Original subtitles

I still can't understand

why Pete would want to go into politics.

Maybe he wants to do something to help his city.

[scoffs] Since when did a politician want to help anybody except himself?

You know, they're all crooks and liars.

Oh come on, Mark, there's a lot of good, honest people in public office.

Honest? You can't be honest.

You tell the truth, you don't get elected.

Well, whose fault is that?

The politician or the people who vote for him?

Both. The people want the government to be everything for them.

But they won't elect the guy who says they're gonna have to pay for it.

We're getting to be like a bunch of spoiled kids with bad parents.

Would you mind telling me why we are going over

to your friend's campaign headquarters to help?

Because Pete Nelson is not a politician.

He's a cop who worked his way through law school,

thinks he can make a difference.

When you look in the dictionary under the word "integrity,"

you'll find Pete's picture there.

Then he's running for mayor,

because he wants to do something for his city.

Isn't that what I just said?

Yeah, one of us said it.

The other one said that he doesn't trust any politicians.

What are you listening to him for?

[Mark] I told you, he don't even look like a politician.

How would you know what a politician looks like?

Hey, how are you?

You always were good at sneaking up on people.

Hey, listen, I want you to meet my friend, Jonathan Smith.

Listen, we kind of work together these days, if that's all right with you.

-Welcome aboard. -Thank you.

I can use all the help I can get.

Come on in, I'll show you around.

Where you taking us to, a smoke-filled room?

As a matter of fact, I am, except nobody smokes anymore.

Ann, look who I found out in the streets.

Mark Gordon. Oakland's finest.

How you doing?

Oh, I'm fine. I'm so glad to see you.

I'd like you to meet my campaign manager, Phil Schott.

Phil, this is Mark Gordon and Jonathan Smith,

our new advance men.

We've already got advance men, professional advance men.

[Mark] That's the problem.

You professionals treat me like I'm running for president.

I can't even go to the bathroom without a press release.

I've known Mark Gordon for 20 years.

He's a buddy, not a PR man.

Besides, if anyone can keep his perspective under fire,

-it's Mark Gordon. -Right.

Perspective doesn't win elections, Pete.

Money wins elections,

media exposure wins elections,

advertising wins elections.

You'll have to forgive Phil.

He doesn't have much faith in the voter.

I don't have much faith in anything

except getting my candidate up on the podium

with a smile on his face, come election night.

There is only one rule in politics. That's to win.

Richard Osbourne knows that rule, believe me.

Who's Richard Osbourne?

He's the enemy, right, dad?

Don't tell me this is Jeff!

Well, it had better be.

Or I've been feeding the wrong boy all these years.

This is the guy who threw the first pass you ever caught, son.

And now he's all-city tight end, Mark.

You're Mark Gordon?

Yeah, that's right.

Well, I'll be...

The last time I saw you, you were about this high.

I remember you being a little bigger, too.

Well, everybody changes over the years.

Almost everybody.

I can't promise to change the system overnight,

but I guarantee you that if I'm elected mayor,

there will be enough books in the schoolrooms,

and the kids will be able to play in their schoolyard without fear.

That's what the last mayor said.

Now what makes you different?

Because the last mayor didn't make you pay the price.

What price? Higher taxes?

I won't rule out higher taxes if necessary.

Look, in Japan, teachers are in the upper 10% of the wage scale.

In the United States, they're in the bottom 10%.

But I'm talking about what you,

what you must pay as parents.

The best teacher in the world is a parent.

The best crime prevention I know of

is the example parents give their children at home.

[scoffs] You believe that Nelson?

First, he won't rule out higher taxes,

then he wants the people to solve their own problems.

You see, people want answers, they don't want lectures.

Yeah, well, whatever he's saying, it's working.

These overnight tracking polls

still have him with higher integrity numbers than you have,

and lower negatives.

Well, we'll see what Pete Nelson's integrity numbers are

after we nail his father-in-law.

