All language subtitles for The West Wing (1999) - S05E17 - The Supremes (1080p AMZN WEB-DL x265 ImE)_track3_[eng]

Previously on The West Wing...

Set me a meeting with
the Judiciary Chief of Staff.

Lisa Wolfe?

We're going to put
butts in seats.

I'm packing the court.

I'm a Republican,
and I've spent every day

of the past five years
wondering whether judges

shouldn't be appointed
by executive decree.

There's nothing I
take more seriously

than getting judges
on the federal bench.

How about getting judges
on the Supreme Court?

We lost a Supreme Court justice.

Justice Ashland's dead?

Justice Brady,

Owen Brady, heart attack.

On my worst day, I am better

than the ambulance chasers

you could get confirmed
by this Senate.

( TV broadcast plays )

DONNA:
Tommy at Justice.

Covitz at Justice.

Citizens for
a Strong America.

Archbishop Gaudio.
Archbishop Rummel.

JOSH ( over phone ):
What?

Rummel... of New York.
Man of God.

I can't hear
a damn...

( sighs ):
Excuse me, please.

Thank you.

( shouting )

How are these people up
so early?

It's a Supreme Court seat.
They had sign-painting parties

the second
Justice Brady dropped dead.

Counsel sent a new list,
said burn the old list.

Listen to this...

"They cavalierly sacrifice

"the unborn innocents,
and beckon, arms akimbo,

the reaper, the horsemen,
the apocalyptic end."

Akimbo's a word
you wish got used more.

There's someone
out there selling

"Who Would Jesus
Nominate?" T-shir...

They're in Leo's.
They just started.

You want this?

You don't like it?

Not really.

Sorry I'm late.

LEO:
Dem Leadership's in
with the President.

They giving us
more names?

I'm sure they are.

We need a short list
by the end of the week.

Your schedule.

Your schedule...

Mine... Keep
'em quick.

You got three
judges an hour.

Who has Austin Girelli
from Connecticut?

Me.
ACLU called
about him.

I don't think
it'll be a problem,

but ask him about that
migrant workers thing he wrote.

Why isn't Haskins
on here?

Having an affair
with his clerk.

Toby, Dubar
on line two.

( Leo speaks
indistinctly )

C.J.:
Here's Bernstein.
And this is...

Senator?
Yes, Senator.

And this...
We're canceling...

No, we're not having
a party

over the death of
a Supreme Court justice.

Well, not a big party.

JOSH:
Evelyn Baker Lang?

Fourth Circuit.

Isn't she kind
of a lefty?

Decoy duck. And don't do it
in your office.

Do it someplace
where the press can see her.

We want the left flank
sufficiently mollified
Thank you, Senator.

and the right flank
sufficiently panicked
Yeah.

so as to inspire a little
conciliation on all flanks.

Lang should
do the trick.

Put Fred Canterbury
down on some list

of people we'll
never consider.

Baker Lang's just with Josh?

You want Toby, too?

It'll look more
like we're taking
her seriously.

Toby, Evelyn Baker Lang'll
be your 8:45 with Josh.

Let's go, people.

First one to find me
a Supreme Court justice

gets a free
corned beef sandwich.

Obviously, we're impressed
with your record.

Your work on the 14th
Amendment, in particular,

is the stuff
that dreams are made of.

But before
anything else,

we want to gauge
your interest level.

This would certainly
be a lifestyle sh...

We can just chat.

I'm sorry?

I hear you really went to bat
for Eric Hayden.

I wish we could have
gotten him confirmed.

Judge Lang,
if the President were to...?

Is he still teaching?

Eric? Yeah.

Um, again, if we...

A conservative anchor
of the Court

has just died--

a young, brilliant thinker,

who brought the right
out of the closet

and championed
a whole conservative revival.

You cannot replace
Owen Brady with a woman

who overturned
a parental consent law.

You'd be shish-kabobed
and set aflame on
the South Lawn.

Two reporters have--

three reporters
have walked by

since we started.

I'm window dressing.

That's fine.

I'm happy to help,

but let's just chat
about the weather.

Not bad.

That's what we're
talking about.

Maybe we should put
her on the short list.

Yeah.

Okay, who's next?

That's his.

( sighs )

This is...

That's a "No."

Sign, please.

You want to move it
so I can see?

Not really.

Why are we apologizing
to Ashland?

We sent him flowers.

Condolence flowers.

Condolences...?

For his death.

He's alive.

That's what he said.

We sent flowers to
the Chief Justice

of the Supreme Court on
the occasion of his death?

They were supposed to go
to Justice Brady's family.

( sighs ):
Get Protocol
on the phone.

They didn't actually...

We did this?

