phrase "neo-realism"

one more time, you're going to be using it outside.

PROFESSOR HUGHES: Conservatives right now are a little

better than the liberals.

Age-- age group, there's no real split.

When Jack come in--

EMILE: [inaudible] we're doing much better with the women.

PROFESSOR HUGHES: Yeah. Even--even [inaudible]

Conservatives are going up.

The women are going up. PROFESSOR HUGHES: Yeah.

Maybe Phyllis Schlafly will vote for him.

EMILE: Who's Phyllis--

ALEX: Hi, how are you?

Do you want a button?

[inaudible]

Maybe.

[inaudible] Keep your mother off my case.

Mom is in California where she can't catch you, remember?

Yeah, right.

[inaudible] Hi.

Hi. Hi, I'm Alex Tanner.

I'm Jack Tanner.

ALEX: Nice to meet you.

JACK: Thank you.

You too. [inaudible]

ALEX: Thank you very much.

[inaudible] talk to the TV station.

Oh, OK. All right.

- Hi. - Hi, I'm Jack Tanner.

Hi. I'm a Republican.

Uh oh.

But I thought I'd come down and see what

you had to offer as a Democrat.

JACK: Well, I'm glad you came.

Joe?

Hi.

I just want to come over and thank you for coming out.

I think we're going to make a lot of noise out here today.

OK.

Well, keep an open mind.

Have you seen her mother lately, Jack?

Who?

Alex's mother, Carol.

WOMAN: [inaudible] very nice man.

WOMAN: He seemed nice.

Stop that, will you?

Stop what?

Hi, I'm Jack Tanner.

How are you?

Can you hear me? [feedback]

JACK: Thanks very much. Nice to meet you.

Can you hear me?

Your friends say that she held you

at an incredible high standard-- that

you could never measure up.

Same situation with your mother.

Similar.

Who says this?

Friends.

About my mother?

No, Carol.

And, uh, to Mrs. Bohannan and Mrs. Melville

for all the really great food.

I haven't had any yet.

But I could smell it.

It smells wonderful.

Why do you think they tell me things like that?

ALEX: My name is Alexandra Tanner.

I don't know why anybody'd ever tell you anything, Hayes.

Every time a candidate takes a leak, you start taking notes.

Am I-- am I taking notes?

--this morning.

And I'm here to introduce you to my dad.

A very special man, and the next President of the United States.

Mr. Jack Tanner!

Oh, and by the way.

I learned to drink to please my father--

ALEX: Dad?

--who I wanted to murder, so I could then marry my mother.

- Dad? - This is true.

Be sure you get it right.

Quote me correctly.

ALEX: Dad?

Mm.

ALEX: Told you to watch out for that New Hampshire beer, Dad,

but you didn't listen, huh?

(LAUGHING) Yes, you did.

Jack Tanner, ladies and gentlemen.

[cheering]

Thank you, Alex.

Thanks, ladies and gentlemen.

Sorry I missed my cue, Alex.

I was having such a great time over there.

You know, a few minutes ago, I looked out

over this indescribably beautiful vista.

And I said to myself, New Hampshire is a rich state.

JACK (ON TV): New Hampshire's on the move.

New Hampshire's accessed the future.

[chuckling]

JACK (ON TV): New Hampshire knows the future is now.

TJ: It's amazing. - All right.

We're coming into the end here, now.

What-- what do you think of the overall trend?

Is it still down?

PROFESSOR HUGHES: I'm afraid it is.

Yeah!

This is truly our natural heritage--

[engines whining]

--that we used to take for granted.

But now we know that these vast, fragile lands

are our most precious legacy.

They replenish the soul.

And they soothe-- they replenish our spirit

and they soothe our-- they soothe-- whatever.

All right.

Sorry.

At this time we're going to bring Professor

Hughes back into the room.

And he's going to help us assess your, uh-- the data

that we've culled from your reactions to the film.