Pratt, how are you and the U.S. Attorney doing on the Steelgrave case?

Hmm?

Of course he did inside trading,

and he cheated on his taxes.

Nobody made that kind of money by being honest.

[chuckles]

That's what I like to hear, yeah.

Um... don't let anybody know where you got this idea.

-Dad. -What?

Are we still going to the game on Saturday?

[Richard] What game?

The game between Taft and Kennedy.

Well you want me to go watch Nelson's kid beat your school?

Jeff Nelson isn't that good.

We can beat them.

"We"? "We"? What are you talking about, "we"?

You didn't make the team.

Sheila, I want to go over these debate notes.

[Sheila] Good idea.

Look, I think the harder we hit the drug issue, the better.

I mean, it's headline stuff every day now.

We can't go wrong.

[Richard] Well, I want to drop that bombshell on Nelson tonight.

[Sheila] I thought you wanted to save that one for a while.

[Richard] Well, no, I think it's good timing right now

because look, it got Ginsburg out in nothing, flat.

-How you doing today? -Good.

There's some seats right there.

Hi, how you doing?

Nice to see you here. Follow these guys here.

Hey, you're Richie Osbourne, aren't you?

Yeah. What of it?

I'm Jeff Nelson. I'm Pete Nelson's son.

Yeah, I know who you are.

Hey, you go to Taft, don't you?

Yeah.

We'll play you guys, Saturday.

So what?

-That was Jeff Nelson-- -You know it was, mom.

His picture's only in the paper every other day.

We can't escape it.

It's in the news everyday,

and both of you know what I'm talking about.

What are you going to do about the drug problem in our city, Mr. Osbourne?

As District Attorney of this city for the last 4 years,

I have prosecuted more drug offenders than anyone in the whole state.

Now, unlike my opponent,

I wholeheartedly endorse the new procedures

given to us by the court and the police

to deal with the scum who would poison our children.

Zero tolerance.

Searching trash.

Hot pursuit.

Looking through school lockers.

Finally we're getting the tools

to bring those who deal with drugs to their knees.

Mr. Nelson?

There is no more pressing problem

in our society today than drug abuse.

When our children aren't safe from drugs,

even in our elementary schools,

then it's time for drastic action.

It's my opinion

that actions should center on education and interdiction,

not the hysterical tramplings of our constitutional rights

as favored by Mr. Osbourne.

Drug dealers have no rights.

That's the kind of demagogic rhetoric

that confuses the issue.

All American citizens have rights

until proven guilty of a crime.

That's what this country has fought 200 years for.

What kind of message are we sending our young people

when our own government makes deals with drug dealers in foreign governments

while taking away the constitutional rights of it's own citizens?

That's exactly the kind of remark I'd expect to hear from a former drug user.

How'd they get that?

Those are pretty serious charges, Mr. Osbourne.

I don't make charges I can't back up.

[Pete] I... I believe...

Mr. Osbourne is alluding to a period 20 years ago when I was in college.

If it weren't for people like you in the '60s,

we wouldn't have any drug addicts in the '80s.

I admit, I smoked marijuana when I was in Berkeley.

We all do things when we're young that we aren't proud of.

If we didn't make mistakes, we'd never learn.

I've tried to teach my own son about the horror of drugs,

including this nation's most vicious killer, alcohol.

When you give your body and your mind over to a chemical,

nothing good can happen.

And I promise you,

that drug dealers and drug users

will be prosecuted

just as vigorously under a Nelson administration

as they would be under my opponent's.

And I'd also like to add

that is the DA's office wasn't so busy

rummaging through people's 20-year-old trash,

they'd know that I worked for six years

in the Oakland Police Department in the narcotics division.

My office is interested in truth and justice, not excuses.

When it comes to getting tough on crime, you don't sound very much like a cop.

Now maybe that's why you became a lawyer.

Because you're more interested in defending the criminals,

instead of arresting them.

[applause]

That's okay. That's okay.

[dog barking]

-Good morning. -Good morning, honey.

