Original subtitles

Bill, Steve, Betsy,

Julie, Julie, Julia...

There are some 120 news outlets

covering the hour- to-hour movements

of the President.

Only the cream of the crop ride here with me.

The rest are consigned to the zoo plane...

Have you decided on a press policy?

I don't get to decide press policy

for the U.S. Armed Forces.

Yeah, we're gonna have a dabba-doo time,

so unless there're any updates, I'll see you on the plane.

C.J. ( quietly ): Because it's 18 hours from Manila, it's 9:25 p.m, Eastern.

MARK: It should be 10:25.

C.J.: We left Manila at 3:25 today.

MARK: We left Manila at 3:25 yesterday.

C.J.: In Manila, it was yesterday.

KATIE: Was it?

C.J.: Well, no, actually it was tomorrow,

but it's 9:25 right now, Eastern. Agreed?

I've agreed that it's 9:25 from the beginning.

I'm just saying it should be 9:25 in the morning.

But it's not, Steve, you can just look out the window

and check that one off the list.

CAPTAIN ( over P.A. ): Ladies and gentlemen, from the flight deck,

this is Lieutenant Colonel Caplan.

Colonel Weiskopf just told you

that we were beginning our initial descent,

but Andrews approach has asked us to make a left turn

at Valhalla Vector, maintain our altitude

and proceed along Jet Route 5.

We assume there's a problem on the ground

and just as soon as...

PRESIDENT: He's telling me the deadline for Colombia's recertification

is midnight tonight.

Yes, sir.

Didn't I sign those papers already?

Yes, sir, but the statute

requires that you have an in-person briefing

on the current drug situation.

So, we'll get you someone to do it in the car on the way in.

Just to check,

they're gonna tell me

that the narco-trafficantes are running the Parliament,

but that we should recertify them as an ally in the drug war.

It's a pro forma thing.

It's better than having them as an enemy in the drug war.

I did. You mean calling them an enemy.

LARRY: There's a statute that says

you've got to be briefed in...

Excuse me, sir. Colonel Weiskopf to see you.

And the deadline for that is today, right?

LEO: Yes, sir.

Jessie, left turn maintain altitude?

Would you excuse us, please?

Leo, hang on a second.

What's the problem on the ground?

There's no problem on the ground, sir.

When we deployed Hydraulic System One,

our nose wheel indicator light didn't illuminate.

Now, chances are, it's a problem with the indicator light itself,

but at the moment, we have no way of knowing

if our front wheel's locked.

An F-16's been scrambled from Durbin Air Base,

they'll be here in 22 minutes.

Then what happens?

They pull up alongside, try to get a visual read.

And then what happens?

If we don't have our wheels? Yeah.

There are a number of options at that point.

You'll keep me briefed?

Yes, sir. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Listen, we've got a problem up here.

Listen to me, are you listening?

This is one of those things that sounds worse than it is.

I can't tell you how many times this happens,

It's a 30-cent piece of plastic.

Well, it should cost more, don't you think?

A friend of mine landing a Beechcraft at Teterboro,

puts down the gear, the wheels fall right off the plane,

he ditched it near the Throgs Neck Bridge.

You got a lot more of these stories?

Oh, yeah, a thousand of them.

Seriously, man, if they'd dug a grave for me

every time I lost an indicator light.

I've got a plane full of reporters up here.

C.J. will know what to do.

Sir? Well, we're gonna give it a try.

Good evening, Mr. President.

Charlie, stay in here, would you?

Here's what's going on.

The light that indicates that the landing gear is locked

didn't go on, which usually indicates

that there's something wrong with the light.

But what they're gonna do is, they've sent a fighter jet

to fly up alongside and get visual confirmation

that it's down, and then we land.

Here's the tricky part.

Here's the tricky part?

The press can't know this is going on.

There are two issues.

One is that the Nikkei's about to open,

the other is national security.

We can't broadcast that Air Force One is up in the air

over West Virginia and can't land.

The copilot told us it was a problem

on the ground, we'll stay with that.

What are we gonna tell them

when they see an Air Force Strikefighter out their window?

That's gonna take some thought.

Okay.

that the plane can't land?

We shouldn't give them too many details.

Let's say, you know, a runway incursion.

A maintenance truck caused a fuel spill

on the runway they want us to use.

Are you all right?

