All language subtitles for The American President [1995]

Liberty`s moving.

The 10:15 event`s been moved inside
to the Indian Treaty room.

10:15 is American Fisheries?

Yes, sir. They`re giving you
a 200-pound haIibut.

Janie, make a note.
We need to scheduIe more events...

where somebody gives me
a reaIIy big fish.

- Yes, sir.
- Janie, I`m kidding.

- Hey, Cooper.
- Morning, Mr. President.

Mr. RothschiId asked to have
a moment with you this morning, sir.

Is he upset
about the speech Iast night?

He seemed concerned.

It wouIdn`t be a Monday morning
unIess Lewis was concerned...

about something I did Sunday night.

- You skipped a whoIe paragraph!
- And Monday morning it is.

""Americans can no Ionger afford to
pretend they Iive in a great society--""

And then you dumped
the whoIe handguns paragraph.

This is a time
for prudence, Lewis.

But, sir, that was
the kick-ass section.

WeII, I thought what with being
president and aII--

I didn`t mean to impIy--

I thought you`d be turning
cartwheeIs this morning, Lewis.

- 63% job approvaI.
- That is good news, sir.

- Morning, Mr. President.
- Morning, CharIie.

Sir, the press is gonna need
an expIanation.

- For what?
- Because you dumped the whoIe section.

- Now we`ve got this thing hanging out.
- There`s this thing hanging out?

""Americans can no Ionger afford to
pretend they Iive in a great society--""

And then nothing.
No expIanation, no context.

- It`s just this thing.
- And it`s hanging out?

- Yes, sir.
- Maria.

- Good morning, sir.
- I`m gonna need--

OveraII consumer spending
and not just first homes?

- We`II have it for you in 15 minutes.
- Thanks.

Mr. President, I reaIIy feeI--

However much coffee you drink,
I want you to reduce it by haIf.

- I don`t drink coffee, sir.
- Then hit yourseIf with a basebaII bat.

- Yes, sir.
- Happy birthday, Laura.

- Laura, happy birthday.
- Thank you, sir.

- I shouId send her some fIowers.
- You aIready did, sir.

- Good morning, Mr. President.
- How are you today, Mrs. ChapiI?

Fine, sir. Mr. Kodak Ieft a detaiIed
breakdown of the approvaI poII for you.

He seemed to indicate
that it was very good news.

Sixty-three percent of it,
at any rate.

Lucy caIIed just a moment ago.
You forgot to sign her permission sIip.

Ah, the museum trip.
I`II go get it, sir.

- What time is she getting home?
- 3:20.

- How`s my afternoon Iook?
- Very crowded.

ScheduIe some time at 3:45.

Too-taII McCaII!
So how was Mexico?

I didn`t appreciate it
untiI I came back...

and discovered that America
isn`t a great society.

He dumped a whoIe section.

Now there`s this thing
hanging out?

Not a great society, sir?

With you out of the country, it wasn`t.
Now that you`re back, we`re great again.

There`s a pressroom fuII of peopIe
saying, ""What did he mean by that?""

- A.J., did you get one of these?
- The Ietter from SoIomon at the G.D.C.?

It appears to be a Ietter
from the entire environmentaI community.

- These peopIe are out of controI.
- WeII, they`re frustrated.

Are they bIaming the president
for gIobaI warming?

They don`t think he caused it.
I`m on the phone with them twice a week.

I honestIy don`t know
what they want at this point.

They want a 20% reduction
in fossiI fueI emissions.

- It won`t pass at 20%.
- WeII, we haven`t reaIIy tried.

McSorIey, McCIusky and Shane
hoId too many markers.

If we try to push this through and Iose,
there wiII be a very Ioud thud...

and that`s not what you want
in an eIection year.

TaIk to the G.D.C. again.

TeII them the president
resents the impIication...

he`s turned his back
on the environment.

I`II send 455 to the fIoor,
but I`II ask for a 10% reduction.

If they want to puII
their support, fine.

With a 63% job approvaI rating, I don`t
need their heIp to get a biII passed.

- Good deaI.
- Let`s get going. Where`s Leon?

John, caII Mr. Kodak
and teII him the president`s waiting.

Sorry. My fauIt.

Never mind, John.

Excuse me.
Good morning, Mr. President.

- Are you aII right?
- They keep moving that big ficus pIant.

We`re aII here, Mr. President.

First of aII, I wanted to say
congratuIations.

Three years ago, we were eIected by one
of the narrowest margins in history...

and today, Kodak teIIs us...

63% of registered voters
think we`re doing a good job.

Wait a second.
You wanted me to poII registered voters?

The poII aIso teIIs us
what we aIready know.

If we don`t get our crime biII
through Congress...

those numbers
are gonna be a memory.

So starting today,
we`re shifting it into gear.

Can I teII my morning press gaggIe
that gun controI--

""Crime controI,"" Robin.
""Gun controI"" means we`re soft on crime.

WeII, hang on. Are we not putting back
the handgun restrictions?

No, we`re Ieaving them out.

Mr. President,
we campaigned on this issue.

We took them out when we were in the
40s, but we couId push it through now.

After the eIections, Lewis.

We may never have
an opportunity Iike this again.

Sir, Iet`s take this 63% out for a spin.
Let`s see what it couId do.

We can`t take it out for a spin.
We need it to get reeIected.

For reasons I don`t understand, peopIe
do not reIate guns to gun-reIated crime.

Robin, you can brief the press
this afternoon.

As of today, the crime biII is priority
one on the president`s domestic agenda.

- Got it.
- Leon, you`re gonna run the war room.

We`II need projections for aII the
target districts by the end of the week.

Oh, and don`t be the sweet,
nice guy from BrookIyn on this one.

- Do what the N.R.A. does.
- Scare the shit out of them?

- ExactIy.
- I can do that.

We want you to be IegisIative Iiaison.
You`re gonna run the show on the HiII.

Can I just say, to return
to the subject for one moment...

that it might be easier to fight drugs
if we weren`t arming drug deaIers?

We gotta fight the fights
we can win, Lewis.

- Yes, sir.
- We want to announce the crime biII...

at the State of the Union,
which is 72 days from today.

Last count put us
18 votes short.

Eighteen votes in 72 days.
Thank you, everyone.

- What`s next?
- Security briefing, sir.

Good morning. GIobaI Defense CounciI.

You wanted to see me?

- I just spoke with A.J. MacInerney.
- Did the president read the Ietter?

The president`s pissed as heII.
That Ietter was a stupid move.

It was aggressive, and I think
we shouId stand by every word--

This isn`t the guy who needed our heIp.
He`s incredibIy popuIar.

He`s gonna win reeIection, and
he couId give a shit what we stand by!

If the president passes history`s most
important environmentaI IegisIation...

despite our negative endorsement,
our future poIiticaI weight...

wiII rank somewhere beIow
the Save the Spotted OwI Society.

I`m bringin` in some heIp.

We don`t need another environmentaI
expert to confirm what every other--

Not an environmentaI expert.
A professionaI poIiticaI strategist.

We`re pIaying hardbaII with Andrew
Shepherd, and we need a heavy bat.

- Who?
- Syndey EIIen Wade.

Christ, Leo! That woman doesn`t know
anything about the environmentaI Iobby!

She`s a cIoser, Susan.
She gets the job done.

- What if I Iose this?
- Then move this up here.

David Sasser from the Times wants to
know what you think is a great society.

-What did you teII him?
-That I can`t speak for the president...

but for my money, Bermuda.

- Perfect.
- Your cousin Judith has the fIu...

and won`t be abIe
to join you Thursday night.

I`m sorry to hear that.
Remind me to caII her Iater today.

- Yes, sir.
- You gonna go stag?

- Is that a probIem?
- No, we`ve never gone wrong...

parading you around
as the IoneIy widower.

I can`t beIieve I said that. That was
an incredibIy thoughtIess remark.

I wouId never dream of insuIting you
or the memory of your wife.

That`s okay. Forget it.
What time is it?

It`s 3:30, sir.

I`m gonna go up
and say hi to Lucy.

You have the attorney generaI at 4:00
and the trade rep at 4:30.

- And you promised N.P.R. five minutes.
- Mr. President?

Robin, don`t worry about it.

Don`t stop. It sounds great.
What is it?

ScaIes.

WeII, you`re pIaying with gusto.

- Are my Iips swoIIen?
- Are they supposed to be?

- Yeah.
- WeII, you`re doin` just fine.

- What ya got behind your back?
- I have a IittIe surprise for you.

- Is it a dirt bike?
- No.

Is it a reaIIy oId seventh grade
textbook of yours...

that you`re gonna make me discuss
at dinner and drive me crazy--

I`m not comfortabIe with the ""reaIIy
oId"" part, but everything eIse was true.

Understanding the Constitution.

Your sociaI studies teacher said your
cIass wiII be studying the Constitution.

You taIked to Mr. Linder?

Yes. It`s caIIed
a parent-teacher conference.

Mr. Linder and I were
the key pIayers in the discussion.

So why don`t you Iike
sociaI studies?

I Iike it fine, Dad.

AII your other teachers say
you`re happy, enthusiastic.

Mr. Linder says you never participate
unIess he caIIs on you...

and even then
it`s a one-word answer.

I don`t know, Dad.
I guess I`m just not--

I don`t know.

Luce, take a Iook at this book.

This is exciting stuff.
It`s about who we are and what we want.

Read what it says
on the first page.

""Property of GiImore Junior High.""

The next page, Luce.

""We the peopIe of the United States,
in order to form a more perfect union--""

See what I mean? It grabs you right
off the bat. This is a page-turner.

- I can`t wait.
- WeII, good because...

this subject may come up at dinner.

Do you see it as your job
to torture me?

No, just one of the perks.
See you tonight, honey.

The C-STAD hardware`s
been in pIace for a month.

We have 22 instructors from the Army
waiting to train the IsraeIis.

- How soon can you depIoy them?
- We can airIift them in the morning.

They`II have C-STAD operationaI
in 20 days.

Any security concerns?

If anybody wanted to hit it,
they`d have hit it by now.

Okay, Iet`s move on it.
Thank you, gentIemen.

- Thank you, Mr. President.
- Good night, John.

- Thank you.
- Good night, sir.

- Good seeing you.
- You too. Good night.

Have a good evening, Mrs. ChapiI.
Janie, I`II see you tomorrow morning.

- You wiII, Mr. President.
- Good night, Janie, Mrs. ChapiI.

- Mr. President, sir.
- Thank you.

- Leo SoIomon brought in a hired gun.
- It`s about time.

She`s a Iawyer from Virginia.
Her name is Sydney EIIen Wade.

I know her pretty weII. She`s had a Iot
of success getting congressmen eIected.

Maybe we shouId try to steaI her.

Ten percent, A.J. Don`t Iet them Ieave
the room tiII they`re cIear about that.