It was an honest mistake.

Ashland's 80, he's
knock-knock-knockin' on hea...

Who put the order in?

Hey, guys.

You sent a funeral
bouquet to the family

of the living, breathing Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court?

No, I sent them to the guy
who died. Brady.

No, actually, you didn't.

This is terrible.

Um, I really apologize.

You know, I am
a nightmare with details.

It's embarrassing, the stuff
just leaks out of my head.

We should leave
the detail work to Donna.

She's got the head for it.

I'm more of
a big picture kind of guy.

She's here because
she's invaluable.

You're here because
your uncle's so powerful,

I can't fire you.
Big picture.

Hi.
Bad time?

I'm on my way out.
Two minutes.

Lisa, right? You work for
the Judiciary Committee?

Staff Director.

Ryan Pierce. We met
at my uncle's.

Excuse us.

Is he the one that
flipped the car in Nice?

Yeah.
When do I see names
for Brady's seat?

You want to let
the body cool?

You're meeting with
Barwald, Girelli...

Here we go.

Evelyn Baker Lang?!
Whose acid trip is that?

Just take a breath.

The Committee's
not going to let

the balance of the Court
hurl wildly to the left.

You fill Brady's
seat with...

It's not Brady's seat.

It's not your Senate.

We're just looking
at the field.

Girelli has a fondness
for Vicodin,

and Evelyn Lang
is not an option.

Save us all some time.

We're Democrats
over here.

We're not going to nominate
a born-again elk hunter

with a tattoo of the
Confederate flag on his ass.

Look at Arthur Lopez,

or Brad Shelton,
or Mayra Height.

You go with Barwald or Lang,
the Senate's going to make

the next year of your life
a living hell.

I tell you this as a person
who would be your friend

if I looked for
different things in friends.

We should do
this more often.

As often as it takes.

LEO:
We don't hate Asians.

No, we don't.

Justice Huang
is more valuable

to us where he is.

Certainly.

Thank you, sir.

Do a drive-by with
Sebastian Cho,

Massachusetts Supreme.

Yeah.

You were looking for me?

You hear about
a Congressional

delegation to
the Middle East?

Next month.

It was Jordan and Egypt.

Now they want to add Israel
and do a day in the Territories,

and meet with this shadow
negotiation crew.

State's iffy.

As they should be.

The Prime Minister's going
to go through the roof.

Not to mention the
Palestinian Authority.

I'll look into it.

Andy's leading the delegation.

Is that going
to be a...?
No.

I'm on it.

JOSH:
President's
on his way.

What's up?

We hate Asians.

Okay.

( classical music playing )

Ah, Rena.

How goes it?

These are today's,
and, uh, Mr. Ziegler said

that the President
would want this
before their 1:00.

Oh, here, you can put it in
his hot little hands yourself.

Ah, this is for you, sir.

Thank you, Lana.

Uh, thank you, sir.

It...

It's "Rena,"
sir.
What?

The girl in the dress
with the flowers...

Just now?
Yes.

What'd I call her?

Lana.
Who's Lana?

I'm guessing an
exotic dancer

from your spotty youth.

I should apologize.
Get her back.

You asked me yesterday how
the schedule gets off the rails.

Yeah.
This is how.

Okay.

Good afternoon,
Mr. President.

Hey, we make
any friends?

JOSH:
Maybe Zimmerly,
Shelton.

Mehldau.

Lang was pretty
impressive.

Gal from the Fourth? Didn't she
strike down some st...?

Parental consent
for abortion.

Yeah, that's not
going to happen.

She was a red flag
to the bull.

Oh, it's working.

Lisa Wolfe
from the Judiciary Committee

showed up today spewing

all kinds of threats
and admonitions.

About Lang?
!
And three Dems
on the Committee

called, elated we were
considering bold choices.

If the strategy's working,
let's get her in again.

You liked Shelton?

Yeah. Moderate.
Insightful.

Gets it.

Let's meet him.
Who else?

TOBY:
Helen Waller.

Beresford Bannett,
DC Circuit.

Ellis Yaffe.
Martha Zell...

( blings, typing at keyboard)

( blings )

What are you doing?

Nothing.

What?

She has a date.
And she's
getting fired.

( blings )

Evelyn Lang's coming back in

for another red herring
performance, 3:00.

( blings )
You don't find that annoying?

I'll have Carol march the Times
by Lang at 3:00.

Brad Shelton's in
with the President.
We like him.

Yeah, we do.
( blings )

( sighs )

"E. Bradford Shelton."

What's the E for?

Elijah.

That's a burden.

Hence the E.

I hear good things
about you from my staff.

What'd they miss?

My son burned
you in effigy.

Did you watch?

