Original subtitles

Previously on The West Wing...

I can't accept your resignation.

I have to fire you.

For cause.

C.J.: We takes over

in Kazakhstan with Issetov dead?

It's Russia's interests that are most directly served

by removing the sitting president.

You and me-- a real debate.

On the issues, just you and me.

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

Oh, I'm just getting started.

VINICK: An unthinking liberal

will describe the airline bankruptcies

as the evil capitalist screwing the worker...

I-I didn't say that, Senator.

I don't think you should put words in my mouth.

No. No, I know you didn't say it.

You're not an unthinking liberal.

When you try to hurl that word liberal at my feet

as if it were something dirty,

something that I should be ashamed of,

it won't work, Senator, because I will pick up that label,

and I will wear it as a badge of honor.

( applause )

( phone ringing )

LOU: 46% of voters polled say

they have a more favorable opinion of you

than they did before the debate.

CNN/USA TODAY poll calls the debate a tie.

So does Newsweek. (whirring )

She's running the hair dryer.

Yes. ( phone ringing )

Makes it hard to hear. Yes, it does.

He's running the hair dryer.

Kind of wish you didn't know.

SANTOS: Sorry. One more time. ( dryer stops )

CNN/USA Today poll calls the debate a tie. So does Newsweek.

We now have 43% of all eligible voters.

You're only seven points down.

You're a rock star, sweetheart.

You got a four- point bump.

Vinick only got a two-point bump.

What happened to the old, "We go up, he goes down?"

LOU: You're both pulling from undecideds.

We have to be happy with, "He went up, we went up more."

This is the schedule

for the weekend, if you could just take a look.

Yeah. Stick it in my bag, please.

Bus is here. We really got to move.

LOU: Sir, do you know what average SMT was this week?

Bram clocks this. He rounds up, 'cause he's got money on it.

92 minutes.

It's a lie.

SMT?

Santos Mean Time.

92 minutes late? SANTOS: The notion that

I'm the problem is convenient, but completely fallacious.

Honey. This is a national

campaign. You think I'm driving the bus?

Wednesday. 12:55.

Six extra press questions after we called it.

It was a conversation.

LOU: A fascinating one.

Just look at the schedule, and see if it's something

you think you can commit to.

And initial.

At the bottom.

What's C.S.?

Change shirt.

Every two hours?

It's for the sweating.

( scoffs ): There's too many women in this room.

Nothing we haven't talked about before.

Today in Denver, tomorrow in L.A.

I thought that was last weekend.

We cancelled it for the debate, which was also

another personal addition of yours to the schedule.

Four points up.

Lou, can I get you for a second? On the bus.

You may need to talk to Scheduling. I'm getting a lot

of press calls on a 12-year-old black kid

who was killed last night by the L.A. police.

What do we know?

No details yet, but the community's kind of reeling.

We need a statement on this sooner rather than later.

We're at the Page Church in L.A. tomorrow morning.

LOU: Might not be a bad time

to be in a black church, show we feel their pain.

See if we can't get some traction in the community.

EDIE: Yeah, we need it. Our debate bump

did not include a bump in black voters.

Sir, this is the updated stump.

Do you want to give it one last look?

Yeah.

Lou? Hang on.

I don't see why

the African-American community doesn't like the idea

of a Latino president.

A little black/brown friction in the 'hood,

if you haven't noticed.

Hasn't been my experience.

Yeah, you're a Venezuelan from Princeton.

This is fine. I'm sorry, Lou.

Gerard in Scheduling was considering a bigger change.

I think he may be right.

Gerard is obsessive-compulsive,

and should be taking slow breaths

out of a paper bag.

I think you may want to give him a call.

What's the cop's name?

LOU: No, this is why

we run late, because you spend time listening

to people like Gerard from Scheduling.

Donna, what's the officer's name?

Rafael Martinez.

Yeah. That's what I was afraid of.

Get me Josh Lyman at HQ,

Annabeth Schott on the McGarry plane,

and Gerard from Scheduling.

Mr. Bailey.

And a good morning to you.

You were here last Saturday. As were you.

You here for lunch,

we could order something soggy served in plastic.

I'm hoping to be gone in an hour.

I just need to sit with Ellie

and the fiancé, sort out some wedding stuff.

Didn't realize that was part of your portfolio.

The Social Secretary should be doing it,

but Ellie doesn't know her, and she already feels

the whole thing's not so much a wedding as an act of Congress.

Tell her I saw her band's playlist for the reception.

We may need to make a few adjustments.