Yeah.

Ed, Larry, can you talk to Will for a second?

Has anyone else noticed that Chris's been on the phone

for the last 20 minutes but hasn't spoken?

Hang on.

Hey, who remembers Dial-a-Joke?

C.J., what the hell's going on?

A maintenance truck caused a fuel spill on our runway

a few minutes ago, and they're cleaning it up.

C.J.... I don't know how long it's gonna take.

That was a stringer we use on the Ivory Coast.

He's got double confirmation

that there were friendly fire deaths

in Kundu a few hours ago.

Thanks.

Signal, this is C.J. Cregg.

I need you to page Leo McGarry with a call holding.

LANDIS: Does it feel like there's still too much regulation?

JOSH: No.

No, I'm not saying, "Is there?"

I'm saying, "Does it feel like there is?"

Stop thinking like a Republican.

I am a Republican.

And that's fine, I have nothing with that, I really don't.

I'm just saying stop thinking like one.

It's thinking like one that's gonna get this bill passed,

and I'm telling you, if it feels like,

in the toxics provision,

that there's too much regulation...

It's cleaning up Chesapeake Bay, it's not regulation,

and regulation is what Congressmen do.

Oh, not Republican Congressmen, we look out for local business.

Well, when the Chesapeake starts turning fluorescent colors,

local business is gonna have a bigger concern.

Well, that's why I'm supporting this bill.

And that's why the President's signing it.

Good, but you skipped the part

where the majority of Congress votes for it.

So, I'm asking you again: Does it feel too...

No, it doesn't... feel too regulated,

it doesn't have the texture of how do you say,

the je ne sais quoi...

Shut up.

...of big government. Shut up.

Let's get back to work.

What does Chesapeake mean?

Big Shellfish Bay.

You never spend any time there?

No. Oh, it's incredibly beautiful.

( gently ): Josh?

You ever been there?

Chesapeake Bay? Uh-huh.

No.

There was a fuel spill on the ground at Andrews.

They've to clean it up before he can land.

Oh man, after an 18-hour flight?

Yeah, I'm gonna head back to my office.

Why don't you guys move on to point/non-point source pollution

and the storm runoff, I'll be back in a few minutes.

( softly ): They're having a problem with their landing gear.

I know, I wrote the note.

No, you wrote they're having

a problem with their landing geak.

They've got to stay up there awhile and check it out.

They're saying it's nothing though, right?

They're saying, yeah, they're saying it's a light.

All right, do me a favor, I wanted the President

to look at the Medicaid rules.

I'll fax them up there. SEGAL: Josh.

Congressmen. We just had a meeting canceled.

Yeah, they spilled something on the runway,

I just got part of the story.

Runway incursion, it's called.

Nothing like flying 8,000 miles

and then circling the parking lot.

You... you were with Landis?

I'm sorry?

You were working with Tom Landis?

Donna... You want me to fax those things?

Yeah, and you can try and get me C.J. on the phone.

Yeah. It's an "r."

It's a "k."

Chesapeake Bay cleanup. We talked about this.

It's nothing. It's Chesapeake Bay cleanup.

He's a vulnerable Republican.

You can't hand him victories, you're giving him his seat back.

It's a bipartisan bill. It's a victory for us.

It's an environmental bill, the Republicans hate it.

It's incredibly regulatory.

I don't care, it's got his name on it.

He's delivering Chesapeake Bay to Maryland,

They are going to reelect him.

Well, I appreciate your thoughts.

Josh, you know what some Hill Democrats call the Bartlet reelect?

They call it the lonely landslide.

There's a sentiment that the President wanted a Republican Congress...

And that's absurd.

Then why are you helping one of the most vulnerable Republicans rack up....

You're making an argument for divided government.

Divided government's what we got.

We should go on a hunger strike?

No, but do you want to take back the House or not?

Because if Hill Democrats don't think your hearts

are really in it... Then what?

There's a reason they're calling it a lonely landslide.

I mean, we've talked about this.

Anyway, have a good night.

Good night, Congressmen.

Toby.

They just told me.

Donna's getting C.J. on the phone.

They sent Will to the Philippines in my place.

It's not like they're not gonna fix it.

You don't have to feel guilty about it.

No, I mean, thank God, I sent Will in my place.

How long before they know?

They're about five minutes away.

