All language subtitles for West Wing S02E20 The Falls Gonna Kill You.DVDRip.HI.cc.en.WB

Previously on The West Wing:

You're scared of Babish.

Oh, like you're not.

Oliver, I'm going
to tell you a story

and then I need you
to tell me whether or not

I've engaged 16 people in a
massive criminal conspiracy

to defraud the public in order
to win a presidential election.

BABISH: Have you ever
signed any document

in which you were
asked about your health

and did not disclose
you have MS?

No.

Toby...

Yeah?

Why are you lying to me?

Charlie...

When Zoey and
Ellie went to college

they would have had
to fill out a health form.

Because she was 17,
a parent had to sign it.

And she left off the MS?

Yeah.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Did anyone see you come here?

I really don't know.

Why not?

I really wasn't paying
that much attention.

I wish you would.

I walked from my
office to your office.

Was there press
outside your office?

Not at 5:30 in the morning, no.

When did you find out
about the President's MS?

Last night when Leo told me.

Who else was there?

Nobody.

Nobody else was in the room? No.

Have you ever lied about
the President's health?

Should I have my lawyer here?

I'm your lawyer.

You're the President's lawyer.

I'm the White
House Counsel, C.J.

Have you ever lied about
the President's health?

When did he tell you?

I'm sorry?

When did the President tell you?

Six days ago.

And Josh?

Two days after that.

Toby? Two days
before he told me.

C.J., have you ever lied
about the President's health?

And Leo he told
more than a year ago.

Yeah. And I've had
this for six hours now

so maybe giving me some
room wouldn't be totally out of line.

You know what
I'm saying, Oliver?

C.J., I'm going to have
to ask you some questions

and the less you can be pissed at
the world for no particular reason,

the better I think.

I don't know you.

I'm sorry? I was
told to report to you.

I don't know you.
You've been here what...?

Three months.

Three months

so why should I trust you?

I don't care if you
trust me or not.

Imagine my shock.

I got better things to
do with my imagination.

I think this is going
really well so far, Oliver.

It's almost hard to believe
that four different women

have sued you for divorce.

Well, you can do
that if you want, C.J.

I've been through it

a couple times with Josh
and Toby, but sooner or later

you're going to have
to answer questions.

Either to you
or...? A grand jury.

Compelled by?

A Justice Department subpoena.

Well, I have to tell you

it'll be the first time
I've been asked out

in quite awhile, so...

It's entirely possible

that the President has
committed multiple counts

of a federal crime to which
you were an accomplice.

That much has sunk
in in the last six hours.

Has it? Yes.

So why don't you knock off

the cutie-pie crap and
answer the damn question.

What was the question?

Have you ever lied about
the President's health?

What is your answer?

Many, many times.

Captioning sponsored
by WARNER BROS.

( footsteps)

Mr. Connelly?

Yes.

I'm Donna Moss. I'm
Josh Lyman's assistant.

He's tied up with Mr. McGarry
for just a couple more minutes.

I hope you don't mind waiting.

No.

Does anybody know if it's
going to rain this afternoon?

They're asking me.

The paper said mid-afternoon.

So we know it won't be that.

Call the Navy Yard
for me, would you?

Yeah.

( laughter)

Donna.

Yeah.

Have you seen C.J.?

No. What's so funny?

Ed just got a fax from...

I'm sorry.

Ed just got a fax from

a man named Byron Talmadge.

He's the Associate Administrator

of NASA's Office
of Space Cadets.

Flight.

Office of Space Flight. The OSF?

What'd the fax say? A
huge Chinese satellite

is going to come
crashing to Earth

and we don't know where

and we don't know
when. Seriously?

Yeah, it's right
here in the fax.

A satellite is...
crashing to Earth

and NASA sent us a fax?

Yeah.

This is for real? Yes.

A satellite is going to
crash into the Earth?

( laughing): Yes.

Why are you laughing?

We thought it was funny.

I'm an assistant.
What am I supposed

to do with this information?

The fax was for C.J.

Just give it to her
when you see her.

Donna, they say it's not
going to rain this afternoon.

Well, that's a relief.

All right, hear me out
on this, okay? Yeah.

We want to see some polling.

Why?

'Cause we need to know

what to do next.

We know what to do
next. No, we don't know

which is the more
insurmountable problem...

The perception that...