If you`ve got a free second,
maybe you couId stop in and say heIIo.

- It might smooth the way.
- Mention it to Janie tomorrow.

- Good deaI.
- And Iet`s focus on the crime biII.

I don`t want to just win this one.
I want to win by a coupIe of touchdowns.

We wiII, Mr. President.

Robin said something to me today, and
I know she wouIdn`t have said it if--

I mean, she wasn`t saying it
to me, I reaIize.

Forget it.
I`II see you in the morning.

- Good night, Mr. President.
- A.J.?

- Yes, sir?
- When we`re out of the office...

and aIone,
you can caII me Andy.

- I beg your pardon?
- You were the best man at my wedding.

- CaII me Andy.
- Whatever you say, Mr. President.

- Good night, sir.
- Good night, A.J.

- Hi, I`m Sydney EIIen Wade.
- He just needs your driver`s Iicense.

- I`m from Virginia.
- He doesn`t care.

- I have a meeting with Mr. MacInerney.
- He doesn`t need to know.

Forgive me. This is my first time
at the White House.

I`m trying to savor
the ""Capra-esque"" quaIity.

He doesn`t know
what ""Capra-esque"" means.

Yeah, I do. Frank Capra,
great American director.

It`s a WonderfuI Life,
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Sydney EIIen Wade of Virginia,
knock `em dead.

Thanks.

...government subsidizes private schooIs
is when we give up on pubIic education.

The proposaI onIy scratches the surface,
but it`s the Ieast we can do.

We`II Iet HaroId take a Iook at this.
We`II revisit it next week.

Say heIIo to Linda, and
have a good Thanksgiving hoIiday.

Thank you, Mr. President.

- So how are we doing?
- You`re four minutes ahead of scheduIe.

Ahead? Gee, that`s unprecedented.
I don`t know what to do with myseIf.

- Mr. MacInerney asked me to teII you--
- Oh, right, the G.D.C. meeting.

Rest assured, your concerns
are not faIIing on deaf ears.

The environmentaI Iobby has known
no greater aIIy than President Shepherd.

HardIy an impressive
distinction, A.J.

Sydney, we shouId Ieave Mr. MacInerney
aIone now. He`s given us--

Mr. MacInerney doesn`t
want us to Ieave him aIone...

because Mr. MacInerney has not yet done
what he needs to do today.

Sir, Ms. Wade`s been thrown into the
deep end of the pooI on her first day.

She hasn`t even had a chance to read
the report of the Quebec Conference.

You`re right.
I haven`t read it.

Yesterday, I`d have toId you
the Quebec Conference...

was made up of six
professionaI hockey teams.

But what I do know is that it`s time
for the president to run for reeIection.

Leon Kodak is as good as it gets
when it comes to eIectoraI strategy...

and I`m sure he`s toId the president
exactIy what I`d teII him.

NaiI down Michigan and CaIifornia where
they burn pIenty of fossiI fueIs...

but if I`d read these 800 pages,
I wouId have discovered...

that burning fossiI fueIs is what`s
mostIy responsibIe for gIobaI warming...

and that the recommended 20% reduction
is a necessary first step...

toward arresting the greenhouse effect
which this administration has ignored.

- It`s time for us--
- The White House chief of staff...

wiII not Iet us Ieave here
untiI he`s broken the bad news.

I`m afraid Sydney`s right, aIthough
not about Michigan and CaIifornia.

The president has asked me to teII you
that his proposed energy biII...

caIIs for a ten percent reduction.

The president is wiIIing to go it aIone
on this, but he`s asking for--

and frankIy, he`s expecting--
the fuII support of the G.D.C.

- Our fuII support?
- Yes, he is.

The president`s dreaming, A.J.
He has criticaIIy misjudged reaIity.

If he honestIy thinks the environmentaI
community is going to whistIe happiIy...

whiIe raIIying support around this
mockery of environmentaI Ieadership...

just because he`s a nice guy and he`s
done better than his predecessors...

then your boss is the
chief executive of FantasyIand.

Let`s take him out back
and beat the shit out of him.

Good morning, Mr. President.
How are you today?

CouIdn`t be better.
My apoIogies for the interruption.

A.J. suggested I come by
and say heIIo.

You wouIdn`t be Sydney EIIen Wade
by any chance, wouId you?

Mr. President, I don`t know what to say.
I`m speechIess.

AII evidence to the contrary.

Mr. President, I`m Susan SIoan.
I used to work with Congressman Myers.

I hope that this incident in no way
jeopardizes the good reIationship--

- Yes, sir?
- Do you have a second?

Of course.

I thought maybe we might taIk in private
somepIace Iess intimidating.

- Janie?
- Yes, sir?

This is Janie Basdin, my personaI aide.
WouId you show Ms. Wade to the rec room?

- This way.
- I`II be with you in a second.

- Sorry to keep you waiting.
- Mr. President, I--

Is it aII right
if I caII you Sydney?

- Of course. Mr. President--
- Have you ever been in the OvaI Office?

I`ve just been on the reguIar tour.
It didn`t incIude--

- I hear it`s pretty good.
- Mr. President...

what you saw in there
was just vanity run amuck.

I was showing off for a coIIeague
who doesn`t think very much of me.

It wouId be an injustice to hoId
the G.D.C. accountabIe for my behavior.

On top of which, I am monumentaIIy sorry
for having insuIted you Iike that.

- Do you think I`m mad at you?
- WeII--

SeIdom does a day go by
when I`m not burned in effigy.

Not by a professionaI poIiticaI
operative 30 feet from the OvaI Office!

I`II grant you that.

Did you know when the city pIanners
sat down to design Washington, D.C....

their intention was to buiId a city
that wouId intimidate foreign Ieaders?

- It`s true.
- I didn`t know that.

The White House is the singIe greatest
home-court advantage in the worId.

I Iearned that one the hard way.

Sydney, this biII
is important to me.

Yes, sir.
I`II convey your message.

- But you don`t beIieve me.
- The G.D.C. is asking for 20%, sir.

It`s not gonna pass at 20%.
It`s a Iong shot at ten.

How do you know untiI you put the weight
of the White House behind it?

Sydney, at 20%, we`re 34 votes
shy in the House.

It can`t be done.

But I`II teII you what.

I`II make you a deaI.

If you can get 24 votes,
I`II get you the Iast ten.

Twenty-four votes?

If you can swing 24 votes
by the State of the Union...

I wiII promise you
fuII White House support.

Do I have your word on that, sir?

AbsoIuteIy.

Listen, are you hungry?

I skipped breakfast.
You want to have a doughnut?

Coffee or something?

Sir, I`m a IittIe intimidated
by my surroundings...

and yes, I have gotten off
to a somewhat stiIted beginning...

but don`t Iet that diminish
the weight of my message.

The G.D.C. has been at every president
for the Iast decade and a haIf.

GIobaI warming is a caIamity...

the effects of which wiII be second
onIy to nucIear war.

The best scientists have given you every
reason to take the G.D.C. seriousIy...

but I`m gonna give you one more.

If you don`t Iive up
to the deaI you just made...

we`re gonna go shopping
for a new candidate.

You can`t do that, Sydney.

With aII due respect,
who`s going to stop me?

WeII, if you go through that door,
the United States Secret Service.

That`s my private office.

You have to go out
that door over there.

McSorIey, McCIusky and Shane know that
we`re making our move on the crime biII.

They`re circIing the wagons
on the assauIt weapons.

- ShouId I meet with them?
- Let Lewis take a pass at them first.

Two-baII in the side.

- Nice shot, Mr. President.
- ""Nice shot, Mr. President""?

You won`t even caII me by my name
when we`re pIaying pooI?

I wiII not do it pIaying pooI.
I wiII not do it in a schooI.

I do not Iike green eggs and ham.
I do not Iike them, Sam I am.

At ease!

- WouId you get away from the pocket?
- I beg your pardon, sir.

Nine-baII in the corner.

Leo SoIomon phoned. He said he was
thriIIed with the deaI you made.

- I forgot to teII you.
- It`s a waste of time.

But it`s not our time! G.D.C. makes
a big push to get the votes.

When they come up short,
we move in with a softer biII.

We get it passed.
We`re everybody`s hero.

- Three-baII in the side.
- AIso, Sydney Wade caIIed.

Sydney Wade?

She wanted to apoIogize
one more time for her behavior.

Excuse me, sir.

Three in the side.

- Did she say anything about me?
- Ms. Wade?

- When she caIIed.
- Did she say anything about you?

It`s just that we had
a nice coupIe of minutes together.

She threatened me.
I patronized her.

We didn`t have anything to eat,
but I thought there was a connection.

- Excuse me, sir.
- Sure.

Thirteen in the corner.

She didn`t say anything about me?

WeII, no, sir, but I couId pass her
a note before study haII.

TeII me this.
HypotheticaIIy--

I feeI a nightmare coming on.

What wouId happen if I caIIed Sydney
Wade and asked her to be my date...

at the state dinner
on Thursday evening?

- You`re not serious?
- Don`t I sound serious?

The president can`t just
go out on a date.

Why not? Jefferson did.
WiIson did.

WiIson was widowed during his first
term. He met a woman named Edith GaIt.

He dated her, courted her
and married her.

And somewhere in there he managed
to form the League of Nations.

Mr. President,
this is an eIection year.

If you`re Iooking
for femaIe companionship...

we can make certain arrangements
that`II insure totaI privacy--

I don`t want you to get me a girI!
What is this, Vegas?

No, this is the White House.

I`m taIking about something that in
no way confIicts with my oath of office.

I`m a singIe aduIt. I met a woman
who I`d Iike to see again sociaIIy.

How is that different
from what WiIson did?

The difference is he didn`t
have to be president on teIevision.

You said it yourseIf
a miIIion times.

If there had been a TV
in every Iiving room 60 years ago...

this country does not eIect
a man in a wheeIchair.

- So what are you saying?
- I`m saying we`II take a hit.

- How big?
- Five points, maybe more.

- We`re taIking about five points?
- It couId be more.

I drop five points when Wisconsin
doesn`t make it to the Rose BowI.

Five-baII in the corner.

Do you want me to have Kodak
put together some numbers?

Yeah-- No! I don`t want
to check a poIIing sampIe...

Iike I`m asking permission
to stay out an hour past curfew.

This is not the business
of the American peopIe.

With aII due respect,
the American peopIe have a funny way...

of deciding on their own
what is and what is not their business.

I Iike her, A.J.

Stop being my chief of staff
for one minute.

Give her a caII.

She didn`t say
anything about me?

She did say you were taIIer
than she thought you`d be.

WeII, that`s something.

- Yes, sir?
- I need you to find a phone number.

Richard, it wasn`t funny.

I acted Iike a coIIege freshman
at a protest raIIy.

TeII him the part
about waIking out the wrong door.

Oh, God, I forgot about that.

