Original subtitles

Previously on The West Wing...

Sir, I've drawn up a letter of resignation.

I can't accept your resignation.

I have to fire you.

C.J.: Obviously, there will be a partisan push

to probe past Toby to cause us

more difficulty.

I'm offering... well, uh,

not so much offering as dragooning you

to be the new White House communications director

starting immediately.

What are you doing here?

I believe the agenda is debate negotiations.

Republicans have nominated a pro-choice

and, by all accounts, anti-God candidate

for the first time in history.

Vinick is going to have some good days.

We're giving him too many good days.

LOU: Do you realize how few voters

actually read that ink-stained rag?

The New York Times?

Every network news producer reads it.

Every nationally-syndicated columnist reads it.

We can't run a campaign for editorial writers.

We'd have 12 votes-- half of them

within walking distance of Zabar's.

That Times piece was ten times worse for Vinick.

He's the one dragging his feet on debate negotiations.

He's the one who rejected the Debate Commission's plan.

They called it a "classic case

of a front-runner trying to sit on a lead."

Well, I can see why it's a classic.

He's been leading for two months now.

I don't know why the Times slammed us, too.

We're doing everything we can to get debates--

the dates Vinick wants, the locations Vinick wants...

You know, it's starting to look

like I'm desperate to debate him.

VINICK: Will you stop?

I am just saying, watch it with the body parts.

That's ridiculous.

You're the next president of the United States.

Don't say that.

You have a standard to uphold.

She held out her forearm.

You want me to refuse to sign autographs?

You signed higher than her forearm.

At which body part do you draw the line?

Bruno, help me out here.

The guy's a rock star--

David Cassidy meets David Rockefeller.

All those body parts vote.

He's the next President of the United States.

Would you please stop saying that?

Vinick is a terrific debater,

and every time he backs away

from the negotiating table,

every time one of his aides tells the New York Times

that I'm the greatest debater since Socrates,

they're lowering expectations

on his performance

and raising mine through the roof.

Well, he doesn't need the debates; we do.

There's no way to hide that.

What good are debates if I have to demolish him to win?

I have another negotiating session

with Bruno tomorrow in Washington.

Break the logjam... and lower expectations.

Okay, those are contradictory orders,

'cause the more I give to get an agreement,

the more it's going to looks like...

Get it done.

BRUNO: Santos pulled out

of North Dakota and West Virginia.

There is not a single state we're not competing in.

We could win all 50. Get used to it, Senator.

Neither of you is worried about this Times editorial.

No.

They're calling me "the roadblock to democracy."

We still have a shot at the Times' endorsement?

We're going to get a deal on debates soon enough

and on our terms.

The Times is just rapping us on the knuckles.

Governor of New York called again,

urging you to reconsider...

I'm not going to the Al Smith Dinner.

Presidential nominees always go.

No one's thrilled that it's just going to be

the Vice Presidential candidates.

You know what they're going to want me to talk about.

Biggest political event in New York.

Obviously, a huge deal in the Catholic community.

You could go,

speak about your opposition to partial-birth abortion...

Ooh, bad idea.

I'm not giving a speech about partial-birth abortion

in a room full of people who think any abortion's a sin.

New York's competitive. Catholic vote's critical.

And I'm pro-choice, same as Santos.

I'd be crazy to engage this issue.

You got another call from the New York State Party

about the, uh... I'll have Josh return it.

Who's Al Smith, anyway?

First Catholic to run for president, 1928.

Why is the dinner such a big deal?

Oh, it's a big benefit for Catholic charities.

It's the most political non-political event in New York.

Ballroom full of Catholics.

Should be your crowd.

Vinick doesn't even go to church.

That's just what I need, huh?

A contest over who gets the most boos for the line

"I support a woman's right to choose."

Leo will handle it.

Uh, 6:00 wake-up?

Uh, make it 5:30.

ANCHOR ( over TV ): ...While Senator Vinick

is back in Washington tonight,

Congressman Matthew Santos is in Michigan,

fighting for the state's 17 electoral votes.

As the electoral map narrows,

you can bet they'll both be in Michigan...

Why are we talking about the environment

in Michigan this weekend?

You talk about it everywhere.

It's Michigan. Hug a tree, kill a Chrysler.

We're four points up there.

We don't need to get hit for pandering.

You want to spend a few minutes

on thank-you notes for those New Mexico electeds?

Nah, I got the list. It's been a great day.

Why don't you guys get some rest?

You sure? Yeah, go ahead.

Okay, see you tomorrow.

Okay.

ANCHORWOMAN ( over TV ): ...Matthew Santos is in Michigan,

fighting for the state's 17 electoral votes.

As the electoral map narrows,

you can bet they'll both be in Michigan more and more.