( knocking)

We'll call back.

( sighs)

The perception that he's
not physically up to the job

or that he lied about it.

There's no way to gauge
public opinion on this

until the issue occurs.

Public opinion is going to be
shaped by the reaction of the press.

All public opinion is shaped
by the reaction of the press

but the fundamental
foundation already exists

in their current perception
of the President...

Josh, how the hell are you
going to take a poll without...?

We can do it. Leo...

I don't trust any of our people

and even if I did, what kind
of questions could they ask

that won't trip an alarm?

Josh trusts Joey Lucas.

From California?

Yeah, she's flying in right now.

What did you tell her?

I told her we were
commissioning a poll

to explore attitudes towards
subsurface agricultural products.

Subsurface agricultural...?
Underground.

What the hell...?
We think Americans

are eating more beets.

Beets?

Yeah.

All right.

Okay?

Yeah.

Toby

you want to talk about
when we tell Sam?

I wouldn't do it right now.

Why?

His head is in the SME
speech for Chicago...

The thing... Hang on.

His head is in Chicago

and that's where we need it.

Would you want
to write the speech

with this other thing
around your neck?

No.

The President wants him to know

by the end of the day.

The end of the day then.

LEO: Okay.

Anything else?

No. Thanks.

Thank you.

Thanks.

When does she get here?

Six o'clock.

You do this carefully.

No kidding.

You trust this person?

I got to trust
somebody right now.

Good, 'cause I don't
trust anybody right now.

DONNA: Josh.

Yeah.

A fax was sent
to the press office

from the Office of
Space Flight at NASA.

A Chinese satellite
called Zodiac

has fallen out of its orbit

and will be falling to Earth

at an unspecified
time and place.

What are you telling me for?

What am I telling you for? Yeah.

This giant thing
is falling to Earth.

They're watching it on radar.

Isn't there something we do?

Like what?

Like sound the
alarm, I don't know.

Sound the alarm?

There is no alarm.

There's really not.

Martin? Yes.

Sorry to keep you
waiting. Oh, that's okay.

Come on back. Josh...

The fax is for the press
office. Give it to them.

The deputies are at breakfast

and I don't know where C.J. is.

Uh, Martin, you can
have a seat in my office.

C.J.'s meeting with Babish.

I'll be inside.

You're not concerned about this?

No.

I apologize again.

No, that's all right.

I assume you know why I'm here.

I don't, actually.

Mac Sheridan was
going to talk to you first.

I have a call to return to Mac.

I should wait until
he talks to you.

Why don't you talk to me now?

The case is running
out of money.

Which case?

The U.S. v... You're kidding me.

No.

Martin, we spent $13
million the first year

$23 million the second.

Where's the money going?

Outside counsel and staff,
depositions, expert witnesses

processing, database, research.

Yeah.

We have 31 lawyers on a case

against five tobacco companies,
just one of which has 342.

We won't count
the 13 subsidiaries

that have mounted
their own defense.

Tobacco has spent $380
million to the government's

$36 million.

So when I come
here asking for money

it's not 'cause the
Justice Department

blew its allowance
on video games.

I should have let
Mac talk to you first.

Aren't you allowed

to transfer funds...?

Yeah, that's what
we've been doing.

We've been transferring money

from Commerce and
Health and Human Services

to pay for the lawsuit,

but then the House passed HR-260

and now the Committees... Yeah.

You understand?

Yeah, let me run it by Leo.

This is a fight worth winning.

You don't have to convince me.

These people perpetrated
a fraud against the public.

I'm sorry?

I said they perpetrated a
fraud against the public.

The tobacco companies?

Yeah.

Well, I'm going to talk to Leo

and I'll tell Mac you were here.

Thank you.

C.J.: Let me just finish this.

He was hemodynamically stable
with a blood pressure of 140/80.

Cholesterol level is 185.

The QRS interval on
the EKG is slightly long

but otherwise good.

The President is pronounced

in excellent physical health.

What was that,
March of last year?

Yeah. How many times

have you done that?

I'd have to go back and check.

Estimate.

If that was March

of last year, then that
was his fourth physical.

Then there were a couple
times during the campaign

and after the shooting...

Yeah?

And the time he rode

his bicycle into a tree.

When he sprained his ankle.

Yeah.

Tell me how it works.

What do you mean?

When the President
has a physical.