One too many double entendres?

It's the single entendres I worry about.

Right. World stage.

Shadow of our forefathers.

I'll get into it.

They're in the Mural Room.

Remember how we used to talk?

Everything you need is in the folder.

I told you not to come in today.

That never works out.

The only new piece is, we're squabbling

with Fish and Wildlife on the salmon flow schedule,

so she should think about sea bass

or perhaps a trout?

Sea bass is endangered.

Whitman does a great swordfish with green peppercorns.

That'd be nice.

Let's stay with the trout.

Nobody wants trout at a wedding.

It's not festive.

It's flavorful and under-appreciated.

No swordfish, or tuna, or brie.

You know this isn't your wedding, right?

I'm asking you to take my word for it,

because you're a busy woman

and sometimes you don't need any more information

than I give you.

I'll push the trout.

Great idea.

Look at you.

( laughs )

Congratulations!

Thank you.

It's so exciting.

Have you met Vic? C.J. Cregg.

It's a pleasure. Hi. Thank you.

ELLIE: I'm so sorry you're here

on a weekend for this. Please. Not at all.

It's bad enough you have to coordinate

with three branches of government.

Anything I can do to help. Sit, please.

Excuse me.

We're not at the trout yet. Kate Harper needs you.

No, she doesn't. She doesn't know I'm here.

Imagine her delight when she learned.

One minute.

Ten minutes. Just a guess.

RONNA: Surrogates on the Sunday shows.

Do they know what they're saying?

They're saying he won the debate.

Do they have talking points,

or are they just gonna flash a big V for Victory?

You'll have language to proof in ten minutes.

Hey. Hi, Lester.

What do we know?

I'm waiting on more from the LAPD,

but it's a 12-year-old black male named Ronnie Burke.

He's passenger side in a stolen Escalade, 11:00 at night,

gets out holding a weapon,

which turns out to be made of plastic,

though it looks pretty darn real.

Cop is Latino?

Oh, yeah.

No way the guy could have known the gun was fake?

Probably not, but local news has tape

of a bystander claiming the kid was trying to put his hands

in the air to surrender when the officer fired.

Anybody corroborate that?

Doesn't matter. It's on the news.

People are gonna assume it's true.

There were demonstrations

at the police headquarters last night.

There'll be more this morning.

What do you think?

It was gonna be a tough crowd even before this happened.

Black community's wondering how we got a Latino nominee

before we got an African-American nominee.

There's always been tension between the two communities,

and now a cop named Martinez guns down one of their kids.

Two days later, we send our guy

to their church to stump for votes.

If he shows up in L.A.,

and pulls off a tap dance on the head of a pin, great.

If not...

You may be getting on a plane.

I had a hunch.

We should have sent you

on the L.A. trip in the first place.

I don't know why I didn't think of that.

You can't put me on a plane every time

he's going to talk to a black person.

Well, I'm prepared to reconsider that.

I'm doing Ellie Bartlet a favor.

I'm not really here.

NSC just got a call.

There's a China, Russia, Kazakhstan thing happening. Okay.

My office was supposed to be sending up the briefing book.

It's not here yet. Let's go for the nutshell.

It's better with the book. Kate.

Tarimov just booted a Chinese government delegation

out of the country; he's...

The Acting President of Kazakhstan.

Installed after Issetov was assassinated.

They were negotiating a China-Kazakhstan

strategic partnership,

making plans for an oil pipeline

from Kazakhstan to China.

And Issetov called it off.

Tarimov.

Oh, Tarimov called it off.

Yes. Issetov's dead.

Yes. Issetov wanted to do business

with the Chinese, Tarimov has stronger ties to the Russians.

And he killed the China oil deal, and China's pissed.

Exceptionally. Margaret?!

Sorry. I was golfing.

You golf?

Mini.

It's the bus.

Morning.

Is Lester there?

LESTER: Yeah.

Lester, I don't think we should go.

Are you getting skittish?

Lot of angry people in the streets.

We could push it a week.

We pushed last week for the debate.

LOU: He's get a flu, rickets, anything.

We are not canceling. Sir, I really don't think

you want to be booed by angry churchgoers.

They're not gonna boo me.

EDIE: How about we go to the house instead?

Pay our respects to the mother. Less booing.

It'll look like we're exploiting the grief

of a family in mourning.

JOSH: The Mayor's doing it.

Yeah, well, the Mayor's got a relationship with the community.

They won't notice

if he exploits it.

Yeah, but if he exploits it, and we don't, we look callous.