I didn't.

It was a campus demonstration

against American
presence in Saudi Arabia.

There's a photo in his yearbook.
Someone will dig it up.

I thought it would sound better
in person than on paper.

I'm not sure it did.

Did he burn
anybody else?

No. Just you.

( sighs )

Well, I've missed you both.

We appreciate this.

I keep running into
Brad Shelton in
the parking lot.

Some say coincidence,
I'm not so sure.

You've been
very patient.
Well, I don't mind,

but people wonder
why the appellate
system's so backed up.

We shouldn't
let them know

this is how
I spend my time.

Well, if you were
less appealing...

Same to you, sir.

Affirmative action's
going to be back

in the next few years,
let's start there.

What do I know about it?
What do you
think about it?

I don't know.

Not the answer
you were looking for.

Not really.

Unnerving, isn't it?

Is there another topic
you'd be more comfortable with?

Nothing comes to mind.

Perhaps you should
make something up.

I'm not trying
to be cagey,

but I don't position myself
on issues,

and I don't know what I think
about a case until I hear it.

There are moderates
who are called that

because
they're not activists,

and there are moderates
who are called that

because sometimes
they wind up on the left

and sometimes the right.

You think I want somebody who's
going to vote with Ashland?

I think you're looking
for somebody

who will vote with him now
and replace him later.

And that's not you?

Wish it were--
he's a giant.

But my allegiance
to the eccentricities of a case

will reliably outweigh
my allegiance to any position

you might wish I held.

JOSH:
Let's talk a little about

what the Judiciary Committee's
concerns would be.

We can safely say
reproductive rights

are going to come up.

They're going to say
judicial activism,

particularly in Drori.

How would you
address that?
And you're who?

I'm sorry.

Who are you?

We're playing Committee.

This would be coming from

one of the 11 Republicans
on there-- Mitchell...

You can only be one.

We don't need to...

If you're Webster,
the question is,

"Where do you stand
on Roe v. Wade?"

And the answer is, "Judicial
rulings shouldn't be based

on personal ideology--
mine or anyone else's."

If you're Davies,
the question is,

"How would you approach
a D&X case?"

because he's the drum banger
on partial birth.

And the answer is, "I don't
comment on hypotheticals."

If you're Malkin,
you're from Virginia

so you ask about
my decision in Drori.

I take you point by point

from the doctor to the father
to Casey

to undue burden
to equal protection,

back to Roe, at which point
you can't remember the question

and I drink my water
for a minute while you regroup.

Will you excuse
us for a second?

I love her.

I love her mind.

I love her shoes.

We march her
to five senators' offices,

they'll be so scared

they'll beg us
to put Shelton on the court.

Sorry.

( door closing )

You were vetted by the FBI
when you hit the federal bench,

but if we reopened
an investigation...

I'm a shill, right?

Why would you bother
with a background check?

Humor us.

If there's anything
they didn't find...

Let's see, um... in high school,

I snuck a copy
of Lady Chatterley's Lover

out of the public library
and never returned it.

In college,
I got a marijuana plant

from my roommate
as a birthday present.

And in year two
of law school,

I had an abortion.

Can I get some water
while you regroup?

JOSH:
Okay. Okay.

I tell you this
so you'd be prepared.

It might not come up,
but if it did,

I wouldn't comment.

But if they know,
it'll be hard...

Roe v. Wade
affords me the right

to terminate a pregnancy
and to do so

free from all restraint
or interference of others.

A hearing room...

I'm told
I have a right to privacy.

I think this would be
the sort of thing

it's referring to.

I also bet
like a drunken sailor

during my bimonthly games
of hearts.

Do you want to talk about that?

C.J.:
An abortion?

TOBY:
Of all the gin joints
in all the world.

Maybe they won't find it.
Oh, they'll find it.

Yeah, but who's going
to bring it up, the Committee?

They'd look like monsters.

They don't have to.

Someone leaks it
to the tabloid press,

it's a feeding frenzy
in 12 hours.

She says she can handle it.

Oh, okay.
Well, we need her.

She's the cautionary tale.

Without her,
we may not get Shelton.

You been outside today?

We don't hand someone
to the madding crowd

so they can take the heat off
some guy from Indiana.

The woman is...
you should hear her.

What, so she is
a serious candidate?
She should be.

She's going to be on posters
under a headline that says,

"Wanted for the Murder of 15
Million American Children."

Let's think about this.

Let it go.
No, really.

Nominees live or die
by Roe v. Wade.

We're playing along
with the ridiculous notion

that the Supreme Court

is a single issue body
in a way it hasn't been since,

I don't know what...

Slavery.
Exactly.

So she had an abortion.
Who the hell are we?