The President's
physician... right now

it's Admiral Leonard Morrow...
The President's physician calls

and gives me a short
statement including vitals.

And then you make a
statement to the press.

Yeah.

Do you also speak
to the President

before you make a statement?

Yes. Why?

Because of doctor-patient
confidentiality.

There's only so much you're
going to get from the doctor.

So what do you
ask the President?

I say, "Is there anything I
should know about your health

that the doctors won't tell me?"
I'm going to ask you something.

What? Do you say, "Is there
anything I should know?"

Or do you say, "Is there
anything I need to know?"

What does it matter?

Which do you say?
What does it matter?

"Is there anything
I need to know"

implies you only want to
know enough to face reporters

while maintaining deniability.

It's an expression.

Did you use it?

I really don't
remember, I don't.

I don't choose my
words that carefully.

With the President?

You think I was speaking

to the President in code?

No, I was just asking.

( knocking)

Yeah.

Excuse me.

C.J., this is a note
from Donna Moss.

She wanted you
to see it right away.

Thanks.

The sky is falling down.

The debate over a tax cut...
Whether to have one or not

how large it should be,
how small it should be

what share should
be received by whom...

All of this, my friends, is the
wrong debate at the wrong time

over the wrong issue. Yes.

We need to get
back to fundamentals.

Where is that? Where is what?

"We need to get
back to fundamentals."

It's not in the speech.

I'm saying it. We need

to get back to fundamentals.

( knocking)

Excuse me.

Think about fundamentals.

Ready for some good news?

Yeah.

Not out here.

This is going to be a
front page story tomorrow.

There's a front
page story tomorrow

I don't know about yet?

You're going to know
about it in two hours.

But I'm going to know
about it now, right?

CBO's going to issue a
new estimate of the surplus.

They're projecting
it down? Yeah.

We don't have as much
money as we thought? No.

That's great news. It's
not great news Yeah.

That we have less
money. I'm saying... Yeah.

'Cause the floor fight's
going to be easier.

How much less money? When
they project eight years out

It's $200 billion less.

Nine years out

it's $400 billion less.

That is great. Yeah.

It's not great that we have...

Sam, we get why it's great.

I can't even tell you
how much this helps.

I'm drafting the SME speech
for Chicago and I can really...

That's why we're telling you.

There's a line that ATJ
and the Progressive Caucus

want in the Chicago speech.

I got it here.

"We want a real tax
cut for working families

"to help them pay
for higher education

"and housing, while our
opponents want to help the rich

pay for bigger swimming
pools and faster private jets."

No, I don't think so.

They want it in. No, no, no.

Why not? Well, for one
thing, it's very bad writing.

Change the writing.

Summer homes and sports cars.

The poetry's not my problem.

They want it in Chicago.

Tell them to do
their own speech.

This one's for the President.

You want to tell them that?

No.

Okay.

We have less money?

Isn't that great?

Yes, it is. Thanks.

C.J., are you aware
that a year ago January

the President had an attack?

I am now.

You were there
when he collapsed.

I was outside the room.

But you went into the room

when he was unconscious.

Yes. What made
you go into the room?

The sound of a
Steuben glass pitcher

crashing to the floor.

What did you think had happened?

I didn't know.

Well, what did you think?

Well, at first glance, I
thought he might have a virus

contracted from a
rare African tsetse fly,

possibly Tropical sprue.

I'm not an expert, but I did
meet a man once in India.

Yeah. It could be anything

with these Presidents.

James Polk had diverticulitis.

Yeah? Couldn't digest
nuts. I'll tell you what else.

One in 40 American men
wear women's clothing

and we've had well
over 40 Presidents.

Yeah. I'm just saying

one of these guys was dancing

around the Oval
Office in a prom dress.

Now, let's get to
the bottom of that.

C.J. Yeah.

In my entire life

I've never found
anything charming.

Really?

You announced to
the press it was the flu.

Yes. Who told you
to say it was the flu?

I wasn't told to
say it was the flu.

I was told it was the flu.

Who told...? I'm
not getting into that!

I'm not getting
into who said what.

We can do that at the next

of what I'm sure will
be many sessions.

Okay.

Do you know what time it is?

It's five past noon.

I'd like you to get out

of the habit of doing that.

Doing what?

Answering more than was asked.

Do you know what time it is?

Yes.