Well, that's about all the time C.J.'s got to work with up there

'cause, Leo, there's a wire service guy

standing at Andrews right now

whose job it is to record the wheels downtime

and pretty soon he's gonna say, "Show me the fuel spill."

A wire guy on the ground?

Toby, 20 White House reporters are about to see

a supersonic fighter jet 200 feet outside their window.

It's gonna be a story, but he's gonna be down by then.

A couple hours ago, we lost five guys

in friendly fire in Kundu.

What happened?

A platoon of infantrymen called in an air-strike

during live fire training off the western coast.

There was a GPS error

and they became the target.

God.

I need you to talk to Mark Richardson right away tonight.

He's speaking at Brookings tomorrow,

and he's coming out against U.S. involvement in Kundu.

Well, we knew he felt that way.

We didn't know he was saying so

and doing it at the Brookings Institution,

so let's see what we can do.

TOBY: Okay.

JOSH: They called in an air raid

and the computer hit them as a target.

How'd you like to have to be the guy that explains that?

Were Simmel and Segal giving you a hard time

about the Chesapeake cleanup?

They're not big fans of mine.

I meant 'cause of the nuisance

of having to circle around up there.

When I said, "Thank God, I sent Will instead of me,"

not 'cause of the other thing.

I knew what you meant.

It's gonna be along the right side of the plane

and we're gonna be in the area of Harper's Ferry.

Blue Ridge Mountains, what can we look at?

At night? Anything with lights or fireworks?

It's Wildflower Week at Shenandoah National Park.

Lilacs, ochre, crimson.

Do they light up?

We're nowhere near Shenandoah National Park,

it's a whole different state.

ED: I was looking at Blue Ridge Mountains.

Any kind of Festival of Lights or astronomy? Is there a comet?

C.J. and Will.

Yeah, it's confirmed.

Five infantrymen, they're on their way back.

Have the families been notified?

No. I'm gonna do that when I get on the ground.

Will, I was supposed to get

a Colombia recertification briefing in the car.

Are you in a position to do it up here?

You wouldn't rather have someone from State?

The statute says it's got to be in person.

Yeah, I can do it. What are you certifying?

That Colombia is an ally in the drug war.

So, what's the plan? Ed and Larry are looking

for something in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

At night? Something with lights.

Is that gonna work?

I don't see how it possibly can fail.

All right,

let's get this over with and land.

Okay, it's time.

It's a minute away. Okay.

Good luck. Good luck.

Did you say, "good luck" to me?

Yeah. You're doing it.

No, you have to.

I screw with them all the time.

They're not going to buy it from me.

They're not going to buy it from anybody.

That plane's going to be really close.

It's not worth a try?

Look at me. Look at my face.

It's not worth a try?

"Look at me, look at my face..."?

Listen. I'm going.

Hey, uh, listen, everybody. The Colonel just told us

we're about to go by something incredible.

And you hardly ever get to see this.

It's going to be out the left side of the plane.

What is it?

Got to come over to the left side.

Everybody, over here. It's coming up.

STEVE: What are we over?

Well, we're, uh, over the Blue Ridge Mountains,

but there's a Festival of Lights

and Bonfires in this region

that accompanies something called the Wildflower--

you know, Renaissance, with lilac and ochre.

That you can see from 33,000 feet?

Yes, it's arranged in a pattern

that befuddles astronomers to this day.

We should be coming up

on it any s...

KATIE: Oh, my God!

Of course, on the right side of the plane

is an F-16 Falcon.

Is that one of ours?

There's only one?

What's going on?

Is that one of ours?

There's only one? What's going on?

Signal, this is C.J. Cregg.

Shut off the phones in the press cabin.

( murmuring stops )

There's a problem with the plane's landing gear.

C.J.?

C.J.?

PRESIDENT: Is it down?

I'm sorry, sir. We don't know yet. Why not?

Well, there's no moon tonight. It's tough for them to see

under the plane, but they're still trying.

What's next?

We do a flyby at Andrews Tower and take a look.

How close do we fly to the tower?

We're going to have to fly pretty close.

At what altitude? Pretty low.

And we can't just stay up here for a couple days

and wait till there's a moon?

We'll let the boys next door in the Falcon

poke around a little bit first,

but I want to tell you. What else?

We're going to have to refuel pretty soon.