You think I like this?

You keep this up,
someone's going to take it

to the press
and this bright woman

is a checkout counter spectacle.

Get her out of the building.

PRESIDENT:
Brad Shelton could work for us.

I like him.

LEO:
So, talk to him
this afternoon.

He's going to start
getting calls.

Who else?

Wisnewski's
a good maybe.

The Majority Leader's
really pushing him.

And Barkham from the Fifth,
though he has a question.

It's a tax thing.
We're looking into it.

You still having a love affair
with Evelyn Lang?

JOSH:
No.

Uh, Robert Brandt.
How come?

She won't make it
through vetting.

Why not?

She had an abortion.

JOSH:
Robert Brandt's
on the Ninth Circuit.

Stan Yancy's
worked with him

and says he's always kept

his cards...
When did she have
an abortion?

TOBY:
Law school.
Before or...?

After '73.
It was legal.

We discarding anybody else
for legal activities?

Not yet.

Tonsillectomy?

We down on surfing this year?

She'd be
publicly eviscerated.

27 million women voted
for me.

I think they might
have had in mind

that I was going to protect
this particular right.

We have plenty of...
"I like that guy

"from Florida
with the good hairdo,

"but I want to retain
my right to choose.

So I'm voting for
what's-his-name, married to
Abbey Bartlet."

Sir, they're going to make this
about her objectivity.

We promised the Committee
a short list by Friday.
I want her name on it.

Okay.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you,
Mr. President.

That pisses me off.

Apparently.

We marched her
around here all week.

The honor of a place
on the short list

is the least we could do.

We're still going
with Brad Shelton?

Filling a seat
on the Supremes...
heady stuff.

Don't call them that.

My uncle calls them that.

So does the Minority Leader.

So does Henry Clark.

You know him?
He's on the Court.

You drop one more name,
I'm going to staple
your mouth shut.

( chuckles )

( clears throat )

There'll be hell
to pay at Agincourt.

I've offended the Dauphin.

Lisa Wolfe called twice.

Senator Webster called
regarding E. Lang--

"What could
you possibly
be thinking?"

Senator Millbank,
regarding Lang--

"No, no, no, no, no."

Bertha McNull-- "Not a
snowball's chance in..."

Oh, that's not about Lang.

That's about
the highways bill.

I need a drink.

Sun's not over
the yardarm.

C.J.'s right.
Usually.

You want a
black-eyed Susan?

Is it a drink?

It's a cookie.
My mom sent them.

No. Yes.

Peanut butter with
a chocolate kiss.

They're cat people?

No, they're not.

These theirs?

Shadrach
and Meshach.

Two cats,
they're cat people.

For years they only
had one, but he died
over Christmas.

This is a dry cookie.

After what was deemed an
appropriate mourning period,

they went to get a new one.

And my mother liked
the Abyssinian

and my father
liked the gray.

And they claim that
after 39 years of marriage,

they've outgrown
compromise, so
they got both.

It doesn't make
them cat people.

The house doesn't smell.

Do I have crumbs?

They pick one.

They pick one!

That's how we get Evie Lang.

And not as a decoy,
we put her on the Court.

Hi.
The Chief Justice says
he wouldn't step down

because the President wouldn't
be able to fill his seat

with another liberal lion.

She's the liberal lion.

Ashland resigns, she
takes his seat, okay?

And we offer the Republican
Senate Judiciary Committee

the opportunity to hand-pick
a conservative for Brady's seat.

We put them both up.

I'm ordering Mu-Shu,
you want something?

Listen to me.
No.

I'm serious.
And then
we've got what,

after we hand the Republicans
a seat on the Supreme Court

with a red bow on top?

We have a balanced court.
They can't let Brady's seat

go to a liberal,
so let them keep it.

Meanwhile, we name
the first female Chief Justice

of the Supreme Court
in the nation's history.

I'm taking it
to the President.

No, you're not.

Do not go in there.

Trip him.

Ashland is 82.

We may have an opportunity
to put two people on this bench.

That's two seats
we fill with Democrats.

Moderates.
What do you care
how moderate they are?

Two is twice as many as one.

Can I get in there?

Just a minute.
TOBY:
We don't need him.

Not moderate,
mediocre.

Oh, Shelton's not
bright enough for you?

I want more than bright.
If we had a bench

full of moderates in
'54, Separate But Equal

would still be
on the books,

this place would still have
two sets of drinking fountains.

Moderate means temperate,

it means responsible,
it means thoughtful.

It means cautious,
it means unimaginative.

It means being more concerned
about making decisions

than making history.

Indoor voices, please.

Is that really the biggest
tragedy in the world,

that we nominated somebody
who made an impression

instead of some
second-rate
crowd pleaser?