We'll take a break

and meet again later today.

Hey.

You see this?

That was nice.

We got good reviews on
the commencement speech.

Yeah? From Leonard
Wachtel, of all places.

You got a second?
He calls you and me

the Batman and
Robin of speech-writing.

Well, I don't think he does.

He doesn't, but he should,
'cause that's what we are.

Okay.

We're Batman and Robin.

Which one's which?

Look at me, Sam. Am I Robin?

I'm not Robin. Yes, you are.

Okay, well, let's move off this.

You bet, little friend.

Listen, we're really
not Batman and Robin.

No, we'll keep those
identities secret.

I'm Bruce Wayne
and you're my ward.

Toby... Dick something.

Jane Gentry and Richard Will

came to see me with some news.

The CBO's projection... Really?

Yes. Has us $200 billion lower

eight years out.

That's fantastic news. Yes.

When is this real?

This afternoon.

The projections are lower?

Measurably lower.

I'm so happy I could spit.

This is really the first
administration in history

to favor slower economic growth.

I favor it when it gives us
a bat and a ball on tax cuts.

Yeah.

We offer them a deal.

We lower the bottom rate

from 15 to ten percent,
but we stand our ground

on no tax cut in the top bracket

and you know why?

Because it turns out

we might not be
able to afford it.

Isn't it great?

Yeah, it's Christmas in Paris

but there's a line ATJ and
the Progressive Caucus

want me to put in
the draft for Chicago.

What?

That we want to do great things

but our opponents want
bigger swimming pools

and faster private jets.

Their private jets are too slow?

Toby... Change the writing.

It's not the writing.

I know.

Listen.

Yeah?

Nothing.

Okay.

Don't worry about it.

So...

I have to go to a meeting.

You should talk to somebody
at ATJ or the Caucus.

Okay, I'm going to do that then.

Yeah. Okay.

Hey, Donna.

Hey, Charlie.

Is there

anything you need?

Nope. Just came in to say hi.

How you doing?

Good.

So, NASA's OSF tells us

that the 30th Space Wing at
Vandenberg Air Force Base

believes that a
Chinese satellite

has fallen out of its
orbital... flight plan.

The last detection the 30th had

placed it in what they call
a "degrading orbital path"

and it's now
dropped off their radar

suggesting it's
begun a rapid fall

towards the Earth's atmosphere.

Cool. No, it's not.

What's the matter with
you people? What'd I do?

A thing the size
of a garbage truck

is going to be in a
2,000-mile-an-hour free fall

and no one knows
where it's going to hit.

I'm voting for Zurich.

Charlie... I've
had it up to here

with the Swiss. You don't...

Hang on. Excuse me.

Good afternoon.

Welcome back, Mrs. Bartlet.

Thank you.

A couple of reminders.

You're at the Board

of the Children's Cancer
Fund at the Sheraton.

That's at 3:00.

Before that, I want to be...

Yeah, you're going to read

at the Head Start
program in Southeast.

Welcome back, Mrs. Bartlet.

That's a snappy suit, Bobby.

How did it go yesterday?

I got a medevac
helicopter named after me.

Yeah?

An AS335 F1
Twinstar named Abigail.

I got to break a bottle
of cider over its nose.

Charlie. Welcome back, ma'am.

Thank you. Where's
the President?

He's waiting for you inside.

Thank you.

( door opens)

Hey.

Hi.

Welcome back.

How come I just
found out about this?

How was the flight?

Jed.

How come I just
found out about this?

When Leo talked
to you on the plane,

he thought you already knew.

You think I'm saying
this is Leo's fault?

I'm asking, how come
you didn't tell me last week?

And I'm saying we still do this.

We're husband
and wife and parents

and before we launch
into palace intrigue

we do "Welcome back.
How was the flight?"

What happened?

One of the forms Zoey
had to fill out for Georgetown

asked for a family
medical history.

Yes.

Did Leo tell you the rest?

Not after he realized that
you hadn't told me already

which is a subject, I
assure you, we'll be

returning to in a moment.

Zoey wasn't 18 yet

when she started.

A parent had to sign the form.

Did you sign it?

No, you did, hot pants.

I signed it?

It's going to be okay.

Why didn't you tell
me on the phone?

Look.

We talk on the phone

three times a day!

'Cause I didn't!
'Cause that's...

'Cause I didn't.