Larry, would you go back and mention that to C.J.?

Yes, sir.

No one up here's in a position to file right now.

Not in a position to...?

Air Force One isn't landing, and it has a military escort.

That's the story you'd file.

You wouldn't mention the landing gear.

We'd mention the landing gear, right along with

the maintenance truck and whatever you tell us next.

Come on. The maintenance truck

was an honest effort to avoid panic.

Of course, you were going to know the truth

at the end of the incident.

C.J.? I'm not going to broadcast

that the President's plane is in distress.

It creates very real security concerns,

and it also happens to be a world market event.

It i a market event. The story's embargoed.

If a cell phone appears

in violation of FAA regulations,

the cell phone will be confiscated by a steward.

C.J.? C.J.?

( mutters )

They want to refuel.

How do they do that?

Well, instead of an F-16 coming up next to us,

a KC-10 is going to, well, land on top of us.

They know how to do it.

Yeah, they're going to do a midair refueling with a KC-10.

KATIE: What does that mean?

It means they think we're going to be up here

for a little while longer.

( press groaning )

Oh, you got to be kidding!

MARGARET: How much longer can they stay up there?

Theoretically, they can keep getting refueled for months.

I don't really see that happening.

Me, neither. The Falcon's going to give them

a thumb's up or thumb's down.

And if it's thumb's down, they lay down foam?

You guys shouldn't be talking about it out there, all right?

( knocking softly )

You want me?

You had a conversation

with Simmel and Segal a little while ago?

About the Chesapeake cleanup.

They're just pissed as hell that Tom Landis

is sitting out there working in the Roosevelt Room.

He didn't storm the gate.

Well, they would have preferred

he had, to your opening it for them.

I get the House is angry we didn't take back the House,

and setting aside the fact it was their damn fault and not ours--

stopping all bipartisan legislation is like saying,

"Let's blow up the place.

Maybe voters will hire us to rebuild it."

I'm with you,

but I need you guys to make a small change to Chesapeake.

We're finishing it now. What do you need?

The caucus chair and the D-triple-C

want to add revenue enhancements--

a dedicated levy from local businesses--

and they want binding targets on all the nonpoint source stuff.

Okay.

That's about three different ways

of saying a brand-new tax on local business.

Yes.

I'm fine with that. Fact, I'm all for it,

but Tom's got to take this back to Republicans.

And we have to take it to Democrats,

and it's reasonable.

We put the same provisions in Superfund.

Super.

What's going on up there?

Margaret, get me the Sit Room.

The F-16's having trouble seeing the gear,

'cause it's a moonless night.

They just took on another four hours worth of fuel.

MARGARET ( over speaker phone): On one.

Major, are we comfortable any longer

with the plane up there by itself?

I agree.

And there's going to be a wire service reporter

on the ground at Andrews

who's going to start seeing something.

You better have them spill some fuel out there.

Please, on a runway we're not going to need.

The President!

Well, at least all our friends

are going to have some company now.

The 22nd Tactical Fighter Wing with their missiles armed.

I'm Toby Ziegler.

He's waiting for you. You can go in.

Thank you.

from Bedford Stuyvesant.

It was a friendly fire accident.

Five guys reported fire,

and a computer popped their coordinates.

And their bodies are being flown here now.

What did you want to talk to me about?

Your speech at the Brookings Institution tomorrow.

Congressman, are you opposing intervention in Kundu

because so far, it's the black kids who are doing the dying?

Toby, I'm opposing an intervention in Kundu

because I'm still waiting for an intervention in Brooklyn.

Yeah, but the fact that this is immediate.

I mean to say, the mass slaughter of tens

of thousands of Africans-- mostly young men--

which calls for...

I understand what it...

You ever been to a maximum-security prison?

Maximum? No.

It's the black kids who are doing the dying there, too.

The lives we're saving in Kundu-- and I agree...

I wasn't elected by the lives we're saving in Kundu.

I was elected by the lives that are doing the saving.

But you agree there are moral imperatives?

Well, if there are moral imperatives,

then you've got to tell me we're going to go get everybody.

Beginning with the Saudis.

Mark, obviously, we need votes from the Black Caucus next week.

Are you telling me

it isn't in the vested interests of black America?

It is in the vested interests of working-class America--

black, Latino, and yes, even white--

to be able to choose between more than

a McDonald's uniform or a Marine uniform.