And now here's, uh, (TRAILS OFF)

Fine, thanks, Emile.

This has been a very useful session for us.

You've given us a lot of good response,

a lot of material to think about.

A lot of information.

But the most important information

doesn't come from the numbers.

It comes from people.

ANDREA: OK.

Well, let me first help you hand these out.

STRINGER: OK.

Pizza!

[cheering]

Here you go.

Take one, pass it back.

We're trying to-- we're trying to explain [inaudible]

I know.

But they're-- they can eat at the same time.

[chatter]

And pass that back. [inaudible]

I think they're plain, actually.

Be careful, the bottoms are hot.

[inaudible]

[chatter]

[inaudible] these ideas.

He had Kennedy, he had Martin Luther King.

I mean, where's his ideas?

Forget the stuff of associating himself with heroes.

It's almost like Biden.

Instead of just coming out and plagiarizing,

he puts all the faces around him.

It's the same thing.

He's not saying anything.

He's let other people speak for him.

He's saying that ideas are his currency.

Well, if that's his currency, then let's

see the color of his money.

Yeah, well, just aside from anything else,

I mean, just the thing that spurred my gut reaction

is that someone would allow himself

or encourage his publicist to portray him

in such a sentimental manner.

I mean, these soulful monologues by the fireside with

this soppy music underneath.

I just-- I don't trust anyone who--

FOCUS GROUP MAN: He's a lovely man.

That's all he is, as far as I'm concerned.

He's a nice man.

CAMPAIGN WORKER: And you don't particularly want

a lovely man to be president?

I--no, I think I--I have to have a little more substance.

FOCUS GROUP MAN: He's the perfect vice president.

[laughter]

Why does he want to be president?

What's he running for, anyway?

CAMPAIGN WORKER: What--what made you say he was

looking for a sympathy vote?

Well, [inaudible] that old, uh, WWII

stuff about the [inaudible]

The sob story.

[interposing voices]

ANDREA: No, I--I don't feel that way.

I'm that-- I disagree.

I'm from that exact--

FOCUS GROUP MAN: Selma?

I've been to Selma.

HAYES: Will you let me out?

[groans] You take care of your dad.

See you in the funny papers.

Yeah, yeah.

REPORTER (ON RADIO): Jesse Jackson

was in Concord for a news conference

on the statehouse steps.

Jack Tanner and Richard Gephardt are also in the state today.

Both Republicans were at Dartmouth--

STRINGER: The thing is, these people

have seen presidential candidates come

through here all their lives.

It's a whole state of Farmer Bobs.

They've been exposed to too many candidates, too

many political ads.

Stringer, what are you saying?

Are you saying that the people of New Hampshire

are too sophisticated for us?

Are you saying that they're too jaded for some film collage

from an East Village pitch artist?

What'd she say?

Uh, excuse me, Mrs. Cavanaugh?

Yeah, Andrea, what is it?

I was wondering if it would be OK for me to come in and--and

sit with you guys for a while.

Because Dr. Hughes left with all those demographickers.

I've been feeling kind of depressed.

You're depressed?

Yeah, well, not really.

I mean, I've been thinking that maybe it's because--

No, Andrea, it's OK, honey.

Come on in.

Sit down.

Thanks.

I know that Tanner's going to win.

I mean, none of that's changed.

You can't blame the consumer.

Ask yourself, Stringer.

Is that guy on the tape the guy you left Shearson Lehman for?

Is that guy running through the snow

to answer his telephone the next leader of the free world?

TJ, all I'm saying is it could be the process itself.

For the voters, it's long, it's tedious.

It's numbing.

What they may be resisting is the whole idea

of another candidacy.

No, no.

I'm sorry, but I disagree.

That is not what the people in the next room have told us.

Quite the reverse.

More than ever, people want a leader

that they can believe in.

91% of Americans believe that this is

the best place on the planet.

Sure, I do.