I talked to Zoey this morning.

She's going to ace her finals.

She told me.

I hate Ellie's boyfriend.

She told me.

I need you to speak to the
White House Counsel, Abbey.

I know.

Hey.

The First Lady's back?

Yeah.

I was talking to
her on the phone

and I mentioned
Zoey's application

without realizing the
President hadn't told her yet.

Why hadn't the
President told her yet?

What do you want from me?

$30 million.

No.

Martin Connelly

who's an Assistant
Attorney General

in the Civil Division

says they're out of money.

On the suit? Yeah.

They're always out of money.

We don't give them enough.

We passed a law last summer

that says they can transfer
funds from Commerce

from Health and Human Services.

They can take it from
Veterans' Affairs up to what?

I think $12 million.

Yeah, but the
problem is the law says

that those transfers
are subject to approval

by various House Committees,
each of which has a chairman

elected with the $8
million tobacco spent

in the last election

and even if the
transfers were approved

it wouldn't matter

'cause $12 million
isn't going to get it done.

Neither is $30 million.

Then let's give them more.

No. 'Cause we're
going to lose. Why?

So you give them enough to win.

We'd have to liquidate
the Grand Tetons.

They're saying $30 million

and I think it's a steal
at twice the price.

Well, staff it out
to some people

and report it to me in what...?

Two, three days?

Good.

I'm going out to the airport.

All right.

Do a job.

Yeah.

Hi.

Hey, Sam.

Henry, Helen.

Hey, Bruce.

How you doing, Sam?

Lewis. We just have
a few minutes, right?

There's a caucus.

Well, you've already
heard the good news.

The CBO, when they
project eight years out

has the budget surplus coming in

$200 billion lower
than we thought.

That's great.

Yeah, okay, there's
something wrong

with all of us, but
that's for a different time.

What I wanted to mention was
Jane Gentry and Richard Will

say you guys want a
line in the Chicago draft.

"Jet planes and swimming pools."

Yeah, that "our opponents
want to help the rich

pay for bigger swimming
pools and faster private jets."

Yeah, hit them hard.

Well, we are hitting them hard

but I'm not going
to use the line.

Why not?

First of all, it's bad writing.
What's wrong with it?

It sounds like it was
written by a high school girl.

Is there something wrong
with the way a woman writes?

There usually is when
she's in high school.

Sam...

It's not the writing.

Come on, Henry.

"Faster private jets
and swimming pools"?

We can take out
the heavy bats now.

And do what with them?

The line works.

So does "How 'bout dem Cowboys?"

when you're playing
a club in Dallas

but the line isn't going
to change the mind

of anyone who doesn't
already agree with us.

Sam, are you in favor of
tax cuts for the wealthy?

I am not.

I am in favor of tax cuts

for those for whom it
will do the most good

and that's a tough enough battle

and it looks like all of a
sudden, we've got a fair fight.

But I'm not talking
about policy.

I'm talking about rhetoric

and the men you work for

need to dial it down to five.

Henry, last fall,
every time your boss

got on the stump and said

"It's time for the rich
to pay their fair share"

I hid under a couch
and changed my name.

I left Gage-Whitney
making $400,000 a year

which means I paid 27 times
the national average in income tax.

I paid my fair share

and the fair share
of 26 other people

and I'm happy to

'cause that's the only
way it's going to work

and it's in my best
interest that everybody

be able to go to schools

and drive on roads

but I don't get 27
votes on Election Day

the Fire Department
doesn't come 27 times faster

and the water doesn't come
out of my faucet 27 times hotter.

The top one percent of
wage earners in this country

pay for 22% of this country.

Let's not call them
names while they're doing it

is all I'm saying.

HELEN: You're not
using the line? No.

Or anything like it? No.

And I hope you'll make
it clear to your people

that this had nothing to do with diluting
our position or cozying up to Republicans.

No, why would they think that?

We've got a caucus.

I know plenty of women
who can write, Helen.

I know women

who can blow the
walls off brick buildings.

This sounds like a girl.

MAN ( over PA): Airlines flight
1106 now arriving from Los Angeles.

JOSH: Joey!

Joey...

how you doing?

Hey.

I'm Josh Lyman.

Dale Bracket.

What happened to Kenny?

He's on vacation.

So, you're the
substitute interpreter?

Yeah.

You came here to pick
me up at the airport?

