All language subtitles for Advise and Consent (1962)

Thank you.

- Morning, son.
- Good morning, senator.

Thank you.

Taxi!

Sheraton Rark Hotel.

- Good morning, Senator Danta.
- Good morning, Willoughby.

Hold it.

Why wasn't I let in on this?

- May I help you?
- Dot, Senator Munson.

Oh, just a moment, senator.

Good morning, Bobby.
How are you this morning?

You know how I am
this morning, Mr. Rresident.

I guess I'm in for it, aren 't I?

That's a hell of a thing to do
without talking to me.

Bobby, it's been over two weeks
since Shepherd died.

We couldn't go on forever without
a secretary of state. I had to get it done.

What was the matter
with the list of men we agreed on?

No, not one of them can really fill the bill.

Robert Leffingwell can.

You know how valuable he's been to me.

Sure, he's great. But the man's got more
enemies in Congress than anybody.

He's never played ball with us, not even
the most ordinary, political-courtesy kind.

Well, maybe that's the reason I want him.
He doesn 't waste his time on trifles.

Mr. Rresident, a United States senator
is not a trifle.

That's a joke, Bobby.

Fine. But Leffingwell's no joke.

And I have to stuff him down
the Senate's throat.

Now, look, I knew we were running a risk,
but I want him.

He can give us some creative
statesmanship, and God knows we need it.

Oh, come on, now.
What's our toughest problem?

You want me to talk to Warren Strickland?

There's no point talking
to the minority leader.

Our troubles are coming
from our own party.

Seab Cooley.

We can work out a deal with old Seab.

He says we can work out a deal with Seab.

- Who's with you?
- Stanley Danta.

Stan's always right there
on the job, isn't he?

He's the best whip ever in the Senate.
Tell him I said so.

He says you're the best whip
we've ever had.

Tell him the best whip we've ever had
says Seab Cooley will trade for one thing:

Leffingwell's head.

What'd he say, Bob?

That Seab won't trade on this,
and he's right.

We've licked Cooley before.
We can do it again.

Then we'd better get at it.
Suppose you start with Tom August.

- When did Tom become a Cooley man?
- He isn't. He's not a Leffingwell man either.

Since he's chair of Foreign Relations
we have to sweeten him up.

I'll call him in right away.
Good luck, Bobby.

- Oh, boy.
- You want off this one?

I'm with you, Bob.

There's no doubt
he's made a wild pitch...

but I'd like to back him up
all I can right now.

Sure, I know.

Hello, Bob, Stan.

- Good morning, senator.
- Come on in.

About 5'8", blond, a little cleft
in the chin, black dress, mink stole.

Sorry. Didn't see anybody
answer to that description.

Why don't you get married, Lafe?

A United States senator should stabilize
with a good, solid marriage.

If I did, I couldn't get elected.

It's the unmarried mothers
who put me in office.

Why don't you stabilize yourself?

There's a difference between
widowers and bachelors.

Widowers have more dignity.

- How do you feel about this lollapalooza?
- I think the president's nuts to name him.

But I'll vote for him.

What about your friend Brig Anderson?
Think he'll jump the whale?

- Leffingwell scuttled his power bill.
- Brig won't be influenced by that.

- Not on this.
- I'm trying to count a few noses.

- Suppose you give Brig a ring to make sure.
- If you like.

- Hello.
- Hello, Warren? Good morning. Bob Munson.

- Beating the bushes early, aren't you, Bob?
- I have a lot of bushes.

It's your garden, friend, not ours.

How many votes against Leffingwell
on your side of the aisle?

Somewhere between 17 and 20.
That's giving him the benefit of the doubt.

With the president's right
to name his cabinet?

Try that line on the members of your
own party. Say, Seab Cooley.

- Hello, Brig? How's the boy?
- Right in the middle of breakfast.

What's on your mind, Lafe?

Just wondered what you think about
the appointment. Crazy, huh?

- Think so?
- Well, it's gonna be a rough one.

I wouldn't be surprised.

- I thought you might be upset about it.
- Why would I be upset?

The trouble he gave you
on your power bill.

- That's right. He did, didn't he?
- You mean it's okay?

- Is that what Bob Munson wants to know?
- You got television on your phone?

Just a second, Lafe.

- You going, baby?
- Yeah.

- You still love me?
- Yeah.

- How much?
- That much.

Time for her bus, Brig.

Have a nice time in school today, honey.

- Lafe?
- Yeah.

Look, I'm not grinding
an ax for Leffingwell...

but I'm not gonna commit myself
right now either.

I'd like to wait and hear what he has to say
at the committee hearing.

Apart from that, I'm just gonna sit back
and watch Seab Cooley light up the sky.

Had your fire and brimstone
this morning, Seab?

Yes, sir, Mr. Majority Leader.

Laced with hot bourbon and branch water.

I expect you can see the flames
coming out of my ears.

Can we have a little talk?

If you mean about
Mr. Robert A. Leffingwell...

- it'd be a fruitless conversation.
- The president, the party and l...

would take it as a favor
if you'd lay off.

I honor the president, I love my party...

and I admire you, Mr. Majority Leader,
except where it crosses with my convictions.

I believe Mr. Robert A. Leffingwell
will lead us straight to perdition.

Come on, we know what's eating you.

Leffingwell made a liar out of you
in a hearing five years ago.

- It's a long time to carry a grudge, Seab.
- Maybe for a young fellow like you.

In my table of time, it happened just
like yesterday. Good day, gentlemen.

Scares you, doesn't it?
All that 40 years in the Senate.

Good morning, Seab.

- I was just gonna call your office.
- On the run, Fred.

I know. We've all gotta hop for this one,
but we'll put Leffingwell over.

Boy, he is it, Bob. He's really it.
He's a great man, a great talent.

- I'm throwing my organization behind this.
- You got an organization?

Are you kidding?

Eight chapters in eight cities,
my peace organization.

Who you making peace with?
The Kickapoo lndians?

You find peace amusing?

It's just that Stan's on the lndian Affairs
subcommittee, isn't it, Stan?

I'll be with you in a minute.

Fred, what do those guys do
besides strew roses in your path?

Just my brain trust.

You can't hold a senator's job
by kissing babies...

and shaking hands, you know. Bob...

The hearing will go
to a subcommittee, right?

I haven't any word from Tom August yet.
I don't know his plan.

Well, if it does...
I say, if it does, I don't wanna push...

Whoever's made subcommittee chair
should be pro-Leffingwell, right?

Possibly.

Well, I've done my share of the hack work.
I ought to be in line for a spot like this.

Fred, right now I'm just trying
to get the situation in hand.

I know, but I wanted
to get my bid in early.

I've gotta fly to New York for the afternoon
and meet my eastern group.

- Suppose I call you later on?
- Yeah. Do that. Call me.

- Van Ackerman's looking for a horse to ride.
- He won't get it from me.

He won't care.
He doesn't belong here, Bob.

- You'll have to cut him off the vine.
- He'll fall off.

- Morning, Bess.
- Morning, senator. Your calls.

- First, see if you can get me Leffingwell.
- Yes, sir.

Sir, 219 telegrams so far.

- Most of them favorable to Leffingwell.
- Good.

- Good morning, senator.
- Morning.

- Leffingwell residence.
- Senator Munson calling Mr. Leffingwell.

Senator Munson? Wait a minute.

- Dad, it's Senator Munson on the phone.
- What?

The phone. It's Senator Munson.

- Tell him I've gone out.
- Why?

Because he'll want me to do things
that might obligate me.

Why do you want me to lie? If you're in,
you're in. If you're out, you're out.

Son, this is a Washington, D.C.
kind of lie.

That's when the other person knows you're
lying, and also knows you know he knows.

- Follow?
- No.

- Senator Munson will understand.
- Okay, if you say so.

He's not here. He went out.

- Do you know where I might reach him?
- No, ma'am.

- He didn't leave a forwarding address.
- Oh, I see. Well, thank you.

- I can't reach Mr. Leffingwell, senator.
- All right, Bess.

- I'll take these calls down the line.
- Yes, sir.

Wouldn't you think he'd know
we'd know he's dodging us?

He might become the best
secretary of state we'll ever have.

Want me to make you one of these?

- Thanks just the same.
- It's good.

- Don't you wanna be secretary of state?
- Think I should want to?

- Big job.
- That's a fact.

- I think you ought to want it.
- Why?

Well, you know. All that trouble,
and war and stuff like that.

Maybe you could do something about it.

- I'd like to try.
- That's the way I'd figure it.

It's worth a try.

As you get to the top of the stairway,
look at the painting on the right.

This painting portrays one of the worst
conflicts of the Mexican War.

In this painting, it's interesting to note...

that Lieutenants Lee and Grant
fought side by side.

They were classmates at West Roint,
as you know.

The skylight came from Rhiladelphia.
It was placed there in 1859.

The medallions in the skylight
are hand-painted.

They were done by Gibson and Company
and placed there in 1859.

- Good morning, Max.
- Miss Harrison, Lady Maudulayne.

- Good morning, Maxwell.
- Max, this is Madame Barre.

Her husband is the new French ambassador.

- Welcome to the Senate, madame.
- Thank you.

- Good morning, Lady Maudulayne.
- Good morning.

- Good morning.
- Good morning.

Bob. How are you?

Good morning, Orrin.
Everything all right?

Bob, it's going around the Leffingwell
hearing might be set for tomorrow.

That's rushing things, isn't it?

As we need a secretary of state,
I wouldn't say it's rushing.

Senator Strickland, wouldn't you say
that's sudden?

Senator Munson's party is going to be
strongly divided on Leffingwell.

Perhaps the senator would push it through
before that division ruptures.

I wonder if the minority leader is qualified
to speak for the majority party.

On the right of that aisle is the minority,
and on the left is the majority.

All of those are left?

- Does America have so many leftists?
- Oh, no, darling. It's purely geographical.

I mean, they're all Republicans or Democrats.
No communists or anything of that sort.

They do have liberal types,
but they don't necessarily sit on the left...

conservatives don't necessarily
sit on the right.

Boys.

- Bill.
- Aaron, nice to see you.

That man, the one on the dais,
Harley Hudson.

He's the vice president
of the United States.

- He's very attractive.
- Yes, dear. Harley's very sweet.