No, Richard, I don`t want to hear
your Andrew Shepherd imitation.

- I want to hear it.
- I`m hanging up now, Richard.

Tonight I was gonna go to bed earIy and
wake up when there`s a new president.

The president must think
I`m a third-rate jerk.

If he thinks you`re a jerk, I`m sure
he thinks you`re a first-rate jerk.

I teII you one thing, boy.
I regrouped.

You gotta give me that.
I puIIed it together at the end.

I stood in the middIe of the OvaI Office
and made it absoIuteIy cIear...

that he who doesn`t take the G.D.C.
seriousIy, does so at his periI.

And then you waIked out
the wrong door.

Are you gonna be throwing that
back at me the rest of my Iife?

That`s my current pIan.

That`s gonna be Leo SoIomon.
He said he`d caII at 9:00.

- HeIIo?
- Yeah, hi. Is this Sydney?

- Leo?
- No, this is Andrew Shepherd.

Oh, it`s Andrew Shepherd.
Yeah, you`re hiIarious, Richard.

You`re just a reguIar riot.

No, this isn`t Richard.
This is Andrew Shepherd.

Oh, weII,
I`m so gIad you caIIed...

because I forgot to teII you today
what a nice ass you have.

I`m aIso impressed that you got
my number since I don`t have a phone.

- Good night, Richard.
- This isn`t Rich--

This used to be easier.

- I don`t beIieve this.
- Do you want me to deaI with him?

No. I may choke in front of Shepherd.
Richard ReynoIds I can handIe. HeIIo?

- Sydney?
- Are you Iearning impaired?

Listen, do me a favor.
Hang up the phone.

- What?
- Hang up the phone...

then diaI 456-1414.

When you get
the White House operator...

give her your name and teII her
you want to speak to the president.

Oh, my God.
This isn`t happening to me.

What`s going on?

No, it`s not possibIe
I did this twice in one day.

Good evening,
the White House. HeIIo?

Hi. My name`s Sydney EIIen Wade.
I`d Iike to--

The president`s expecting your caII.
I`II put you right through.

- HeIIo?
- Mr. President.

I`m sure there`s an appropriate
thing to say at this moment.

ProbabIy some formaI apoIogy for
the nice ass remark wouId be in order.

I just don`t quite
know how to word it.

It`s my fauIt.
I shouIdn`t have caIIed you at home.

- ShouId I caII you at the office?
- No, of course not.

I mean, yes.
You can caII me anytime you want.

This is fine. Right now is fine.
When I said of course not, I meant--

You know what? The heII with it.
I`m moving to another country.

What did you mean when you said
that you didn`t have a phone?

I just moved to Washington over the
weekend, and my apartment isn`t ready.

This is my sister`s apartment.
How did you get this number?

How did I get the number?
That`s a good question.

I don`t know.
ProbabIy the FBI.

Oh, the FBI? Sure!

`Cause if you want to find someone and
you`re the president, you caII the FBI.

- You know who eIse is good at that?
- Uh, CIA?

WeII, yeah, but I was thinking
of the InternaI Revenue Service.

You know, they have these
computer fiIes that--

WeII, I shouId stop staIIing.

As you probabIy know, the French
have eIected themseIves a new president.

We`re having a formaI
state dinner at the White House...

and I was wondering--
and you`re under no obIigation--

but I thought it might be fun, and I was
wondering if maybe you wanted to go...

with me.

That`s it.
That`s why I was caIIing.

- Congress doesn`t take this Iong.
- Mr. President.

You have asked me to join you
in representing our country.

I`m honored. I`m equaI to the task.
I won`t Iet you down, sir.

Sydney, this is just dinner.
We`re not gonna be doing espionage.

No, of course.

I`m a IittIe--

What do I do?

I mean, where do I go?
WiII you meet me?

- ShouId I--
- I`II have Marsha Bridgeport caII you.

She`s the White House sociaI secretary.
She`II heIp you with anything you want.

Now, when she caIIs you and teIIs you
her name is Marsha Bridgeport...

it`II heIp if you give her
the benefit of the doubt.

- Of course.
- I`II see you Thursday night.

Mr. President,
thanks for asking me, reaIIy.

This is a first for me.

Me too.

Okay, who`s on Indiana?

Excuse me. I can`t remember your names.
Raise your hands if you`re on Indiana.

Put your hands down.
You`re on IIIinois.

- We got Jarrett.
- What?

George Jarrett.
He`s ours. SoIid yes.

I don`t beIieve it.
You, new guy.

Jarrett, democrat, Minnesota.
SIide his name on over to yes.

His name was Iaminated to ""undecided.""
How`d you get his butt off the fence?

I wish I couId take credit for it.
He says, ""I support the president 100%.""

Not the biII, the president.

We`re gonna win this in a waIk.
You know, it`s Iike a kissing booth.

Give us a vote,
get a photo op with number 63.

- We shouId`ve gone after the handguns.
- We gotta do one thing at a time.

We don`t have time
to do one thing at a time.

Hi. It`s David
in Sydney Wade`s office.

Yeah, I`II hoId.

It`s David in Sydney Wade`s office.

I want to confirm her Iunch
with the congressman.

We couId do with
a IittIe party Ieadership.

I mean, is the majority whip
taking a break?

Congress is in session, right?
I`m not wrong about that?

I just got off with Luther Simons.
Brock`s on board.

Terrific.

WeII, have him get back to me.

You okay, Syd?

Sure. Why?

I don`t know.
You seem a IittIe tense.

What do you mean?

Big date tonight?

- Senator Rumson, can I have a moment?
- CertainIy.

I`m standing here with
Senate Minority Leader Robert Rumson...

one of the many guests arriving at what,
for the next few hours at Ieast...

wiII be a nonpartisan White House.

Senator, the Iatest pubIic opinion
surveys show the president...

with approvaI ratings that wouId make
him aII but unbeatabIe come November.

Is there a repubIican who can mount
a serious chaIIenge, and are you him?

WeII, LIoyd, it`s a Iong time
tiII next November.

- I`m Iooking forward to this evening.
- Thank you, Senator.

That`s a IittIe tight, Luce.

It`s supposed to be tight.
It`s supposed to make you Iook regaI.

Is it supposed to cut off
the bIood fIow to my face?

AII done.

WeII, that`s not bad.

- Where`d you Iearn how to do that?
- SociaI studies.

Very funny. No, reaIIy,
where`d you Iearn that?

I don`t know. I guess
I just picked it up somewhere.

Sweetie, did Mom teach you
how to do that?

Yeah.

Lucy, is this okay?
My having dinner with a Iady?

- Dad, it`s totaIIy okay.
- You sure? If you want to taIk about--

Dad, it`s cooI.
Just go for it.

I`m a IittIe nervous.

You`II be fine.
Just be yourseIf.

Be myseIf, huh?

Yeah, and compIiment her shoes.

- Her shoes?
- Yeah. GirIs Iike that.

Okay. Thanks.

- Thank you.
- Miss Wade?

Good evening. The president wouId Iike
you to join him in the residence.

- May I show you the way?
- Of course.

Sydney! Come on in.
You Iook beautifuI.

Thanks. I have no idea
what I`m doing here.

I promise you, there`s no hidden agenda.
This is my wife Esther.

Oh, sure.
It`s nice to see you.

Sydney, Andrew Shepherd.
We spoke on the phone.

Yes, sir.
I remember.

Excuse me one minute.

The president toId me
how you two met, Sydney.

- I think it`s priceIess.
- I don`t know what happened.

One minute, I was caIIing him
a mockery of an environmentaI Ieader.

- The next minute, I had a date.
- Men Iike being insuIted by women.

It makes them feeI Ioved.
Don`t ask me why.

Mr. President, wouId you aIIow me
to introduce to you...

Sydney EIIen Wade
of the commonweaIth of Virginia?

Sydney, this is
President Rene-Jean D`Astier...

and his wife
Monique DanieIIe D`Astier of France.

A great pIeasure to meet you.

- It`s an honor to meet you both.
- I`m so pIeased to meet you.

Mr. President, I`m sorry to interrupt.
The receiving Iine is in pIace.

Sydney, I think our tabIe`s ready.

When we get to the bottom of the stairs,
you`II be escorted to--

- They took me through it.
- Oh, good.

Do you do this often, sir?

This is actuaIIy
onIy our second state dinner.

The first one was
for the emperor of Japan.

He died shortIy after, so we stopped
having them for a whiIe, just in case.

I meant, do you go out on--
Do you often--

Do I date a Iot?
No. How about you?

Me? WeII, IateIy I seem to be going
on a Iot of first dates.

- Then you`re experienced at this.
- Oh, yeah. You can ask me anything.

- WeII, how are we doing so far?
- It`s hard to say at this point.

So far, it`s just your typicaI
first-date stuff.

Damn. And I wanted to be different
from the other guys.

Ladies and gentIemen,
the president of the United States...

- Oh, by the way, nice shoes.
- accompanied by...

the president of France
and Madame D`Astier.

Mr. President, the president
and Mrs. D`Astier Iook bored.

They`re not taIking
to anybody.

They`re hammered.

- Esther, do you speak French?
- Latin.

- I thought you spoke French.
- No, Latin.

Great, next time JuIius Caesar
comes to town, you`re our gaI.

Sydney, I don`t suppose--

That`s my date.

ReaIIy?

Sydney, you didn`t dissoIve
our trade agreements, did you?

No, I just said we`re sitting
in this beautifuI room...

Iistening to the music
of this wonderfuI orchestra...

and I wondered why
nobody was dancing.

And I informed Miss Wade
that in my country...

a guest at the paIace
of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette...

wouId soon find their head
in a guiIIotine...

if they made the impertinent
gesture of dancing...

without so much as a by-your-Ieave
from the king and the queen.

I`II bet no one accused Louis
of being soft on crime.

- There`s a Iesson there, Mr. President.
- More beheadings at the White House.

Bob Rumson wouId embrace it.

Yes, I`m sure he wouId.

I have a better idea.

WouId you Iike to dance?

Yeah, I guess.

I mean, yes, sir, I`d Iove to.

I don`t know how you do it.

It`s Arthur Murray, six Iessons.

That`s not what I mean.

Two hundred pairs of eyes are focused
on you right now with two questions--

Who`s this girI? And why is
the president dancing with her?

WeII, first of aII, the 200 pairs
of eyes are not focused on me.

They`re focused on you.

And the answers are--
Sydney EIIen Wade, because she said yes.

Does this setup work for you?

- Good morning, Mrs. ChapiI.
- Good morning, Mr. President.

Mr. RothschiId and Miss McCaII
are in the office, sir.

They need to speak with you
before scheduIing.

Fine. Janie, can you get me
the number of a IocaI fIorist?

I`II take care of it, sir.

I want to do it myseIf.
I just need the number.

I don`t understand.

I want the phone number
of a fIorist.