The ability... the ability
to see two sides of an argument

is not the hallmark
of an inferior intellect!

Toby...
What about the vast
arenas of debate

a moderate won't
even address?

A mind like Lang's?
Josh...

Let them pick
a conservative

with a mind like
Justice Brady had.
Josh...

You can hate his positions,
but he was a visionary.

He blew
the whole thing open.

He changed
the whole argument...

The President
will see you now.

And you?

I think they're
going to pick

a young, spry,
conservative
ideologue

who's going to camp out
in that seat for 45 years.

Fine. Two voices
articulating the debate

at either end of the spectrum.

Filling another seat
on the Court

may be the only lasting thing
I do in this office.

Shelton's a great choice.

He'll make us proud.

And if Ashland resigns
in a year,

we've got a stack
of great options.

We can't give it away.

Mr. President,

the first woman in that chair...

We go out on
some limb here,

and alienate
the Senate,

they'll tread water for three
years, and we get nobody.

The next guy gets
to fill Brady's seat.

Take it to Ashland.

See what he says.

TOBY:
How'd you come up with it?

What?

The swap-a-dee-doo.

There was, uh...

( chuckles ):
Donna's mom...

I thought it up
in the shower.

Who let them in?

Sorry to
disturb
you, sir.

Carrier pigeons...

Oh, uh, your flowers.

Yeah, we like them.

I'm dreadfully sorry
about that, sir.

"Oh, for God's sake,
let us sit upon the ground

and tell sad stories
of the death of kings."

Brady was your age.

Eat your greens.

He was a great man.

He was a selfish bastard.

You told the
President

you hoped to be replaced
by a liberal

with the same level
of conviction

that you brought to the chair.

Oh, that sounds like
something I'd say.

Sir, are you familiar
with Evelyn Baker Lang?

Miss Lang?

You've met with her?

Yes, sir.

How are you going to get
her past the pit bulls?

They're not going
to like the notion

of Miss Lang in
Owen Brady's seat.

For your seat.

If... if you were to resign,
she'd be Chief.

My seat?

What about Brady's?

We'd allow the Judiciary
Committee to choose someone.

A conservative.

Would you consider
stepping down

under those
circumstances?

Sure.

We think it might be
a viable option.

Go ahead.

See who they pick

of their favorite sons.

See what segregationist,

anti-miscegenationist,
Isaiah-quoting,

gay-bashing bastard
they come up with.

( laughing )

Jed Bartlet from New
Hampshire had an idea.

( chuckles heartily )

is illegal.
Take it back out.

Three times
in one week.

In some cultures,

we'd be married.

Chilling.

Is it Shelton?

He's the front-runner.

Good. We done?

Mind if I shut the door?

Nope.

How you doing?

Ah, super.

Feeling good?

Got a meeting
in four minutes.

I'm going to float
an idea here

that even I can't believe
I'm mentioning,

and my colleagues definitely
can't believe I'm mentioning,

and the President would probably
prefer I dropped completely.

And if I find it

in The Washington Post
tomorrow morning,

I'll march straight out
to the press room

and tell them
the idea came from you.

It'll embarrass the crap
out of your boss.

You'll be on HotJobs
by nightfall.

There's someone
in my office.

I thought it
was your ex-wife.

You didn't want
to warn me about that?

You asked her to come in.

She's cute.

Late some night,
our eyes will meet

over the Maritime
Commission Report.

We'll be at the
justice of the
peace before dawn.

You want to talk about
this dog and pony show
you're attending in Gaza?

Not really.
Bradford Shelton.

He's on the list.

You're not
going to Gaza.

I still don't want
to talk about it.

You're not attending peace talks

with a bunch of Israelis
and Palestinians

who don't work for the Israeli
or Palestinian governments.

They may generate
some useful ideas.
The ideas already exist.

The problem is getting
the recognized parties
to stick to the plan.

So, we sit with
our hands folded?

We ask them
for democracy.

We should maintain
some scrap of respect

for the guys who were
democratically elected.

If you're really interested
in peace,

you negotiate with anyone.

You negotiate with the mailman.

Thanks for teeing that up.
The mailman can't deliver.
We'll see.

No, we won't see!

You're jeopardizing
this country's relationship

with the Likud Party and with
the Palestinian Authority,

and it is not an option!

Is that all you've got?

There's no "What
about the kids?"

Did something happen?

I'm going away for two weeks.

Will they be...?

At my mother's.

Good.

Would you have asked?

I figured your mother's,
which is apparently...

You say you want
to be involved.

It doesn't come with
an embossed invitation.

You involve yourself,
or you don't.