He's from one of those
odd little states, isn't he?

He was governor of Delaware, you mean.

- He's the president of the Senate, Celestine.
- But you said he's the vice president.

It's confusing. We'd call him Lord
High Chamberlain or something sensible.

It's very sensible. His job,
as vice president of the country...

is to preside over the Senate,
which makes him its president.

- Then he's also a senator.
- No.

He presides over the Senate,
but he's not a senator. He can't even vote.

He can vote in case of a tie.

The Senate will come to order.

The chaplain will now offer prayer.

Our Father, in these days
of stress and strain...

when men are called upon
to bear great burdens...

give this Senate the strength
and charity...

to ascertain of each who would serve
his nation his true nature and purpose...

lest through inadvertence
and oversight...

there slip into seats of power,
those who would misguide...

and mislead this great people.

Even the parson is getting into
the Leffingwell act.

Your blessings, O Lord,
and help them to serve in your ways.

Amen.

Mr. President.

Recognize the senior senator
from Michigan.

I ask unanimous consent that the journal
of yesterday's proceedings be approved.

Without objection? So ordered.

Mr. Rresident, I suggest
the absence of a quorum.

Absence of a quorum suggested.

- Clerk will call the roll.
- Mr. Abbott...

Finish your story. Bob's got the Linotype.
Somebody's bound to pop on Leffingwell.

Call to the post early, huh?

Better wake up, Senator McCafferty.

- Senator, quorum call.
- Opposed, sir. Diametrically opposed.

No, no, senator. It's a quorum call.

Mr. Ardell.

- Mr. Ashley.
- Here.

- Take over for a few minutes?
- Oh, sure.

Mr. Bellingham?

- Mr. Bender of California?
- Present.

- Bob? Where's Seab?
- Oh, he'll make an entrance pretty soon.

- Can I help with Leffingwell?
- Can't think of a thing. We'll just mark time.

I'll gladly talk to anybody you want me to.

- Excuse me.
- Tom August came from the White House.

- In the cloak room.
- Sit in for me.

- What's going on, Stan?
- Oh, hi, Harley. Looks like a bumpy day.

I was asking Bob if I could do
anything to help.

Filling up, huh?

Funny how they can always
smell gunpowder.

Yeah.

Did I tell you I murdered my wife last night,
buried her under a kumquat bush?

Oh, well... Easy come, easy go.

What? What did you say?

I said I might as well get up there
and let the tourists rubberneck at me.

- I'm sorry, Harley.
- All right. Forget it. Forget it.

- Excuse me.
- Sure.

- Hello, Bob.
- Morning, Tom.

The president wants a closed hearing.

That's impossible.

Cooley would find a way to open it up
if he had to use a can opener.

That's what I told him.

We'll have to name a subcommittee
and let it go at that.

- Who do you have in mind to chair it?
- I thought Powell Hanson.

It'll look like you're rigging it
for Leffingwell.

Put him on the committee,
but not as chairman.

It's got to be somebody
who can handle Cooley.

What would you think
of Fred Van Ackerman?

Caught you too, huh?

- Got me out of bed this morning.
- Well?

I don't know.

The man has no tact.

Of course, he could cope with Seab.

So could Brig Anderson over there.

I thought of Brig.

But he's Fred Van Ackerman's junior.
Fred would split a gut.

Let him split. Brig knows
how to be a senator.

All right. Let's tag him and get organized.

- Brig, may we interrupt for a moment?
- Sure.

Brig, how would you feel about handling
the subcommittee on Leffingwell?

- I'd feel fine.
- Bob.

Orrin Knox is up on Leffingwell,
and Seab is warming up.

Here we go, gentlemen.

The president must have known
the reaction would be adverse...

for the name Leffingwell
is synonymous with arrogance...

and an eggheaded
determination to ignore...

When have you let somebody
else do your dirty work?

You mean Orrin Knox, Bob?

You find Orrin doing somebody else's
dirty work, and that'll be a pretty do.

- The office of federal power committee...
- This was a complete surprise.

Which he now administrates.

And in each of these, he has,
under the protection of the president...

gone his own way without consultation...

with the appropriate committee
of the Senate.

Mr. President, will the senator yield?

I will yield when I complete
the text of my statement.

Mr. President, I only wish to ask the senator
how long he intends to speak.

Was the senator planning to speak
for about 15 minutes?

Nice try, Robert.

Mr. Rresident, the esteemed majority leader
is trying to trap me into a time limit.

Well, since he has trotted out
this wheezy device...

he must expect the usual wheezy answer.

I certainly expect to speak
longer than 15 minutes.

- Indeed, I may speak 15 hours.
- Attaboy, Orrin.

I might also say that I do not need any
coaching from the sidelines...

from the esteemed senator
from South Carolina.

I would like to make it plain
that my opinions are my own...

and they do not reflect those
of the senator from South Carolina.

Now, if I might continue
without interruption.

This nomination is being handled
with an underhanded attempt...

to press the senator into silence and
railroad this nomination through Senate.

Mr. President,
will the senator yield for a question?

I have no intention of yielding to
the majority leader or the majority whip.

They have no purpose but to block
criticism of Leffingwell.

Will my good friend and colleague,
the distinguished senior senator...

from lllinois, yield the floor to me?

Under the circumstances, and because
we see eye to eye in this matter...

I consider it a privilege to yield to the able
and respected senator from South Carolina.

Thank you, sir. Mr. Rresident, I must defend
my distinguished colleague from lllinois.

It appears that he is beset
on every side by snarling enemies.

Yet it was his intention only to give voice
to the simple complaint...

many of us feel on both sides
of the aisle.

An honest revulsion...

at this nomination the president
has thrown in our teeth.

Mr. President, will this senator yield?

I'll not yield, sir, but I will say for you
what you'd say anyway...

that this is not the time
for personal imputations.

Will that satisfy the senator?

Was there no other man than this...

this Robert A. Leffingwell?

Is our storehouse of brainpower
so impoverished, that for this office...

which can affect the destiny
of our nation, of the world...

there is no other man
but Robert A. Leffingwell?

I find that hard, indeed,
impossible to believe.

Will the distinguished senator yield?

Well, now...

for my young, handsome...

and plenipotent colleague,
I will gladly yield.

Looks like Seab's gonna have
roast Lafe Smith for lunch.

Does the senior senator from South Carolina
think he knows more than the president...

about what or who is needed,
in these perilous times...

in the office of secretary of state?

Yes, senator.

Even one so young and green as
the junior senator from Rhode lsland...

would have chosen another man.
Wouldn't you say that's the truth?

The senator assumes an infallibility of
knowledge, which denotes a closed mind...

and an aged crust of prejudice.

Who ate who?

Mr. President...

we have here an example...

of the commotion this man,
Leffingwell, can arouse.

Able, sensitive young senators,
taught courtesy at their mothers' knees...

turn upon their elders and rend them
because of their passions...

over this disturbing man,
Robert A. Leffingwell.

I beseech senators to contemplate
the spectacle we are making of ourselves.

Why?

What is causing this bitterness
of division in our party? Leffingwell.

Who is disrupting the cordial flow
of legislative interchange? Leffingwell.

Who is turning this Senate...

into a cockpit of angry emotion?

Leffingwell.

I abominate this man Leffingwell.
He is an evil man.

He will pursue a policy of appeasements!

He will weaken the moral fiber
of our great nation.

He will bring destruction to our traditions.

And I beg you, senators, reject him.

Reject him!

- Barney, you look wonderful tonight.
- Thank you, Mrs. Harrison.

- Betty, do you know the senator?
- Yes, we've met.

Shall we have a spin around the floor?

Hi, Lafe.

- Having fun?
- Having a lovely time. Thanks.

- Can I get you a drink?
- No, thanks.

I will make my government's position
on Mr. Leffingwell very clear.

In some ways, he's excellent.

But in others, not so excellent.

In general, I would say we are for him.

Except when it comes to those
features of character...

in which we might be disposed
to be against him.

On the whole, that is my government's
position. Yes, exactly.

Yes, the inscrutable East can always
be depended upon to be inscrutable.

- Enjoy your dance, darling?
- The senator dances beautifully.

Well, Lafe is not exactly
the log-cabin type.

Rowell, the senator is coming
to lunch tomorrow.

We'll be honored. You'll be
our first guest at the embassy.

- You're very kind.
- Bob, see you a minute?

Will you excuse me?

- Didn't see you at dinner, Fred.
- I just got here.

Why didn't you take my call
from New York this afternoon?

I didn't want to take your call.
Is that an honest enough answer?

You were reaching
for Brig Anderson all the time?

No. But we weren't reaching
for you, either.

- He's in the club, isn't he?
- What club?

Don't give me that.
The inner circle, the clique, the club.

Look, Fred, you forced me
to offend you. I'm sorry.

All right. I'm willing to forget it.
I'll still campaign for Leffingwell.

Fine, Fred, but let's not irritate
the situation.

Robert Leffingwell is the difference between
peace and war. I mean to fight for him.

- Being exclusive, Harley?
- Just escaping for a moment.

From the ladies?

Do you mind if I ask you a question
that a vice president shouldn't ask?

You mean like,
" How's the president's health?"

I haven't seen him in six weeks.
He never calls me in.

- I don't think he means to slight you.
- He probably does.

But that's not why I'm asking.

Look, I know I'm only Charming Harley,
the housewives' delight.

I know I was only a compromise candidate
for vice president or I wouldn't be here.

I never expected to be president, and I hope
to God I never will be, and I mean that.

But the town's boiling
with rumors about his health.

If they're true, I should at least be told.

All right.

But this is just my own opinion.

I don't think the surgery last year
was successful.

Well, I was once the happy governor
of Delaware...

counting revenue from corporative setups
and having tea with the du Ronts.

- Now...
- It hasn't happened yet. Maybe it won't.

Bob, I'm not sure I've got the stuff
to be president.

Has anybody?

Most presidents have to grow up
in the job anyway.

The country could go to hell before
I'd grow big enough to see over the desk.

Humility is not the worst attitude
you could have toward this job.

It's a nice word for the shakes, "humility."

In any case, you're the only vice president
we have, so the Constitution says.

Leffingwell is not only an appeaser,
but a spendthrift to boot.

He can throw more money out
of the back door with a teaspoon...

than the government can bring in
with a shovel.