SANTOS: Chance I'm willing to take.

I'm going to the church.

Lou, call Joe Farley at the Mayor's office.

See if he'll help us out.

Keep him away from the house.

Lester is on his way to... Where are you now?

Denver.

Sir, Foreign Policy Team's waiting.

Are we making any statements?

All we say now is, this is a terrible situation.

Congressman hopes he can provide some support

on his visit tomorrow.

What's he gonna say tomorrow?

Good question.

I was summoned?

You were.

Do me a favor and talk to Ellie about whatever problems

you're having with her music.

Now? I'm supposed to be in there

but then Kate happened. It's gonna take a few minutes.

I thought you could do your thing.

WILL: I was working. I was golfing.

Mini.

I've mastered the windmill shot with the bridge.

It's a hard one. Hole in one.

C.J.: People?

Five minutes, and I'm out of there.

What?

You were saying there was something

we needed to talk about?

Uh, yes. The music.

Schrodinger's Cats.

It was a band I played with in grad school.

Reunion show at the White House.

They do weddings

and bar mitzvahs all the time.

Great.

It's better than it sounds. Uh, it would have to be.

They sent us a copy of the playlist.

We're wondering if we can pull some things?

Is there a problem?

Well, is "Baby Got Back" something

you're particularly attached to?

I can't make a bullying phone call

to the Russian Foreign Minister

because the Chinese got bounced out of an oil deal.

Tarimov is acting President.

He was supposed to hold elections,

but he called them off.

He suspended them, he didn't call them off.

He suspended them weeks ago and has made no move to reschedule.

The guy's a Russian puppet.

It was looking like

China was getting their foot in the door,

but so he halts negotiation

and kicks the Chinese out of the country.

Kazakhstan isn't China's only oil source.

Their most promising one.

The Kazakh people, meanwhile, are rioting in the streets

'cause they've just been screwed out of an election.

China's looking at major instability on their border,

not to mention the 300,000 ethnic Chinese

living in Kazakhstan who aren't looking particularly safe,

all because the Russians want the oil

and are willing to fight for it.

Best case scenario, I'm ruining your Saturday.

Worse case scenario,

two nuclear powers are positioning themselves

to actively engage in an armed conflict over oil.

( knock at door )

MARGARET: Ted Barrow's on his way.

Margaret,

see if you can track down the Russian Foreign Minister.

SANTOS: First they cut taxes,

and then they never get around to cutting spending,

so they run up huge deficits,

and they leave a massive debt for our children to pay.

There we go.

Nice. What's the time code?

35:02.

Send a copy to Josie at CNN and ask her to please stop

running that stupid line about the EPA.

Enough already.

Ladies.

Oh, welcome to Denver.

I spoke to the L.A. Mayor's office.

I think I talked them off a visit

to the dead kid's house,

at least until tomorrow. You get a confirmation?

Lou. They like me and they don't

want to mess with me.

I'm prepared to call it a confirmation.

They like you? I'm I'm very personable.

It goes a long way.

DONNA: The Mayor's on his

way to Ronnie Burke's house.

No, he is not.

He's going there now.

His people want to know

if we want to coordinate press statements.

Get them to put Joe Farley on the phone.

He's a mealymouthed little snot.

This is him. He doesn't seem to want to talk to you.

Personable.

EDIE: The mayor didn't have a choice, it was

a bomb in his own backyard.

Backs us into a corner. It was

a good idea to go to the house,

even before we were in a corner.

Congressman hates it.

Congressman may have to get over it.

We need to cover

as many bases as we can. Okay, Edie,

call Secret Service in advance,

and tell them we may need to add another

stop in L.A. tomorrow.

What's the mom's name?

Brenda Burke.

Call her, tell her that Congressman Santos

will be visiting Page Church tomorrow morning.

Can he stop by on his way and pay his respects?

EDIE: We're not gonna have time.

We have to be at the church by 9:00 a.m.

We should scrap the afternoon here in Denver

and go to L.A. now, be at the house by late afternoon,

early evening. All right, let's look into it.

Who's gonna tell the Congressman?

I'm evens.

Once, twice, three, shoot.

Damn.

Hey, I covered the music.

No offensive lyrics from Schrodinger's Cats.

I'm sending the happy couple back in here.

That's not gonna work. They're cleaning

the carpets in the Mural Room, better here than there.

Problem in Kazakhstan-- nuclear powers

pissing off other nuclear powers.

I need you to stay with them. Seriously?

Just look at this folder.