The President would like
to remind you

that this is
a fact-finding mission.

Please make it clear
to any parties you meet with

that you are not empowered to
negotiate for the United States.

Is she in there?

( laughing )

Hang on,
she's getting off.

The phone.

You want Josh?

C.J.:
Lord knows I do.

Josh Lyman,
as I live and breathe!

You want a cookie?

They're from Donna's mother.

No.

I spoke to Lisa Wolfe.

What'd she say?

I don't want
to talk about it.

I'm hiding from Toby.

( giggles )

What?

Nothing.
You're hiding, it's funny.

It's not funny.

Hey.

See?
It is.

I gotta go.

What's going on?

C.J. has
the giggles.

It's your deal.
I find it elating.

She stoned?
I'm fine.

I just didn't get enough sleep.

You were with Ranger Rick,
weren't you?

Josh spoke to Lisa Wolfe.

She give you a name?

You are a
faithless wench.

What's the name?
Christopher Mulready.

Wait for it...

Christopher Mulready?!

There it is.
C.J.:
He's not the...

America's Democrats:
The Triumph of Socialism.

He doesn't like the name.

The man wrote a book
that flushes the entirety

of the doctrine of
un-enumerated rights down the...

the...
Toilet.

Garbage disposal.

No right
to use a condom,

no right to get
an abortion, certainly,

no protection
from electronic searches,

no substantive due process...

He's what, 48?
I know.

The left's going to blow
a gasket.

No separation
of church and state.

We've got problems
on the right, too.

Kogan, Howard, Tondello,
they can't vote for a Mulready.

Their constituencies
are too moderate.

Get another name.
That is the name.

There are other...
This is the deal.

He's what Evelyn
Lang is to them.

We nominate the patron saint

of a woman's right to
choose for Chief Justice,

we ask them to ignore an
incredibly rich piece of
her personal history,

we take the name
they give us.

This isn't going to work.

Yeah.

It isn't.

If...

if we were going
to try this,

what would be the plan?

We give the President
and Leo the name.

We bring Christopher
Mulready in.

We bring Lang back in.
Hopefully, the two of them

woo the pants
off the President,

and he agrees to the
deal without noticing

he's standing in the gaze
of history, pantless.

I'll talk to him.

You don't have
to talk to him.

You've been on him
about this.

It sounds more plausible
coming from me.

What are you going to do
about the Committee?

Lisa Wolfe's going to
take it to the Chairman.

I mean the Democrats.
You got to get

Senator Pierce on board
or you get nobody.

What are you going to do
about Pierce?

RYAN:
* Oh won't you staaaaay

* Just a little
bit longer? *

Shut up.

I thought you were firing him.

If wishing made it so.

Donna!

* Say you will...

Send in Elvis.

What's up?

Come on in.

Take a load off.

I was a little brusque
with you before.

I'm sorry about that.

Okay.
Your feelings
a little hurt?

Not at all.

Really? Why not?

Hmm, would this be
easier if they were?

I said I was going to fire you
if it wasn't for...

Are you firing me?

No.

Then there's a "sticks
and stones" thing

that comes to mind.

( classical music playing )

Finishing a call.

I spoke to Andy.

Anything?

No. The National Security Caucus
is sponsoring the delegation.

We could talk to them.

We'll deal with
it next week.

Don't worry about it.

We got a name for Brady's seat.

Somebody workable?

You can go in now.

Thank you.

PRESIDENT:
Mulready?!

No, are you out
of your bloody mind?

The last time I heard
Christopher Mulready's name,

it was in conjunction with...

( raises volume )

( President continues
indistinctly )

...and some sort of baloney

about the stranglehold
the EPA...

Ryan here yet?
Not yet.

CHARLIE:
Chris Mulready?
Yeah.

Dissented on
minority set asides.

Struck down
hate crime legislation.

Went after Miranda rights.
Feeling pretty good about that?

It's not a perfect plan.
I'm the first to admit.

The President wants
to reiterate,
he's not spending

more than five minutes
with this clown.

C.J.:
The press room
is clear.

Carol's going to baby-sit
the filing shop.

But keep an eye out
for roving reporters.

You in on this, too?

Okay, we got Lang coming in
to meet the President at 7:00,

and Christopher
Mulready's at 8:00.

The press can't see him.
We need a clear shot

from the Roosevelt Room
to the Oval.

He's on the short list?
He is if she is.
We may get both.

Oh, my God,
you're putting

my mother's cats on
the Supreme Court.

Your what?
It's just
an experiment.

She's on sentry.
We're good.

Hi.
Don't ever tell anyone
that story.

We all set?
Lefty's got
the goods,

Rocko got the call,
Stinky's on lookout.

Hey!
Shall we?