We'll be right back after this.

ANNOUNCER ( over TV ): This November,

America faces a vote of conscience.

Matt Santos on human life.

Do I want to limit access to abortion? No.

Turn on MSNBC. ANNOUNCER ( over TV ): No one telling you

when your daughter wants an abortion.

No on banning partial-birth abortion.

I need Sheila. Is that a vote you want on your conscience?

Paid for by the Committee for the Integrity of Human Life.

Who the hell is the Committee for the Integrity of Human Life,

and who told 'em to drag abortion into my campaign?

VINICK: It's a bare-knuckled attack ad.

It's not our ad.

And you think some left-leaning committee

for something-or-other isn't going to slam us right back?

BRUNO: Then we're in a negative ad war.

Plus they're hitting Santos

for what a lot of Republicans think

is my position on abortion.

The ad does lay out some pretty clear differences.

Which may play great

to a few right- wing partisans.

It'll look phony and political to everyone else.

I want this ad pulled.

I want the chairman of the Republican Party

to say that this committee does not speak for us.

I'll say it, too.

Any of our people are involved in this, fire them.

The quote is completely out of context.

Do you remember the quote?

I remember what I think.

They make it seem like I'm for abortion on demand.

I'm not defending the ad...

It's a right-wing parody of my position.

We'll find whatever footage

they used... You'll find it tonight.

LOU: It's hard to rebut.

You voted against the partial-birth abortion ban.

The Republicans wouldn't carve out

a clear exception for the life and health of the mother.

You voted against parental consent. There wasn't a strong

judicial override.

There are pro-life judges out there refusing requests

even for incest victims.

I am not for unlimited abortion.

Look, I don't know how we respond,

across the country as news, for free,

and it's going to hurt us with swing voters.

LOU: If Vinick's taking the gloves off, so can we.

20 years of Senate flip-flops,

50 conflicts with his party platform.

It's fair game. No one can say it's not.

Josh?

We don't know that Vinick's behind this.

He sure benefits from it.

If we turn this campaign full-tilt negative,

we can never go back.

Call Vinick's people.

Tell 'em to call this the lie that it is

and get it off the air.

I want a counterattack ready to go by morning, if they don't.

WILL: I don't really feel comfortable working in Toby's old office.

Think of it as the communication director's office.

I can't help thinking of it as a federal crime scene.

Have we heard from the policy shops?

This Toby story

will drown out everything for another few days,

but then we'll need new policy to announce.

DPC says they're pretty

tapped out-- they say we should

highlight the good things the government's already doing.

Great.

Wait till people find out there's a post office.

( ball bounces )

The President's going

on a three-day tour of distressed urban areas,

to promote investment and jobs in inner cities.

I'll announce it next week.

Try today, at your first press briefing.

You don't want me briefing today.

I do. I need a few days

to get up to speed-- I don't know the first thing

about the leak investigation, and I haven't even

sat down with Counsel. Refer those questions to Counsel's Office.

"Those questions"? What about the entire briefing?

We have to show that we've replaced Toby

without missing a beat.

There's an ongoing investigation--

there's not much we can say about it, anyway.

( reporters clamoring on TV )

REPORTER ( above din ): Do you think Bartlet's going to support you

in this defense at all?

Come on, one comment at all!

REPORTER: Congressman, there's an independent ad attacking you

for your views on abortion.

SANTOS: It's a complete distortion of my views.

REPORTER ( on TV ): The ad has you on camera, saying clearly...

( reporters clamoring )

( turns off TV ) What do we know?

The Committee for the Integrity of Human Life

is a 527, one of these...

"independent" expenditure committees.

No connection to us or the RNC.

I wouldn't say that.

Its major donors all give to the RNC.

And a few of them are big donors of yours, too.

You talk to the party chair?

Hodder won't denounce the ad.

Thinks it'd be bad for us and bad for the party.

Has he seen it?

He wants us to get into a mud wrestling match

with Matt Santos?

The Chairman's view is that

it fires up social conservatives,

reminds them that, while you may be pro-choice,

Santos is for

virtually unrestricted abortion.

You have to denounce it yourself,

before a huge bank of cameras.

You want this piece of trash on the air?

SHEILA: No, but I don't want you

or anyone else from this campaign

criticizing pro-life anything.

We are trying to win a mandate

in a country that is over 60% pro-choice.

We cannot get cute with this.

Hodder's got credibility with the right-to-lifers, I don't.

He's the one that has to kill this.

( phone rings ) I want him this afternoon,

right after the Maryland rally.

Get your bank of cameras ready.

Excuse me.

Joshua... looking forward to our next round of negotiations.

Maybe this time, you'll propose hourly debates,

with breaks for I.V. nutrition for the candidates.