And how is opposing the peacekeeping bill

at Brookings going to achieve...?

I'm not opposing the peacekeeping bill.

In fact, the whole Black Caucus is going to stand behind it,

but with a proposed amendment.

Doing what?

Reinstating the draft.

I think the kids in my district

are going to live longer if their fortunes

are tied a little more closely to the fortunes

of the kids in Josh Lyman's district.

You want to draft a million middle-class kids out of spite?

Well, I don't want to draft anybody out of anything.

I'm just trying to promote some patriotic unity.

Bill?

Yes, sir.

Can you find out for me

when the President expects to call the parents

of Gunnery Sergeant Harold Dokes?

I'll be next in line.

Yes, sir.

Want a drink?

Thank you.

DONNA: You know what gripes my ass?

How you doing?

Good.

If anything ever happened to me,

chances are it's going to be

when I'm sitting next to you,

and I'm going to be an also-dead.

"Senior Bartlet advisor Joshua Lyman

"killed by a pack of wild dogs.

Also dead, Diane Moss."

Huh?

I'm not feeling useful right now.

I think I should know how to do more things here.

No one's feeling useful right now.

No, you're doing things.

You're doing something right now.

What are you doing right now?

What are you doing right now?

Nothing, this is my point.

How come you go out

with so many Republicans?

I don't.

You do.

Cliff, Commander Wonderful, Dr. Freeride.

I don't know. I got a pretty good response

to the personal ad I put in Roll Call--

"Seeking 30-something male into motions to recommit."

I'm not kidding.

I can do more.

I want to learn how.

Do you know how to lock the landing gear?

No.

Let's go. You got the, uh...?

Yeah. And the, uh...?

Here. Thank you.

Can I ask?

What does the foam do exactly?

On the runway? Yeah.

It's flame retardant.

They're worried about fire.

But it's not impact retardant though, is it?

I mean, the plane would still--

coming out of the sky at some velocity--

have to land on concrete.

You can take this back to the office.

Any movement? No.

He knows about the kid from Bed-Stuy?

Yeah, he's got a long list of kids from Bed-Stuy.

The Black Caucus is going to back the peacekeeping bill,

if we back their amendment to reinstate the draft.

He's really going through with that stunt?

Yeah.

Well, the left's come full circle, hasn't it?

By the way, not for nothing

but draftees aren't nearly as well trained.

It's why there were so many casualties in Vietnam.

Right, also the Vietcong.

Plus that.

What if we said we'd allow debate?

It's a stunt and Kundu is for real.

We can't get involved in...

Talk to OMB, and find out what we can give him.

Wake somebody up. I got to go meet with Nancy.

PRESIDENT: Is cocaine production in Colombia up or down?

WILL: It's up 200 percent.

And how many of our extradition requests

have been honored?

Uh... none.

None.

No, there was...

uh, yes, none.

Any good news?

Anything we can hang our hat on?

Their attorney general reported

that their narcotics people embezzled two million dollars

of their anti-drug money.

That's good news?

Usually, they don't report it.

What'd they spend it on?

If you tell me cocaine...

No, sir. Vacations.

So I recertify them

in recognition of the fact

that they took our anti-drug money and went to Seaworld.

And reported it.

All right, leave that stuff with me.

Thank you, Mr. President.

You want one?

Hmm?

You want a beer?

No, thanks.

It's going to be fine.

What do you mean?

I know you're afraid of flying.

I'm not. I can tell.

C.J.: Four hours of fuel they took on.

Did you even know it was up there?

Will's afraid of flying. I'm not.

It's okay. You're afraid of flying.

I'm not. I'm not afraid of flying.

I experience flying.

Why'd you sign up

for the Air Force Reserve?

Well, I did it for a lot of reasons,

and one of them was the romance of flight, but I got over that.

I never thought that would happen.

But these guys practice hard landings all the time.

This isn't a big deal.

Hey, everybody. How's it going in here?

Good. How's it going out there?

I don't know why it's taking so long

to clean fuel up off a runway.

It must be... I don't know.

Can't use another runway?

I guess not.

What about landing at Dulles?

I'm sure that's what they're going to do if they, you know...

Listen, uh, I want to read over what we got now.

But we're all done here, except the Caucus Chair

wants to add something we had on Superfund,

which is revenue enhancements.