Deal with whatever's first on the list.

I'll take over in 20 minutes.

I'm really not your man on weddings.

Margaret laid the whole thing out.

Half hour, tops.

LESTER: You ask him?

I'll ask him on the bus.

Coward.

Absolutely.

I've been thinking.

This is a national story.

Church is gonna be full of cameras.

If African-Americans stay home on election day,

we're out of the game.

Are you trying to raise my anxiety level?

'Cause it's already pretty high.

I think we need reinforcements.

Hey, Edie,

call Annabeth, get Leo McGarry on the plane.

We want backup at the church tomorrow.

I'm talking serious reinforcements.

No.

We need 90 percent of black voters.

We've got 81.

12 percent of African Americans are undecided in this race.

The black vote's never had undecideds.

But they're willing to hang back

and weigh their options on this one,

because they don't hate Vinick.

And they're not sure they like the whole idea of Santos.

This is not a small problem.

Get me Josh, please.

Sorry, hang on.

Uh...

Yeah, this is pretty straightforward.

Okay, C.J.'s gonna be back

in a few minutes.

She just thought we could get the ball rolling

at everybody's dream scenario, me planning your wedding.

Okay, anything I should know before we get started?

Look, we realize there's a lot that goes along

with having a wedding at the White House,

but anything we could do to keep the numbers under control?

Sure. I know my father needs to invite

a lot of people, but I'm not crazy about the spotlight,

and Vic's a little agoraphobic.

It's not a phobia.

I was exaggerating.

It's the occasional shortness of breath.

It's really nothing.

Sometimes, I pass out.

Okay.

Uh, let's see what we've got.

White House invitees. This looks right.

Copy for you...

and you... and me.

Oh, sorry, there's a second page.

Here you go.

Oh, hang on.

One more.

And another one.

Yeah, that's it.

Okay.

This has got to be a thousand names.

Shall we start with the A's?

The Russians should be putting pressure on Issetov

to resume talks with the Chinese.

Tarimov. What?

Issetov is dead.

We want them putting pressure on Tarimov.

Fine, yes. They don't want to.

What do they think at the embassy?

They'd like us to get the Russians

to talk to Tarimov. Seems to be the consensus.

The Russians don't want to talk to Tarimov.

The Russian foreign minister told me that Tarimov is doing

a fine job. That's a big fat lie.

Oh dear, I should have told him that.

All right, you two put in a call

to Camp David, let the President know where we are.

I'll see what we can do with China.

Margaret! What are you going to say?

I'm gonna urge them to remain calm.

You got a better idea?

WILL: Newton and Lena Hacket.

Chairman of Senate Armed Forces.

ELLIE: Fine.

Newton and Lena Hacket are a yes.

Owen Hellmen. Majority whip.

My father doesn't even like him.

Yes, but with the Energy Bill on the rocks,

it's not a good time to point that out.

Owen Hellmen's a yes.

Andrew Edward.

What's he doing in the H's?

Oh, right, His Royal Highness.

Duke of York.

Do you want to get some air?

Hey, at least he's not bringing the Queen.

Oh.

Maybe he is bringing the Queen.

MARGARET: It's gonna be a few minutes before we've got Beijing.

I should try and make some headway with Ellie and Vic.

Josh Lyman's here.

Really? Josh?

Aren't you supposed to be running around the country

with some politician?

Brought you some donuts.

I sense a favor on my horizon.

Can we sit? Quickly.

I'm on my way to Ellie Bartlet, who I blew off hours ago.

What are the chances

I get the President

at a Santos appearance tomorrow in California?

I know it's short notice.

You think? If I wasn't desperate...

Secret Service needs a week

to advance a trip like that.

Our detail's already cleared the zone.

He's in Camp David.

He's got a South American delegation.

He's tearing his hair out over a trade agreement.

You want him to hop a red-eye to California?

You hear about this kid, Ronnie Burke, got shot by a cop?

It's a perfect storm.

You knew some people were gonna have a tough time

with the notion of a Latino president.

If it wasn't Ronnie Burke, it'd be something else.

Yeah, well, Ronnie Burke seems to be it.

I'll take it to the President, see what he thinks.

Bless you.

Yeah, yeah.

Get out of here.

Hey, you talked to Toby?

Uh, no.

Meant to call him, but I guess I didn't.

Did you?

No.

I mean, I would, but I can't.

Nobody can while the investigation is still going.

Just want to make sure he's in one piece.

Yeah, I don't know.

Mr. and Mrs. Max Zelikovsky.

