The West Wing (1999–2006): Season 3, Episode 2 - Manchester: Part 1 - full transcript

The staff is hunkered down in the Bartlets' hometown of Manchester, N.H., where they work with political consultants Bruno, Doug and Connie on the president's official announcement that he'll be seeking a second term; meanwhile, they all lament various W.H. events of the previous four weeks, including a huge strategic mistake by Josh, a pivotal FDA announcement scheduled for the same day as the president's speech, an ongoing battle between then president and first lady, and a major press room gaffe by C.J.

Previously on The West Wing:

This man got in front of millions
of people and screwed his wife.

I'm running again, Abbey.

The FDA is signing off on RU-486.

You think he apologizes
and numbers go up?

I think you brought me in
because they haven't.

- What's Toby's problem?
- What?

He's got a problem with me
and I'd like to know why.

Justice Department needs $30 million
for its suit against tobacco companies.

Now I want to turn the heat up
and issue a release.

Leo, talk to me.
I know what you're thinking about.



Would you say the president's situation
makes it harder for him to focus on...?

He's relieved to focus on
something that matters.

- Relieved?
- She was tired.

- C.J. doesn't misspeak.
- She just did.

Damn it!

"We're more than a set of borders.
We're bounded by the reach of freedom.

We have mastered every moment.
We have vanquished every foe.

We are strong, we are prosperous,
we are at peace with the world.

We are, as we have ever been,
the envy of every civilization.

We are, as we have ever been,
the hope of all mankind.

But I am not satisfied.
Indeed, I am restless.

I come before you not to speak of
the America we have..."

- Excuse me, sir.
- Yeah?

- We're the envy of every civilization?
- Yeah.



- Really?
- They don't vote in England, Toby.

- They do, actually.
- He meant that they don't...

- We know what he meant.
- I'll change it, sir.

Somebody stick some
pom-poms in his hand.

"But I am not satisfied.
Indeed, I am restless.

I come here not to speak of
the America we have...

...but of the better, stronger, more
prosperous America we can create."

- There's a snake.
- What kind?

I don't know and I don't wanna ask him.
Can somebody shoot it, please?

- Probably a garter snake.
- It's a garter snake, don't worry about it.

"I seek re-election to the presidency,
not because of its glories...

...but its challenges."

- And I have a problem here.
- I wrote that.

I'm happy for you."Its challenges"...

...sounds like you're overwhelmed.
This is exactly the wrong time for that.

No, it's exactly the right time
to raise the stakes of the election.

- Why?
- If it's a day at the beach...

...any bozo with a handshake can do it.

Sorry, America wants a happy warrior
to lead the country, not Dr. Kevorkian.

It's true, sir, America does not want
Dr. Kevorkian to lead the country.

We've got polling data on that.

- All right, we'll revisit it.
- The snake is looking at me now.

"A candidate owes his campaign
no less than he owes his country:

Everything he has,
everything he can give, all his..."

- Again, I'm sorry, sir.
- Yeah?

I'm not wild about your
campaign and country.

- No, that's okay.
- People don't hear that well.

The people there hear fine.

He doesn't mean people don't hear well,
he means hear"that" well. I disagree.

I see the snake now too.

You're entitled to declare
yourself the leader...

...of the campaign and country
since you are.

Except if it's him and not the voters,
it points the pundits toward the MS.

I think the cat's out of the bag
on the MS.

Does somebody here have MS
and they haven't said anything?

Seriously, that's a pretty big snake.

"I am not satisfied." Indeed, I am close
to taking my life with a wheat thresher.

- Bruno?
- Yeah, listen up. I've been thinking.

It might not be such a bad idea
for me to lock you all in here...

...and set the place on fire.

We have 48 hours before we kick off
this campaign. We will work hard...

...we will work well,
and we will work together...

...or so help me, Mother of God...

...I will stick a pitchfork so far up your
asses you will, quite simply, be dead.

"And so, with pride and purpose,
I hereby announce my candidacy...

...for the presidency
of the United States."

Jed?

- I didn't see you there.
- Yeah.