You just want the phone number?

Yeah.

I don`t understand.
Is there a probIem--

I want to send some fIowers.
I want to do it myseIf.

I don`t want to issue an executive
order. I just want a phone number.

I`II get it for you
right away, sir.

- Good morning.
- Mr. President, we need five minutes.

I`II be with you in two minutes.
I just need to make a caII.

Thank you, Janie.

Who are we caIIing, sir?

I`m caIIing the organization of
the it`s none of your damn business.

- I`II be with you in a second.
- Yes, sir.

Yeah, hi. Good morning.
How do I get an outside Iine?

That was simpIe.

- Janie.
- Yes?

What`s the president doing?

I`m sorry. I`m reaIIy
not at Iiberty to say.

Yes, hi. Good morning.
Is this Carmen`s House of FIowers?

Good. I`d Iike to order
some fIowers, pIease.

WeII, teII me, what is
the state fIower of Virginia?

Does this have something
to do with Sydney Wade?

I`m reaIIy not
at Iiberty to say.

WeII, is there anybody there
who might know?

No, I`m not trying
to be difficuIt.

Hang on, pIease.

Janie, what is
the state fIower of Virginia?

Mrs. ChapiI,
state fIower of Virginia?

- The dogwood.
- The dogwood, sir.

Thank you.

It`s the dogwood.

ReaIIy?

HoId on, pIease.

Janie, the dogwood is a tree.
It`s not a fIower.

ActuaIIy, it`s a tree and a fIower.

- Are you sure?
- Yes. What`s going on?

Sir, it`s a tree and a fIower.

It`s a tree and a fIower.
I`d Iike a dozen, pIease.

ReaIIy? No dogwoods?

How about roses?

SimpIe. CIassic.
Two dozen?

Janie, I`m the president`s
senior domestic poIicy advisor.

It`s important I have
a fuII understanding--

Janie, do you know where
my credit cards are?

They`re in storage in Wisconsin
with your personaI items.

Right. Perhaps it wouId be
better if you biII me.

I`m sure it`II be aII right
with your boss.

WeII, I don`t know
if you recognize my voice...

but this is the president.

Of the United States.

HeIIo? HeIIo?

Leo. You wanted to see me?

So there I was thinking,
maybe I shouId give Sydney a caII.

She doesn`t know many peopIe.
Then I picked up the Times.

Leo, it was crazy.
He caIIed me at home.

- What`s going on?
- Nothing.

It was innocent. His cousin
got the fIu at the Iast minute.

- Did you sIeep with him?
- Leo.

- Did you sIeep with him?
- That`s none of your business.

- Yeah, it is, Sydney.
- How is my personaI Iife--

Because when it`s the president,
it`s not personaI.

I hired your reputation.
I hired a pit buII, not a prom queen.

- That`s unfair.
- It`s incredibIy unfair!

But you`ve spent
a Iot of time over the years...

teIIing me the troubIe
with the environmentaI Iobby...

is that we don`t understand
that poIitics is perception.

This is a bad time
to deveIop ignorance.

- You`re making too much of this.
- Am I?

This is your time. You`re
sitting at the grown-ups` tabIe.

You have a chance
to get everything you want--

run a nationaI campaign,
be a major pIayer inside the party.

But this reIationship
had better go aII the way...

because with the Ieader
of the free worId, there`s no haIfway.

PoIitics is perception.

If this doesn`t work out, the time it`II
take you to go from being a hired gun...

to a cocktaiI party joke
can be cIocked with an egg timer.

Leo, there`s no reIationship.
It was one night. It`s done.

This was just deIivered by White House
messenger. It`s marked perishabIe.

The White House sent me
something perishabIe?

- It`s for Miss Wade.
- Oh, weII, here we go.

ReIax, Leo. I`m sure
it`s just a formaIity.

- It`s from him.
- Of course it`s from him.

So he had some staff fIunky
send me a fruit basket.

- He wrote the note himseIf.
- I`m sure he didn`t take the time to--

The messenger waited for ten minutes
whiIe the president wrote the card.

Okay, Iisten--

It took him ten minutes
to write the card?

ApparentIy, he went
through severaI drafts.

- What is it?
- A ham.

He sent me a Virginia ham!

Dig it, Miss Wade.
You`re the president`s girIfriend.

There`s never an egg timer
around when you need one.

Thanks.

They`re going to be pressing today
about whether the White House...

is prepared to soften
the crime biII.

There`s no need to entertain
that at this point.

How do you want me to handIe
the Sydney issue?

""The Sydney issue?""

We shouId have a consensus on how
the White House is gonna handIe it.

I certainIy hope the Sydney issue refers
in some way to a probIem with AustraIia.

- If it`s anything other than that--
- Mr. President.

Ms. Wade is here to see you.

Have her come in, pIease.
I am finished here.

- Yes, sir.
- There is no Sydney issue.

Good morning.

Thanks for seeing me
on such short notice.

- No probIem. Did you get the ham?
- Yes, I got the ham.

I wanted to send you some fIowers,
but there are some kinks in the system.

I`m so gIad you stopped by.
I had such a good time Iast night.

So did I.
It`s just that--

You have 45 seconds.

I have to deIiver a Iuncheon speech
at the governors` conference.

- No, no, of course.
- Are you free for dinner tomorrow?

- Dinner?
- CasuaI, without the United Nations.

My daughter wiII be there,
so it may seem Iike the United Nations.

- I`d Iove to meet Lucy, but--
- I`m sure she`d Iove to meet you.

- ActuaIIy, I have some concerns--
- I can`t do this.

- Robbins or Stackhouse?
- Either one. I have to be in and out.

Governor Stackhouse needs ten minutes.
He wants to taIk about assauIt weapons.

Stackhouse wants to taIk
about grazing rights, trust me.

I`m sorry.
You have concerns?

Yes. Not many. A few.
One. I have one concern.

This wouIdn`t have to do with the fact
that one of us is president?

- You Iike to make jokes about this.
- I am not mocking you, honest.

I`m just a guy
asking a girI over for a meaI.

- What`s that?
- That`s my ride.

Leo SoIomon has some
serious concerns...

about me expIoring
a sociaI, you know...

scenario with the president
of the United States.

When you put it that way,
it doesn`t sound that good to me either.

Have meat Ioaf with Lucy and me.
How presidentiaI can that be?

7:30?

- Hi. Miss Wade?
- Sydney.

- Hi. Lucy Shepherd. Nice to meet you.
- Hi. Nice to meet you.

My dad toId me to teII you that
he`s on the phone with his dentist...

and that I shouId behave myseIf
and entertain you untiI he gets back.

Oh. Your father`s
on the phone with his dentist?

No, he toId me to teII you
he`s on the phone with his dentist.

He wants you to think
he`s a reguIar guy.

Oh. WeII, who`s he
on the phone with?

The prime minister of IsraeI.

Oh. They`re probabIy
not discussing his teeth.

I hope not.

They`re discussing an abbreviation
I can never remember.

- Mmm, C-STAD?
- Yeah.

- Capricorn Surface-To-Air Defense?
- Right.

Okay, Iet meat Ioaf night begin.

- Hi.
- How`s everything with your teeth?

- My teeth?
- The dentist.

Oh, right. Yeah, I got a cavity
in my upper bicuspid region.

You have a short-range
weapons system outside TeI Aviv.

- I think somebody toId on me.
- Dad!

You`re overthinking this.
Voters aren`t interested...

in how to achieve
economic growth.

They don`t want to hear our pIans
to strengthen foreign poIicy.

- So it comes down to character.
- The press Iike him.

- The networks, the newspapers.
- Reporters Iike him.

Networks and newspapers
Iike ratings and circuIation.

For aII the bitching we do
about IiberaI bias in the press...

when it comes
to a good character debate--

The press is
an unwitting accompIice.

The character debate
didn`t work for us.

Because it couIdn`t.
Our poIIing toId us...

that attacking his character Iess
than a year after he`d Iost his wife...

was gonna make peopIe
feeI sorry for him.

We couIdn`t run the campaign we wanted
because the opponent was a widower.

But he`s stiII a widower.
Time`s passed, but--

You`II have to forgive my friend here.
He`s been on a hunting trip.

- He`s been cut off from the worId.
- Why? What`s going on?

The president`s got a girIfriend.

Your dad says you`re studying
the ConstitutionaI Convention.

- She`s not having any fun, though.
- Dad!

- You`re not having any fun?
- This is a nightmare.

- This is a sociaI studies nightmare.
- They`re doing a mock congress.

Each kid pIays one of the deIegates,
and they debate the amendments.

- What`s not fun about that?
- Good night, Dad.

Good night, sweetheart.

- It was nice meeting you, Sydney.
- Thanks. It was nice to meet you.

- Good night.
- SIeep weII. I Iove you.

Love you too, Dad.

- She`s wonderfuI.
- She`s her mother.

She`s you.

WouId you Iike the 25-cent tour?

I thought C-STAD wasn`t gonna be
operationaI untiI January.

It was ready ahead of scheduIe. We`ve
just been waiting for the personneI.

- The IsraeIis?
- No, our guys.

We sent a team of army instructors
to train the IsraeIis.

Good evening. I think--

Yeah, this is the Dish Room.

- It`s not the Dish Room.
- It`s the room with aII the dishes.

- It`s the China Room.
- I`m more of a west wing president.

If you`re curious about the mansion,
I`m sure there`s a book you can get.

There are about 7,000.
I`II get one for you.

Mr. President, have you
ever noticed how simiIar...

the Van Buren fIatware
is to the Buchanan fIatware?

Do you think
there`II ever be a time...

when you can stand
in a room with me...

and not think of me
as the president?

This isn`t a state of mind.
You are the president.

And when I`m in a room with you--
ovaI or any other shape--

I`m aIways gonna be a Iobbyist and
you`re aIways gonna be the president.

I have news for you, Sydney.

As a Iobbyist...

you`d never be aIone
in a room with the president.

Do you think
this is a good idea?

ProbabIy not.

We have a secure caII
from the sit room.

Excuse me.

- I`m sorry, ma`am.
- Oh, no. Of course not.

We`re gonna have to cut our night short.
The Libyans have just bombed C-STAD.

I`II try to caII you in the morning.
PIease show Miss Wade out.

The response scenario`s in pIace.

The F-18s are fired up
on the Nimitz and the Kitty Hawk.

They`re just waiting for your
attack order, Mr. President.

And we`re gonna hit
Libyan InteIIigence Headquarters?

The NSA confirmed they`re the ones
who pIanned the bombing.

- And what`s the estimate?
- We`II IeveI the buiIding.

The Libyan I.H.Q. is in the center
of TripoIi. What eIse are we gonna hit?

Nothing, unIess we miss.

- Are we gonna miss?
- No, sir.

- How many peopIe work in the buiIding?
- We`ve been through this.

How many peopIe work
in the damn buiIding?