Your side's running a vicious, baseless attack ad.

It's not my side.

It is not my ad.

Get that ad off the air,

renounce the sleazeballs who put it there, or the gloves are off.

There are laws against coordination with an independ...

( phone beeps off )

Call the RNC.

I need copies of every negative Santos spot

they've been working on.

C.J. wanted you to have this revised POTUS schedule.

You haven't heard back from her...

About your request to postpone the briefing? Right.

Unless you count her saying,

"Don't ask if Will can postpone the briefing."

WILL: Doesn't count.

Never heard back.

Good morning.

I'm Will Bailey, Assistant to the President

and the new White House Director of Communications.

I'll be conducting the daily briefings from now on,

and I have a statement to make at this time.

One week from today, the President will launch

a bold and far-reaching "New Markets" initiative,

an inter-agency effort to bring jobs and private investment

to distressed urban communities.

( reporters murmur )

We're handing out a list of initial agency efforts--

small business loans, tax incentives, Commerce's new

"Adopt-an-Entrepreneur" program...

which, of course, we expect to be controversial.

I'll take your questions.

REPORTERS ( clamoring ): Will! Mr. Bailey!

Will, did any of the White House senior staff know

that Toby Ziegler was leaking national security secrets?

There's an ongoing investigation.

I'll refer you to

the President's statement on the matter.

Well, it doesn't speak to that question.

I'm not going to parse his statement.

We're not asking you to parse it.

Which is good, since I'm not going to.

Did any senior staff know Toby was lying from that very podium?

Toby Ziegler's been dismissed by the President.

That should be an indication of what this White House thinks.

I'm asking what the White House knew.

Two weeks ago, Toby said... I'll refer you to Counsel on that.

REPORTER: Counsel isn't answering questions.

WILL: I'll have to get into that.

( reporters clamoring )

They're crushing him like a grape.

He's doing fine.

HODDER: So Santos pulls out of both North Dakota and West Virginia.

That's great news so soon after Labor Day.

Yeah.

Give us a chance at that West Virginia Second. Yeah.

That Santos crew doesn't know a damn thing about party-building.

Mr. Chairman. How you doing?

Good to see you.

Good to see you again.

I don't like that abortion ad.

I don't care how you deal with it--

hold a press conference in the lobby,

say they don't speak for the party--

but I want it dealt with now.

It's becoming a national story.

No one showed me that ad.

I probably wouldn't have run it... but you know

what kind of damage it would do to walk away from it?

An attack that, uh... quite frankly, Arnie,

lots of folks think should be in your stump speech.

Santos and I are both pro-choice.

I can't pretend there's some huge difference

between our positions.

Santos thinks my 14-year-old daughter needs my permission

to get an aspirin in school, but not an abortion?

The platform's pro-life. The people in this party

who do the phone-banking, plant the lawn signs,

get half our guys elected-- they're pro-life too.

Mr. Chairman, this is a rough negative ad

at a time when we don't need it.

This committee knows nothing from tactics.

Maybe it's not about tactics.

Maybe they just mean what they say.

SHEILA: We know how hard you're working

to keep social conservatives on the reservation.

We were this close-- this close--

to a third-party candidacy from the religious right.

I'm still concerned they stay home on election day.

This ad hurts me as much as it hurts Santos-- maybe more.

HODDER: Pro-lifers have their issues with you,

but Santos is for

unlimited abortion.

If you don't denounce that ad, I'm gonna have to do it myself.

Can I speak candidly? Because you've been

sugar-coating it up till now?

Corporate conservatives may love you.

Neo-cons and libertarians may love you.

Bruno Gianelli Democrats

may love you, too.

Social conservatives don't.

You never speak about their issues.

You send mixed signals about judicial appointments.

You are the first nominee

in 20 years to skip the Al Smith Dinner,

because God forbid you might be near some religious voters.

Well, I can't meet my responsibility to this party

without them.

No candidate could hold those groups together.

If this were Europe, the Republican Party

would be three parties.

Thank goodness they don't have to sleep together.

They just have to show up on the same day and vote Republican.

You realize how many states

my pro-choice position puts on the table?

You realize how much we can grow this party

if we're willing to reach out?

I guess I'd like to see you unite the party

that we have now.

I'm not denouncing that ad.

And I don't think you want to either, Arnie.

REPORTER: Any comment on the independent ad attacking Santos on choice?

I oppose all 527 ads.

Think Vinick's behind this?

I don't know.

Could be.

We found the full interview

they used in the ad.

It's from three years ago--

KPRC in Houston.

So let's talk legislatively.

Do I want to limit access to abortion?

No.

Because there are common-sense limits

under the law right now.

Should we work together to reduce

the number of abortions?

Absolutely.

And that's where I think we can find common ground.