Your breakfast is on the table.

Thank you.

Well, ready for the Taft game, son?

I better be. City championship's on the line.

I hope that little dust-up with Osbourne

on the marijuana issue last night

doesn't get a lot of tongues wagging at school.

Most of the kids are pretty cool about things like that.

But you're still gonna get some flak, you know that.

I can handle it.

Not easy being in the public eye, is it?

Dad, I said I can handle it.

All right.

[chuckles] I got to go.

I don't want to miss geography class.

You mean you don't want to miss Tracy Clark before geography class, hmm?

Dad, when you're right, you're right.

-Bye, mom. -Bye, honey.

I didn't want Jeff to see this.

-"U.S. Attorney indicts financier. -Hmm.

Bill Steelgrave...

was accused of insider trading and tax fraud.

Steelgrave, father-in-law of mayoral candidate

Pete Nelson,

will be indicted in federal court next week."

Oh God, now they're attacking your father.

Welcome to the wonderful world of politics.

Thanks.

There you go, Richie. Just like you like 'em.

Cut it!

That good for you?

Alright, that was fine.

Now we'll do that walking shot.

Come on. Richie?

Come on, Richie, let's move it.

There we go. All right.

-One big happy family. -Shut up.

-Stand up straight. -I am.

Okay, Dolly zoom, we're gonna keep it tight three.

Okay, we're all set.

Okay, now I want you to start walking toward me.

Big smiles.

That's it.

How can the voters resist this family?

And... Cut it!

We'll go one more time.

Okay, this time, I don't want you to follow them the whole way.

Don't pan with them. Let them walk out. Okay?

Richard, these are the latest tracking polls.

These are the latest?

Yeah. They're the overnights.

You're still 10 points behind Nelson.

20 points with women.

The only group you're leading with is white males over 50.

Well, these can't be right.

Because Nelson is an admitted drug user

and his father-in-law is a crook.

Yeah, I can't figure it either, but the numbers don't lie.

People must like him.

Or they don't like me. Look at all these negatives.

They'd like you, dad, if you gave them a chance,

If you spent more time talking to them, like Nelson does.

What are you, a political consultant?

You can't even get into college,

But you you know how to run a campaign, huh?

He was just trying to help, Richard.

Yeah, well, I don't want his help.

He can't help himself. So how can I expect him to help me?

[photographer] Mr. Osbourne, we're losing the light.

Yeah, we're losing the light.

We're losing the damn election.

Come on, let's get this over with.

Hey, Richie, come on. Come on, please.

I hate wearing tuxedos.

Feel like a penguin in a straitjacket.

You mean, you feel auk-ward?

[laughs]

What's funny?

Awkward. Auk... A-u-k. Auk.

An auk. It's a type of a penguin. It's a joke.

Oh, that's funny.

[laughs]

These just came across the wire on the city news service.

Look at those numbers.

We've got that weasel Osbourne by the short hairs.

You know I don't trust polls, Phil.

Maybe you don't. But these folks sure do.

May I have your attention, folks?

May I have your attention, folks?

I'd like to announce the results

of the latest mayoralty tracking poll

taken over the past 24 hours.

Pete Nelson, 53%. Richard Osbourne, 42%,

with 5% undecided.

We got him now.

Don't be so sure.

Thomas Dewey would have been the 33rd President of the United States

if candidates were elected by polls.

Oh, come one, Jonathan, don't be such a killjoy.

You don't remind me of Thomas Dewey,

and I won't remind you of your auk-ward joke.

Hmm?

[laughing]

As I told you at the start of the evening,

we're gonna keep the speeches brief.

Thank you.

And to lead off the evening,

I'd like to introduce a young man

who I'm sure knows Pete Nelson

better than any other man in this room.

He's a well-known gentleman in his own right.

He's an honor student, an all-city tight end,

and a son to make any father proud.

Jeff Nelson.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

You know, when my father asked me to introduce him here this evening, I was...