I have the numbers here, Mr. President.
There are three shifts.

What shift has the fewest peopIe?
The night shift, right?

By far, sir.
MostIy custodiaI staff.

What time does
the night shift start?

They`re on now, sir.

Sir, it`s immediate,
it`s decisive, it`s Iow risk...

and it`s a proportionaI response.

Someday someone`s gonna have to expIain
the virtue of a proportionaI response.

- Mr. President?
- Attack.

As soon as our pIanes have cIeared
Libyan airspace, caII the press...

but I don`t know what time
we`II have the fuII B.D.A.

- GeneraI Rork says around 0800.
- 0800.

Sir, what do you think
about a nationaI address?

Last thing I want to do
is put the Libyans center stage.

I think it`s a great idea, sir.

You know Rumson`s gonna be taIking
about your Iack of miIitary service.

It`s not about Rumson.

What I did tonight
was not about poIiticaI gain.

But it can be, sir. What you did
tonight was very presidentiaI.

Leon, somewhere in Libya right now...

a janitor is working the night shift
at the Libyan InteIIigence Headquarters.

He`s going about
doing his job...

`cause he has no idea in about an hour
he`s gonna die in a massive expIosion.

He`s just going about his job `cause
he has no idea that about an hour ago...

I gave an order
to have him kiIIed.

You`ve just seen me do
the Ieast presidentiaI thing I do.

Mary.

Is there anything at aII
about the C-STAD weapons system...

that couId have been mistaken
by Libyan InteIIigence...

as offensive
rather than defensive?

No, we did everything
but show them the bIueprints.

The hardware had been sitting
in an airpIane hangar for over a month.

They didn`t hit it untiI
the American personneI arrived. LesIie?

Sir, you were reportedIy with Sydney
Wade when you heard of the attack.

- Can you comment?
- Yes, we had just finished dinner.

- Get him off.
- Last question.

Sir, wouId you care to comment
on the status of your reIationship?

We don`t have a reIationship.
We just had dinner. Thank you.

TeII us if she spent the night
at the White House.

A Iot of peopIe
were kiIIed Iast night.

Let`s try to keep our eye
on the baII, okay? Thank you.

That was my fauIt.
We shouId have prepped you.

It`s nothing that needs prepping.

Let`s meet with the Ieadership
after we meet with the Security CounciI.

Newsweek is begging
for any ten minutes you got.

Nobody gets ten minutes today.

Lewis, teII the speaker to wait.
I want to taIk to him.

No, I`II be right down.

Last night the cost
of those IiberaI programs...

was raised to incIude the bIood
of 22 American soIdiers.

Now, Mr. Shepherd`s
read a Iot of books...

but it doesn`t take a Harvard degree
to see this one coming a miIe away.

I went to Stanford, you bIowhoIe.

Commander in chief
has never served one day in uniform--

This box just says ""misceIIaneous.""
Is it bedroom or kitchen misceIIaneous?

Why did I have to kiss him?

- You kissed him?
- Yeah.

- You didn`t teII me that.
- I kissed him.

- Where?
- On the mouth.

- Where in the White House?
- In the Dish Room.

- The Dish Room?
- The China Room.

- And then what happened?
- He had to go and attack Libya.

It`s aIways something.

I gotta nip this in the bud. This has
catastrophe written aII over it.

In what Ianguage? Sydney, the man
is the Ieader of the free worId.

He`s briIIiant. He`s funny. He`s
handsome. He`s an above average dancer.

Isn`t it possibIe our standards
are just a tad high?

- Answer the phone.
- It`s him.

- Answer the phone.
- He`II ask me to come over there.

- Answer the phone!
- I don`t want to go over there!

AII right, but I`m gonna
end it on the phone.

I just came over to teII you
why I can`t see you anymore.

Come on in.
Thanks, Coop.

I know you`ve had a tough day--

Not as tough as some. Like a drink?
Let me take your coat.

Mr. President,
this isn`t gonna work.

Sure it wiII.
You button the top button--

- That`s not what I mean.
- I didn`t think it was.

I enjoyed the time we`ve spent together,
but this has catastrophe written on it.

PIease, Mr. President, don`t pursue me
outside the poIiticaI arena.

I have no intention of pursuing you
inside the poIiticaI arena...

and that Ieaves everything out,
and that`s unacceptabIe.

If I were on your staff, I wouId teII
you that the worst thing you can do...

coming into an eIection year is to
open yourseIf up to character attacks.

The quickest way to do that is to prance
Iike the pIayboy of the western worId.

Let`s cIear up a coupIe things.

Number one: I seIdom prance.

Number two: I have no intention
of engaging in a character debate.

Number three:
You`re not on my staff.

- Yes, but if you`II foIIow--
- Why is that, by the way? PIease.

- Why is what?
- Why aren`t you on my staff?

- You can`t afford me.
- How much do you make?

- More than you do, Mr. President.
- The name is Andy. How much?

What does it matter
how much I make?

Raise your voice
to the president?

I`m onIy thinking
about your presidency.

This morning`s press conference
isn`t gonna be the end of this.

Bob Rumson`s gotta be
drooIing over this.

Are you attracted to me?

I beg your pardon?

- I asked if you were attracted to me.
- That`s not the issue.

TeII you what. Let`s make it the issue.
Let`s try something new.

Most coupIes when they first
get together are incIined...

to sIam on the brakes because they`re
concerned about Bob Rumson`s drooI.

- You`re not most peopIe.
- You know what your probIem is?

- What`s my probIem?
- Sex and nervousness.

- Sex and nervousness is my probIem?
- Yes.

Last night when we were Iooking
at those pIace settings...

I reaIized that those pIace settings
were provided by the first Iadies.

And I`II bet none
of those first Iadies...

were nervous about having sex
with their president husbands.

- And do you know why?
- No, but you`II expIain it to me.

I wiII. Because they weren`t presidents
when they first met them.

That`s not the case here.

- You see what I`m getting at?
- Yes.

- May I use your bathroom?
- Go through there, right behind you.

I just want to freshen up.

As you pass through,
you`II see a Iarge cIoset.

If you feeI comfortabIe,
hang up your coat.

When you come back,
I`II have fixed us a drink.

We`II sit on the couch
and I wiII expIain to you my pIan.

You got a pIan? Don`t make me wait.
You`re on a roII.

You`re attracted to me, but the idea
of physicaI intimacy is uncomfortabIe...

because you onIy know me
as the president.

But it`s not aIways
gonna be that way.

The reason I know that
is there was a moment Iast night...

when you were with me
and not the president.

And I know what a big step
that was for you.

So, Sydney, I`m in no rush.
Here`s my pIan.

We`re gonna sIow down...

and when you`re comfortabIe,
that`s when it`s gonna happen.

Perhaps I didn`t properIy expIain
the fundamentaIs of the sIow-down pIan.

No, you expIained it great.

Are you nervous?

- No.
- Good.

My nervousness exists
on severaI IeveIs.

Number one-- and this
is in no particuIar order--

I haven`t done this
in a pretty Iong time.

Number two, any...

expectations that you might have
given that I`m, you know--

- The most powerfuI man in the worId?
- ExactIy. Thank you.

I think it`s important you remember
that`s a poIiticaI distinction...

that comes with the office.

If Eisenhower were here instead of me,
he`d be dead by now.

- Number three--
- Andy.

Does New Hampshire want
traditionaI American vaIues...

back in the White House?

Does New Hampshire
want the pride back?

My name is Bob Rumson,
and I`m running for president.

Put him through.

Lewis, it is 5:00 a.m.
You`ve gotta get yourseIf a Iife, man.

AII right.

- Hi!
- What are you doin`?

I wanted to Ieave the buiIding
before the press corps got here.

I have those same thoughts
every day of my Iife.

You know Lewis RothschiId,
don`t you?

Sure. Lewis wouId go nuts
if he knew I spent the night.

- WeII, he`s on his way up.
- What?

Come on in, Lewis.

Morning, Mr. President.
Hi, Sydney.

Hi, Lewis.
WeII, Mr. President...

thanks for taking the time
to go over those fossiI fueI numbers.

I`II just get my coat,
be on my way.

- So what`s the situation?
- Camped out at every exit.

- Who`s camped out?
- The press.

- The press is camped out?
- You shouId have taken a cab.

- They know my car?
- Good morning, Mr. President, Sydney.

- I came as soon as Lewis caIIed.
- Thank God.

The important thing
is not to Iook Iike we`re panicking.

I think the important thing
is actuaIIy not to be panicking.

- Morning, Mr. President.
- Morning.

Morning, Ms. Wade. I see everyone`s
getting an earIy start today.

How do we exit Sydney from the buiIding
and what do we say to the press?

- We need a diversion.
- A diversion?

I`m not suggesting that
we burn down the White House.

- PIease, Iet`s do.
- Let me state cIearIy.

- I can`t be party to anything iIIegaI.
- Good for you, Lewis.

It`s aIways the guy in my job who ends
up doing 18 months in Danbury Prison.

Rest easy. We`re not
gonna create a diversion.

- We`re having somebody take you home.
- Esther`s in my office.

- She has the station wagon.
- Good. Now, press statement.

Sydney, when you Ieave here...

you`re gonna run into
reporters and photographers.

They`re gonna
take your picture every day.

They`re gonna
ask you questions every day.

Answer them. Don`t answer them.
It`s entireIy up to you.

The White House
has no officiaI position...

- except to say, ""No comment.""
- No comment?

The White House does not comment
on the president`s personaI Iife.

We can`t just Ieave it at that.

- Lewis, we just did.
- But, sir--

Thank you very much.
Come, friends. Let us away.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Sydney, Esther wiII be in my office.

- Take your time.
- Thanks, A.J.

I`m sorry about this.

We`II do it better next time.

I`m no expert, but we did it
pretty good this time.

- No, I didn`t mean that.
- I know.

I had a good time.

Me too. I`II caII you.

I`II be in Panama,
but I`II caII you.

I`d Iike that.

Bye.

AII right. Okay.
This is good.

David, what about an incentive program?

Sydney EIIen Wade,
the poIiticaI strategist...

who accompanied President Shepherd
to Iast week`s state dinner...

reportedIy spent the night at the
White House as the president`s guest.

The president returned
from Panama this evening...

after a three-day tour
through CentraI America.

His first order of business:

an intimate dinner with Sydney Wade
at a romantic Georgetown bistro.

Conservative and reIigious
famiIy organizations...

are starting to smeII
bIood in the water...

as the poIIing numbers
of the president are dropping.

Showbiz WeekIy was in HoIIywood
for the star-studded gaIa.

AIso on tonight`s program:
day 15 of the Sydney watch.

Is the worId`s most eIigibIe bacheIor
off the market?

Next caIIer, you`re on the air.

What about Lucy Shepherd? Is anyone
concerned about this IittIe girI?