He'll stage a giveaway to the communists
that'll make Munich look like a clambake.

What do you pump-order politicians
think the world's like?

Wanna get us bombed out of existence
for some lousy, two-bit country...

that can't even feed itself?

We have got to think of ourselves,
first and last.

Would the senator yield the floor?

This is no laughing matter to me,
Mrs. Harrison.

Then perhaps this isn't the place
to discuss it.

Excuse me.

- I'm terribly sorry, Dolly.
- Nonsense, Orrin.

Why, Mr. Leffingwell does cause
excitement, doesn't he?

- Is that you, darling?
- Hi.

How did it go tonight, darling?

Like any party you give. A smasher.

You're the best there is, pet.

Somebody said once,
a friend of mine, I'm sure...

that any bitch with a million bucks,
and a big house and a good caterer...

could be a social success in Washington.

Do you think I'm a bitch?

A perfectly nice one, if you are.

And I'm probably the first man in your life
since your husband died.

That's not a question.

Don't feel obliged to volunteer information.

You are.

How long do you think I'm going to keep up
this backstairs romance?

Front elevator.

Elevator is right. At my age, I need it.

Oh, your age. You're as virile
as a billy goat...

and make noises like a wounded spaniel.

- No marriage, huh?
- And spoil this convenient arrangement?

Don't be silly.

I think you're afraid
I won't get elected next time.

No girl wants to be married to a has-been.

- Well, we've got that established.
- And I'm sleepy.

Are you sleepy?

Will the committee come to order, please?

I'll ask the witness to take his place
at the witness table.

This hearing of the subcommittee of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee...

is being held to consider the president's
nomination of Robert A. Leffingwell...

for secretary of state.

Mr. Leffingwell, I'm sure you know
all the members of the committee here.

Senator Cooley is not
a member of the subcommittee...

but the full committee voted
him permission to join us...

for the purposes of cross-examination.

I welcome Senator Cooley's
participation, Mr. Chairman.

If not wholeheartedly,
certainly without fear.

I commend your courage.

Frankly, the senator
scares the wits out of everybody else.

Would you please stand
and raise your right hand?

Do you swear that the statements
you are about to give this committee...

will be the truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

- Yes, sir, I do.
- Thank you.

- Sorry, Brig.
- Not at all, Fred.

I'm particularly interested in this hearing.

I hope Mr. Leffingwell obtains
swift approval from this committee.

I thank the senator for his comments.

Mr. Leffingwell, I'm sure you have
a statement to make...

before the interrogation begins.

Mr. Chairman, I believe I might serve this
committee best by answering its questions.

As you wish.

Senator Knox, would you like to begin?

Don't you feel we're worth the effort
of an opening statement?

I'm only being practical, senator.

Well, then I too shall be practical,
Mr. Leffingwell.

Are you loyal to the United States?

I don't mind admitting
that I'm loyal to the United States.

But it wasn't an idle question,
Mr. Leffingwell.

I've had some complaints against things
you've said in some of your speeches...

about our relations with the communists.

Some go so far as to say
you're not loyal.

- There's no foundation for that, senator.
- I have a quote from one of your speeches.

"We must not bind ourselves
to outworn principles of the past...

when we find those principles standing
in the way of affirmative action for peace."

- What does that mean?
- The past shouldn't lie too heavily...

upon our present efforts
to achieve world stability.

You say "outworn principles of the past."

Well, what principles
did you have in mind?

I meant more a state of mind.
Perhaps the word "principle"...

- was not a good choice.
- Orrin, is that speech you got there...

- about defense mobilization?
- No, foreign policy.

Mr. Chairman, the witness is the director
of the Office of Defense Mobilization.

What's he doing making speeches
about foreign policy?

You reckon he was bucking
for the job of secretary of state?

I responded to an invitation
from the Chamber of Commerce of Chicago.

The topic they gave me
to speak on was foreign policy.

I've seen men angling
for high office, Mr. Chairman.

That's the way they do it. They make
speeches. They flaunt themselves.

- That's how they do it. Yes, sir.
- Ln fact, Mr. Leffingwell...

this was only one of a series of speeches
on foreign policy, wasn't it?

Yes, sir, that's true.

He made speeches. So what?

We all make speeches.

Mr. Leffingwell, you said you merely
meant to suggest a state of mind...

This is a cute committee here.

Do you think it's wrong to suspect
the good faith of the communists...

after four decades of dishonor?

All things change.
It wouldn't hurt to assume at times...

a desire for peace from the communists.

On what basis?
These pious, hopeful men, Mr. Chairman.

These wool-gathering optimists.

Mr. Chairman, can't we get along
without this kind of questioning?

At the risk of seeming discourteous to the
distinguished senator from South Carolina...

I'll remind him he's here
at the sufferance of the committee.

I thank the esteemed chairman
for his courteous chastisement.

Mr. Leffingwell, do I understand
you wish to placate the communists?

Not placate. But neither do I want to kill
any chance of agreement before it starts.

In an agreement, what terms
do you think would be valid?

I can't answer that
without given circumstances.

- Will the senator yield?
- If the senator will be brief.

The senator wouldn't want me
to be too brief...

where the fate of my country
is concerned.

Why are you afraid to tell us what terms
you'd make with the communists?

- I just explained to Senator Knox...
- You're evading.

We want to know what you intend
to give away to the communists.

- I don't intend to give anything away.
- Why won't you tell us what your terms are?

Are you ashamed to disclose these terms?

I have nothing to be ashamed of,
and you know it.

He is not responding, Mr. Chairman.

This man is hiding something.

Senator Knox, reclaim the floor.
This is getting us nowhere.

I resent the chair's arbitrary attempt
to silence cross-examination...

that'll show this man's true intent.

It is common knowledge that no one,
nowhere, and at no time...

has been able to silence the distinguished
senator from South Carolina.

Well, sir, I might say the chairman's
doing a pretty good job of it right now.

If you feel the witness is hiding something,
would you care to make a formal charge?

Well, now, that'll just upset everybody.

I'll just turn the floor back
to Senator Knox.

No more right now, Mr. Chairman.

- Senator Velez?
- Mr. Leffingwell...

what associations did you have when
teaching at the University of Chicago?

The usual campus associations.
Other teachers, students.

I have here a telegram
from someone named Gelman...

who claims to have known you
at the university.

Do you recognize the name?

I don't think so, but that was quite
a few years ago, senator.

Well, he says you associated
with left-wingers and communists.

Is there anything to that, Mr. Leffingwell?

I'd like to know what
Mr. Gelman means by...

"left-wingers" or "communists." Those
terms are used carelessly by some people.

Will Mr. Gelman be called to testify?

I'm unable to find Mr. Gelman.

Senator, I don't know what to say,
except the telegram is from some crank.

- Senator from Hawaii.
- Just a hypothetical question.

If the communists demand
we yield certain strategic positions...

- what would you recommend?
- We reject any such demand.

Even if it meant war?

That's an unlikely hypothesis if we retain
our present power of retaliation.

Say it did happen.

Would you recommend a preventive attack?

Hit the enemy before they hit us?

No, I wouldn't recommend a preventive
attack. I would first try to bargain...

try to agree to some of their demands
if they'd agree to some of ours.

With the senator's permission, I'd like
to make a little speech to the witness.

Mr. Witness, I'd rather go out of this world
standing on my two hind legs...

fighting like a man for things I believe
in, than to yield and concede and crawl...

till there was nothing left
of our freedoms and way of life...

but a handful of lost dreams
and a fistful of dry dust.

Mr. Chairman, it's mighty comforting
to know that all the folks out there...

aren't being took in
by this appeasement talk.

Mr. Chairman, a little while ago,
Senator Knox asked me to define...

what I meant by "outworn principles."

Senator Cooley has obliged
with a perfect illustration.

He speaks of standing on his hind legs,
fighting like a man...

as if war were still some rousing charge
up San Juan Hill...

with flags flying and bugles sounding.

It's this kind of 19th-century notion
I was talking about.

This "don't tread on me,"
"walk softly and carry a big stick"...

"damn the torpedoes,"
"full speed ahead" state of mind.

Senator Cooley's state of mind.

It seems to me that the senator from
South Carolina was speaking out of pride.

Do you think we should discontinue pride
in our freedoms and our way of life?

I believe it's dangerous to negotiate
survival with pride determining our attitude.

I wonder if there isn't good sense
in what Senator Cooley said.

I wonder if we can't become too equivocal.

I wonder if we can't reason away,
in the name of survival...

everything worth surviving for.

That's a hard line to walk, but we have
no choice but to try and walk it.

I'm sorry to say we can't always know
where we're going.

As long as we know where we're not going.

Any questions, Senator Hendershot?

You're what they call an egghead,
aren't you, Mr. Witness?

I'm not only an egghead, senator,
I'm a premeditated egghead.

I set out to become an egghead,
and at this moment...

I'm in full flower of eggheadedness.

I hope to shed pollen wherever I go.

If there are no objections, we can leave
them laughing while we have lunch.

We'll take it up again at 1:30,
Mr. Leffingwell.

Do you think the committee's
trying to smear you?

They're asking what they feel
they should.

Some questions have been smear questions.

Right now my main emphasis
is getting lunch.

If he won't answer that question, I will.

The committee is being used
to smear Mr. Leffingwell.

- What about that, Mr. Leffingwell?
- The senator is entitled to his opinion.

Will you excuse me, please?

You don't like how this hearing
is being conducted, do you?

The chairman should stop
these irresponsible questions.

He doesn't want to.
They're out to crucify Mr. Leffingwell.

Senator, Senator Van Ackerman is accusing
the committee of using smear tactics.

Would you comment on this?

If the senator has any complaints to make,
he should write a letter to his congressman.

- Will you give Seab Cooley a free hand?
- Oh, come on.

Do you believe war can be avoided,
Mr. Leffingwell?

I believe it must be avoided. But I don't
think we can avoid it by rattling sabers.

That's all, Mr. Chairman.

Now, Mr. Leffingwell, it becomes necessary
to turn you over to the tender mercies...

- of the senator from South Carolina.
- I'm girded for the occasion, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I have no questions, Mr. Chairman.

Then I don't see any reason
why we can't adjourn the hearing.

If there are no objections.