I was very proud, because, well, it gives me a chance to be his son.

When I was younger,

my father was a policeman.

And at night he'd go to law school to study law.

Now, that's not an easy task.

You know, but somehow he always found time for his family.

For mom and for me.

Oh, he coached me in T-ball, then Pop Warner.

He loved sports.

But he always made sure I kept them in perspective,

Made sure my education came first.

Taught me to love reading,

and he showed me how hard work

can give a person a sense of pride.

He taught me how to be a man.

Oh, he was rough on me when he had to. Trust me.

He doesn't abide telling lies.

Mistakes he can understand, but lies he won't put up with.

I'll tell you one thing.

He was always gentle with me when I was hurt.

I know this kid of thing embarrasses you, dad,

but it's your fault for asking me to introduce you.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the next mayor,

and the best father any kid could ever have,

Pete Nelson.

[applause]

[gloomy music]

Jeff.

Hey, good morning, Mr. Lee.

I received a disturbing phone call this morning.

A boy who said he was a student here at Kennedy,

but who wouldn't give me his name,

told me you were selling marijuana here at school.

What?

I'm afraid I'm going to have to search your locker, Jeff.

You'll search my locker because of some anonymous phone call?

That's right, son. I'm sorry.

I'll open it for you.

You know, I know as a parent the pride a father has in his children.

I mean, my own son Richie is a senior in High School like Jeff Nelson.

And my first reaction was

there, but for the grace of God, go I.

Come on, Jonathan, turn the television off.

I don't want to watch this hypocrite.

I also know as a parent you have to talk to them.

You have to try to understand them.

I ask for one favor, one lousy favor.

Turn off the television.

Mark, you were closer to the set than I was.

This lousy motel doesn't have remote control.

You do!

I'm sorry, Jonathan.

It's this whole thing with Pete and Jeff and the campaign.

I mean, Pete would make a great mayor.

And I know Jeff wasn't selling drugs in a school

That kid doesn't touch anything stronger than wheat germ.

Well, you're right about that, it wasn't his.

I mean, all you've got to do is look at him.

It wasn't?

No.

You know that for a fact?

Of course you know that for a fact.

Well, who was it? Who planted the stuff?

It was Osbourne, wasn't it?

I can't tell you who it was, Mark.

What do you mean you can't tell me?

You don't tell me, then Pete loses the election.

Not to mention what's going to happen to Jeff.

Mark, I can't tell you who it was

because I don't know.

And even it I did now we couldn't prove it.

The kid's innocent. He's being crucified.

We've got to do something.

It was Osbourne. You know it was Osbourne, and I know it.

Now I'm going to do something to prove that.

There is no way we can keep our heads in the sand any longer.

Working mothers make up more and more of today's work force,

Yet our city has only three day-care centers in operation.

That's not only bad government it's bad politics.

[horn honking]

Pete! Pete!

Excuse me.

What is it?

Daddy's in the hospital.

It's his heart again.

Jeff went straight over there. Can you come now?

I'm sorry, something's come up, family matter.

I have to go to the hospital.

Now you get that look off your face.

It'll take more than a little palpitation

...to cash in my chips.

You had us worried though.

Well, stop worrying.

I'm not gonna kick off until my name is cleared.

I'm not paying those lawyers all that money

just to miss my day in court.

You wouldn't be in court if it wasn't for me.

Dad, Pete's thinking about giving up the race.

He what?

Is that true?

We've talked about it.

Last couple of days have been rough on everyone.

Rough, maybe.

Nobody ever said politics was easy.

I remember once reading about

an English M.P., his name was Burke.

-Edmund Burke. -Grandpa,

Edmund Burke was Irish, and he lived in the 17th century.

Irish, of course.

I'm glad to see that our schools are teaching something

other than computer ping-pong.

[all laugh]

Anyway, this Burke was a member

of one of the most corrupt British parliaments.

So bad that many of the best men

would have nothing to do with politics.