Your uncle's here?
!
Knock 'em dead.

Pierce'll never
buy it, will he?

Nope.

Remember, he's all bark.

Just let him holler,
wear himself out.

He's got the strength,
you've got the endurance.

Here! Use it wisely,
and for God's sake,

don't try to keep up.

You're way out
of your league.

Not necessary, thank you.

Ah...

good to see you, Josh.

Senator Pierce,
thank you

so much
for stopping in.

Uh, Josh was
pretty impressed

with your floor speech
on Tuesday...

Josh can kiss up all on his own.
Get back to work.

Yell if you need anything.

( door shuts )

My nephew behaving?

He's a... treat.

Well, he better be.

Bugged me for two
years to get him
a job in this place.

Really?
Watch yourself.

He's the lean
and hungry type.

Have someone taste your food.

Ryan?
So, craziest
rumor

you ever heard running
around the Committee.

Oh yeah?
Charlie
Felson says

you want to put Chris Mulready
on the Supreme Court.

I said anybody
who tries

is going to find himself
in a closed session

with myself,
the Minority Leader,

and the business end
of a two-by-four.

You know, we got

a 21-year-old Glenlivet
knockin' around here.

Can I get you a drink?

Lang still in there?

Oh, she's a big hit.

She has to leave.

Her evil twin,
Skippy's, on his way.

I did our secret
wrap-it-up sign,

which is, I knock and say

the Deputy NSA needs
to talk about Japan.

And he said, "You talk to him,
you've been there."

Which is true,
but makes me think

he's forgotten
it's a secret sign.

How about "Excuse me,
Mr. President, we
need to move on"?

If you want the job,
you're going to

have to work on your typing.

Apologies.

He's running behind schedule.

I imagine that happens.

You want to tell me
what I'm doing here?

Oh, just a hello.

I'm not being impeached?

No.

This isn't a not-
particularly-subtle

form of intimidation about
the gays in the workplace case?

That would be illegal.

My point exactly.

The President
will explain.

Any minute now.

Hmm.

But since you mention it,

I read your article
on Bellington,

and I may be out
on the fringe here,

but I don't see how
a family values conservative

justifies denying
committed couples access

to the benefits
of state sanctioned monogamy.

Homosexual couples.
Couples.

A couple is a couple.

JOSH:
Hi.

How was Ryan's uncle?

He's a blast.
Come meet him.

He's still here?

Oh, my God, you're drunk.

I think I just promised him
a pork barrel roads project

on an omnibus bill
that doesn't exist.

Don't try and keep up.

He's got a wooden--
a hollow leg.

He drinks a lot.

It's an equal protection
violation.

Homosexuals are not
a suspect class.

DOMA denies access...

No.

...to over 1,000
federal protections.

To what?
Survivor's benefits
under Social Security.

( beeping )
$255? I'll write you a check.

Hospital decision-making.

So talk about power of attorney,
not marriage.

Besides the fact that
DOMA doesn't restrict

access to marriage.
But of course

it restricts access-- it
restricts full faith and credit.

So Vermont gets to steer
nationwide

marriage legislation?

Vermont?

LANG:
Well, this is
a sight to see.

One of the more
unlikely meetings

in the history
of the Bartlet White House.

It's good to see
you, Evie.

You too, Chris.

I came to say good-bye.

I wish I had a camera.

MULREADY:
Mr. Ziegler was trying
to convince me

the Defense of Marriage Act
is unconstitutional.

Oh. DOMA? He was trying
to convince you?

( chuckling )
What?

He doesn't need convincing.

Well, I wasn't doing...

He's yanking
your chain.

He would never uphold DOMA.

He might not love the
idea of gay marriage,

but he hates Congressional
overreaching,

and Congress doesn't
have the power

to legislate marriage.

The issue isn't privacy...
Or equal protection.

LANG:
It's enumerated powers.

He'll have
an easier time

knocking down DOMA
than I will.

A lack of imagination
on your part,

if I may be so bold.
You were yanking my chain?

You call me in for a meeting
with a Democratic president

in the middle of the night.

Are you really going

to give me crap
about yanking your chain?

Josh Lyman is
gesticulating wildly.

Excuse me.

Where's the Senator?

He's with C.J.

He got me a little drunk.

Is he leaving?

I think he's getting
C.J. a little drunk.

How's it going?

He's striking down
gay marriage bans

and she's defending them,
and they're as thick as thieves,

and he's a fan
of chain yanking.

She's defending him?

Up is down, down is up.

I am not. No I am not
rewriting Article I.

What I am saying is

that a gun-free
school zone is...

Is not a federal issue.
In Lopez...

Lopez overturned
50 years of precedent.