Not exactly.

Dale, I'm going to ask you

to wait over here, okay?

Uh, Joey, you're
going to read my lips

and if I can't understand
what you're saying

you'll write it down, all right?

Okay.

Excuse us.

Dale?

Yes.

Pretty good-looking
for an interpreter,

wouldn't you say?

He's good-looking for anybody.

Dale Bracket?

Yes.

He's not a television detective?

We can't talk about
this in the car?

I'm sorry?

We can't talk about
this in the car?

You're not getting in the car.

Why?

'Cause you're getting
back on a plane

in an hour and ten minutes.

All right, if we sit like this

can Dale Bracket,
PI, read my lips?

No.

Okay...

You're not talking to me

about an agriculture poll.

No kidding.

You guessed that?

We think we're
eating more beets?

Well, we are, but...
that's not important.

What's important?

Hi, what can I get for you?

Uh, cranberry
juice and club soda

and, um, I'll have a
large glass of ice water.

I told Leo McGarry
that we could trust you

and Toby backed me up.

What's important?

Eight years ago, the President
was diagnosed with an illness

that was never disclosed.

Yes.

What is it?

WAITRESS: Cranberry and club

and a large glass of ice water.

( knock on door)

BABISH: Yeah.

Excuse me, the First Lady.

Thank you.

Oliver.

Good afternoon, Mrs. Bartlet.

How are you?
I'm fine, thank you.

I haven't been in this
office since you moved in.

It looks great.

Thank you.

I haven't come in here

because it seems
like every time I do

there's a new White
House Counsel.

I think Leo keeps
them in the basement

like those two ladies in
Arsenic and Old Lace.

Yeah?

Anyway, the President
is very glad you're here

particularly in this
time of nonsense.

Ma'am, would you mind

if I asked you a few questions?

I'm not as experienced
in this as the senior staff.

I've read a book
about Daniel Webster.

I've read a book about
Benjamin Disraeli.

It seems the little experience I
do have is with dead lawyers.

Just out of curiosity,
ma'am, how'd they die?

If you're under the impression

you're the fifth
White House Counsel

instead of the first
White House Counsel

because of me,
you're mistaken, Oliver.

I wasn't under that impression,
but I think we should stick

to the matter if it's
all right with you.

You want to ask
me some questions?

Yes, ma'am.

About Zoey's health form?

Yep.

It was a form.

It asked for, among other things

the family's medical history.

It was left blank.

It was a form; it was
one of many forms.

I signed it without reading it.

Was anyone else in the
room when you signed it?

It was over a year ago.
I really don't remember.

Was the President in the
room? I really don't remember.

You understand that when I ask the President
that question, he's going to tell the truth.

And I imagine the President

will also resent
your implication

that I didn't just do the same.

So the President wasn't in
the room when you signed it?

I don't remember;
he doesn't remember.

Mrs. Bartlet...

Oliver, you have
kids, there are forms.

School trips and soccer

and band uniforms
and report cards

and notes to get out of gym.

You've signed those
forms for your kids.

Their mother usually signs them.

And so do I

and by the way, when
you're the daughter

of the Governor of New Hampshire

and the President
of the United States

there's a lot more
forms on top of that.

I understand. Do you?

Yes, but a lawyer half my size

while cross-examining
you during deposition

will the say the following.

He will say, "Mrs. Bartlet, do
you have an MD from Harvard?"

Yes.

"Are you board certified
in Internal Medicine?" Yes.

"Are you board certified
in Thoracic Surgery?" Yes.

"Are you an Adjunct
Professor of Thoracic Surgery

at Harvard Medical School?" Yes.

"Are you on the staff

of Boston Mercy Hospital and
Columbia Presbyterian?" Yes.

"Have you been practicing
medicine for 26 years?" Yes.

"Are you not able to recognize
a standard medical history form

when it is put in
front of your face?"

I didn't read it. I didn't
think it was important.

"What else have you signed without
thinking it was important? Prescriptions?"

No.

"Patient instructions?"

No!

"So just this?"

Oliver, I am not

an expert on the diseases

of the central nervous system

but I can tell you that
MS is not hereditary.

The President's condition

has absolutely no relevance
to Zoey's health status.

Well, now you're changing
your story, Mrs. Bartlet.

No, I'm not.

Did you sign it because
you were absentminded

or did you sign it
because you knew best?