- I didn't see you.
- What's going on?

Peter thinks sanctions
are a waste of time, I agree.

In about a half-hour, we're
buzzing the island with...

...what they call an alpha-strike
formation to show Bazan... .

Will it work?

- Jed?
- Yeah?

I said, will it work?

Sorry, I said I don't know. We'll see.

C.J. got beaten up pretty good
in the briefing room.

Yeah, that was bound to happen.

Maybe you wanna think about
sitting her down for a few days.

- Jed?
- Yeah?

I said, maybe you want to think about
benching C.J. for a few days.

- Yeah.
- At least on Haiti.

Well, that's Leo's call.

Send in Nancy or Peter
or someone from State?

- That way the stories don't get mixed up.
- Yeah, that's Leo's call.

Look, I'm sorry,
I can't get into our thing tonight.

Two days ago,
you said you had a lot to say.

I do, that's why I can't get into it.
I have to read.

That's all right.

All right, I'm going in the study.

Okay.

Abbey, you were lying down
when I came in, I didn't see you.

I believe you.

- He has to sell the greatness of America.
- Why?

It's an implicit argument
to stay the course.

- We're selling the greatness.
- Not enough.

We're selling it in paragraphs
1, 2, 8, 16, 26 and 34.

Listen, it's a simple equation:
Bartlet rules America...

...America rocks, therefore Bartlet rocks.

-"America rocks"?
-"Bartlet rocks"?

- Yes.
- He really doesn't that much.

- Leo, can I see you for a second?
- Yeah.

- RU-486.
- There's nothing we can do.

The last thing we need
is to come out of the gate...

...waving a flag to the heartland,
saying,"We don't share your values."

The president understands all that.

- And?
- That's the way it goes.

The FDA's an independent agency.
They can announce when they want.

The FDA's a division of HHS and
technically, not an independent agency.

I can keep him away from this,
call the chief of staff.

- I got him his job, they can wait...
- No.

...two weeks to announce the drug,
not on Monday.

- I can fix tobacco.
- Tobacco?

No, I meant 486.

Leave the FDA alone.

Morning.

- Hey, C.J.
- You just get in?

- A few hours ago.
- Ellie and Zoey are here?

Yeah. Liz will be here. They're going
for a hike if you wanna join them.

No, I can't, but I did want to
talk to you about a photo-op.

- Would you like some cider?
- No, I'm fine.

We grow the apples
down the hill, it's good.

Okay. So at any rate...

- A photo-op.
- Yes.

My husband and I together.
With the kids.

Because my husband and I
came to the house separately.

There were photos of him
getting on the plane alone.

Ma'am, this is uncomfortable territory,
and obviously, I'd... .

The press has sources that say
you and the president...

- Do they have names?
- I'm sorry?

- The sources.
- No, they're...

Unnamed sources.

C.J., unnamed sources make me crazy.

Just one time, I'd like to see, instead of
"according to unnamed sources"...

...I'd like to see"according to tweaky,
little ill-informed, chicken-ass wannabe..."

Don't ever come to me again
with unnamed sources, C.J.

You don't get any cider.

Yes, ma'am.

I spoke to the first lady before.

I thought it might not be
a bad idea...

...if there were some opportunities
with them together at the house.

- What was her reaction?
- Well, she denied me cider.

- What else?
- I'll brief the Sunday papers...

...on what they can expect
from the speech.

- It's not written yet.
- I'm just giving highlights.

- What highlights?
- I'm making them up.

I thought maybe you could speak to her.

- Who?
- The first lady.

Every paper had a picture
on the front page...

...of the president going home
by himself.

- It's a Saturday paper.
- There are questions...

We're two private men, C.J.,
we don't talk about our marriages.

What do you want from me?

I'm not wild about the fact
you told Toby what we discussed.

He's the communications director,
you don't think he should know?

When I think it's time, I will tell anyone
working for me anything I damn please.

You know what, C.J.?
Stop being pissed at me about Haiti.

Yeah, okay.

-It's a surrender.
-It's not a surrender if he has demands.