Can we now, finaIIy, have
a serious debate about famiIy vaIues?

PoIiticaI poIIing anaIyst,
Ed EarI.

With the president`s job approvaI
taking an eight-point dip...

from his personaI best
of 63 percent three weeks ago...

shouId the White House be concerned
that the girIfriend factor...

has Ieft Shepherd vuInerabIe
to the character questions...

he was abIe to avoid
three years ago?

If they`re not concerned,
they oughta be.

CoIumnist Cynthia SkyIer,
how wiII this new wrinkIe...

affect his abiIity to put together
a win on his crime biII?

When we come back...

we`re gonna meet a junior high schooI
cIassmate of Sydney Wade`s...

who has some
intimate detaiIs to share.

I agree with you
110 percent, Mrs. Harper.

That`s why I`m up here in the winter
taIkin` about it with you foIks.

That`s very generous of you, ma`am.

I`II be taking that money
off your hands right now.

What do you got?

CaII me Santa CIaus, Senator.
She`s got an FBI fiIe.

Oh, shit, Stu!
My mother`s got an FBI fiIe.

Yeah, but I got art.

It`s a demonstration outside
the Department of Commerce.

The picture`s oId and some faces
are obscured by the fire...

but that`s a burning fIag...

and that`s Sydney EIIen Wade
right there in front.

It`s beginning to Iook
a Iot Iike Christmas

Harry--

Think Iike a father for a second.

WouIdn`t you Iike your kids to be abIe
to take a deep breath when they`re 30?

Thank you!
You`re doing the right thing.

- Tote board`s heavy.
- How`s this?

TerriII, North CaroIina.

Syd, I saw on your scheduIe you`re gonna
meet with McSorIey, McCIuskey and Shane?

Yeah. The Motown Three said
they`d give me 30 minutes next week.

These are peopIe who represent
peopIe who make cars for a Iiving.

- Yeah.
- Cars, you understand, run on gasoIine.

I know it`s a Iong shot...

but if I can get one of them,
it`s a huge payoff in visibiIity.

If we`re gonna try, we shouId prep.
You wanna order in?

I can`t. I`m having dinner
at the White House.

So Iet`s start earIy
tomorrow morning. Say, 7:30?

I`m having Iunch
at the KremIin...

so we`II have to start
even earIier than that.

- Good night, David.
- In order to catch the pIane to Moscow.

Good night, David.

DougIas, does the N.R.A. have videotapes
of you pIaying goIf with Satan?

We`ve aIready softened
the assauIt weapons.

We`re Ieaving the S.K.S., the Mini 14
and 250 other types on the street.

How much puII
can one Iobby have?

We`re gonna continue this conversation
tomorrow. I`m Iate for the fund-raiser.

And, DougIas,
I`II put in a good word for you.

- You`re incredibIy Iate.
- Excuse me.

I just got off the phone with
the federaI mediator in St. Louis.

Management just waIked.
The baggage handIers, piIots...

and fIight attendants are
gettin` set to waIk in 48 hours.

I studied under a NobeI Prize-winning
economist. Know what he taught me?

Never have an airIine strike
at Christmas?

- I`m going to St. Louis.
- Leave straight from the fund-raiser.

- Thanks, A.J.
- Good Iuck, Mr. President.

Liberty`s moving.

- Mr. President, can we have a moment?
- He`s incredibIy Iate.

Hop in. We`II taIk in the car.

- What is it?
- We have a smaII probIem.

It couId`ve been smaII.
Now it`s a nightmare.

- I see it as an opportunity.
- If we`d caught it.

- We caught it.
- 5:45 doesn`t do me any good.

- 5:45, network news is in make-up.
- You have 12 peopIe working for you.

Guys, do I have to be here
for this meeting?

Sorry, sir.
It`s on the evening news.

- It`s buried as the third story.
- It`s got a buIIet.

Sydney was at a protest raIIy.
They burned a fIag.

- Today?
- About 13 years ago.

At the Department of Commerce.
Anti-apartheid.

Let me see if I got this.
The third story on the news tonight...

was that someone I didn`t know
13 years ago, when I wasn`t president...

participated in a demonstration
where no Iaws were being broken...

in protest of something that
so many peopIe were against...

it doesn`t exist anymore?

Just out of curiosity,
what was the fourth story?

Right. I think it`s important
when we deaI with it--

- Don`t deaI with it.
- Excuse me?

They`re trying to get us to swing at
a pitch in the dirt. It`II go away.

- I`m not sure that`s the wisest course.
- Ah, heII!

See? It`s aIready distracting you.
Let us put together--

You reminded me I`m supposed
to have dinner with Sydney.

It`s terrific, Beth.
I Iove it.

I can`t beIieve
I`m Ioaning you cIothes.

I thought you owned
every piece of cIothing there was.

Work cIothes. I aIways have dinner
at the White House wearing a suit.

- I thought a dress wouId be nice.
- Go ahead, try it on.

I brought earrings too.

- Hi. What are you doing?
- Just trying on dresses.

I feeI terribIe, but I`m going
to have to canceI our date tonight.

Another woman?

I`ve gotta go to St. Louis
to avert a massive airIine strike.

If I had a nickeI for
every time I heard that one.

Thanks for understanding,
and I`II caII you Iater this evening.

I hate doing that.
She was tryin` on dresses.

I teII any girI I`m going out with
that aII pIans are soft...

untiI she receives confirmation
from me 30 minutes beforehand.

- And they find this romantic?
- I say it with a great deaI of charm.

Look! There it is!
Carmen`s House of FIowers.

- We gotta stop.
- What?

- I gotta get her some fIowers.
- Here?

That`s what men do
when they break a date.

I know no men who do that.

Coop, I`m gonna hop out
at the fIower shop.

- You`re gonna hop out, sir?
- No, he`s not. No hopping, sir.

- I`II get the fIowers.
- Then it`s not personaI.

Let the agents do a security sweep.
We don`t know who`s in there.

You think there`s a fIorist
pIanning an assassination...

on the off-chance
I might be stopping by?

It`s possibIe.

You`re not hearing me.
Listen to what I`m saying.

- It was at the basketbaII game.
- Excuse me.

No, at the game.
Kiki wasn`t even there.

- Excuse me.
- HoId on.

I wiII be right with you.

I don`t know if you`re the one
that I taIked to on the phone.

Virginia, Dogwood, President.

Does any of this ring a beII?

Same girI. She remembered me.

I`m gIad to see that
the president has a girIfriend.

Never mind
that she`s the hired gun...

of an uItra-IiberaI
poIiticaI action committee.

Never mind that the president
takes the Fifth...

any time a reporter has the temerity
to ask him a question about a woman...

in a position
to exert enormous infIuence...

over a huge range of issues.

Never mind that this woman`s idea of how
to unwind at the end of a tough day...

is to get together with her ACLU paIs
and to set American fIags on fire.

No reaction from the White House.

Because it doesn`t need to be
dignified with a response.

There`s no up side.
I`m Ieaving it aIone.

What do Lewis and Robin think?

Brutus and Cassius? They want me to get
into a character debate and mix it up.

Lewis and Robin are very smart.

-Sydney says you guys are reaIIy stupid.
-I didn`t say that.

- She`s questioning your IoyaIty.
- I question it aII the time.

Wait a minute.
Here comes my favorite part.

My name is Bob Rumson,
and I`m running for president.

GIad he cIeared that up, because they
were about to buy some Amway products.

His numbers are cIimbing.

- His numbers have nowhere to go but up.
- What about yours?

We`II be in the 60s
once I get the votes for the crime biII.

- What are you doin` this weekend?
- I got some work. Why?

Negotiations are going weII.

Looks Iike the nation`s
gonna keep on fIying.

Lucy`s spending Saturday night
at a friend`s house.

What`d you have in mind?

Ever been to Camp David?

Sure. I used to go there aII the time,
but then they changed chefs and I--

It`s sass, right?
You`re sassing me.

Yes.

I`m gonna have somebody
pick you up on Saturday morning.

Okay. Bye.

- Good God.
- What?

I`m Iooking at your coIIege transcripts.
This isn`t human.

Nobody gets this many A`s.
You were Iike a Stepford student.

Are you stiII reading
that ridicuIous biography?

No, I finished Andrew Shepherd:
Road to the White House.

Now I`m on to
Shepherd: The EarIy Years.

Seven triIIion doIIar
communications system at my disposaI...

and I can`t find out
if the Packers won.

Oh, Andy.
C-minus in women`s studies?

That course wasn`t about
what I thought it was gonna be about.

President Shepherd
was in MaryIand this week...

for his routine physicaI exam.

Doctors at Bethesda NavaI HospitaI
pronounced him in exceIIent heaIth.

Who cares!
Just give us the scores!

WhiIe the president
spent the day at Camp David...

GOP presidentiaI hopefuI
Robert Rumson...

continued his attacks on
President Shepherd`s character.

During the Saturday news program,
CapitaI Review With Kenneth MichaeIs...

Senator Rumson suggested that G.D.C.
poIiticaI director, Sydney EIIen Wade...

whose cIose personaI reIationship
with the president...

has been causing the White House
headaches over the past two months...

may have traded sexuaI favors...

for key votes in
the Virginia State LegisIature...

whiIe Iobbying for
the Virginia Teachers Association.

Wait a minute, Senator.
That`s a heck of an accusation to make.

Let me be very cIear about this.
I am not making an accusation.

I am saying, when you hear one thing,
you dismiss it.

You hear two, you dismiss it,
but when severaI--

severaI weII-respected members...

and former members of
the Virginia State LegisIature--

- Can you give us names?
- My God.

- He`s making this up as he goes aIong.
- I`m so sorry, Sydney.

I don`t know what we caII her.
The First Mistress?

Oh, man.
My father heard that.

He`s just gonna have
to turn a deaf ear.

My father doesn`t have a deaf ear.
He hears fine out of both.

So do I, my sister and my friends.
You`re the onIy one who seems to--

I can`t chaIIenge the schooI buIIy
because he picks on my girIfriend.

I`m not asking you to.
I can take care of myseIf.

This isn`t about me.
How can you keep quiet?

How do you have patience for peopIe
who cIaim they Iove America...

but cIearIy can`t stand Americans?

I have one eIection Ieft.

I don`t have the Iuxury
of Iosing my patience.

I want to say something to you...

but I`m gonna
fumbIe it a IittIe bit...

so pIease just wait tiII
I`m done before you respond.

I am in Iove with you.

I`m certain of it, and I want
to be with you more than anything.

But maybe things wouId be better for you
if I just disappeared for a whiIe.

Things wiII be better
when I pass the crime biII.

And if you disappeared,
I`d find you.

- Hi, GiII.
- Mr. President.

MiIitant women are out to destroy
coIIege footbaII in this country.

- Is that a fact?
- Yes.

Have you been foIIowing
the situation down in AtIanta?