Would the nominee mind staying with us
for just a smidgen longer?

I said I have no questions, Mr. Chairman.
But I have a witness I would like to call.

Call your witness, senator.

Herbert Gelman.

Will the photographers
withdraw to the sidelines, please?

- Are you Herbert Gelman?
- That's my name.

Raise your right hand, please.

Do you swear the testimony
you are about to give this committee...

will be the truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

- Yes, sir, I swear.
- Take a seat, please.

Where do you live, Mr. Gelman?

At 2221 Grove Rlace Northeast,
here in Washington.

- Your occupation?
- I'm a clerk in the Treasury Department.

Did you send this telegram
to Senator Velez?

And, Mr. Gelman, would you mind
speaking just a little bit louder, please?

Yes. Yes.

Why didn't you include your address
so he could contact you?

- That was Senator Cooley's idea.
- What did Senator Cooley have to do with it?

He suggested that I send
a telegram to Senator Velez.

- Is this true, Senator Cooley?
- It is, Mr. Chairman.

Why didn't you tell us when
Senator Velez introduced the telegram?

I was just giving the nominee
enough rope to hang himself.

I resent being used as a cat's-paw
by the senator from South Carolina.

I apologize to the senator from New Mexico.

The senator will forgive me when he hears
what this new witness has to say.

Do you know Robert Leffingwell,
Mr. Gelman?

- Yes, sir.
- Intimately?

Well, not intimately.

Well, how? On sight or how?

Well, closer than that.

I worked for the Federal Power Commission
when he was chairman.

In his office?

No, sir, at a subsidiary agency.

But I knew him before then in Chicago.

I was in one of his classes
at the university.

I see. Does he know you?

He ought to.

He fired me from
the Federal Rower Agency.

- For what reason were you fired?
- He wanted me out of the agency.

- I knew too much.
- About what?

About him.

What do you know about him?

He's a communist.

The nominee has a right to cross-examine.

I was about to ask, Mr. Leffingwell,
if you'd like to cross-examine as we go.

Thank you, but I'll wait till he's finished.

Senator Cooley, he's all yours.

Now, sir, Mr. Herbert Gelman.

Will you please tell the committee
how you happened to be here.

I came to you about Mr. Leffingwell.

Now I want you to tell the committee,
and the nation...

what you told me in my office.

Yes, sir.

When I was going
to the University of Chicago...

I lived at 2714 Carpenter Street.

I got to know a man, who also had
a room there, named Max Bukowski.

- And he...
- How do you spell that name, Mr. Gelman?

B-U-K-O-W-S-K-l.

Would you continue, please?

Bukowski invited me...

to sit in on
political discussions in his room.

I went to several of these discussions...

before I realized I was getting involved
in a communist cell, and I dropped out.

Who was in this communist cell?

Bukowski was the leader.

There was a man named James Morton.

And then there was
Mr. Robert Leffingwell.

You knew Mr. Leffingwell.

Well, like I said, I was in one
of his classes at the university.

Now I'll ask you to tell the committee
what was discussed at these meetings...

but I want to tell the committee
that I in no way coached this witness.

The words that he uses are his own words.

Mr. Gelman.

Max Bukowski was a dogmatic Marxist.

He didn't feel that communism would come
to America without violent revolution.

But James Morton and Mr. Leffingwell
felt that communism...

would come as a result of the erosion
of our form of government.

I remember James Morton saying
that our principles would become outworn.

Now, it seems to me we've heard
that from somebody else today.

Not mentioning any names, of course.

Brig, we'll want verification
of this man's story.

- I thank the senator for pointing that out.
- Someone's got to point it out.

I'd advise you to demand verification.

I thank the senator for his advice.

Would the senator care to sit
with the committee?

Are you trying to choke me off, Brig?

Not at all, Fred.

Continue, please.

Now, Mr. Gelman, you told me something
about names in this communist cell.

Yes. Nobody used their right name.

Mr. Leffingwell was called Walker.

Bukowski was called Fitzgerald.

I never learned James Morton's real name.

And they tried to give me
the name of Andrews.

About that time, I quit.

What happened when you quit?

Mr. Leffingwell failed me in his class
on government administration.

Why didn't you report all this
to the university authorities?

- I was afraid.
- And you're not afraid now.

Yes, I'm afraid.

But I couldn't stand by
and see a man like Mr. Leffingwell...

get into a position of power
as secretary of state.

- Can you corroborate this, Mr. Gelman?
- The man's an eyewitness, under oath.

- I'm not lying!
- I didn't say you were lying.

Where can we find Max Bukowski
and James Morton?

Bukowski's dead.
I never saw James Morton again.

Maybe Mr. Robert A. Leffingwell
can help us to locate this James Morton.

Would the committee grant me one hour
to prepare an answer to this testimony?

If he can defend himself,
let him do it right now.

The committee will extend
this courtesy to the nominee.

We'll stand recessed until 3:30.

Seab, you don't believe
that tale yourself. Come on.

Anyway, I'm rocking the boat.

He's going to cut Gelman up
four ways from Sunday.

And I'm going to pick off just enough votes
to push him into office.

What about that, you old buzzard?

Us old buzzards can see a mouse dying
from 10,000 feet up.

Us old buzzards have
the sharpest eyes in creation.

Right now, I'm studying the terrain.

Thank you.

Led by questions from Senator Brigham
Anderson, the witness flatly stated...

that Robert Leffingwell was a communist.

He claimed he had once been
in a communist cell with Leffingwell.

Leff, how are you? Come in.

Daddy, George is hiding my new record.

- I haven't even seen her old album.
- He has seen it. He's got it, Daddy.

Kids, go in there and behave
or I'm gonna tell Mother.

Leffingwell seemed to be
as flabbergasted...

Leff, I've been watching
the whole awful business on television.

- Sit down.
- Hardiman...

when I go back to the hearing,
I'll tell them the whole story.

Chicago, Gelman, everything.

You're bound to come into it.
Might be better if you're there with me.

We can make them understand
how it really was.

Make who understand?

- Who would even want to understand?
- We've got nothing to lose by trying.

- Nothing to lose?
- I'm under oath, Hardiman.

I know you're under oath,
but wait a minute here.

I've got a family to feed.

Leff, look, if we do what you want,
we'll not only be through in government...

we'll never even get
a job teaching again.

You know what happens when
these red-baiting newspapers get the scent.

- I know that, but what can I do?
- Withdraw. Don't go back to the hearing.

That would be the worst
admission of guilt.

There'd be a Senate investigation
in 24 hours. We'd be in the same spot.

All right.

Tell me this:
What do you owe these politicians?

Nothing.

They let that old megalomaniac Cooley bring
a half-witted clerk to testify against you.

I know you're a man of principle. I admire you
for it, but it's no time to go by the book.

- I don't know.
- You have to. You're putting...

your head on a chopping block
and mine with it.

Look, you talk about being under oath.

What about Gelman?
His testimony was shot with lies.

He was never in one of your classes
at the university.

Destroy him. It's easy for you, Leff.

Will the chair please administer the oath
to Mr. Lewis Newborne...

of the Federal Rower Commission.

Would you stand and raise
your right hand, please?

Do you swear the testimony
you're about to give this committee...

will be the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth?

- I do.
- Thank you. You may be seated.

First, Mr. Chairman, let me say
that I do know Herbert Gelman.

Looks like we might've smoked us out
a possum, Mr. Chairman.

Afraid there'll be no possum stew
in the old Cooley pot tonight, senator.

I realized I knew Herbert Gelman
only after I'd heard his testimony.

- May I question Mr. Gelman?
- By all means.

Mr. Gelman.

Before being detached
from the Rower Commission...

- you'd been ill a long while, correct?
- I was in a tuberculosis sanitarium.

- Tuberculosis sanitarium?
- You know that, Mr. Leffingwell.

You fired me when I tried
to come back to work.

Can you tell us the name
of this tuberculosis sanitarium?

- The name?
- Yes, the name. It had a name, didn't it?

The name. I can't think of the name.

It was in the country, in Maryland.

Mr. Newborne, do you know Herbert Gelman?

Oh, yes. I was his immediate superior
in the Federal Rower Agency.

Tell the committee the true cause
of Mr. Gelman's illness.

It wasn't tuberculosis. Herbert...
Mr. Gelman had a mental breakdown.

And the sanitarium was the Elm Grove
Rest Home right outside of Baltimore.

What happened when he came back to work?

He seemed, well, kind of shaky.
He couldn't seem to get a hold of the job.

I went to Mr. Leffingwell, and I told him
that I wanted to let Gelman go.

Mr. Leffingwell said he'd try
and find him another job.

A few days later, on Mr. Leffingwell's
instructions, I discharged Gelman...

and recommended that he apply
to the Department of the Treasury.

He made an application,
and he went to work over there.

This, Mr. Chairman, is the sum total
of my knowledge of Herbert Gelman...

except I telephoned
the University of Chicago...

to find out if he'd ever been
a student of mine.

The registrar said Gelman
had been at the university...

but there was no record
of his attending my classes.

This will be confirmed by telegram
from the registrar to the committee.

What do you have to say
to this, Mr. Gelman?

I thought...

I thought it was my duty as a citizen
to come here, expose Mr. Leffingwell.

You will receive another telegram. This one
from the city planning office of Chicago.

Seems this address,
2714 Carpenter Street...

where this communist cell practiced its
mumbo jumbo, according to Mr. Gelman...

This address has been a fire station
for more than 50 years.

Did you have a mental breakdown,
Mr. Gelman?

Do you still insist you were fired by Mr.
Leffingwell because you knew too much?

I didn't know that he got me the job
in the Treasury Department.

Could you have been mistaken about being
in his classes in the university?

I don't know.

And what about 2714 Carpenter Street?

Well, it might not be the right number.

I may not remember for sure.

Rerhaps you don't remember
other things for sure.

Well, if I did, would anybody believe me?

I think we can let this witness go.

Thank you, Mr. Gelman.

I said you could go, Mr. Gelman.

This committee owes you an apology,
Mr. Leffingwell.

Perhaps Senator Cooley
would like to join us in that?

I'm not joining anybody in anything.

Senator Cooley wants a transcript of this
hearing at the earliest possible moment.

The committee owes me no apology, Mr.
Chairman, nor do they owe me approval.