One day, his countrymen were complaining to him

about the sorry state of the parliament

and how the king was driving their country to ruin.

Old Burke fixed these fellows with a hard stare and said,

"For evil to triumph, good men must do nothing."

Seems to me those words mean as much today as they did then.

What do you think?

Maybe even more.

What are you doing?

Uh... nothing.

Yes, you are. What are you doing?

I'm not doing anything.

Why don't you go ride your bike?

I know what you're doing. You're looking for food.

That right?

You're a bum, aren't you?

No, I am not a bum.

Now, why don't you go ride your trike, huh?

If you're not a bum, then why are you looking for food?

Look, I am not looking for food, and I am not a bum.

All right. All right.

You look like a bum.

Excuse me. I'm looking for some rolling papers.

Friend of mine said I can buy them here.

Sure, you can buy them here.

How many you want?

Oh, one will be fine.

I also need some tobacco.

We only sell pipe tobacco.

You sell cigarette rolling papers,

but you don't sell cigarette tobacco?

You're right. There's no law against it.

All the stores do it.

Everybody knows what the papers are for.

That'll be 66 cents.

You sell a lot of these?

What's your game, mister?

Are you some kind of cop?

Actually, I'm a private investigator.

You're a P.I.?

Yeah. I need some information

on this market sales slip.

-It's from two days ago. -I know.

They got a magazine, bag of potato chips,

packet of cigarette papers...

Hey, cigarette papers.

This guy smokes doobie, too.

It says "charge" there on the slip,

but it doesn't say who charged it.

I wasn't here two days ago, but it would be easy to find out.

Our charge customers have these numbers.

All I'd have to do would be to...

Look it up,

and tell you

this customer's name is...

Osbourne.

4419 Loma Linda Drive.

Thanks.

Hey, mister.

You forgot to pay for the papers.

I don't smoke.

This slip proves that somebody in the Osbourne family,

probably Richie, bought a pack of cigarette rolling papers

the day before Jeff was framed.

Where did you get this slip, Mark?

Where did you get it?

The Osbourne trash.

Listen, I had a hunch about Osbourne.

The only way I could prove it was to go through his trash.

With Osbourne's account number on that slip,

all we have to do is point the reporters in the right direction.

They'll find enough witnesses.

Are you sure, Mark, this is Osbourne's?

The clerk wouldn't lie, not for $40.

You mean you bribed someone for this information?

Give him a break, Pete. He saved your kid's reputation,

not to mention the election. What more do you want?

I can't wait to see the look on Osbourne's face

when he finds out we searched his trash.

Hoisted on his own petard!

I just can't believe Osbourne would do something like this.

We have to give him a chance to explain.

Explain? His kid didn't think this scheme up on his own.

I don't have to tell you, Pete.

If Osbourne had this on you, he'd go to the press.

And I don't have to tell you,

I'm not Richard Osbourne.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. [chuckles] Sheila, you know that's a sway of over 20 points.

Hmm? No, no, I know, I'll play it very low-key at the debate tonight. Yes.

One father understanding the pain of another. Hmm?

Don''t worry. You know, I didn't just... a load of hay

Sheila, we're in. You know what? I'll see you tonight.

[chuckles]

We are ready. And the car's ready.

Oh. By the way Sheila just got the results of the latest poll.

Nelson is down by ten, and I'm up by 11.

So what do you think of that, Mrs. Mayor.

-It's wonderful. -[laughs]

That Nelson kid, I'd kiss him,

that big speech he made about his old man,

totally buried him.

I can't wait to get to that debate.

And you, you got to stand up straight, you got to watch your posture.

You're going to be the son of the next mayor.

Let's go.

Of course he's going to win. You've seen the polls.

No, no, we won't forget.

I will. I'll tell him. Okay. Bye.

[knock on door]

Richie, get that, please.

Richie, I'd like to have a word with your father if I could.

You work for Nelson, don't you? What do you want?

Yeah, my name's Jonathan Smith.