He's the Chairman of the AFL-CIO.

Helping us out

on a very testy negotiation with the steel workers.

Fine.

No. No.

This wedding is not the solution

to every political problem the White House has.

That's not its purpose.

We have a list of 742 people.

We are not inviting the Zelikovskys!

They are a bridge too far!

Honey, Carol Zelikovsky was my mother's college roommate.

I've known her my whole life.

744.

But the good news is, that's it.

Now it's all about your lists.

That's nice, right?

Ellie Bartlet Guests, page one.

Oh, that's the whole thing.

Great.

A couple little questions, looks like.

Arianna Gray?

She's my maid of honor.

She's flying in from London for the wedding.

Right.

Well, looks like there was a problem

with her security clearance.

Apparently, last time she was in the country,

her visa was flagged

by the DEA, which suggests somebody may have had

something they shouldn't have had in their suitcase.

You've got other friends, right?

EDIE: Two more questions and he's out.

I've heard that before.

No, he can't mess around on this one,

if we're gonna make it to California today.

LOU: He hasn't exactly cleared that yet.

Any word on the President? Josh asked.

White House is looking into it.

Speech for the church tomorrow.

Why do I have three?

One where he denounces the cop,

one where he doesn't and one where he loves everybody.

My head hurts. Audience at the church is gonna

want to hear him denounce the cop.

On general principle?

For shooting at children,

is the part they have their knickers in a twist about.

Kid had a weapon. And a stolen car.

I'm just telling you what I think they want to hear.

Can't denounce the cop.

We don't even know what happened yet.

He could prejudice the investigation.

EDIE: The Latino community's not gonna

like it if he jumps all over the cop.

Not to mention the law and order vote.

They're definitely looking for us to support the cop.

And without the law and order vote,

we lose... All white people.

Okay, so the two speeches

where we take sides go in the garbage.

"We are a community divided."

Oh, you don't want to say that.

It's two communities, not one.

Different identities, different issues. Maybe it's

a "we must face our differences" thing. That's just a way

of saying Blacks hate Latinos and Latinos hate Blacks.

Which is kind of true

but shouldn't be said.

It's not true.

It's a little true.

Perhaps some of the folks are

a little riled about the coming in and taking of the jobs.

Who do you know that wanted an avocado-picking job?

You know how hot it is

out there? Yeah.

We had about enough of picking with the cotton.

( faint applause ) How'd it go, sir?

A lot like it did the last 80 times.

We make any progress?

Edie and Lester are fighting about avocados.

Aside from that, not much.

You know, there's a psalm that I think would be appropriate.

It will speak to the moment

more than any platitudes

that we can string together.

SANTOS: I want to make sure we get

some time tomorrow before that rally in Sacramento to speak

to the Governor... A psalm?

Yes.

You cannot go out there and give them a prayer.

This is not bad luck or bad timing,

this is a country with huge racial challenges

that's looking to you for guidance.

They don't want you to close your eyes

and pray; they want you to open your eyes and lead.

You want to show me what you've

come up with?

I look forward to seeing a draft.

You gonna ask him now about the dead kid's house?

JOSH: Thank you, sir. You can keep that.

( doorbell buzzes )

( doorbell buzzes )

It's me.

Let me in the door.

Thank you. How are you?

Thank you.

Gonna invite me in?

I had some coffee,

but I seem to no longer have any coffee.

I'm fine.

We can go to the corner, there's a coffee shop.

Oh, right, that's not gonna work.

What if someone saw?

I don't need any coffee.

Kind of a stupid move you even coming here.

Some reporter could have followed you.

They didn't.

They're pretty sly.

I checked.

He checked, that's great.

( phone rings )

So how are you?

Indicted. You?

I meant to call.

I've been just insane.

Mm-hmm.

You see the debate?

Kind of a rush with the prep, looked like.

Not really.

I mean, it was quick, but he was ready.

We got a four-point bump off that thing.

He kicked ass.

Good.

So jail, huh?

( phone rings )

Sorry.

You actually going,

or are they cutting a deal?

No, actually going.

I saw the op-ed piece

in the Times.

You're quite the hero of the disarmament movement.

Patron saint of the daisy chain contingent.

People calling about speaking engagements.

Someone from Simon and Schuster is calling about a book deal.

You gonna do it? I don't know, maybe.

I may need the money.

People I'd rather work with can't come

within a ten-block radius of me.

You'll be less radioactive in a few months.

Oh, yeah?

How many months, you think?

We realize this is a very disconcerting turn of events.