Win, lose, or draw I shall continue to serve
my country when and wherever I can.

- Good afternoon.
- Yes, sir?

Why, I'd surely be obliged if I could see
the employment record...

of Mr. Herbert Gelman.

I'm sorry, sir, but employment records
are privileged information.

You might say that I am privileged.
I'm Senator Cooley.

You're a mighty pretty gal,
yes, ma'am. Mighty pretty.

I'm not entirely sure in which section
of this building Mr. Gelman works.

Mr. Leffingwell.

Well, Leff.

- Congratulations.
- I appreciate your arranging...

to see me so quickly.
I know how busy you are.

Glad you called.
I wanted to see you. Sit down.

Bobby thinks the committee
will go four-to-one in your favor.

He has enough votes sewed up
to get you through on the floor.

So it looks like you're in.
How'd you like a drink, Mr. Secretary?

Mr. Rresident, I'm not in,
and I'm not going to be in.

- Yes, sir.
- What are you talking about?

- Yes, sir.
- Nothing! Sorry.

Mr. Rresident, I want you
to withdraw my nomination.

I lied at the hearing.

I knew Herbert Gelman.
I knew him in Chicago.

I knew him at those meetings.

They were communist meetings,
Mr. Rresident.

I was never a party member,
but I was young, looking for a cause.

Didn't take long to discover
that wasn't it, and I dropped out.

Please believe that,
Mr. President. It's true.

But I am guilty of one bad error.

I gave Herbert Gelman a job
to keep him from talking.

When I saw Gelman in the courtroom, I knew
Cooley had me set up for the witch-hunters.

I wish I could tell you I'm sorry I lied.

I'm only sorry I had to lie.

Anybody else know you lied?

One person. Hardiman Fletcher.

- Fletcher of the Treasury Department?
- Yes.

Will he talk?

No. Fletcher was the third man
in Chicago.

He was James Morton.

- Hello, senator.
- Well, Mr. Fletcher...

I surely do appreciate you keeping
this little rendezvous.

Who are we hiding from, senator, and why?

I thought us meeting by this fine old
monument might have a salutary effect...

on our conversation. It was George
Washington who couldn't tell a lie...

wasn't it, Mr. Fletcher?

I sometimes forget my schoolboy history.
Shall we take a little walk?

A thought came to me, Mr. Fletcher.
Not like a bolt from the blue.

More insinuating,
like a soft breeze off the river.

I thought, "Why did Robert A. Leffingwell
have Herbert Gelman..."

apply to the Treasury Department
for a job?

"Why didn't he send him
through civil service for a job?"

- Are you asking me a question?
- Not yet, Mr. Fletcher.

I gallivanted over to
the Treasury Department this afternoon...

and I sort of looked up
Herbert Gelman's record.

And I discovered that you approved
Herbert's application.

Personally approved it.

- Senator, get to the point.
- The point is, I was gonna give you a break.

Looks like you see fit to turn down
my Southern generosity.

- Senator Cooley, I'm a loyal citizen. I...
- I didn't say you weren't.

But I might have to start an investigation
to prove you're loyal, Mr. Fletcher.

Mr. James Morton.

What is this...

- break you were gonna give me?
- Simple.

Make a telephone call to Brigham Anderson,
offer him a small confession...

not mentioning I had anything to do with
it, just made out of your own conscience.

What happens then?

Natural course will be followed
to protect the president and our party.

Your confidence won't be betrayed,
Mr. Fletcher.

And you'll have done a noble duty, sir.
Yes, sir, noble.

- Senator Knox?
- Oh, thank you.

Senators, looks like
we won't be voting today.

It's from Brig. He's postponed it.

For what reason?

He doesn't say.

Are you sure it was Fletcher
who called you?

I made sure.

I called him back at his home.

Has he told this to anyone but you?

He said not.

Why in hell did he open
up this can of beans?

He felt he should do the right thing.

Nuts. He's protecting himself.

Bess, get through to the
president at Camp David.

Tell his secretary I want him next.

I don't care who's ahead of me.
The queen of England.

And it is not enough that the subcommittee
has permitted a great man to be smeared.

Now the chairman of that subcommittee
is deliberately blocking the committee vote.

It's one more thing to add to the most
unfair hearing in the history of the Senate.

Sir, will the senator
yield for a question?

- Will the senator yield for a question?
- I'll yield to the senator.

Mr. Rresident, I admit I'm not
a supporter of Mr. Leffingwell...

but I watched the hearing on TV,
and it seemed eminently fair to me.

Mr. Rresident, I'm sorry if the senator was
not perceptive enough to grasp the obvious.

I am telling the Senate
exactly what happened.

As much as I appreciate hearing about
the senator's particular view...

I must say I will need more substantial
proof than the senator's own description.

Sir, is the senator calling me a liar?

The record must stand as is,
Mr. President.

How the senator interprets that
is his problem, not mine.

Mr. President, the senator from Kansas
is welcome to take advantage of her sex.

Oh, Fred, come off it.

You think it's funny?

You think the world thinks it's funny?

The world thinks it's funny that we're trying
to smear a man who believes in peace?

Do you think the people of this
country think it's funny?

Does the senator from Utah
think it's funny?

Will the senator from Utah tell us
why he is blocking the vote?

I'll tell you. He's assassinating the character
and reputation of Robert Leffingwell!

The senator asks me a question
and answers it himself.

I prefer to make my own
reply, Mr. President.

As chairman of the subcommittee,
I seek only to do my duty.

And that I will do despite the hysterical
tantrums of the senator from Wyoming.

The senator is frightening no one
except the children in the visitors' gallery.

I'm not too sure the senator
from Utah can't be frightened.

There are ways to frighten any man,
even the senator from Utah.

- Every man has his Achilles...
- The chair is tolerant, as everybody knows.

But there'll be no threats
made in this chamber.

- What happened to Harley?
- I don't know.

I apologize to the chair.

In my anxiety for a great cause,
I was carried away.

- Will the chair hear a motion?
- Make your motion.

I move that the Committee on
Foreign Relations be discharged...

from consideration of the nominee
for secretary of state...

and that the Senate vote on
Robert Leffingwell now.

- Did he clear this with you?
- He did not.

Bob, I can't let this pass.
I'm gonna have to open up.

I'll try and stop it.

Make Van Ackerman withdraw the motion.
Tell him we haven't enough votes.

- Mr. President.
- The senior senator from Michigan.

Mr. President...

it would certainly be a dramatic
affirmation of the nominee...

if we were to bypass
the regular procedures...

of the Senate
and vote him into office now...

I won't withdraw.
He should make a motion himself.

The balance of power in our government,
as created by the Constitution...

is the most brilliant device for the
protection of liberty conceived by free men...

We're not ready for this, Fred.
Don't you understand?

I'm ready for it.

That none can become absolute has made
this government the miracle of the ages.

We must always guard this balance...

so this great dream of liberty within
discipline, which is America, will die.

I tell you, we haven't got the votes.

You'll get him beat before we
get him out of committee.

Citizens of this republic
for almost two centuries.

Now Senator Van Ackerman's motion
proposes to ride over those procedures.

Though I hope for the eventual
confirmation of the nominee...

I ask that this motion be defeated.

It won't hurt Mr. Leffingwell
if he isn't confirmed...

by sundown today
or even sundown tomorrow.

But it might hurt us most grievously
if we do what suits us...

in the heat and passion
of the passing moment.

Is there a request for the yeas and nays?

Squarehead Anderson can't block this.

Senators, do I hear a request for the
yeas and nays? A quorum, maybe?

What got your tongue today?
You're usually shaking the rafters.

It's my day for sunning myself, Mr. Majority
Leader, like an old bullfrog on a lily pad.

- You've got to withdraw.
- Does anybody want to say anything at all?

- Mr. Rresident.
- Saved by the senator from Wyoming.

Mr. Rresident, I have decided to heed the
wisdom of the esteemed majority leader...

who has pointed out
the danger in my motion.

I would not wish to abuse
this citadel of freedom.

I will instead humble myself
before my peers and withdraw the...

This news about Leffingwell
hit the president pretty hard.

- He put a lot of faith in him.
- I'm sorry.

He's coming to the correspondents'
banquet tonight. You going?

I plan to.

He'd like to see you, Brig.
Would you come up to my place afterwards?

What can I tell him I haven't told you?
All he has to do is withdraw the man.

Did I eat crow nicely, Bob?

Yeah, you did fine, Fred.
Thanks for your cooperation.

Is Brig cooperating?

Any time old Brig isn't cooperating,
I might be able to change his mind.

Just let me know.

Get off my back, Fred.

Bob, see you a minute?

Okay for after the banquet, Brig?

Sure, all right.

I said you made a mistake
with him. He's trouble.

Fred, will you please butt out of this?
You're not doing Leffingwell any good.

Okay, but if you want Brig whipped
into line, I've got the whip on file.

I'm sure we can manage without your file.

Gentlemen, tonight is the one night
in the year when we're honor-bound...

not to be reporters.

Our guests may speak freely...

and not have to read a hundred versions
of what they said in the morning papers.

So with that assurance, I give you
the president of the United States.

Fellow members of the White House
Correspondents' Association...

the man says there are
no reporters present tonight...

but I'm going to exercise the privilege
given me by my gold membership card...

and reverse that traditional ruling.

Tonight, gentlemen,
there are reporters present.

So get out your pencils.
We'll write ourselves a story.

- This planned?
- Not by me.

I see down there at table number three
the senior senator from South Carolina.

Hello, Seab.

And over there at table seven...

I see the senator from Utah,
Brigham Anderson.

Hi, Brigham.

I said, hi, Brigham.

Now, a few days ago,
the president of the United States...

nominated a man for secretary of state...

who the president thinks
is a pretty good man...

and he wants that man
confirmed by the Senate.

But the senior senator from
South Carolina, for reasons of his own...

and those reasons are never
like anybody else's reasons...

the senator's opposed to my nominee.

Well, everybody expected that.

We'd all be disappointed
if Seab hadn't reared back...

and huffed and puffed,
and tried to blow the house down.

But now comes Senator Brigham Anderson...

who nobody suspected
of being a big, bad wolf.

And he goes Seab Cooley one better by
trying to dig a tunnel under the house.

This is your story, fellow members of the
White House Correspondents' Association.