The Caucus Chair wants revenue enhancements?

Yeah.

A tax on local business.

A dedicated levy.

That's a tax.

Yeah.

Is this coming from the Caucus Chair

or the D-triple-C? Both.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee wants

a dedicated levy?

We can find more offsets.

There's a way to do this.

( sighing ): You guys want to pass this or not?

Of course we want to...

Whatever Republican votes we may lose,

we're going to make up on the other side.

It's not going to get out of Committee.

I'm sorry.

Yes, it will.

Now you got to stay here.

You got to find more offsets

and more ways to bury them.

It's 18 million to clean up Chesapeake Bay.

It's nothing.

It's watershed management.

Yes.

Leo wants you to call these members

of the Congressional Black Caucus.

The Black Caucus just walked off

the Kundu Peacekeeping Bill.

And he'd like you to work with Airlift Ops

on Angel maintenance procedures.

We're going to need it when they land.

What are Angel maintenance procedures?

I'm sorry. "Angel" is

the Airlift Operations code word

for Air Force One.

I didn't know that.

Anyway, C.J.'s going to be answering

questions about maintenance procedures,

and she's going to need to be briefed.

Why didn't I know

that Airlift Ops calls the plane "Angel"?

I'm usually the one who deals with them.

All right, well, deal with them now.

No, not on this.

Yeah.

I talk to them about people's luggage.

Well, we don't have a problem with people's luggage tonight.

You call your guys at Airlift Ops.

Tell them they got to get you ready

to educate the Press Secretary

on maintenance procedures

as soon as Angel's on the ground.

Karen, make these phone calls

for Josh, please.

How many times-- seriously, Leo--

how many times has the Black Caucus,

on retreats, at dinners...

how many times have they...?

There was a dinner two years ago

where the Vice Chairs literally pulled out a map of Africa.

They wanted me to make Africa a priority.

And now they're making me look like an idiot.

Well, Mark's got a tough district.

Well, now they want me to make Brooklyn a priority.

And when did these guys become Smoot and Hawley?

Hang on a second.

Jessie Weiskopf's coming down, and he ain't smiling.

No, sir, they're unable to get a visual read.

We're going to go ahead with the fly-by at Andrews.

Okay, and how long do you think this'll take?

Probably about an hour and 15 minutes.

An hour and 15? Where are we?

We're over central Tennessee.

They took us off the jet routes.

All right, pretty soon, though,

we got to stop just flying around.

Yes, sir.

This is starting to qualify as space travel now.

What's going on?

The Falcon couldn't get a visual read,

so we're going to buzz the tower at Andrews

in a Boeing 747.

Weiskopf says it's going to be an hour and 15 minutes.

I'm going to call the families from up here of the five guys.

We'll send up those phone numbers.

Thanks.

Thank you, Mr. President.

They're going to fly by the tower at Andrews.

My question about the foam is

that the steel is still landing on concrete.

They have their back wheels.

Will.

Yes, sir.

I'm going to call the families now.

They're going to send up some information.

Can you help me out?

Yes, sir.

Just give this to C.J.

You should read it on the way.

Yes, sir.

Do me a favor.

Find out what happens if I don't certify Colombia.

Find out what happens

if I decertify Colombia.

Really?

If I'm going to be up here, I may as well do something.

Yes, sir. The fly-by's going to take

about an hour and 15 minutes.

Would you tell C.J.?

Yes, sir.

KATIE: C.J.?

Yeah.

If there is an issue of national security...

There is. Isn't it also a national issue for everyone

down there? In other words

turn on the damn phones.

Somebody ask Steve what time it is.

It's going to crack you up. C.J.

How is it a threat to anyone on the ground?

Air Force One doesn't generally break all by itself.

Steve... Claudia, in a room someplace

they're talking about the possibility

the plane was sabotaged.

By screwing with the front wheel?

MARK: If the malfunction's because of a leak

in the hydraulics and they try to recycle the gear, the front end

of the plane's going to blow up. No, you're right.

I should definitely let you use the phones.

We're going to do a fly-by at Andrews.

This thing's almost over.

What are you doing?

Hey.

What are you doing?

Did OMB have anything?

Budget doesn't have anything Mark wants.

He can call OMB himself.

Leo, let's say we study...

Come on.