They took my quote totally out of context.

Yeah. Yeah, so why is it running on television? It's fraud.

Well, you do say pretty clearly, you're not for limiting access.

We called the stations who are running it.

They're not gonna pull it. They think it's a fair charge.

I got Leo on the line.

He's back at headquarters.

SANTOS: Leo?

I worry about too tough a response beyond that.

It makes this a much larger story.

LOU: Can't get any larger.

They're already talking about it on CNN, Fox, MSNBC,

probably the Home Shopping Network.

LEO: We are the pro-choice party, there's no denying it.

I'm not sure we don't stand up and say,

"Damn right I'm pro-choice, so's 60% of the country."

SANTOS: I have to make it clear

that I'm not for abortion without limits.

What if we hit Vinick on a completely

different level: taxes, corporate cronyism,

we haul out a long list of all the special-interest giveaways

he's supported in Congress.

Look, this is about something that's much more fundamental.

Vinick's appeal is that he's a different kind of Republican--

moderate, reasonable, pro-choice.

Congressman's right.

This ad shows that Vinick's centrism's

just a bad coat of paint.

Guy has a long record of pro-choice votes.

Then why's his party platform pro-life, straight up and down?

Well, he promised the religious right

that he would appoint pro-life judges.

He's obviously not too attached to that voting record.

LOU: Let this attack stand,

and we strip away what's different about Santos--

he's a religious Catholic, not another secular Democrat

who can be portrayed as hostile to heartland values.

Leo?

I worry about elevating this, but if the charge sticks,

it could kill us with values voters.

And that puts Vinick's nine-point lead in the bank.

We hit him.

And we hit him hard.

LOU: I don't think we start

with a negative ad. No.

We get one ready-- a tough one-- but our first hit on Vinick

will be a free media bonanza, why waste money on an ad buy?

We'll use a spokesman for this.

We don't elevate it to Santos's or Leo's level.

Clarify that our guy is not for abortion without limits.

The ad's a sham, anyone can see from the full interview.

And then, bam! We hit Vinick with a political two-by-four.

You don't have to be happy about this. You don't

have to be queasy about this.

You don't know Santos the way I do.

If this becomes a full-out negative...

You think he's got a glass jaw?

I think we lose a negative ad war.

I think the other side's better at this,

and I think they have more to work with.

I did the Marienhoff Senate campaign.

You know, those charges that he had weird financial dealings

with Taiwanese businessmen?

He did. Those were the charges.

Anyway, we ran against Barrett,

clean as a bar of soap.

We hit him first with everything we could find.

By the time he hit back, the voters thought it was

just another ugly campaign, a pox on both our houses.

You're proud of that.

I'm proud that Marienhoff

defends Medicare and Medicaid in the Senate, I'm proud

that he votes against every reckless Republican tax cut.

We're the blue team, and there's a real war going on.

Josh, do you want the right wing to get their judges?

No.

Then stop being so queasy.

We hit Vinick for hypocrisy, for saying he's pro-choice

and letting anti-choice ideologues pick his judiciary

and run lying ads.

I'll phone the language into headquarters.

And don't use our regular spokesman.

Find a woman.

You know, 40-something soccer mom.

What about debate negotiations?

I'm meeting with Bruno this afternoon in Washington.

We're still on makeup and deli trays.

There's gonna be debates.

Vinick doesn't want to incur the wrath of the New York Times

any more than we do.

We have to stop being so eager.

We have to change our body language,

let them chase us for a change.

I've had nine meetings with Bruno on this.

He knows what I want, he knows how I think.

He doesn't know me.

"No" on banning partial birth abortion.

WILL: Have you seen this abortion ad?

It's all over cable news.

They're predicting a negative ad blitz by Friday.

I'm amazed it took them this long to get started.

Someone gave the President this Eskimo adage,

"the best place to store surplus food

is in someone else's stomach."

Use it in this afternoon's briefing.

We're announcing 50 major private employers

have joined the "New Markets" initiative.

'Cause which would you rather have when you're hungry,

rotten food or a friend to help you hunt for... No, I get it.

It's just-- a second briefing? Mm-hmm.

You saw the wires, they counted the number of questions

I was asked this morning 'cause I didn't answer one of them.

You thought we were gonna get good coverage this week? 47, by the way-- a career high.

You have to let the press punch themselves out.

You're talking to the punching bag.

My job's to look like I'm not completely ignorant.

Counsel won't even brief me on the details of Toby's firing.

I asked them not to.

Don't you want me to have a shred of credibility

in the briefing room? Your ignorance is your credibility.

It's why I put you in this job, and your constituents aren't

in that room, they're in distressed urban areas.

You brief at 4:00.

0 for 47.

I'm the Jamaican bobsledding team.