The president is standing by his nominee.

Despite Seab Cooley's windstorms
and Brigham Anderson's tunneling...

you can tell the readers the president
hasn't changed his mind about his nominee.

He's going to fight for that
confirmation no matter what.

What are you clapping for?

I can afford to be charitable, sir.

Mr. President.

Sore at me, Brigham?

Frankly, I'm puzzled, Mr. President.

There's coffee and brandy here if you want.
I'll go down to the banquet room.

- If it's okay, I'd rather have you stay.
- What's the matter, Brigham?

You think you need a witness?

I'm not sure, Mr. President.

You'd better stay, Bobby. Sit down.

I have a feeling I might need
some help with this young man.

Of course you know I'm grateful,
the way you put the lid on this matter.

I didn't get that impression tonight.

Well, a president has to stand up for a man
he sends down to Senate. You know that.

It seems to me, the sooner you withdraw
him, the sooner this will blow over.

I still want him, Brigham.

If we open this up, he won't be confirmed.
I'm sure Senator Munson told you that.

If we don't open it up, we've got enough
votes committed to put him through.

I've gone as far as I can
with this, Mr. Rresident.

I think the circumstances might
permit you to go a little further.

You don't seriously believe
Leffingwell's a communist, do you?

Whether he is or not, he lied under oath.

Aren't you interested in why he lied?

Well, I'm not completely unsympathetic,
but I just think that...

You think he should let himself
be ruined...

just because he flirted with
communism a long time ago?

My point is he should've
told the committee...

he had flirted with communism
instead of lying.

Well, maybe there's nothing in your
young life you'd like to conceal...

but we're not all of us that fortunate.

We have to make the best of our mistakes.
That's all Leffingwell has done.

As the leader of our party, I'm asking you.
Let me judge the man.

Mr. Rresident, I don't want
to wreck his life.

I don't want to deprive you
of his services in some other office.

But in this case, his confirmation
as secretary of state...

I am bound by my duty to my committee.

You also owe a duty to your party.

I can't subvert the purpose
of a Senate committee.

You don't think Cooley subverted
the purpose of the committee?

He's used his little forum
in a personal vendetta.

Mr. Rresident, I'm sorry, but your
arguments won't wash with me.

My prestige is riding on this nomination.

Rrestige of this country, Senator Anderson.
By God, that ought to wash.

Or don't you know we're in trouble
in the world...

outside that little
subcommittee of yours?

Yes, sir, I know our prestige will suffer...

but it will suffer a lot more if I have to
show up your nominee as a barefaced liar.

If you won't withdraw him, I'll reopen
and call Hardiman Fletcher as a witness.

Then do it. Do what you like.
I won't withdraw.

- Good night, Bobby.
- Good night, Mr. Rresident.

He has a case, Brig.

You can't always cut it black or white.
Not in these times.

But this is black and white.

I just don't understand you. You make a
great speech about the balance of power...

then you ignore your responsibility...

and want me to rubber-stamp this
nomination just to please the president.

I guess it is inconsistent...

but I've come a long way with him, ever
since we were green congressmen together.

He's pulled us through
six hard years of crisis.

He's tired, Brig, and he's ill.

I love the man.

I guess I can stretch
my responsibility a little.

Love to help him.

I'm sorry, but mine won't stretch.

All right. Give him a few days to save face,
and then we'll put up another nominee.

That isn't what the president said.

He'll bend if he has to.

And I guess he has to.

Brig?

Did I wake you? I'm sorry.

I was waiting for you.

This was a night, Mrs. Anderson.

Your husband had a knockdown-and-dragout
with the president of the United States.

- Oh, Brig.
- It's all right. I won.

I had a very strange phone call, Brig.

Strange? Well, who was it?

I don't know. A man.

He said that before you go on
with the Leffingwell matter...

you ought to remember
what happened in Hawaii.

Then he hung up.

What happened in Hawaii, Brig?

What was the voice like?

It was crawly. He made it sound like
he knew some kind of nasty secret.

I've been on the front pages the past few
days. We're bound to get crackpot calls.

Just hang up if you get any more.

Are you sure you're doing
the right thing, Brig?

Yes, darling, I'm sure.
Don't worry about it.

What did he mean about Hawaii?

I was stationed there
when I was in the Army.

I don't see what that
has to do with Leffingwell.

Just some crackpot, darling, that's all.

- Hello?
- Did you speak to your husband?

- What do you want? Who are you?
- We're serious about this.

- You call here one...
- Hello!

Hello?

- I told you to hang up on those calls.
- Brig, I'm frightened.

Now, look, there is nothing to be
frightened of, Ellen. Nothing!

Come on, let's have some breakfast.

The senator handling the inland waterways
bill can't be present this afternoon.

If the senator from Michigan will agree...

I would like to ask that nothing
be put ahead of this bill.

Since the afternoon is
an extremely busy one...

When is the president going to withdraw?

You can't hurry him, Brig. After all,
we don't run that end of the avenue.

I am very glad to accommodate
the senator, Mr. Rresident.

I move we stand in recess
until noon tomorrow.

Without objection, so ordered.

Have you seen him?

He's on a destroyer at Chesapeake Bay
for the naval boat race.

Come on, don't look so worried.
After all, you won your point last night.

Have a cup of coffee with me.

No, thanks.

Early recess, senator?

Hello, Seab.

A man can live like a mole
in the halls of that old capitol.

Me, I just sit out here for a while
most every day, winter or summer.

You look like you've got
the burden, son. Sit down.

You got them treed, haven't you? Look
out they don't shinny down on top of you.

You're dealing with devious
men, senator. Yes, sir.

Devious, powerful men.

Hardiman Fletcher took a plane
to Europe this afternoon.

A mission for the president.

Gonna make a study
of world currency problems.

You know that?

Well, it'll be in the papers
tomorrow morning.

- Where do you come into this, Seab?
- Well...

let's just say you've got a friend.
A powerful, devious friend.

Thanks.

Thanks. I might need him.

- Bob.
- Hi, Brig.

- Change your mind?
- I just wanna verify something.

Something about Hardiman Fletcher.

Well, what about Hardiman Fletcher?

Is this an act?

- I don't know what you're talking about.
- Go now.

I give you my word,
I don't know anything about it.

I don't understand why
the president did this.

All I can think of is he's making sure
you won't jump the gun until he's ready.

Hello.

Oh, yes, he's here.

Who is this?

Just a minute, please.

Oh, Brig, there's a call for you.

- For me?
- Yeah. It's your clerk.

- Hello.
- Hello. Senator Anderson?

- Who is this?
- Well, it's not your clerk.

Don 't hang up, senator. You'll be interested
in this. We have the stuff on Hawaii.

If you don 't want us to use it,
you'll get out of Leffingwell's way.

This is no joke, senator. We'll use it.

Use what? What? I don ' t know what...

It's a photograph, senator. And a letter.

Listen, I won ' t be scared off. I mean it.

I won ' t carry this anymore.
I'll go to Senate and tell it all!

- Take it easy. What's the matter?
- He withdraws!

I don't mean tomorrow! I don't mean next
week! Today, you understand? Today!

Brig.

Will you come in, Miss Foster?

There was a man about five or six weeks
ago. His name was Raymond Shaff.

"Ray," he probably said. I didn't want to
talk to him. Do you remember?

Yes. He called several times.
He also came to the office.

- Did he leave a number?
- I think so.

Senator?

Yes, Miss Foster?

I have no telephone number, but I
have an address in New York City.

Thank you. Would you just
put it on my desk, please?

- Then why send Fletcher away?
- I had nothing to do with it.

I haven't talked to the president
since the hearing.

You expect me to believe you don't know
whether he's going to withdraw you or not?

Senator, I've put myself at his disposal.
I'm waiting for him to tell me what to do.

Well, I won't wait.
I don't need Fletcher.

I'll convene the hearing
and you won't lie this time.

You can't do that, senator.

I've got to do it!

Why? What does a day matter?
Or two? You have the whip hand.

I'm giving you a chance.

Call the press, announce your
withdrawal. Forget the president.

I've given the president my word.

Your word is not exactly
the coin of the realm.

No, maybe it isn't, thanks to your
committee. But I still place a value on it.

And there's nothing more to be said.
Good afternoon, senator.

Did you hear all of that, Johnny?

Did you understand it?

Well, I don't exactly know
how to explain it, Johnny.

- Okay.
- No. Wait a minute.

I could tell you the truth.

All right.

Sit down, Johnny.

Brig?

I'd like to talk to you, please.

I had another call, Brig.

Yes, I took the call.

When did I become the little woman who's
supposed to sit at home and know nothing?

Brig, I've campaigned with you.
I've worked for you.

I know politics isn't all...

love thy neighbor and friendship.

I know how cruel it can be.

There's trouble. I want to know what it is.

Rlease, Daddy, you promised
to play with me.

In a minute, Pidge.

Do you know someone named Ray?

Please, Daddy.

Please, Pidge.

Go back in the garden.

Daddy will be there in a minute.

He said to tell you
that they had bought Ray.

What does that mean?

I don't know.

You must know.

Will you please just leave this to me?

But it's coming into my
home on that telephone.

They're calling me, Brig. They're trying to
force you to do something through me.

Now, you've got to tell me what it is.

You're getting all hysterical about nothing.

Now, I don't know what those phone calls
are about, but I'm trying to find out.

For the first time in our lives,
you're not telling me the truth.

That awful creature on the telephone.

He knows what he's talking about.
He's not making something up.

Something will happen if you don't do what
he wants, and you must prepare me for it.

Ellen, please, don't press me.

I've got to have time to work this out.

Why can't I help you?

What do you think I live for?

You're my whole life, you and Ridge.
There isn't anything else.

I know that. I know that.

If they're threatening you through me,
it can only mean one thing.

It's about a woman, isn't it?

Is that why you're afraid to tell me?

I know I'm not everything
a wife should be.

I know we haven't had
an exciting marriage.

It's my fault.

Darling, nothing in the whole world
is your fault.

This is something from a long time ago.
Before I even knew you.

If I could only...

- Tell me, Brig, tell me.
- I can't.

Then you'd better do
what these people want.

It doesn't seem so very much.

Not if it means that our whole...