We'd like to encourage them to keep an open mind.

President Bartlet will be speaking

to Acting President Tarimov tomorrow, and will also

be contacting President Chigorin of Moscow.

We feel confident

they'll find a way to reopen the negotiations

for a China-Kazakhstan partnership.

Great. MARGARET: We got Beijing.

Translator's patched in. Thanks.

Good morning, Mr. Lu.

Thank you so much for speaking with us.

We realize this is a very discouraging...

Sir, if I could...

Mr. Lu, President...

President Bar...

If I could finish... my...

Fat lot of good this is gonna do.

Sorry.

So, you were saying?

No idea what I was saying.

The kids-- how they are. They are fine.

Must be good to have

more time to spend with them.

It's fantastic.

( phone rings ) Shoot.

Sorry.

I got to take this one.

Hello?

I think I just screwed up.

I can't imagine.

I think I just told the Congressman it was

his responsibility to solve the race problem in America,

if possible, before noon tomorrow.

That's quite a mouthful.

Kind of pissed him off. He'll bounce, don't worry about it.

We'd like to leave for L.A. early,

make a stop at the kid's mother's house.

Assuming we can talk the Congressman into it,

is that okay with you? Are you sure we need it?

Mayor already went-- we're kind of boxed in.

We leave Denver in half an hour, and we should make it

to the house early evening

west coast time. All right, call me after.

Sorry.

We landed in some racial tension in L.A.

The cop thing?

Yeah, we had an event planned in the neighborhood.

Oh, nice. Yeah.

So the black vote, which was already was not in the bag...

Maybe it's an opportunity.

Charismatic guy, he can turn it around.

You think?

Maybe.

I spoke to C.J.

We're trying to get the President down to sing backup.

Good luck with that.

I think she's gonna work it out.

Yeah? What'd she say?

She said she was gonna try and work it out.

She say she'd take it to the President, see what he thinks?

Yeah, that's exactly what she said.

That's her catchphrase for, "It's never gonna happen."

I know it's last minute, but...

Got nothing to do with last minute, it's got to do with

he doesn't think your guy's gonna win.

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

It means it's unlikely he gets on a red-eye.

I am constantly amazed... at your ability

to continue to be a bastard.

It really is something.

Thank you. You think I need

to come here and be your punching bag?

I really have no idea why you needed to come here.

( chuckling ): Well, I don't know, either.

Nostalgia.

It's been a pleasure, really.

I'll see you later. No, you won't.

You won't be coming back.

At least have the integrity

to say that out loud!

BARROW: Did you tell him the President would be calling?

I didn't get a word in.

But does he understand...

I did not get a word in.

We can try again tomorrow.

I think we're gonna make more headway with the Russians.

( knocking )

Excuse me.

Ellie's in tears; I've ruined her wedding.

Someone else needs to take over.

Is Margaret not out there?

You need to step in.

Sorry about Central Asia, but it's been a disaster for years.

You're really not gonna fix it today.

Oh, good, maybe you can help Will.

Shirley stopped by, the social secretary.

You need to talk to her about the dress.

I really don't.

Apparently, Ellie bought a dress all on her own,

which is sweet,

but it's got applique flowers on it,

which Shirley's worried about. I'm sure it's lovely.

There's some concern they may have been hand-stitched

in Saipan by little slave children.

Oh, God.

A number of designers have expressed

an interest in making Ellie

a dress-- these are a couple of samples.

Josh called again.

Take care of it.

You're doing great.

Just make sure you get a decision about the food.

Salmon's out, and so is swordfish,

and tuna, and brie, which Margaret seems to think

is a fish as well. She's pregnant?

What? Excuse me?

Swordfish, tuna, soft cheeses...

Am I the only one in the room with kids?

Tell her we'll find something with an empire waist.

I don't even know what that means.

In the service of your country, son.

Did we work out Meet the Press?

Mancini's doing it.

White House on line three for you.

Hello?

MARGARET ( over phone ): Hi.

Margaret, you miss me already, don't you?

Terribly. C.J. wanted to call you herself.

No, that's okay, I know how busy she is.

She ran it by the President;

he can't make it to California, not on this short notice.

No, I get it.

She's really sorry.

Sure.

It was all very last-minute.

Tell her thanks for trying.

Of course.

( indistinct radio transmission )

We're in the kitchen.

Brenda Burke.

Everything okay?

Yeah.

Congressman, this is Brenda Burke,

Ronnie's mother.

Mrs. Burke, I'm so sorry for you loss.