I signed it 'cause...

I just signed it.

It was a form

and I think making
a big thing out of it

is what makes
it into a big thing.

Really?

And I'm not 100% sure

that that's not what
you're going for.

Why would I want
to make it a big thing?

Because defending the
President in prime time

looks good on a resume.

Well, I've got a pretty
good-looking resume

already, Mrs. Bartlet,

and it's not a big thing
because I say so, ma'am.

It's a big thing.

You're going to
get all the questions

I just asked you
and quite a few more

and then they're going
to ask the President

if he was in the room
when you signed it

and that's when he's going to
give everyone's favorite answer

from a President who has
just announced he has MS:

"I don't remember."

When are you going to go public?

Probably in a week.

They're still strategizing.

Probably a live interview
on the networks?

Yeah.

Jim Lehrer, Tim Russert,
Barbara Walters...

you... somebody...

the President sitting in a den.

Yeah.

Followed by a live conference.

They're working on the strategy.

"I regret that I concealed
my condition from the public.

"I regret the appearance
that I tried to deceive the voters

in order to win an election."

Yes.

And if we don't
make it a big thing

they won't make it a big thing?

Mrs. Bartlet, I'm not sure you
have an appropriate appreciation

of the size of
what happens next.

JOEY: When are you going public?

JOSH: Probably in about a week.

A week? Yeah.

How? We're deciding.

Probably a live interview

followed by a press conference.

So we need to know
what we're talking about.

Joey, we need you
to put a poll in the field.

You got to come up with a model
that gets us the answers we need

without asking the
questions we can't ask.

You got to come up
with a model by yourself.

You got to break down
the results by yourself.

Not even the callers

can understand the
questions they're asking

and you got to do
it all in 96 hours.

Is what I'm describing possible?

We make it a Governor.

A Governor?

Of an industrial state.

I-I...

The Governor of
an industrial state.

Michigan.

And you give him a
degenerative illness?

Joey, you understand

that before this is over,
we're probably all going

to be spending some
time in front of a grand jury.

You can do this?

No problem.

MAN ( over PA): Los
Angeles passengers

pre-boarding for
flight number 1217...

That's your flight.

Josh... Yeah?

How's the President?

He's fine.

He's fine.

I'll tell him you asked.

96 hours?

Yeah.

I have to go to work now.

DONNA: The Chinese
Embassy won't even

admit it's their satellite.

We know it's their satellite.

We've been looking
at it for seven years.

It's like looking
through a telescope

and knowing Mars is Mars.

Donna, please tell me you
didn't call the Chinese Embassy.

I didn't call the Embassy.

People called the Embassy.

It's not like this isn't
cause for concern.

That's right. That's right.

The Chinese news
networks aren't reporting it

'cause they won't
admit it's happening.

Why do you suppose the American
news networks aren't reporting it?

That's a fascinating
question to me.

To all of us.

We don't even know
what kind of satellite it is.

Could be anything.

Communications. That's right.

Weather. Yep.

Could be a spy satellite.

Could have
plutonium. That's right.

Plutonium?

Yeah.

Plutonium.

Well, nuclear
reactors on a satellite

aren't that common,
but you never know.

No, I suppose you don't.

ABBEY: Hey, Donna.

Good evening,
ma'am. Welcome back.

Thank you.

How was the trip?

Well, I got a medevac
helicopter named after me.

Hello, how are you?

I'm fine, but there's
a giant object

hurtling its way toward us

at a devastating velocity.

Tell me about it.

( knocks)

C.J.

Good evening, ma'am.

Can I talk to you for a second?

Sure.

( sighs)

How was your day?

Well, I got pretty
well bitch-slapped

by the White House Counsel,
ma'am, how about you?

I wanted to be here
when you were told.

I didn't know they were
going to tell you last night.

You know, Leo called
me into the Oval Office.

It was about 11:00

and I was standing with
Toby when Leo called me in

and Toby said, uh...

"I'll be right here in my
office when you're done."

I... I didn't know what he
meant or why he said it.

Yeah.

Babish said there's a difference
between asking the President

"Is there anything
else I should know?"

And, "Is there anything
else I need to know?"

He seemed to think

"need to know" implies I
know something already

but I don't want it confirmed
in order to maintain...

deniability.

Well, he's a lawyer, C.J.