If I do what they want,
everything that I have tried to be...

everything that I have tried to stand for
in my life would be just thrown away. No.

Brig, I can't wait
for a mountain to fall on me.

I can't be that brave.

I'll take Pidge and leave.

Shall I do that?
Shall I take Ridge and go?

What do you expect me to do?

All I want to do is stand beside you,
and you give me no place to stand.

I want you to wait.
Wait for just a little while.

If I can't stop these people, then I'll
tell you all there is to tell, everything.

Then you can decide.
But wait. Please wait.

And if you do stop them?

I'll ask you to try and forget
this ever happened.

Oh, I couldn't leave you.

No matter what happens,
I couldn't leave you.

Hurry up, Daddy.

Hurry up, Daddy. It's getting dark.

Oh, go and help her with the silly fish.

I have to do something about dinner.

Where is Daddy going?

- Have you any luggage, senator?
- No. No luggage.

Hold flight 338. VIR. Senator Anderson.

- Gate 11, sir.
- Thank you.

And Brig was more determined than ever the
president should withdraw Mr. Leffingwell.

Then these telephone calls began to come.

I don't know what else to tell you, Lafe.
I know I'm meddling.

I know Brig will be angry and embarrassed
if he finds out I talked to you.

Maybe he won't have to know.

I said some things to him
I shouldn't have said.

He was desperate when he left.
Really desperate, Lafe.

He might be protecting someone else.
Had you thought of that?

Yes, that might be it. That's like Brig.

I'll tell you what.

When he comes home, tell him
to call me at Dolly Harrison's.

I'll get around and find out
what it's all about.

Now, you stop worrying.

- I'm sorry to bother you, Lafe.
- I'm glad you did.

What's a friend for?

This must be Lafe. Excuse me.

Senator, we were just
about to begin without you.

I'm sorry, Dolly. It was unavoidable.

I'm sure she must have been.

Oh, Dolly. Could you get Bob
to drift out here for a minute?

Oh, we are serious, aren't we? Of course.

Hello, lover.

Bob, I know about the argument
between Brig and the president.

- How?
- His wife.

- Now I know why I never married again.
- No, no. She's scared.

Bob. Brig's got a blackmailer on his tail.

Blackmailer?

- You know anything about it?
- Are you joking?

It's about Leffingwell.

Thought maybe you had some ideas.

Where is Brig?

I've been looking for him.
That's why I'm late.

Blackmail. Are you sure
his wife isn't exaggerating?

I don't believe so.

Well?

Yes, I might have some idea.

Why in the devil didn't he come to me
with this or to you? Somebody?

- Did you leave word for him to call here?
- His wife or office will tell him.

- Yes?
- Ray?

Who is it?

Is this Raymond Shaff?

Hello.

- You want Ray?
- Yes, please.

- He doesn't live here, you know.
- He left this apartment number.

- I'm a friend of Ray's. Are you a friend?
- Where can I find him?

Won't you sit down, please?

- Do you know where I can find Ray?
- Rlease, sit.

I'm making some tea.
Would you like some tea?

Thanks just the same.

- My name is Manuel. I didn't get your name.
- Do you know where I can reach Ray?

- I'd appreciate it.
- I said, I didn't get your name.

Anderson.

Where are you from, Mr. Anderson?

Well, if it's any help, I'm from out
of town. Utah. I knew Ray in the Army.

Oh, Utah. Way out West.

Mormons, and "This is the place"
and all that.

Mr. Manuel, if you don't mind,
I'm in kind of a hurry.

I have kind of a mail and answering service
here for friends like Ray.

Nothing big.

Confidential, you understand.

See?

Oh, yes. Yes, I see.

- Will this do?
- Oh, anything. Just put it there.

Would you like to meet Ray here?

Can't you give me his address
or phone number?

It's convenient here. It's quiet.

Cream or lemon?

Mr. Manuel, do you know
where Ray is or don't you?

Oh, it's like that.

Urgent, sudden, PDQ.

Won't you sit down, please?

Yes, it's urgent.

I think he'll be at 602.

- It's a big night at 602.
- 602 what?

The club, 602.

I'll give you the address.

You can come back here with Ray.

I mean, you've paid.

Well, come on in.

Don't just stand there.

Hey, don't run off.

Ray?

Ray! You're with me.

Brig?

- Wait a moment, Brig.
- Taxi!

Let me explain. Brig, wait a moment.

- Taxi!
- Brig...

I needed money, Brig.
Well, you wouldn't see me.

I kept calling. I was drunk.

Newark Airport!

Drive, will you? Drive!

Please fasten your seat belt, senator.

You mind, Brig?

Harley. Sure. I didn't see you.

- If you'd rather sleep...
- No, no, no. Sit there.

- What time do we get to old Foggy Bottom?
- About midnight.

What? What were you doing
in New York, making a speech?

PTA convention. You?

Business. Just business.

Are you going to give in?

On Leffingwell, I mean.

I know what you mean.

- What do you know about it?
- Well, I can't say I know anything.

I'm not included in very much,
either by the senators or the president.

But that doesn't prevent me
from doing a little guesswork.

You're being pushed and pushed hard,
aren't you, Brig?

Why are you going it alone?
That's what I don't understand.

Some character once said that being
vice president isn't exactly a crime.

They can't put you in jail for it.

But it is a sort of a disgrace,
like living in a mansion with no furniture.

If you don't mind traveling
in such impoverished company...

I might be able to help you.

I've suddenly gotten the feeling you're the
most underestimated man in Washington...

Anything I can do, Brig.

Maybe you're right. Maybe if...

Go ahead.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching
an area of possible turbulence.

Please fasten your seat belts. Thank you.

Brig?

Forget it, Harley.

Please forget it.

Well, looks like rain. I'll run you home.

- Come on, hop in.
- What? Oh, no. No, thanks, Harley.

I've got my car over here.

Brig?

Do you feel all right?

Good night, Harley.

Good evening, senator.

- Hi, Mike.
- Senator Smith was around looking for you.

He said you can get him
at Mrs. Harrison's.

Thanks.

But the elevators are running, senator.

Senator.

You in there, senator?

It's Mike, senator.

Ace queen bets three.

Dear me. I may be forced to drop out.

Is that how the British
played their cards at Waterloo?

No, but it served us well at Dunkirk.
Different hands, of course.

- Out.
- No good.

Nope.

- Running a sandy, Seabright?
- No. I'm running a possum.

It looks like I've got him nearly treed.

Senator Smith,
you're wanted on the telephone.

Thank you. Excuse me.

- Closed.
- All right?

Wheel and deal, madam.

Still a possible flush. Rair of sevens.

Jack to me.

Is that Brig?

What's the matter?

He's dead.

Brig?

In his office.

He cut his throat.

Are you two at it again?
We're on the last hand.

Sorry, everyone.

- We just got word Brig Anderson's dead.
- What?

Oh, Bobby.

Stan, will you get Harley and meet Lafe
and me at the Anderson home?

- I know he'd like to be there.
- Of course.

How did it happen?

It looks like he killed himself.

No, I don't know.

He was good, and kind and honest.

I don't know what it was
they were trying to use against him.

But whatever it was,
they can't use it anymore.

So it doesn't matter, does it?

Did Brig have any idea about...

who might be behind all this?

No.

No.

Excuse me.

Please excuse me!

I know Van Ackerman's behind it.

What I don't know, is he alone in it?

If he is alone in it,
it becomes a Senate matter...

for the Senate to handle in its own way.

And if Van Ackerman isn't alone?

Is that what they think of me on the Hill?
Is that what you think of me, Bobby?

No, I don't. But Harley here
might like a straighter answer than that.

As God is my witness, Harley,
I know nothing of it.

- What about Leffingwell?
- There will still be a suspicion...

in some quarters that you're involved in
Brig's death. Better withdraw Leffingwell.

The president is always suspect by some
because people are suspicious of power.

I can't be guided by that.

I'm sorry about Brig Anderson.
Don't misunderstand me.

I wish he were alive and happy.

But he's dead, morning's coming,
and I still need a secretary of state.

The situation hasn't changed.

Except now you could bring
Leffingwell to the floor for a vote.

You've got the votes committed,
Bobby, use them.

Well, Harley, what are you looking
so shocked about?

You think in my place, you'd feel
any differently about this than I do?

I don't know, Mr. President.

But the last night I saw Brig Anderson,
I saw a man in terrible pain.

I wonder if Leffingwell
or any one man is worth all of this.

Wondering doesn't run a government.

Good night, Harley.

Good night, Mr. Rresident.

Good night, Mr. Rresident.

Bobby.

Yes, sir?

I do want to confirm a suspicion to you.

Maybe it will help you understand
why I want Leffingwell so badly.

I understand.

I'm going fast. There's nothing left
inside here that's working anymore.

Leffingwell can take a firm grip on
everything I've built up in foreign policy.

Not let it all fall to pieces.

Harley can't. You know he can't.

No, I don't know that. Why don't you
bring him in and give him some help?

I haven't any time to run
a school for presidents.

I haven't any time for anything.

I guess I've been wrong
in many, many things.

I don't suppose history
will have much good to say of me.

I can't dwell on that.

I've done my best.

You're one of the great presidents, Russ.

Well, if you think so,
that's almost as good as history.

Bye, Bobby.

Good night, Mr. Rresident.

Thank you.

- Anything there?
- Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Don't you ever go to bed, Seab?

Sleep's a waste of precious time
for old folks.

I have a feeling
you've been waiting for me.

Mr. Majority Leader...

tomorrow I'm gonna raise the dome...

off the capitol building.
That old dome won't sit right again...

when I get through speaking my piece.
I know all about James Morton.

How long have you known
about James Morton?

That's not important.
The important thing is, I know about him.

- I said, how long, Seab?
- There's nothing more to say.

- You forced Fletcher to call Brig.
- I was trying to do the best for everybody.

I'll tell you what you were doing. You were
amusing yourself watching us all squirm.

Laughing while a dying president
put up a fight for a man he believes in.

In the Senate, you kept quiet
while Brigham Anderson carried the load.

You were playing
for the right moment to rise up...

and turn on the mighty wrath
of Seab Cooley.

All right, Seab, you've got it.

The biggest moment you'll ever have.

Brig Anderson gave it to you
with a dull razor blade.

Will you wait?

I'll make you a deal, Mr. Majority Leader.