Securing America's future. Securing, not strengthening.

He's not a personal trainer.

Is that statement all set?

OTTO: All set.

Got a woman to read the thing?

Right out of Central Casting.

No nose-rings, brow-piercings...

Trust me, this gal's a cold glass of milk.

She was working for the Midwest Coordinated Campaign.

Lou asked for the binders on Vinick's Senate flip-flops.

Yeah. Are we about to run our very first...

They're starting, I'll call you back.

REPORTER ( on TV ): ...Santos campaign in Washington,

for their response to the independent ad

attacking Matt Santos for his views on abortion.

Tell him no, we're not doing the Al Smith Dinner,

not in the middle of all this.

WOMAN: Good afternoon.

It is wrong and misleading

to imply, through edited footage

that Congressman Santos is for abortion without limits.

( over phone ): This is Otto.

That's Donna.

Who? The dairy queen.

Donna Moss.

Wh-What happened to

Lou hired her last week to do Midwest press.

Looks too young, huh?

Uh, the Women's Alliance for Choice

just called, they want an urgent meeting with the Congressman.

Yeah, we were talking about an endorsement event.

Have Leo do it.

I don't want Santos meeting with the pro-choice lobby

till this abortion stuff cools down.

...and the American people need to know

which is the real Arnold Vinick:

The one who supports a woman's right to choose

and votes accordingly,

or the one whose party has a pro-life platform...

Yes, they're ready to go.

She's hitting me from the left and from the right.

We have to wait until we see what Santos runs. Telling the right

I'm pro-abortion, telling the left

I'm a captive of the religious nuts.

The RNC upped their ad buy another 750 points,

every battleground market. And since I don't have a functioning uterus

like Tippi Hedren here, of course, I'm not qualified

to talk about it.

All the networks are running pieces

on the Santos abortion ad tonight.

I'm gonna go out there and call it a piece of trash and a lie.

I don't like it either, but Hodder's not wrong.

There is nothing in that ad that's inaccurate.

Santos couldn't have written a better ad himself.

They're whacking me for playing both sides.

That 527's raised a quarter of a million off

last night's airings alone.

After tonight, it's gonna be 20 times that much.

This is energizing the very people

we were afraid were gonna stay home in November.

You think I should stand by it.

No, I think you should scrub your Michigan swing,

go to the Al Smith Dinner,

talk about your opposition to partial-birth abortion.

And the minute that Santos runs his first negative ad,

we run 100 of ours.

Years I've been looking forward to this campaign.

I never imagined it would look like this.

It'll look better after you win.

( reporters clamoring )

Good afternoon.

We're handing out lists of private sector commitments

to the President's "New Markets" initiative.

It shows the business community's deeply engaged

in job creation for poor communities.

As the Eskimos said,

if you store your food in somebody else's stomach...

um... well...

then you'd better hope it doesn't need refrigeration.

( reporters clamoring )

Yes.

Has the President been asked to testify

in the criminal investigation?

That's a matter for Counsel.

MAN: Will he assert privilege if he's asked to testify?

I'll refer you to this morning's briefing.

When you said you'd get back to us on that.

See, now you're cheating.

You didn't need to be referred.

WOMAN: Does the President consider Mr. Babish's conversations

with Mr. Ziegler to be privileged?

I'm not getting into that.

Isn't Mr. Babish also a witness?

I'd have to check with him.

Will, you've been in this job four days.

When are you gonna sit down with Counsel

and get us some answers?

I'm not.

( clamoring )

( shouting continues )

WOMAN ( on TV ): ...And the attack ad,

funded by a group of Vinick and RNC donors,

has sparked what many believe was inevitable

in this Presidential year-- a volley of negative charges,

with independent Democratic groups already saying

they'll respond in kind.

Who are you?

Louise Thornton.

Josh couldn't make it.

Stuck in Michigan?

Santos benched him.

Sent me.

We have some magazines outside, if you get bored with those.

Any good ones?

Are we going to--

how shall I say-- negotiate?

Oh...

Nah.

This may look like your dentist's waiting room.

It's a negotiating session for Presidential debates.

You want as few debates

as possible, but you don't want to completely tick off

the Debate Commission or the opinion elites, right?

Mm. And I think

that Vinick'd kick Santos' abortion-loving ass

all over the stage.

Game over. Check please.

And?

And I'm your best buddy on this.

No debates, you can blame me.

Would you like a magazine?

'Cause I figure, about a half an hour of this,

and I can tell the Congressman it didn't work out.

LEO: You understand why I'm taking this meeting

instead of Santos.

He didn't want to be seen with the Women's Alliance for Choice.

Not while he's trying to limit abortion.

He's not trying to limit abortion.

That's not what his spokeswoman said.