...study some version of his amendment.

We'll look ridiculous. It's not ridiculous.

It's a stunt.

It is, but it's not ridiculous.

We say we're going to study the draft and...

There's never going to be a draft.

Mark knows that. He wants the debate.

We want our peacekeeping appropriation.

Everybody's happy.

Hardly anybody's happy.

The President's going to study reinstating...

We're for peacekeeping in Kundu.

And Mark's point is who keeps the...

I know what Mark's point is.

People who got nowhere else to go...

For advancement, they go for advancement.

( sighs )

The five guys on their way home right now...

didn't advance very far, I think, is Mark's point.

It was a computer error, Toby.

Yeah, I know.

Find out what "considering the amendment" has

to look like in order for the Black Caucus

to stay onboard.

I will. Thank you.

WILL: Decertifying Colombia

triggers automatic economic or trade sanctions.

We lose some money.

Yes. Now, the State Department feels

that the President's credibility

with his own legislature is based on his close ties

with the US, and that would obviously

be significantly damaged.

Right, but at the moment, I'm more concerned

with our credibility.

He told me at the Summit of the Americas

that he'd work toward crop diversification.

Did he mean opium and coca?

And they also asked that I remind you

that his opponent in the last election,

Garcia Larco, took campaign cash from the cartels,

and if we weaken the President,

we could get a reactionary in the next election.

Yeah, but he's not helping us,

so why should I give him political cover?

Listen, I'm serious.

What would happen if I don't recertify Colombia?

Well...

actually, you can't.

I can't what?

Can't not recertify them.

They're going to be automatically recertified.

Why?

Because the deadline was midnight...

BOTH: And it has to be delivered... Yes.

The actual signed paper? That's what the Counsel's Office...

This is really how the world works? It's how recertification works,

I'm afraid, sir, so... ( yelling ): I want this plane to land!

Did it work?

( laughs )

All right, thanks.

Thank you, Mr. President.

( door closes )

You wanted to see me?

The Chesapeake cleanup isn't going to happen.

At all?

It's not going to come out of Committee.

'Cause of the revenue enhancements?

I think a little of everything.

What happened?

Well, look, they weren't wild about it in the first place.

What happened?

Deaver didn't like

that Landis was working so closely with you.

Did those two idiots let the Republicans

on the Committee know?

They were already pissed at him.

He's vulnerable, and they want his seat.

We take back the House,

there's any number, um...

Mileage standards, reauthorize CWA--

any number of things we can do that help the environment more.

Is the President supposed to open a pizzeria

while the Republicans control Congress?

We got the peacekeeping appropriation next week.

I don't want to get into it

over $18 million for Chesapeake Bay.

We're going to lose an ally in Landis.

Well, one way or another,

I think we're going to lose Landis.

And they say the two parties can't get together on anything.

The pizzeria thing was funny.

Thank you.

I was just coming down to see you.

I just needed Leo for a second.

Angel undergoes maintenance every day,

whether the plane's going to be flying or not.

Every 154 days,

the plane's completely taken apart

and put back together again.

24 hours before wheels-up,

fuel is sealed in a tank truck

and guarded by sharpshooters.

One hour before wheels-up,

Air Force specialists drain off a gallon

and analyze it for purity

and the right levels of octane and water.

The wiring-- and this is going to be an area--

is shielded to protect it from a thermonuclear blast.

If you want to sabotage it,

you have to get by 48 armed members

of the Airlift Security Unit or join the maintenance crew,

which takes 12 years

after a two-year background check.

The guys you're talking to-- what do they think happened?

They think a light didn't work.

Why? I asked them the same thing.

What'd they say?

That sometimes lights don't work.

Okay.

( clears throat )

Hey, Air Force One going to land?

Pretty soon.

Can I just ask, out of curiosity,

at what point was Hoynes alerted?

As soon as Andrews waved off the plane.

Would you guys mind?

Could you give us the room for a second?

What?

The Democrats want a tax on clams?

It's not the Democrats this time, it's the Republicans.

It's not going to happen.

What do you mean?

It's not going to get out of Committee.

The White House is going to have to pull its support,

but there's room in the EPA budget,

room in the Interior budget.

Room for everything but my name?

Yeah.

You guys are really going to go after the seat

next time, huh?

So are the Republicans, Tom.