-It's as close as we come these days.
-What does he want?

Ten million dollars, U.S.,
a private plane...

... and a guarantee he won 't
be prosecuted for war crimes.

What else?

Asylum for himself
and 60 of his family members.

- Where?
- Here.

That's a bit of a dilemma.

Does anybody have room at their place
for Bazan and 60 of his relatives?

Any amnesty conditions could be
in violation of Hague treaties.

Yeah.

Do we want to say anyone can stage a
coup and walk away if it doesn't work?

And with 10 million dollars
and a private plane?

A shootout in the palace
is the worst outcome...

...Bazan's full surrender is the best,
and that's what we've got on the table.

I want to end this peacefully, right now.
Nancy, what do you think of Venezuela?

Venezuela wants to be a resource for
supplying Strategic Petroleum Reserves.

Tell them I'll give the SPR
strong consideration.

Mike, have the Canadians
get a message through.

We'll unfreeze his U.S. accounts,
but he can't remove money from Haiti.

Only his wife, his children
and his parents can seek asylum.

If he tries to go back,
he'll be under arrest.

He can screw a private plane, he'll fly on
a C-9 from Port-au-Prince to Caracas...

...and if he's very good, we won't
shoot him in the head on the way.

- Tell me when it's done.
- Yes, sir.

- Thank you, Mr. President.
- Thank you, sir.

- Nancy?
- Yeah?

Let me talk to you a second.

When this is a done deal, I want you
to stick around and brief the press.

- She made a mistake.
- I'm not punishing her.

- She made...
- I'm not punishing her.

You're not the face
of this administration...

...you had no part of the MS thing, and
you won't be asked questions about it.

I don't feel right about this.

I don't care.

- Can I talk to him?
- He's on his way up from the Sit Room.

Good news about Haiti.

We should've gone in with four tank
divisions and turned it into a casino.

- Manifest destiny.
- Bet your ass.

- You got a second?
- Yeah.

- So I wanted to apologize about before.
- Don't worry about it.

- You know what I'm talking about, right?
- Yeah.

So I wanted to make you
aware of something.

I looked through the transcript
a couple times and he never apologized.

- What do you mean?
- In the interview.

It's something we'll get
hung with later.

Wait a few weeks, see what happens
with numbers and take another look.

- Yeah.
- Anything else?

- He wanted a private plane?
- You believe it?

State Department suggests
we praise the French government...

...for their help in resolving this matter.

I would, but I'm worried
they'd surrender.

You did well, Mr. President.

- When do you think C.J. can brief?
- Nancy's gonna brief.

- Yeah?
- Don't worry about it.

You did well.

We haven't picked up any ground in
lowa, Kansas, Arkansas and Illinois.

It's only been a week.

Yeah, but we struck the agricultural
trade deal with Argentina.

Farm country ought to love that.

Well, that story got a little drowned out.

Yes, it did.

I could stand on the Sears Tower with
a Stratocaster, and it'd be drowned out.

- I'm not assigning blame.
- Really?

Yes. We need help.

- I'm bringing in Bruno Gianelli.
- It's too early for him.

- No.
- Toby, Sam and Josh aren't gonna like it.

They'll have to live with it.

"I say to you today, 'I love this country. '

And I will make sure our military
continues to be the best-trained...

...best-equipped, best-led
fighting force in the world."

- Oh, God.
- I think Sam wants this one.

If you wanna substitute testosterone
for foreign policy...

...have the president challenge
the crowd to an arm wrestle.

The foreign-policy section was long.

And there are no votes in foreign policy.

It's 98 percent of the world population
and three-quarters of the job.

That thinking makes us
the envy of every civilization.

- Scrap this.
- I have a problem here.

Where?

"It isn't about the disease God gave me,
but the chances God gave our country."

- You're going back to what failed.
- What's that?

All MS, all the time.

Damage control needed to be done.

You couldn't stop educating the public.
Nothing makes you happier.

A month ago, 74 percent of them
thought MS was fatal.