Turn your votes loose,
and I'll keep my mouth shut.

Even if that man is confirmed,
I'll keep my mouth shut.

You call that a deal?

- I call it extortion.
- I meant it as a favor.

Thanks. I can do without your favors.

The subcommittee, under the
chairmanship of Senator Anderson...

has reported favorably
to the full committee.

And the full committee vote
is as follows:

Eight votes for recommendation,
five votes opposed, one abstention.

By this vote, the Committee
on Foreign Relations...

recommends that Robert A. Leffingwell
be confirmed for secretary of state.

I return the floor
to the senator from Michigan.

I move the Senate
now advise and consent...

to the nomination of Robert A. Leffingwell
for secretary of state.

The question is, will the Senate
advise and consent...

to the nomination of Robert A. Leffingwell
for secretary of state?

The senator from South Carolina
has apprised me of his intention...

to speak on this motion.

The chair now recognizes the senior senator
from South Carolina.

Mr. President, there is some opinion
harbored here...

that my opposition to Mr. Leffingwell
has been a matter of vindictiveness.

Mr. Rresident, I'm afraid
that's true to some degree...

and for this, I humbly apologize...

to this chamber...

and to the man in the White House,
who, with good intentions for this nation...

sent the nominee down to us.

I don't expect this apology
to wash away my sins...

but I hope that it will,
in some way, reestablish me...

as a senator in the eyes
of my colleagues...

rather than as the flannel-mouthed
old curmudgeon...

I seem to have become in my
waning years, and so much for that.

Mr. President...

I shall still oppose Mr. Leffingwell...

but without vindictiveness.

His voice is not the voice
I wanna hear speak for America.

It is, to me, an alien voice.

Rerhaps it's the new voice of my country.

These old ears aren't tuned
to these new sounds, I know.

I don't understand much
that Mr. Leffingwell says.

I don't understand
how principles of dignity...

can become outworn...

or how this nation
can be represented without pride.

I don't understand these things.

Of course, I am what I am,
feel as I feel.

I'm gonna vote against confirmation...

yet...

I ask no man to follow me in this.

Mr. President.

Recognize the senior senator
from Michigan.

The senior senator from South Carolina...

has just eaten
a rather large order of crow.

Strangely enough,
he makes the dish seem palatable.

He makes us all want to sit at his table.

He calls himself a curmudgeon.

Well, I hope the day never comes...

when there is not at least one
curmudgeon in this body...

to goad us in the right direction.

I can't agree with him
about Mr. Leffingwell.

I don't interpret Mr. Leffingwell
in the same way. I don't hear an alien voice.

To me, it sounds realistic.
And more than that...

I have great respect for the judgment
of our chief executive.

I'll vote for the nominee.

But there are tragic circumstances
surrounding this nomination...

which takes it out of the usual business
and sets it deeply...

into the conscience of each senator.

For this reason, I now wish
to release all pledges made to me.

- Mr. President, will the senator yield?
- I will not.

All pledges made to me
are free to vote as they will.

- What kind of a double-cross is this?
- The senator from Michigan has the floor.

- Mr. President, I ask for a quorum.
- I protest!

A quorum call precludes any speeches
from the floor until the call is finished.

Mr. Clerk?

- Mr. Abbott.
- Present.

- Mrs. Adams.
- Present.

- Mr. Andrews.
- Here.

- Well, Seab.
- Well, Bob.

- I'll beat you anyway.
- That, sir, is a question.

- Mr. Caulfield.
- Here.

It is impossible to predict the outcome
because there was no time to poll...

the individual members of the Senate,
who will now decide...

free of political commitments,
guided only by their own conviction...

how to vote on the question
of Leffingwell's confirmation.

Senator Anderson 's
mysterious suicide will...

Wells, Simpson, Lansing.

Mr. Randall.

Kanaho abstained in the committee vote,
but he'll vote with Seab.

Strike him off. Goodman, strike him off.

- Mr. Toland.
- Present.

- Mr. Topper.
- Here.

- Mr. Van Ackerman.
- Here and waiting!

- Mr. Young.
- Present.

- Mr. Zeffenbach.
- Here.

Call the absentees.

Mr. Courtney.

Mr. Fickett.

Mr. Fields.

Mr. Granville.

Mr. Larkins.

Thank you. From Strickland.
Seven minority votes for Leffingwell.

- A 42 majority, seven minority. Forty-nine.
- Well, we've still got a chance to win.

Rrior to the quorum, the Foreign Relations
Committee reported favorably...

on the nomination of
Robert A. Leffingwell for secretary of state.

The senator from Michigan
moved the Senate advise and consent...

- to that nomination.
- Mr. Rresident.

I did not relinquish the floor when I asked
for a quorum, Mr. Rresident.

The senior senator from Michigan
still has the floor.

The senator can't hold
the floor in silence.

With the chair's permission,
I shall be very brief.

The chair gladly gives permission
to be brief.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Yeas and nays have been requested.
Is there a sufficient number?

I demand recognition, Mr. President!

You can't close to me!

- Question!
- Question!

Both sides of the aisle
are loudly demanding an immediate vote...

on the question
whether or not to consent...

to the president's nomination
of Leffingwell as secretary of state.

Plainly, both parties are repudiating
Van Ackerman 's tactics.

He is still putting up a fight to regain the
floor before the question is put to a vote.

This is conspiracy!

The chair is conspiring to stop debate!

The chair is violating the rules of the
Senate! I will not be bullied this way!

There is a sufficient show of hands.
Yeas and nays have been ordered.

- The clerk will call the roll.
- Mr. Abbott.

- Yes.
- Mrs. Adams.

What are you and Harley trying to pull?
You can't gag me. I'll get an investigation.

I don't think you'd want that.

- We're on to it, Fred.
- What are you talking about? On to what?

We tolerate about anything here.

Rrejudice, Atticism,
demagoguery, anything.

That's what the Senate's for,
to tolerate freedom.

But you've dishonored us.

Mr. Bender of California.

What I did was for the good
of the country.

Fortunately, our country always manages
to survive patriots like you.

We could introduce a resolution
to censure and expel you.

But we don't want Brig Anderson's
tired old sin made public.

Whatever it was.

- So we let you stay, if you want to.
- If you want to.

Mr. Bronson.

No.

Mr. Caulfield.

Yes.

- Mr. Satinas.
- Yes!

Mr. Chambers.

Yes.

- Mr. Chatsworth.
- Yes.

- Mr. Cook.
- Yes.

- Mr. Cooley.
- No.

- Mr. Cunningham.
- No.

- Mr. Curry.
- Yes.

Mr. Dahl.

No.

- Mr. Daniels.
- Yes.

Maybe we should've waited for his vote.
Now we only have a margin of two.

- Slipped up there, didn't we?
- Mr. Danta.

Yes.

So far, the vote is running about even,
and it is still impossible to predict...

the final outcome.

- No.
- Mr. Eaves.

Somebody better wake up McCafferty.
We need his vote.

- Mr. Evans.
- McCafferty's asleep again.

- Mr. Everett.
- Wake up McCafferty. We need his vote.

- Mr. Farmer.
- Wake up McCafferty. We need his vote.

Awaken the senator.

- Yes.
- Mr. Frank.

- Opposed, sir. I'm opposed.
- No, no, senator, not yet.

And I believe that you're not opposed.

- Mr. Jollie.
- No.

During the last few minutes,
Leffingwell's chances have improved...

and it seems more than likely
he will be confirmed by a small margin...

of maybe one or two votes.

Of course, in case of a tie, we can
definitely count on the vice president...

to use his decisive vote
in favor of the nominee.

- Harley has always gone along...
- Mr. Rresident!

- With the majority leader's policies.
- Call Dr. Slater. Hurry.

- Mr. Smith of Oregon.
- Yes.

Mr. Smith of Rhode lsland.

Mr. Smith of Rhode lsland.

- No.
- What the...?

That ties it.

Haven't had so much fun
since the cayenne pepper hit the fan.

- Mr. Snyder.
- Yes.

- Mr. Sorensen.
- Yes.

- Mr. Strickland.
- No.

- Mr. Sundberg.
- No.

- Mr. Swanson.
- Harley, we're coming in deadlocked.

- You'll have to make it good.
- Okay.

Mr. Tate.

Yes.

- Mr. Teller.
- No.

- Mr. Temple.
- No.

- Mr. Thacker.
- Yes.

- Mr. Thompson.
- No.

- Mr. Timothy.
- Yes.

The third painting by Colonel Trumbull
is the surrender of Lord Cornwallis...

at Yorktown, Virginia.

Major O'Hara in the red coat in the
foreground delivered his sword for him.

Washington wouldn't accept the sword
from anyone beneath his rank.

- Mr. Toland.
- Yes.

- Mr. Thule.
- No.

- Yes.
- Mr. Topper.

- Yes.
- Mr. Tracy of New Jersey.

- No.
- Mr. Tracy of Washington.

- No.
- Mr. Vandergrift.

- Yes.
- Mr. Vassar.

- No.
- Mr. Welch.

- Yes.
- Mr. Wells.

- Yes.
- Mr. Whitman.

- No.
- Mr. Williams.

- No.
- Mr. Wilson.

- Yes.
- Mr. Woodworth.

- No.
- Mr. Yost.

Yes.

- Mr. Young.
- No.

- Mr. Zeffenbach.
- Yes.

The vote is tied at 47 to 47.

The vice president will not exercise
his constitutional privilege...

to break this tie with an affirmative
vote. The motion to advise and consent...

to the nomination of Robert A. Leffingwell
for secretary of state stands defeated.

- Sit down.
- Mind your own business!

Something's happened. Sit down.

It has fallen to me
to make a sad announcement.

The president died a few minutes ago.

Will the senior senator from South Carolina,
as president pro tempore of the Senate...

please assume the chair.

- Good luck, sir.
- Thank you.

About the vote, Bob, I'm sorry.

I'd prefer to name
my own secretary of state.

All right, Harley, Mr. Rresident.

- I'll see what I can do for him.
- Thank you.

- Mr. President.
- Recognize the senior senator...

from Michigan.

Senators...

a great leader is dead.

A bitter loss for our country...

a bitter personal loss for all of us here.

I move we adjourn out of respect
until further notice.

So ordered.