EMILE: And that gives people a sense of entitlement.

The best demand the best.

God, more than ever people want a leader who can lift them up,

someone who can cast a spell, who can throw a bold message

into high relief with peerless grace--

someone who can lead without intimidation,

who can command without rancor.

They want a-- they want a--

A white Jesse Jackson.

EMILE: (LAUGHING) Yes.

Or a black Bruce Babbitt.

ALEX: Dad?

JACK: Mm hm?

ALEX: Do you like him?

JACK: Who?

[inaudible]

When do you have to be back at school, honey?

I don't.

What do you mean you don't?

I don't have to be back at school.

I'm taking the semester off.

Oh, that's great, Lexi.

You mean you dropped out so you could hang around a hotel?

ALEX: I talked to the dean.

It's perfectly fine.

It's crazy, is what it is.

I mean, I may not even be a candidate after 48 hours.

Then in 48 hours I'll be back at school.

JACK: Oh, honey.

Dad, if you'll make it, and I had nothing to do with it,

I'd never forgive myself.

And if you don't make it-- well, I have to be there.

ALEX: No, you don't.

That's the point.

You don't have to.

TJ said she can use me advancing.

And if I could really get my act together

I could stand in for you sometimes, maybe.

Your mother's--

Mom will get over it.

No, she won't.

She'll find me.

She'll hunt me down.

She'll reopen the custody battle.

She'll string me up. - Daddy.

Hello. - She'll cut me open.

I've been there before.

I'm 19.

Yeah.

And with a license.

And with a license.

REPORTER (ON RADIO): Temperatures going

into the single digits tonight.

Sunny tomorrow.

I'm Robbie Honig reporting.

AL HAIG CAMPAIGNERS: (SINGING) It's time to work the phones.

George Bush ain't got no stones.

Al Haig kicks ass, his balls are grass.

It's time to work the phones. ALEX: I have to tell you.

JACK: Mm hm.

ALEX: These are the Haig volunteers.

They roam through the halls all hours of the day and night,

screaming and singing.

JACK: Hi, guys.

See if you can stay away from them.

Oh, I'll try real hard.

But they're just so charming and drunken.

Haig supporters have all the fun.

Life is very fun in the hotel.

OK.

You've got a reception in the Versailles Room at 7:15.

JACK: OK, OK, OK.

Don't be late.

JACK: I'll be there.

OK.

I missed you.

I missed you too.

I've already seen 9 people I know.

Price of fame, my dear.

We're in 204.

Last one there pays for the magic fingers.

[interposing voices]

Are you Tanner?

Yeah, hi.

Jack Tanner.

We just saw a movie about you on TV.

Did you like it?

Oh, really, did you?

Yeah.

Yeah, you said something about accessing the future.

Yeah, it's important. [inaudible]

FOCUS GROUP WOMAN: Can I have your autograph?

[interposing voices]

We've got a radio interview to go to.

[interposing voices]

I know.

Bye.

Bye.

[interposing voices]

STRINGER: That was the focus group.

We just finished. JACK: Oh yeah?

How did we do?

STRINGER: I think we're going to surprise a lot of people.

JACK: Yeah?

Well, surprise me first.

No, Joe, I'm sorry.

It's still not a good time to talk.

Don't you have anybody else you can discuss this with?

I'm not turning on you.

ANDREA: Hi, Mr. Delduka?

This is Andrea Spinelli.

I got your name from Mark Atrio.

He said that you might be interested in doing

some volunteer work for the Jack Tanner campaign?

Yeah.

Are you still interested?

That's great.

Because we need as many people right now as we can get.

What is it with your family?

You Kennedys always take it personality

whenever somebody wants to get back

involved with their own life.

ANDREA: I think that the best thing to do

would be if you could come down sometime this afternoon.

It's not--

ANDREA: Or whenever it's convenient to you.

No.

I'm s-- well, I'm-- what?