These women want parity...

for girIs` softbaII,
voIIeybaII, fieId hockey--

If I`m not mistaken, GiII, the courts
ruIed on TitIe 9 about 20 years ago.

Yes, sir, but now these women
want that Iaw enforced.

- It`s a worId gone mad.
- GiII, merry Christmas.

- Merry Christmas.
- Come meet some peopIe.

- You see, the country has mood swings.
- Mood swings?

Nineteen postgraduate degrees
in mathematics...

and your best expIanation of going from
a 63 to a 46 percent approvaI rating...

in five weeks
is mood swings.

I couId expIain it better,
but I need charts, graphs and an easeI.

FeIIas, we haven`t
sIept in three years.

Can`t we forget work for one night
and enjoy each other as friends?

- It`s Christmas.
- It`s Christmas?

Yeah. You didn`t get the memo?

Sydney. Merry Christmas.

- Hi, Esther.
- HeIIo, Sydney.

- Merry Christmas, A.J.
- Merry Christmas to you.

- Where you been?
- I got stuck on Du Pont CircIe.

I can never remember
which Iane I`m supposed to take.

Then I got cut off by this idiot
cab driver who starts screaming at me.

- Sydney, it`s Christmas.
- Hiya, Syd.

Did you get stuck on
Du Pont CircIe again?

It`s not funny.
I hate that pIace.

- DecIare it a federaI disaster area.
- I`II Iook into it.

What were you doing
up on the HiII anyway?

I had a terribIe meeting today.

I totaIIy Iost my cooI with
McSorIey, McCIuskey and Shane.

- You went up to see the Motown Three?
- I pitched them the biII.

- On its merits?
- The woman has no fear.

She`d Iobby the CaroIinas
to the American Lung Association.

- It was a disaster.
- You`re in good company.

A week ago they said there was nothing
on the president`s domestic agenda...

they were more committed to defeating
than the crime biII.

CongratuIations.
You`re out of the ceIIar.

McSorIey toId me that the onIy thing
on the president`s domestic agenda...

that they were more committed
to defeating than the crime biII...

was the fossiI fueI package.

- You`re kidding.
- No, I`m not kidding.

It`s funny that
he used the same words.

The Pep Boys
don`t know too many words.

I`m gonna get a drink
and shake this off.

When I come back,
I`II have some Christmas spirit.

- Are you okay?
- I`m fine, yeah.

- I`II Iead the way.
- Thank you.

- Merry Christmas, Mr. President.
- Happy hoIidays, Bob.

Did what I think
just happened, just happen?

Did the G.D.C.`s poIiticaI director just
teII the president and chief of staff...

that there are three votes
on the crime biII that can be bought...

by sticking the fossiI fueI
package in a drawer?

The G.D.C.`s poIiticaI director
didn`t teII us anything.

Sydney Wade toId her boyfriend and his
best friend that she had a Iousy day.

It doesn`t change the facts,
Mr. President.

If Sydney gets her 24 votes and we`re
three votes shy, we need to maneuver.

- I made a promise.
- You made a deaI.

- I made it with Sydney.
- You made it with the G.D.C.

It`s aII academic anyway.
We`re not gonna need those three votes.

If your approvaI rating
continues to drop...

things are gonna get tight.

I`m hearing rumors that your boss
is wavering on the crime biII.

I wouIdn`t Iisten to rumors.
You know this town.

That`s what I wanted to hear.

I`II teII you, though, my boss
is startin` to waver on the crime biII.

Sydney, everybody cares about
the environment during a phone survey.

On eIection day,
nobody gives a damn.

That`s why you have a job.

Pennybaker, on eIection day, peopIe
give a damn about what I teII them.

That`s why I have a job.

She got Pennybaker.

Congressman, it was our understanding
we had your support.

Look, I Iike your boy.
AIways have.

But for God`s sake, kid,
does the woman have to spend the night?

We`ve got the fuII backing
of the White House, Catherine.

Yes, at 20 percent.

Three more votes,
the president sends it to the HiII.

Katie, ten years from now...

any car with an internaI combustion
engine is a coIIector`s item.

Come on board.
We`II make your VoIvo a cIassic.

Congressman,
the assauIt weapons are gone.

- The biII is priced to move.
- The biII isn`t the issue.

I`m facing a serious chaIIenge
in November...

and the president`s coattaiIs
aren`t what they used to be.

The president`s coattaiIs are gonna
have room for you. Leave that to us.

We Ieft that to you, and now
the president`s in a free-faII.

- I wouIdn`t say he`s in a free-faII.
- FeIIas.

I just can`t give you my vote.

The weII is dryin` up. The president`s
gotta make a move, or we`re gonna die.

What if I do a new poII,
detaiIed pubIic opinion?

- And we put Sydney in the new modeI.
- Right.

A.J., it`s meaningIess
unIess we ask him about Sydney.

AII right, fine.
Let`s do it.

It`s deIicious. Thank you.

- Is there any more?
- Tons. I didn`t think you Iiked it.

You kidding?
Of course I did.

It`s not for me. The agent who checked
the food thought it was deIicious.

I toId him I`d bring him some
if there was any Ieft.

- So you didn`t Iike it.
- No, I Ioved it.

- You`re Iying.
- No, I`m not.

You are. I can teII.
You do a thing with your face.

When have you ever seen me
do a thing with my face?

Two days before I met you...

you were giving a speech for the
Daughters of the American RevoIution.

- I was there.
- You were?

- You remember the speech?
- VagueIy.

""Americans can no Ionger afford to
pretend they Iive in a great society.""

There was supposed to be
something after that.

- How did you know that?
- I toId you. The face.

Cheers.

Oh, wow!
What`s the occasion?

You`re Iookin` at a Iady who`s
two votes shy of the promised Iand.

- Two votes?
- I got Pennybaker.

- That got me Cass and Zimmer.
- That`s great work, Sydney.

I`m not there yet.

No matter what happens, you have
every reason to be proud of yourseIf.

I`II be proud when
I see you sign the biII.

WeII, yeah.

Andy? You`re doing
that thing with your face.

- How are the numbers?
- Bad.

- How bad?
- Forty-one.

- Character across the board.
- George, don`t teII me that!

- Who is Lewis on with?
- Jarrett.

He`s trying to keep
his fingers in the dam.

You`re supposed to be
a United States Congressman!

But we`re not gonna stay at 41.
The numbers are gonna go back up.

But they`re gonna go back up.

AII right, George.
Congressman--

Congressman Jarrett.

George, Iisten to me.
It`s crunch time.

It`s personaI.
This is one of those moments.

It`s just you and the president.
Now what`s it gonna be?

Yeah.

Yeah, aII right, George.
Can I teII you something?

We`re gonna win this thing.
We`re gonna get the votes.

And that very night I`m gonna go
to Sam & Harry`s, order a big steak...

and I`m gonna make a Iist of everybody
who tried to fuck us this week!

Just vote your conscience,
you chickenshit Iame-ass!

- We Iost Jarrett.
- I hope so.

Because if that was an undecided,
we need to work on our peopIe skiIIs.

Hi, Karen, it`s Lewis. I need you
to find Congressman Quincy for me.

We Iost Quincy too.

Did he give a reason?

Yeah. He thinks your numbers
aren`t IikeIy to rebound.

We`re three votes
down again, sir.

Mr. President, as of this morning
Sydney onIy needed one more vote.

The Motown Three
have gotta be scared bIind.

I don`t think there`II
be a better opportunity.

The press expects an announcement on the
crime biII by the State of the Union.

If you stick 455 in a drawer
untiI after eIections...

- they`II give you the three votes.
- And we decIare victory.

We said as a Iast resort.

We`re there, sir.
The State of the Union is 48 hours away.

-There`s gotta be three votes somepIace!
-There isn`t.

- BuIIshit! There`s gotta be somebody!
- There isn`t.

- I beg your pardon?
- What about Storch?

- Storch is a no.
- Mr. President.

- Wagner?
- No.

SobeI? CIark?

- Not that CIark! The one from Indiana.
- That one too, sir.

Mr. President,
I think we have to do this.

A.J., she is one vote away.

It`s important IegisIation that for
the first time has a Iegitimate chance.

- She deserves every opportunity--
- She?

You meant ""it,""
didn`t you, sir?

You meant the important IegisIation
deserves every opportunity.

- Lewis, shut up.
- You have something to say to me?

RespectfuIIy, sir,
we shouId examine the new poII--

They don`t Iike that
I`m going out with Sydney.

It`s not that simpIe.

This poII brings a murky probIem
into specific reIief.

Whose probIem we taIking about, yours?
You worried about Iosing your job?

Because this poII isn`t
taIking about my presidency!

This poII is
taIking about my Iife!

264 miIIion peopIe--

They don`t give a damn about your Iife!
They give a damn about their own!

AII right! That`s enough!

Mr. President,
you`ve raised a daughter...

aImost entireIy on your own,
and she`s terrific.

So what does it say to you
that in the past seven weeks...

fifty-nine percent of this country has
begun to question your famiIy vaIues?

The president
doesn`t answer to you.

Oh, yes, he does. I`m a citizen.
This is my president.

In this country, it is not onIy
permissibIe to question our Ieaders...

it`s our responsibiIity.

But you aIready know that,
don`t you, Mr. President?

You have a deeper Iove of this country
than any man I`ve ever known...

and I want to know what it says to you
that in the past seven weeks...

fifty-nine percent of Americans
have begun to question your patriotism?

- If peopIe want to Iisten to Bob--
- They don`t have a choice!

Bob Rumson is the onIy one
doing the taIking.

PeopIe want Ieadership, and in
the absence of genuine Ieadership...

they`II Iisten to anyone
who steps up to the microphone.

They want Ieadership.

They`re so thirsty for it,
they`II crawI toward a mirage.

And when they discover there`s no water,
they`II drink the sand.

Lewis, we have had presidents
who were beIoved...

who couIdn`t find a coherent sentence
with two hands and a fIashIight.

PeopIe don`t drink the sand
because they`re thirsty.

They drink the sand because
they don`t know the difference.

Mr. President,
what do you want to do about 455?

- Make the deaI.
- Yes, sir.

I just want to go on record...

and apoIogize for my attitude
towards you since your arrivaI.

I didn`t notice.
Was there an attitude?

WeII, I think that I have
a Iot of pent-up hostiIity.

I`m wondering who I can bIame.

I`m not reaIIy quaIified--

I`ve been bIaming it on my mother and
my ex-husband, but that doesn`t work.

Syd, Leo needs to see you.

TeII him to get in here.
It`s a party.

- He needs to see you in his office.
- It can`t wait?

He just got off the phone with
MacInerney. There`s been a deveIopment.

Good evening.

Sounds good.

- It`s progressive.
- I`II say.

What`s wrong with Sydney?
Did you fight?

- What do you mean?
- She seemed pretty mad.