Thank you, you're sweet to come.

The mayor came today, too.

A lot of people.

I'm sure this is all terribly overwhelming.

I can't even begin to imagine how you're feeling today.

Can I offer you something to eat?

No, no, please, don't trouble yourself.

It's no trouble, people keep bringing food.

You should have one of those cookies.

That's very kind of you.

They do look delicious.

MAN: You need to move the vehicles at the end of the street.

AGENT: I'm gonna ask you to wait here for a few minutes.

MAN: There are people who need to get up the street.

AGENT: We'll be removing the roadblock in about 15 minutes, sir.

Her sister is at the end of the block.

Please, step back, sir.

I'm Matthew Santos.

I'm so sorry... I know who you are.

You need to take your people out of here

and get your cars off the streets so her sister

can get up the block and into this house!

The family needs to be here, you do not.

Sir, I just wanted to let you and your family know

how very sorry I am for your loss.

You should know better.

Please step back, sir.

LOU: All right, we're done here. Mrs. Burke, I'm so...

LOU: Congressman, we really need to get going. Thank you, Mrs. Burke.

( sighs )

Morning, sir. That the speech?

Yeah, it is-- if you want

to give it a look, then we can talk about it...

No, I'm fine, thank you.

You know, it doesn't play that badly on TV.

What's that?

That was the speech I'm not going to give.

For the church?

Yeah.

So you just gonna stand up there

and sing "Oh, Heavenly Shepherd?"

Oh, that's an idea.

You know you slide off key on the chorus.

( chuckles )

They all think there's something

that I can get up there and say

that's gonna bridge the divide.

Well, there isn't.

I don't think that's true.

The staff doesn't, either, so maybe you all

should get together and talk about it.

You don't have to say the right thing,

which conveniently doesn't exist,

but you do have to say something from your heart.

I do, huh?

Yeah.

Nobody wants to hear that, Helen.

They want to hear what I have to say as the representative

for every Latino man, woman, and child

in the 50 United States.

And let me tell you something,

I'm frankly getting very tired of being responsible

for every Jose Miguel Rodrigo Garcia Martinez

de Lopez in America.

I'm exhausted!

Nobody expects that.

Of course they do.

They want me to make sense out of all this,

and you know what, Helen?

I got nothing.

Why the hell do they shoot a kid who is trying to surrender?!

There's some guy on the scene that says the kid was trying

to put his hands up in the air.

The cop couldn't have waited like a half a second more

before he fired?

And who walks around South Central with a plastic M-16?

What did this kid think, he was living in Martha's Vineyard?

Nobody figured out that, when you live in the ghetto,

you carry around something else

if you don't want to get your ass blown away?

That's what I've got right now.

You think that's gonna make anybody feel better?

( knock at door )

Morning, ma'am.

We got to go.

C.J.: Nice to see you all.

I hope I didn't pull anybody out of church.

( slams down folders )

Sorry, Ted.

Where are we?

At 1:30 A.M. Eastern Standard,

keyhole satellite images picked up movement

on the northwestern border of the Xingjian Province, up here,

which continued for the following three hours.

Could this be something else?

Possible. Could be training drills,

but it's unlikely.

HARPER: What's likely is that

China is massing troops on the border of Kazakhstan.

( knocking )

I brought coffee.

You seemed to be out.

I've given a lot of thought

to the heartwarming insight

you shared with me about how

the President has decided that Santos is a loser,

and I think you're full of it.

Eight packets of Splenda, you couldn't rustle up a bagel?

This isn't about the President doesn't think Santos can win.

It's about you don't think he can win.

That's true, I don't. Because it will kill you

to see me do this and succeed.

You're not wired for such an event.

Your entire neurological infrastructure

would fritz out.

You really think I've brewed up

some sort of Freudian fratricidal mania,

built around your success?

You don't think I have anything other than that

against the Democratic nominee for president?

Name something else, please.

He's not presidential material.

Why?

Why? Because he left.

He left Congress, he left Washington,

to go home and do small, important work.

You had to haul him, by the hair,

out of the family bed.

Did you never stop to wonder

if that was a good choice?

He stepped up.

When presented with the opportunity...

Man in that job shouldn't have to be presented

with anything!

It's for someone who grabs it

and holds onto it!

For someone who-who...

who thinks the gods have conspired

to bring him to this place!

That destiny demands of him this service!

You don't have that kind of drive,

that hubris,

how in the hell are you going to make

the kind of decisions

that stump every other person in this country?