Mr. Nelson asked me to come over

and thought to arrange a meeting with him tonight

A private meeting before the debate.

He wants to see me now? What about?

He's dropping out, right?

All I know is, it's a private matter.

Well, anything that he wants to say in front of me, he can say in front of my family.

So, if he's so anxious to see me,

you tell him to come here himself.

I'll tell him.

[chuckles] It's over. I guarantee it.

He knows it. He knows it.

He just wants to avoid that debate.

'Cause he knows it's a done deal.

Sheila, chill up the champagne.

[knock on door]

Come on in.

Hi, Pete. What's on your mind?

This isn't easy for me, Richard.

Well, I'm sure it's not.

My campaign has found evidence

that leads us to conclude that your son Richie

planted the marijuana and papers in Jeff's locker.

Well, I know you're desperate, but that's absurd.

This is a photocopy of a market receipt

charged to your account.

One of the items is a pack of cigarette papers

like those found in Jeff's locker.

What do you mean a photocopy?

How did you get my market receipt?

...you can blame me for that.

I went through your trash.

You had your people go into my trash?

You? The protector of the constitution?

You know, I should sue you for slander.

You're accusing me and my family

for setting up your drugged-out kid.

Why don't you ask your son if he bought those papers?

I don't have to.

Richie?

The clerk will be able to identify you, son.

There's no use lying about it.

Richie?

Richie?

It's true. I planted the stuff.

I'll be happy to let you speak first, Richard

if you want to clear the air.

But I have to warn you, if you don't say anything about this matter,

I'll be... forced to talk about it.

Not to hurt Richie,

but to redeem my own son's name.

I swear I didn't know anything about this, Pete.

Yeah. I believe you.

Well, what we need now is some serious damage control.

No, Sheila, what we need now

is for our family to talk. Alone.

We have a debate starting in a few--

Get out!

Do you know what you've done? Hmm? Do you?

Do you know what you've done?

-I'm sorry. -You're sorry.

Hear that, Liz? He's sorry.

He's cost me the election!

Why did you do it, Richie?

Why did he do it? Because he's stupid, that's why!

I don't think... What the hell, it's over.

Let him answer.

Why, Richie?

I wanted to do something to help dad.

Help me? Oh! Help me.

Let him finish.

You were always making such a big deal over Nelson's kid.

I knew you wished you had a son like that.

And I hated him...

Because I knew.

So I did it.

So you'd win, and...

Wouldn't want to have a son like him.

I love you, dad.

I'm sorry.

Please forgive me.

No. Get away from me.

Richie!

Richie!

Even now, with your own son begging for your love and mercy,

you can't stop being the candidate.

The hell with your son! Election's the important thing.

What he did was wrong. It was stupid.

Are you trying to justify it?

What Richie did, he did out of pain!

Out of hurt.

He was desperately trying to help his father

the only way he knew how.

Political hardball, is what you'd call it.

Negative campaigning taken to it's logical conclusion

By a 17-year-old boy.

You seeded an investigation of Nelson's father-in-law,

Richie plants seeds on Nelson's son.

There's a difference, Liz.

Oh, maybe in degree, not in kind.

This conversation is getting us nowhere.

I've got five minutes to try to salvage a political career.

Your career. Always your career.

For 20 years I have listened to you moralizing

and speechifying about justice and truth.

You know, the funny part is

a part of me really believed that.

I should have known

Why all those years, you never had any time for your son.

He wasn't old enough to vote.

[somber music]

Welcome to the final league of women voters' debate

for this year's mayoral race.

Now by mutual agreement,

Richard Osbourne will be speaking first,

And then Pete Nelson.

Ladies and gentlemen, District attorney Richard Osbourne.

[applause]

Warren.

Ladies and gentlemen, before I make my introductory remarks,

I would like to

relay some information that I received shortly before I came on stage tonight.

I'm sure you're all aware of the fact that my opponent's son

was suspended from school last week.