You're probably going to have a primary challenge.

You know, if you keep squeezing out the liberal Republicans

and the conservative Democrats...

That's who's beatable.

If I'm running scared,

I run to the right.

That's where the money is.

This was something

that was never in my lap the right way.

( laughs )

( sighs )

You know, a friend of mine's a comedian,

and he was doing a standup here in town.

A bunch of people

from the German consulate came down to see him,

and they came backstage afterwards,

and they said to him,

"How come we don't have anyone as funny as you back home?"

And my friend said,

"Because you killed them all."

Well, that's a bit of an overstatement... isn't it?

Maybe.

Thanks for the work.

You should really come to Chesapeake Bay.

It's incredibly beautiful.

I will.

He said I should come in.

Yeah.

"The President does not think we should reinstate the draft

"nor does he intend to do so,

"but he respects Chairman Richardson

"as a leader in the Congress,

"and he's eager to hear what he has to say

and to engage in thorough debate."

What's that?

What C.J. will say tomorrow from the podium

in exchange for votes of the Black Caucus

on peacekeeping in Kundu.

It's not going to screw you too much?

No, it'll screw us the regular amount.

( laughs )

This isn't new.

The Union Army had a draft

that you could buy yourself out for, for $300.

Actually,

the money ended up coming in handier

than the soldiers.

Yeah, but I don't think that was my point.

If you have money,

you have a greater life expectancy across the board.

You're going to have better health care,

better shelter, better lawyers,

and if you've got whatever today's equivalent of $300 is,

you get to be united behind the war effort

without actually fighting the war.

And you're one of my constituents, too, Toby,

so I shouldn't have to tell you that.

You don't, Congressman.

I was just on the job tonight.

Hmm.

What was your lottery number?

125. It was the last six months of the draft.

It went up to 90 that year...

but I didn't have the 300 bucks.

Hmm.

I'm going to call Sergeant Dokes' family now.

I'd like to stay, if you don't mind.

No, but stay standing.

Yeah.

( sighs )

Are we near the tower?

Gear's down. What?

They got the indicator light.

They recycled the gear, and the light went on this time.

We're landing.

I was the one who said it first.

Signal, this is C.J. Cregg.

Please turn the phones back on in the press cabin.

( applause and cheering )

We're landing.

We got an indicator light.

You should feel free to file. Thank you all very much.

Thank you, C.J.

MARK: Thank you, C.J.

KATIE: C.J., thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

( sighs ): Oh.

You heard? Yeah.

Sit down.

( sighs )

I was meaning to ask you.

Why did you ask about the front wheel before?

You asked the Colonel if it was the front wheel.

Well, if you have the rear wheels,

you can try a hard landing

where you come down hard on the back wheels

in an effort to whack the front into place.

To whack it into place? Yes.

I'm so happy I didn't have that information.

If you hit it wrong, the plane breaks in half.

It just suddenly worked? The gear?

Yeah. Yeah.

I'm not sure I'm good at living in a world

where that kind of thing is possible.

But you are.

I imagine myself destitute,

I imagine myself unlucky in love.

But I never imagine my life would be in danger

with really uncommon frequency.

It feels a little bit good, doesn't it?

No. Yes, it does.

I'll make jokes

when this whole bullfight with gravity is over.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, from the flight deck,

this is Colonel Weiskopf.

From the hooting and hollering

we can hear through our cockpit door,

you've no doubt heard

that we have a clear indicator light

on our landing gear,

and we are cleared for landing at Andrews Air Force Base.

For those keeping score,

our total flight time will have been 22 hours and 13 minutes

using three separate flight crews along the way.

We will have traveled 10,700 air miles on our return trip,

a significant portion of that

over West Virginia and Tennessee.

White House staff on the ground informs us

that while airborne on this flight,

three separate pieces

of legislation have been negotiated

and initialed by the President.

We've had an engagement, a birthday,

and the nation of Colombia was recertified as an ally

in our war against drugs.

I hope you won't consider

this time we've spent together a waste.

And now I'm being handed...

Hang on just one moment...

Yeah, ladies and gentlemen,

they're going to move us to runway three-niner.

There's a strong wind shift under 10,000 feet,

so Andrews approach has asked us to abandon our descent,

make a 30-degree right turn

and maintain our current altitude.

I'm sure we'll be down in no time now.