It's a rhetorical positioning.

President Bartlet did it, too.

President Bartlet

never ran against a pro-choice Republican.

We haven't endorsed a Presidential candidate yet.

I know.

We're gonna have to push that back a bit.

See, we need moderate votes to chip into Vinick's lead.

We don't want to make Santos the baby-killing candidate,

if you'll excuse my...

We're thinking of endorsing Vinick.

( sighs )

Becca...

you're not talking to some punk Congressional staffer.

Vinick's pro-choice, and he's probably gonna win.

You can't honestly believe that...

How are you gonna close a nine-point gap?

You'll be lucky if you get one debate.

The way Santos has been begging for it,

Vinick's expectations are so low,

he'll just have to avoid tripping over the podium to win.

We're the pro-choice party.

You don't sound like it.

Vinick's the one who won't criticize his party on this.

Partial birth, parental notification.

He's bowing to the far-right fringes.

But if he wins,

they really will be the fringes, won't they?

And then both parties will be where the country is--

pro-choice, down the line.

Becca, if you help a Republican

get elected President, you'll destroy...

Think of how many more

Republicans would have the courage

to stand up for a woman's right to choose.

for the country; you should be proud.

Thank you. Thanks.

The, uh, debate negotiations seem to be off.

Seem to be?

The Santos campaign blew them up.

It's a ploy.

Better be.

They need debates ten times more than us.

We can wait out. That's the bad news.

Yeah? Let's have the good news.

The Women's Alliance for Choice wants an endorsement meeting.

You're kidding.

The heart of the Democratic base wants to support you,

Santos would be doomed--

we'd win 53 states, a couple of desert islands.

How do we know this isn't a set-up?

We meet with them, and we find out.

I don't know.

You know, if a pro-choice group gets

within 53 feet of me, the whole Republican Party'd go crazy.

You're a pro-choice candidate.

They're the pro-choice lobby.

This isn't a typical election.

I can't see how they can endorse a Republican

who's against partial-birth abortion,

who's for parental notification.

This could be Santos screwing me.

I know these people.

I can keep this meeting quiet.

No.

The RNC has five negative ads ready that would

blow Santos out of the water.

But it's gonna harden his support on the left.

It's gonna make us more dependent on the right.

Yeah, we still win, but we win dirty.

Wouldn't you rather out-flank him on the left?

If this becomes a press story--

that I'm courting not just the center,

but the organized left--

I'd be kissing off a quarter of the Republican base.

I can't win without my own party.

We're going to New York tomorrow.

I'm speaking at the Al Smith Dinner.

Tell Sheila I need speech language

on partial-birth abortion,

something that'll mollify the right.

MAN ( on TV ): Arnold Vinick promises he'll cut taxes.

Then why does economists say

that would break his pledge to balance the budget?

He says he's pro-choice.

Then why do news reports say

he told the far right he'd pick anti-choice judges?

Arnold Vinick-- if he's on both sides,

how can he be on your side?

Hey.

You hired Donna Moss?

No, I picked her off the street

and put her on national television.

Didn't we say 40-something

with kids?

We said a woman, and she was great.

She worked for Russell in the primary.

So did half the available Democratic talent.

She worked

for me before that.

Well, that is a strike against her.

I can see why you're concerned.

The debate negotiations are off.

They're off?

We walked away.

I gave it to the Times and the Journal.

You better hope this works.

Vinick can live without debates.

If we don't get them, we're toast.

This is exactly what we need to even expectations.

Proof we're willing to walk away.

If we're lucky, the Times are gonna call us a roadblock.

Donna Moss gave dozens of bad quotes

about Santos in the primary.

You may run communications, but I'm Campaign Manager.

I sign off on any new spokesperson.

The Women's Alliance for Choice is thinking of endorsing Vinick.

Okay, very bad news.

Oh, yeah.

Is it public?

Not yet.

Maybe it'll hurt Vinick with his own right wing.

Great. Vinick loses the right, keeps the middle and left.

And the only way for us to get votes is

by plastering the Ten Commandments

all over our campaign bus.

C.J.: $1.5 million

for naturally chilled water transportation?

What's next, a Congressional earmark for stuffed olives?

So, back into the breach.

Down the hall, turn left at the crucible.

If you want to offer any tips...

Just follow your instincts.

My instincts say to curl up in a ball

in the corner of my office.

Then follow your job description.

Right, down the hall, turn left at the...

So, I should tell Legislative Affairs...

The President is not signing the bill.

Not when it looks like Happy Hour at the Algonquin.

See if they can get some of these earmarks out of it.

WILL: Today, I am pleased to announce

that, as part of our upcoming New Markets tour,

President Bartlet will visit

the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation,

home of the Oglala Sioux Nation,

to talk about the importance of investing

in Native American communities.