He's vetting; it's his job.

I told him I couldn't
remember which one I say.

There were a lot of
things I couldn't remember.

Abbey...

during the campaign, we
were in Manhattan, Kansas,

at a Sheraton or a Marriott...

I can't remember...

But we were in
Manhattan, Kansas,

and I came to your
suite early to tell you

we'd be doing
Nightline that night

and we had to get
to an ABC affiliate

and I think by
then, the two of you

were so used to people
walking in and out of your room

that you didn't hear
me open the door

and I was almost sure I
saw you giving the President

an injection of something.

It was Betaseron.

It reduces the
frequency of the attacks.

When the President
has his physical

and I do the release,

I only ever ask, "Is there
anything else I need to know?"

( knocking)

Come on in.

She's in.

What's she going to do?

"If the Governor of a
major industrial state

"had a degenerative illness

"which he hadn't
disclosed during the election

"but has yet to impair
his job performance

would you still support him?"

Which governor?

Michigan.

Well...

then we'll wait.

Yeah.

Listen, about this
Justice appropriation...

You're going to do a report?

Yeah.

Then can I read the report

before you ask me to green light

another
multimillion-dollar battle

that'll have no
support in Congress?

Yeah.

I just brought it up

because this assistant
AG, Martin Connelly,

when he left my
office this morning,

he turned and said,

"They perpetrated a fraud

against the public."

And the look on his
face when he said it...

They want to get these people.

We're not big tobacco.

Yeah.

He's expecting me.

Okay.

Good evening, Mr. President.

Leo, how could you tell
Abbey about the health form

before I did?

I didn't know you
hadn't told her.

My wife and I
are fighting battles

on several fronts at the moment,
including one with each other.

Can you and I be men?

Can we have a bond?

We're putting a
poll in the field.

How?

We're using a woman
Josh and Toby trust

named Joey Lucas.

I met Joey Lucas.

She's basically giving MS
to the Governor of Michigan.

How's he going
to feel about that?

Don't worry about it.

This is a bad idea.

We've got to do it.

I'm coming clean.
I'm doing it voluntarily.

Anyone finds out

it's going to look like I did
it 'cause a poll told me to.

Then it'd be a good
idea if nobody found out.

( heavy sigh)

All right.

Why don't you get Sam.

So...

Yeah.

I think I may have offended...

Oh, God. Yeah.

Who?

Well, I met with
some of the staffers

for Americans for Tax Justice
and the Progressive Caucus.

And you think you may have

offended them?

Yeah, and girls, possibly.

Were you right?

Yeah. Toby, it's class...

That's all you need to tell me.

I trust you.

Sam? Yeah.

Come see the President
and me a minute, would you?

Yeah.

TOBY: Sam? Yeah?

I'll be here in my
office when you're done.

Yeah, okay.

C.J.

Hey.

You walking?

Yeah.

I met with Joey Lucas today.

I heard.

So now the President's
got Leo worried

it's going to look
like we announced it

'cause we took a poll.

What do you think?

( chuckling)

What?

The President and Leo
are worried about that?

Yeah.

( chuckles)

What?

You guys are like
Butch and Sundance

peering over the edge of a cliff

to the boulder-filled
rapids 300 feet below

thinking you better not jump

'cause there's a
chance you might drown.

The President has this disease

and has been lying about
it, and you guys are worried

that the polling might
make us look bad?

It's the fall that's
gonna kill you.

Us.

What?

You said...

"It's the fall that's
gonna kill you."

You meant "us."

Where you going, C.J.?

I'm going home.

No, I meant... I
know what you meant.

I want to sleep for a while.

I'm going home.

You know, uh...

Donna got hold of this fax

that was sent to
the press office

from the OSF at NASA.

What, something
falling out of the sky?

Yeah.

We get that fax once a week.

Yeah, but Donna
doesn't know that.

She thinks it's an emergency.

And you didn't want to tell her?

No, 'cause the other way

you get a day's
worth of entertainment

without leaving the office.

She doesn't know
that these things

fall out of the
sky all the time...

once every ten days,
as a matter of fact.

Since the first year

we started putting
manmade objects in space

17,000 have come
back, and remarkably

not one person has been hit.

So I suppose there's
an argument to be made

that we're due.

Yeah.

You picked me
right up there, Josh.

See you tomorrow.

Yeah.

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