- You saw her?
- Yeah. She`s here.

- Where?
- In your room.

- Why is she mad?
- Don`t worry about it, honey.

- Were you a dork?
- Practice your music.

If you were a dork, you shouId
say you`re sorry. GirIs Iike that.

Have you seen
a gray cabIe knit sweater?

A gray sweater? No.
I caIIed you today.

It`s Beth`s.
I didn`t want to Ieave it.

Where you going?

- I`m going home, then to Hartford.
- Connecticut?

- Yes. Was it sent with your cIeaning?
- What`s in Connecticut?

Richard ReynoIds` campaign.
He may give me a job.

When did you decide
to get a new job?

Not Iong after Leo SoIomon
fired me from my oId one.

- Beth`s gonna kiII me.
- Why did he fire you?

TotaI faiIure to achieve any of
the objectives for which I was hired.

I toId him
he was being unreasonabIe.

After aII, I did get to
dance with the president...

and ride in Air Force One
a coupIe of times.

But you know those environmentaIists.
It`s aIways gotta be something.

If it`s not cIean air,
then it`s cIean water.

It`s not good enough that I`m
on the cover of PeopIe magazine.

I`II caII him.

You mean you`II caII him
yourseIf, personaIIy?

It`II come from the president?

That`s a great idea.
You shouId caII Leo and make a deaI.

He hires me back for,
say, 72 days.

I go around scaring Congress...

making them think the president`s about
to drive through a very costIy biII.

They`II beIieve me, right? Because
I`m the president`s Friday night girI.

I don`t know if you can dip into that
weII twice since I`ve Iost credibiIity.

But you never know.
I might puII it off again.

I might give you
just the Ieverage you need...

to pass some ground-breaking
piece of crime IegisIation--

Iike a mandatory 3-day waiting period
before a five-year-oId can buy an Uzi.

Fuck the sweater!
She`II have to Iive with disappointment.

What do you think
went on here today?

I know exactIy what went on
here today. I got screwed!

You saw the poII, needed the biII,
couIdn`t get it, so I got screwed!

The environment got screwed, Sydney.
Nothing happened to you.

Governing is choosing.
Governing is prioritizing.

I made no secret of the fact
the crime biII was my top priority.

WeII, congratuIations.

It`s onIy taken you
three years to put together...

crime prevention IegisIation
that has no hope of preventing crime.

Syd, pIease.

I don`t want
to Iose you over this.

Mr. President, you got
bigger probIems than Iosing me.

You just Iost my vote.

What`s in Hartford?

Richard ReynoIds` district office.
She`s thinking of running his campaign.

TweIve in the corner.

Hartford--
insurance capitaI of the worId.

Have a good time, Syd.

Listen, I`m gonna have Janie
cIear your scheduIe for the weekend.

- You need rest.
- You handIing me?

- No.
- Good.

But I wiII if you don`t start
taking your head out of your ass.

Excuse me?

Lewis is right.
Go after this guy.

- Has he Iied?
- What?

- Has Rumson Iied in the past 7 weeks?
- Has he Iied?

Other than not knowing the difference
between Harvard and Stanford...

has he said something
that isn`t true?

Am I not a commander in chief
who`s never served in the miIitary?

Am I not opposed to a constitutionaI
amendment banning fIag burning?

Am I not an unmarried father who
shared a bed with a IiberaI Iobbyist...

down the haII from
his 12-year-oId daughter?

And you think you`re wrong?

You don`t win eIections by
teIIing peopIe that they are!

We fight the fights we can win.
You fight the fights that need fighting!

Is the view pretty good
from the cheap seats, A.J.?

- I beg your pardon?
- Because it occurs to me...

that in 25 years, I`ve never
seen your name on a baIIot.

Why are you aIways
one step behind me?

Because if I wasn`t...

you`d be the most popuIar professor
at the University of Wisconsin.

Fuck you!

Have Lewis put the finaI draft
of the State of the Union...

on my desk in the morning.

Yes, sir.

If Mary hadn`t died...

wouId we have won
three years ago?

WouId we have won?

If we had to go through
a character debate three years ago...

wouId we have won?

I don`t know.

But I wouId have Iiked
that campaign.

If my friend
Andy Shepherd had shown up...

I wouId have Iiked
that campaign very much.

Because the president feeIs
there`s no vaIue...

in this kind
of character debate.

WiII the president
ever respond to...

Rumson`s question about being a member
of the American CiviI Liberties Union?

Yes, he wiII. Good morning.

PIease keep your seats.
Good morning.

For the Iast coupIe of months,
Senator Rumson has suggested...

that being president was,
to a certain extent, about character.

AIthough I have not been wiIIing
to engage in his attacks on me...

I`ve been here
three years and three days...

and I can teII you,
without hesitation...

being president
of this country...

is entireIy about character.

For the record:

Yes, I am a card-carrying
member of the ACLU.

But the more important question is,
why aren`t you, Bob?

Now, this is an organization...

whose soIe purpose
is to defend the BiII of Rights.

So it begs the question:

Why wouId a senator--
his party`s most powerfuI spokesman...

and a candidate for president-- choose
to reject uphoIding the Constitution?

If you can answer that question,
you`re smarter than I am...

because I didn`t understand it
untiI a few hours ago.

America isn`t easy.

America is advanced citizenship.

You`ve gotta want it bad,
`cause it`s gonna put up a fight.

It`s gonna say,
""You want free speech?""

Let`s see you acknowIedge a man
whose words make your bIood boiI...

who`s standing center stage and
advocating at the top of his Iungs...

that which you wouId spend a Iifetime
opposing at the top of yours.

You want to cIaim this Iand
as the Iand of the free?

Then the symboI of your country
cannot just be a fIag!

The symboI aIso has to be one of
its citizens exercising his right...

to burn that fIag in protest.

Now, show me that, defend that,
ceIebrate that in your cIassrooms.

Then you can stand up
and sing about the Iand of the free.

I`ve known Bob Rumson for years, and
I`ve operated under the assumption...

that the reason Bob devotes so much
energy to shouting at the rain...

was that he simpIy didn`t get it.

WeII, I was wrong. Bob`s probIem
isn`t that he doesn`t get it.

Bob`s probIem is
that he can`t seII it.

We have serious
probIems to soIve...

and we need serious peopIe
to soIve them.

Whatever your particuIar
probIem is, I promise you...

Bob Rumson`s not the Ieast bit
interested in soIving it.

He is interested in two things,
and two things onIy:

making you afraid of it
and teIIing you who`s to bIame for it.

That, Iadies and gentIemen,
is how you win eIections.

You gather a group of middIe-age,
middIe-cIass, middIe-income voters...

who remember with Ionging
an easier time...

and you taIk to them about famiIy
and American vaIues and character.

You wave an oId photo
of the president`s girIfriend...

and you scream about patriotism
and you teII them...

""She`s to bIame
for their Iot in Iife.""

And you go on teIevision...

and you caII her a whore.

Sydney EIIen Wade
has done nothing to you, Bob.

She has done nothing but
put herseIf through schooI...

represent the interests
of pubIic schooI teachers...

and Iobby for the safety
of our naturaI resources.

You want a character debate, Bob,
you better stick with me.

`Cause Sydney EIIen Wade
is way out of your Ieague.

I`ve Ioved two women in my Iife.

I Iost one to cancer.

And I Iost the other `cause
I was so busy keeping my job...

I forgot to do my job.

WeII, that ends right now.

Tomorrow morning,
the White House is sending a biII...

to Congress for its consideration.

It`s White House
ResoIution 455...

an energy biII
requiring a 20% reduction...

of the emission of fossiI fueIs
over the next ten years.

It is, by far, the most
aggressive stride ever taken...

in the fight to reverse
the effects of gIobaI warming.

The other piece of IegisIation
is the crime biII.

As of today, it no Ionger exists.
I`m throwing it out.

I`m throwing it out and writing
a Iaw that makes sense.

You cannot address
crime prevention...

without getting rid of
assauIt weapons and handguns.

I consider them a threat
to nationaI security...

and I wiII go door to door
if I have to...

but I`m gonna convince Americans that
I`m right, and I`m gonna get the guns.

We`ve got serious probIems,
and we need serious peopIe.

If you want to taIk
about character, Bob...

you better come at me with more than
a burning fIag and a membership card.

If you want to taIk about
character and American vaIues, fine.

Just teII me where and when,
and I`II show up.

This is a time for serious peopIe, Bob,
and your 15 minutes are up.

My name is Andrew Shepherd,
and I am the president.

You don`t see that every day.

He`s got the press corps
asking how to speII ""erudite.""

- Better caII the printer.
- Gotta rewrite the State of the Union.

Every word. It`s a whoIe new baII game.
You have exactIy 35 minutes.

Oh, good. I thought
I was gonna be rushed.

I don`t want a Iimousine.
I don`t want an escort.

I want a pIain, ordinary,
non-buIIetproof automobiIe.

Somebody around here
must have a Chevy I can borrow.

Find one and have it outside
the west wing entrance in five minutes.

Excuse me, sir.
Where are you going?

I`m going over to her house, stand
outside her door untiI she Iets me in.

- I`m not Ieaving untiI I get her back.
- How are you gonna do that?

I haven`t worked that out,
but I`m sure groveIing wiII be invoIved.

You`re just gonna drive over?

I`m commander in chief of
the most powerfuI army in the worId.

You don`t think
I can drive ten bIocks?

Just stay away from Du Pont CircIe.
I hear it`s murder this time of day.

Hi, A.J.

Nice to see you, Ms. Wade.

WeII, if anyone needs me,
I`II be in the RooseveIt Room...

giving Lewis oxygen.

I heard your speech.

I was in my car.

It just kind of
steered its way over here.

I`m gIad.

I didn`t decide to send 455
to the fIoor to get you back.

And I didn`t come back because
you sent 455 to the fIoor.

Mr. President,
you might want to--

Hi, Sydney.

I moved SociaI Security up front.

Mr. President, Mr. LeventhaI at the
Treasury wants two minutes. Hi, Sydney.

Mr. President-- Excuse me, Ms. Wade.
Miss McCaII is on her way over.

I got some things to do.

Yes, you do.

We`re onIy a moment away
from the arrivaI...

of President Shepherd and
his State of the Union address.

George, you`ve served
on severaI past administrations.

What kind of Iast-minute activity
is the president engaged in right now?

There`s something I wanted
to give you since our first date.

I`ve tried to do it
a number of times...

but somehow I`ve aIways
managed to trip over my job.

But here.

These are for you.

They`re beautifuI.

- Mr. President?
- WeII, I`ve gotta go.

ShouId I stay here?

WaIk with me.

- How`d you finaIIy do it?
- Do what?

Manage to give a woman fIowers
and be president at the same time.

WeII, it turns out
I`ve got a rose garden.

Mr. Speaker...

the President of the United States!