I'll dodge your questions now.

When was the last time

a sitting president visited an Indian reservation?

That would be Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1936.

Next question.

Hey, did you talk to Joey Lucas?

She's got another version of our flip-flop spot

without the monster-chiller theater music.

Yeah, come with me.

Where are we going?

Bedroom off the staff room.

Okay, I don't want to seem ungracious.

We've all been under a lot of pressure. It's...

It's just that...

Hi. Hi.

I don't know what the problem is between you two,

but she's great on television, and I don't care if she worked

for Francisco Franco in the primaries-- right now,

it's all hands on deck, so,

work it out.

What kind of on-the-record experience do you have?

Is this a job interview?

I'm Campaign Manager.

I hire the staff.

Generally involves an interview.

On-the-record experience?

Six hours ago,

nationally televised press conference,

Santos-McGarry campaign.

References, if we want to pursue this?

Josh Lyman, Campaign Manager. Try the main switchboard.

He'd tell you that

campaigns demand loyalty.

You don't go working for the other guy.

Who happened to be the party's front-runner.

You knew I wasn't supporting him.

The guy who taught me to answer a phone,

who kept me in grunt-level servitude 'cause I knew

he liked his hamburgers burned like hockey pucks?

You ditched me, when I gave you a career.

As a short-order cook. I'm still waiting for the spatula...

Hope you two are getting along like peas in a pod.

It just broke over the wires,

Women's Alliance wants to meet with Vinick.

I need you to spin it-- bad for him, fine for us.

How's that even possible...?

Bad for us,

worse for him; whatever sticks to the wall.

JOSH: How's the Congressman?

He's been better.

LOU: Women's Alliance?

And two more things.

Vinick changed his schedule.

He's flying to New York and speaking at the Al Smith Dinner.

We got 50 reporters out there wondering

if we're doing the same.

Why the hell would Vinick do the Smith Dinner?

Because if he gives an in-your-face, pro-choice speech,

it could seal the endorsement.

What was the second thing?

The Bishop from Camden, New Jersey,

issued a public statement.

If Santos comes to mass in Camden,

he'll deny him communion.

His views on abortion have, uh,

"placed him in a state of grave sin."

How's that play with the values voters?

LEO: Don't be spooked by the Times.

Your staff was right to blow up the debate negotiations.

A bad editorial never killed anyone.

Not that I won't hear about it at this D-triple-C dinner.

SANTOS: You heard about the Diocese of Camden?

So, you don't go to mass in Camden.

Lou and Joey are almost done with our, uh, first negative ad.

I know you wanted a more

substantive campaign.

Well, that's not what bothers me about it.

What then?

( laughing ): Negative ads work.

And the more we run them,

the more people believe the worst about us,

and so, we pummel each other to the ground, and whoever

crawls across the finish line wins.

Yeah.

How do I get back the Women's Alliance for Choice?

Come to New York tomorrow and meet with them.

Tell them you're taking the stage

at the Al Smith Dinner, right next to Vinick,

and defending a woman's right to choose.

And be ready for me to be the only guy clapping.

So, I'm the "abortion without limits" guy, huh?

We're the pro-choice party.

You got to dance with the one who brung ya.

Vinick just landed in New York, too.

Still no intelligence on what he's saying at the Smith Dinner.

What kind of hit did we take

in last night's tracking poll? Four points

on "shares our values," but Vinick took a bigger hit.

59% think he should

denounce the ad, and more swing voters

think he's a typical Republican.

LOU: They won't when he's endorsed

by the leading pro-choice group in America.

We need a way to spin it if they do endorse Vinick.

It'd be a political earthquake.

From a group that's supposedly on our side.

They're not on our side.

They're on their own side.

They're an interest group

jockeying for influence.

You think their supporters would vote Republican,

no matter what their leadership says?

Poll that-- I bet 85% of them

are died-in-the-sackcloth Santos supporters.

Phone Joey with that question for tomorrow's poll.

I'm on it.

I need you to talk to Treasury

about that debt relief report,

The President's interested

in doing an event on it.

Sure. And he thinks the agency response

to New Markets

has been a bit thin.

You should crack a few sub-Cabinet heads.

Did you see today's briefing?

Yeah. We need a better answer on the energy bill.

Not your fault, D.O.E.'s been dickering around.

Right.

Uh, set up a call with McGinn at Treasury,

and I need a fresh list of those agency commitments.

( bounces ball )

( phone rings )

Will Bailey.

Segal, the pressure's all mine.

On the record?

I'd say it's something

either administration would have to love.

It's pro-business...

( bounces ball ) it's anti-poverty...

Investigation's ongoing.

I really can't comment.

( bounces ball )

Segal?

No, keep talking.