Marijuana was found in his locker.

I have just been told by my son, Richie,

That Jeff Nelson was the victim of a cruel prank.

A prank

that I sadly report was perpetrated by my son.

[murmuring]

I would like to take this opportunity

to apologize to my friend Pete,

to his lovely wife, Ann,

and to his son.

I knew nothing of Richie's action.

And as difficult as it is for me,

I would just like to say I take heart in the fact

that when we make a mistake, we can learn from it.

I know that Richie has already learned

a great deal, uh... from his...

error in judgment.

An error of a son

trying to help his father win an election.

But I know that I've learned a great deal.

I've learned that a father can only do his best,

That both of us, both parent and child,

must assume responsibility for our deeds.

Now, I will stand by Richie,

As... I've always done.

But I will not shield him from his guilt.

A guilt that is his alone.

You're the DA. Why don't you prosecute him?

Think how good that would look in the press.

DA shows no favoritism. Convicts own son.

Should be worth 10 points in the election polls.

Obviously my wife is very distraught by this affair.

I'm sure you understand that.

Ladies and gentlemen, Pete Nelson.

[applause]

Before I came here tonight,

I had a speech all prepared.

It was about the future of our city

And my role in that future.

But then listening to Richard,

I began to wonder

If the important thing about this election, indeed, all elections,

isn't what the politician can do for the citizen,

but what the citizen should do for himself and his community.

Traveling our city, the past few months,

I haven't seen a lot of hope.

I've seen fear, I've seen cynicism, and I've seen apathy.

People ask why our country has lost it's competitive edge,

why it's citizens have lost their pride.

It's because politicians like myself

Ask for your vote by telling you

that everything will be all right,

By giving you the good news but not the bad,

by placating you, the voter, not challenging you.

Every day I'm flooded with polling information,

telling me what to do to boost my numbers

with black women or white men.

That's my son-in-law.

Everything about politics today

is to appease and appeal to the various voting groups.

Tell them what they want to hear, not what they need to hear.

Give it to it, Pete.

If this country is about freedom and equality,

why do we have black polls and white polls and women's polls,

and age polls, and income polls?

What's he doing?

He's being a leader instead of a politician.

[Pete] Is that how you bring people together? By separating them?

Well, I don't think so.

But campaign managers tell you that you need the information

in order to know what promises to make the different voting groups.

And that's how you win, and winning is everything.

Oh, and don't worry about those promises once you're elected.

Because you don't have to keep them.

People are so used to broken promises,

they don't care anymore.

Politics has become a game packaged by Madison Avenue.

You want to appeal to men, they show me throwing a football.

You want to appeal to women, you kiss the babies.

And whatever you do, don't sweat!

Sweating is the kiss of death on television.

Well, I'm here to warn you, if I'm elected mayor of this city,

I'm going to sweat, because it's a tough job!

And you're going to have to sweat, too!

Because having a city that you can be proud of

is a tough job!

And in order to get that job done,

we're going to have to work together as a team.

And stop thinking about ourselves.

I dream of a city with pride,

where people care about each other,

not just with words, but with actions.

We have to help the poor,

we have to educate our children,

we have to clean up our environment,

and we have to make our streets safe again

for all our people!

But I can't promise you all those things,

although my campaign manager would like me to.

Because it's not up to me, it's up to us!

This is our city! This is our country!

And what happens to it, is up to all of us!

Heck of a speech he made tonight, wasn't it?

It sure was.

Think it could ever happen?

What?

You know, like he was saying,

people working together,

helping each other to make this city,

this country, the kind of place it should be.

Think that could ever be?

I don't know.

It's like Pete said, it's up to all of us.

Hey!

What are you doing throwing your trash in the street?

Big deal. What do you care?

I care about you trashing up the city!

That's what we got street cleaners for, stupid.

♪ America, America ♪

♪ God shed his grace on thee ♪

♪ And crown thy good With brotherhood ♪

♪ From sea to shining sea ♪

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