Too bad, they ruled
a plain text reading

of the commerce clause
does not afford Congress...

A plain text reading
of the Constitution

values a "Negro" at three-fifths
of a man.

Hence the 13th, 14th
and 15th Amendments.

Oh, generous. Thank you.

LANG:
You don't think that
the quality of education

has a direct affect on...

Is he...?

Waiting to meet a man
you're holding hostage

in the Roosevelt Room.

PIERCE/C.J.:
* And while the king was
looking down *

* The jester stole
his thorny crown *

* No verdict was returned...

Okay, everyone needs
to put down their glasses

and pay attention.

You like him?

I hate him.

I hate him--
but he's brilliant.

And the two of them together,

they're fighting like cats
and dogs, but it works.

You couldn't find a single
warm-blooded centrist

to put on the Court?

We've got centrists.

We've got six of 'em,
plus two staunch conservatives,

plus Justice Ashland--

the one clarion voice
articulating a liberal vision.

He's going to go and then what?

( sighs )

Well, send him in.

Sir...

I said I'd listen
to him, Toby.

That's going to have to do it.

Toby.

What?

Nothing's happening.
Hang on.

DONNA:
That's him?

Yeah.

No tail,
no cloven hooves.

Judge Mulready.

Thanks for coming in.

It's an honor, sir.

Please.

I understand that you
and Judge Lang

had a bit of a
knock-down-drag-out.

She's wants to federalize
law enforcement.

I thought it was hasty.

Not your brand of judge.

Quite the opposite.

I haven't had that
much fun in months.

Really?

Use her if you can.

I'm not sure
what all this is about.

I... I suppose a number
of people are placated

by a glimpse of someone like her

or someone like me
in these halls.

I'm most certainly
here for that,

but if there's any way
that you can use her...

It's unlikely.

Who's at the top of the list?

If I leaked it,
would they believe me?

Brad Shelton.

Really?

You don't like him.

He's a fine jurist.

And in the event that Carmine,
Lafayette, Hoyt, Clark

and Brannaghan all drop dead,

the center will still be
well tended.

( chuckles )

You want another Brady.

Sure. Just like you'd like
another Ashland. Who wouldn't.

The Court was at its best
when Brady was fighting Ashland.

Plenty of good law written
by the voices of moderation.

Who writes
the extraordinary dissent?

The one man minority opinion
whose time hasn't come,

but 20 years later
some circuit court clerk

digs up at 3:00 in the morning.

Brennan railing
against censorship.

Harlan's jeremiad on Jim Crow.

Maybe you, someday.

Hmm.

They can't put me on the Court,

just like you can't put
Evelyn Lang on the Court.

It's Sheltons from here on in.

There are 4,000 protesters
outside this building,

worried about who's going
to land in that seat.

We can't afford to alienate
all of them.

We all have our roles
to play, sir.

Yours is to nominate someone
who doesn't alienate people.

Where's Toby?

Can you see this?

Yeah.

It's water, it'll dry.

Okay.
You ready?

REPORTER:
Justice Roy Ashland,
having served 32 years

on the United States
Supreme Court,

12 of them as Chief,

will officially announce his
retirement in just a moment.

ASHLAND:
Henry Staub retired
and I received a phone call.

You were probably
learning to walk.

It has been an honor
to pause in Henry Staub's chair,

a joy to spend...

He'll take three questions,
at the most, and then we're off.

You ready?

That's a yes.

So why a racial preference

and not an economic one?

Because affirmative
action's

about a legacy
of racial oppression.

It's about compromising
admission standards.

That's bull... Excuse me.

It's about leveling
the playing field

after 300 years of...

See, this is where
the liberal argument

goes off the rails.

You get stuck in the past.

Now, you want
to come back at me with:

Grading is based
on past performance,

but admission should be
based on potential,

on how a candidate may thrive
with this sort of opportunity.

And studies show affirmative
action admits

have a higher predisposition
to contribute to society.

Hang on, I got
to write this down.

Uh-uh.
Hand it over.

Toby has a daughter,
Molly, ten months old.

She's a looker and very bright,

and someday he'd like
to give her

this copy
of the 14th Amendment,

signed by the first woman
to ever to hold this job.

Have you got a...?

Oh.

Thank you.

Would you mind adding
that title?

That's a bit premature,
isn't it?

No.

Thank you.

Mr. President.

Shall we?

C.J.:
Ladies and gentlemen,

the President
of the United States.

( applause )

The Honorable
Christopher Mulready,

nominee for Associate Justice
United States Supreme Court.

The Honorable
Evelyn Baker Lang,

nominee for Chief Justice
United States Supreme Court.

I look forward
to taking your questions.