How in the hell

are you going to hold

that kind of power in your hands?

You don't know he's not that man.

You don't know that he is.

Is he?

Look me in the eye and tell me that you know.

Without a shadow of a doubt, you know.

That's why the other guy wins.

( keyboard plays softly )

WOMAN: * I am listening

* To the music

* Of the holy

* Holy Spirit

* Oh, what a song

* God is singing

* I will listen

* All day long

* Yes, I will listen

* All day long

* I'm singing oyaheya

CHOIR: * Oyaheya *

* Oyaheya

* Oyaheya *

* Oyaheya

* Oyaheya *

* Hallelujah

* Hallelujah *

* Oyaheya

* Oyaheya *

* Oyaheya

* Oyaheya... *

LOU: Thanks for joining us. Any time.

We tried to get the president here,

couldn't make it happen.

Short notice.

Yeah.

Maybe you should do a longer speech,

take some of the pressure off the congressman?

I'm happy to do an introduction,

but I think the congressman ought to handle the rest.

Yeah.

Oh, how did yesterday go?

( sighs )

Visit to Ronnie Burke's mother's house was a disaster.

The congressman hates the very idea of the speech,

never mind the speech itself.

I think he's planning on replacing me

with a Labrador retriever.

Is that more information

than you were looking for?

Little bit.

PASTOR: We can hold the hand of the Lord

and walk through the darkness! Yeah.

Through the pain. Yes!

Through the storm. Yeah!

Let's give God some praise for that.

( applause )

Supposed to be here already.

They got stuck with the mayor,

they've five minutes behind.

This is not the place to show up late.

I know. I don't know what to tell you.

He's late.

Yes, he is.

( gasps as cell phone rings )

( whispering ): Edie, where the hell are you?

( congregation applauding )

They're here.

LOU: We've got the Reverend Dr. James Berlan Whitman,

First Lady Denise Whitman

is sitting in the first chair on your right.

Choirmaster Wilson Bennett.

We've been traveling the country talking about

Matt Santos's vision for America.

Talking about the positive plan he has

to move this country in the right direction.

Talking about an America of possibility.

I am proud to introduce to you a great leader.

A fine and honorable man, Congressman Matthew Santos.

( applause )

( applause dissipates )

Good morning.

My prayers are with Ronnie Burke's family today.

I know yours are, too.

My prayers are with Officer Rafael Martinez and his family.

They are not struggling with the loss of a child...

but they are struggling with a terrible truth.

My prayers are with those families.

And with this one.

You know, I find myself, on days like this,

casting about...

for someone to blame.

I blame the kid; he stole a car.

I blame the parents;

why couldn't they teach him better?

I blame the cop;

did he need to fire?

I blame everyone I can think of,

and I am filled with rage.

And then I try and find compassion.

Compassion for the people I blame.

Compassion... for the people I do not understand.

Compassion.

Doesn't always work so well.

I remember, as a young man,

listening on the radio to Dr. King in 1968.

He asked of us compassion, and we responded.

Not necessarily because we felt it,

but because he convinced us

that if we could find compassion,

if we could express compassion,

and if we could just pretend compassion...

it would heal us...

so much more than vengeance could.

And he was right, it did.

But not enough.

What we've learned this week...

is that more compassion is required of us,

and an even greater effort is required of us

and we are all, I think, every one of us...

tired.

( affirmative murmurings )

We're tired of understanding.

We're tired of waiting.

We're tired of trying to figure out

why our children are not safe,

and why our efforts to make them safe seem to fail.

We're tired.

But we must know that we have made some progress

and blame will only destroy it.

Blame will breed more violence, and we have had enough of that.

Blame will not rid our streets of crime and drugs and fear,

and we have had enough of that.

Blame will not strengthen our schools,

or our families, or our workforce.

Blame will rob us of those things,

and we have had enough of that.

And, so, I ask you today to dig down deep with me,

and find... that compassion in your hearts.

Because it will keep us on the road.

And we will walk together.

And work together.

And slowly...

slowly-- too slowly--

things will get better.

God bless you.

God bless you, and God bless your children.

( applause builds )

WOMAN: * Oyaheya

CHOIR: * Oyaheya *

* Oyaheya

* Oyaheya *

* Oyaheya

* Oyaheya *

* Hallelujah

* Hallelujah *

* Oyaheya, yeah

* Oyaheya *

* Oyaheya

* Oyaheya *

* Oyaheya

* Oyaheya *

* Hallelujah

* Hallelujah *

* Oyaheya...