Oh.

Well, I'm sorry you're disappointed

with Congress, Joe.

So quit.

Oh, well I don't-- I don't know why he said that, then.

Heavy mantle, my ass.

Since I have you on the phone, maybe you'd like to come down

to the campaign headquarters.

You're starting to sound like Prince Charles.

And I'm sure once you see all the information--

No, I don't know.

--that we have here about Congressman Tanner--

OK. OK, Joe.

--that once you meet him--

Vote yes.

Vote yes.

OK, then, vote no.

I don't know what to tell you.

I c-- I gotta go.

Uh, um.

Yeah, no, I've got to go right now.

OK. Goodbye.

Goodbye.

Trouble in Camelot?

It's the third time he's called today.

Well, tell me you had a better day than I did.

TJ: I can't.

The group didn't get it.

What?

Any of it.

Why you're running.

The point of your candidacy.

They didn't get it.

And neither did--

JACK: Yeah.

You're not so sure anymore, either, right?

Eh, I'm tired.

Yeah, so am I. You know, TJ.

Just before you called me last spring,

Lexi and I went down to the Democratic leadership

conference in South Carolina.

The last night, we were sitting around

with Kirk O'Donnell and Hart, Biden,

couple of the candidates.

We were shooting the breeze about how much the party

had changed since the 60s.

And suddenly, out of the blue, Lexi turned to Hart,

and she asked him who his favorite Beatle was.

And at first, Hart laughed.

And then he stumbled around trying to remember a name.

Then she repeated her question for Biden.

And Biden said, well, he-- he'd never been a Beatles fan.

He was into jazz.

And Dukakis answered Paul, because he

liked his wife or something.

Now, I don't know if Lexi knows the names of all the Beatles

herself, let alone the answer to her own question.

But it suddenly dawned on me that I sure as hell did.

And I knew for sure that anybody who

didn't had absolutely no claim to generational leadership.

Now, I must have, what, 10 years on Joe Biden.

But damn it, he wasn't paying attention back then.

And I was.

And one of the things I figured out very early on

was the singer mattered as much as the song.

That ideas were only as valuable as the people

who got behind them.

I mean, people that wouldn't settle.

People unafraid of honest inquiry.

People who didn't mind asking the impertinent question.

God, the impertinent question.

Where the hell would we be without it?

It's the glory and the engine of all human experience.

Copernicus asked it.

Shook the foundations of his world.

Darwin asked it.

He's repudiated to this day.

Thomas Jefferson asked it.

So invigorated by it, he declared

it to be an inalienable right.

I'm not smart enough to know all the answers.

But I do know we've got to keep asking the questions.

That's what the American experiment is all about.

It's at the very core of our character as a people.

We owe our vigor to its constant renewal.

You know, I don't have much patience

for these guys who go around saying

the pride is back in America.

For some of us, it never left.

Vietnam may have covered some patriots in shame.

But not this one.

We got in there for moral reasons

and, by God, we got out of there for moral reasons.

Where else on this Earth does such debate center on anything

other than expediency.

Only in America.

Watergate.

Triumph of the system.

How could anybody watch Barbara Jordan thunder away

at those House hearings and not feel a surge of pride

at the miracle of this country?

And there are those people who will tell you

that our noisy dissent, our raucous squabble,

weakened us as a country, caused us to lose our supremacy.

Don't you believe it.

We are the envy of this world.

Why?

Because throughout our history, we have always maintained

that we could do better.

We've insisted that we can do better.

We've always been willing to reinvent

ourselves for the common good.

And in our darkest hour, leaders, real leaders,

have always stepped forward to hold

the American people to the responsibility of citizenship.

Well, it's time for that kind of leadership now, TJ.

I'm not sure that it's me.

But I'd like the chance to find out.

Oh, and if you young people are still wondering,

the right answer's John Lennon.

Did you get it?

I got it.

Oh.

What?