I'm not going anywhere.

SANTOS: Oh, that ad's pretty tough.

LOU: But the debate's still up in the air.

We can't afford to take our foot off the gas.

SANTOS: Vinick will hit back.

He's probably already bought the air time.

He has... Leo.

We can do the meeting

with the Women's Alliance for Choice in Holding.

You and Mr. McGarry don't have to be onstage for half an hour.

We'll talk about our ad buy after the dinner.

We'll see you in there, Congressman.

HODDER: I hope you're going to give a tough speech

on partial-birth abortion tonight.

These folks need to hear it.

This story about the Women's Alliance wanting to endorse you,

it's a disaster.

'Cause I'd get more votes

for a position I happen to hold?

You can't let this communion thing bother you.

Most Catholics are pro-choice.

How do bishops expect politicians to do

what they can't even do in their own church?

The Bible's silent on the issue.

Not one word that says it's the destruction of a human life.

It is.

You're pro-life.

I believe life begins at conception.

Well, ain't that a kick in the pulpit?

VINICK: Politics is about practicality.

Well, not if you think abortion is murder.

Whether you do or not, Roe v. Wade

has been the law of the land for decades.

Most of the country's not ready to change that;

neither am I.

Well, that's not the party's position.

I joined this party because the liberals were the ones

who always wanted something from the government,

and we just wanted government to leave us alone...

especially when there's no consensus otherwise.

I'm trying to lead the majority who agrees on that,

not the minority who wants to enact

their version of Leviticus into law.

We're a big tent, Arnie.

Room enough for all.

You're gonna denounce that ad tonight.

I'm not responsible for making you more palatable

with the abortion lobby.

Denounce that ad, or I'll do it in my speech,

in front of two dozen bishops

and a tent full of Catholic charities.

BECCA: Leo tells me that you might defend

the right to choose tonight,

proudly, aggressively.

This would be a gutsy place to do it.

We're the pro-choice ticket, Becca.

I still believe

that the Women's Alliance

needs to encourage pro-choice Republicans,

and the Democratic Party needs to as well.

SANTOS: What we need is

to make clear we're not hostile to people who are anti-abortion.

Pro-choice means anyone can do what they want.

Uh, yeah, but it shouldn't mean

that we're proud of whatever they choose.

Maybe all this chest-beating's

the reason why the right can get away with that ad;

the reason a leader of my church

can exile me for not trying to impose my religion

on the rest of the country.

We're surprised that there are people out there

who think we're for unlimited abortion?

That there are actually voters who are pro-choice

that think that we're too extreme?

Political posturing aside,

precisely what limits are you for?

Do you support abortion to choose the sex of your baby?

Of course not.

How about after an I.Q. test? No.

Then you support limits on abortion yourself.

Isn't it all a matter of degrees after that?

Who are you-- who are any of us--

to say where someone else should draw the line for themselves?

I'd like to know what you're saying tonight.

That abortion's a tragedy, that it should be legal,

it should be safe, it should be a whole lot rarer

than it is now.

You have a problem with that... then endorse whoever you want.

( emcee speaking in distance)

I'll come grab you after the intro.

( sighs )

M.C. ( over P.A. ): I'm delighted to introduce, the Honorable Leo McGarry

and the Honorable Ray Sullivan,

two highly-distinguished public servants

with extraordinary vision

and leadership, who will guide this country for years to come.

Gentlemen, thank you for joining us this evening.

( applause )

Next time you decide to smear me,

maybe you'll have the guts to do it yourself.

I had nothing to do with that ad.

You blew up the debates.

It's clear what kind of a campaign you want.

I forgot how eager you were for debates.

And next time you send

left-wing lobbyists to my office,

don't forget the gift card.

You want an ugly campaign, you're gonna get one.

I didn't start this.

Yeah, your hatchet men did it for you.

M.C.: We're pleased to be joined on the dais by the governor

of our great Empire State,

a leader of courage and compassion...

( applause )

You're hitting me on partial-birth tonight,

aren't you?

And our next guest has served with enormous distinction

as a senator from the Golden State...

Here we are...

presidential campaign, grand national debate,

pounding each other on one of the few things

we basically agree on.

Our final guest this evening, a congressman...

Well, then let's negotiate now.

Excuse me?

No back-room tactics.

You and me, a real debate.

( chuckling ): Oh, please.

A real debate... really.

No negative ads.

No attacks in our speeches out there.

If we can have a real debate on the issues,

just you and me.

How's Sunday night?

It's a hell of a way to end your campaign.

Oh, I'm just getting started.

( chuckles )

We're delighted to welcome to the Al Smith Dinner,

Senator Arnold Vinick of California ( clears throat )

and Congressman Matthew Santos of Texas... ( applause )