And every time you told them it wasn't,
there was a story about MS!

- Just change the subject!
- Why the hell didn't I think of that?

I don't know, Toby, but if you had,
I probably wouldn't be here!

- Hello.
- Yes?

I'm Bruno Gianelli.

Yes?

I have an appointment.

Who's Bruno Gianelli?

- A strategist.
- Really?

He got five senators elected,
three governors.

He got Hacket elected where they
haven't elected a Democrat in 46 years.

He got the prime minister
of Israel elected.

And it's entirely possible
he's never voted in his life.

He's here.

- Why didn't you send him in?
- No appointment.

- I did it.
- You did it yourself?

- Yes.
- And you're not supposed to do that.

Bruno.

You guys can find
more ways to blow it... .

- We might be running out.
- No, I don't think so.

Why didn't you call
before the announcement?

- What would you have done?
- Tell him not to make it.

- That'd be concealing the truth.
- Oh, would it, now?

Can you help us?

I need to see your internals.

Joey Lucas has been polling
every day for months.

- The girl?
- Yeah.

Worked with her in California,
she's good.

What do you want?

Fifteen percent of the ad buys.
You're gonna say 10.

So why don't we just say 13.

- Why don't we say 12.
- Why don't we say 13.

I want hiring and firing prerogatives
in my department.

For starters, I'm bringing in
Doug Wegland and Connie Tate.

A room at the Hay-Adams
and a car and a driver.

Fine.

- And unfettered access to the president.
- No.

- I need it.
- Can't have it.

Leo, the only races I've ever lost are
ones where the candidate didn't listen...

...or the advice didn't get through.

- That isn't gonna happen this time.
- Can't do it.

This is ego, you know it as well as I do.

I take this request to the president,
tell him it's a deal-breaker, he'll say yes.

Knock yourself out. Margaret?

Would you take Mr. Gianelli
into the Oval Office, please?

- Sure.
- Are you playing with me?

Mr. Gianelli, would you follow me?

Sure thing.

- Bruno.
- Good morning, Mr. President.

I understand you're gonna
be working with us.

Obviously, I'm pleased to be approached.

- I believe there is a great deal I can do.
- You have one or two demands.

Yes, sir.

You want 12 percent of the ad buys.

Okay.

Twelve. And...

A room, a car and a driver,
that's no problem.

Well, thank you, sir.

- I'll also need unfettered access to you.
- No.

- Sir...
- I'm sorry, Bruno, Leo runs the show.

- Respectfully, sir...
- It's a deal-breaker.

Okay.

Anyone else I have to
field things through?

I was sorry to hear about
Dolores Landingham.

Can you help us out?

Yes, sir.

Do I need to explain rules on making
appointments again? Are you confused?

- Get out.
- I'll jot them down.

How'd it go?

- Shut up.
- What's first?

- We get together in a room.
- After that?

- An event.
- How's two weeks from Monday?

- Is that the soonest we can do it?
- Yeah.

We'll scout locations in New Hampshire.
Maybe a high school.

- Sam.
- Yeah?

"Columbia, Gem of the Ocean"?
Is he christening a minesweeper?

Columbia High School marching band
gets to play their song.

We had to negotiate with the band?

They'll be live on four networks.
They'll play what we want.

- Bruno!
- Hey. How you doing?

Whose throat do I shove these down,
whose skull do I crack with this sign?

-"Bartlet for president."
- We'll get rid of them.

I was there when he won. I saw him
get sworn in. I rode in the limo.

Write me a speech, would you?

One that doesn't make me think
I'm sitting shiva...

...black curtains on the mirrors.

We'll use this as the greenroom.

He can walk out the door
and up on stage.

What's this room usually used for?

I don't know. Desks, a blackboard.
Could be some kind of classroom.

- C.J.
- Yeah?

- What's going on?
- What do you mean?

- Nothing.
- You sure?

Yeah. What's going on with RU-486?

Leo won't let me wave off the FDA.

It's against the law.

I'm not talking about sticking up
a fruit stand.

It's a phone call. A favor from a friend.

I know the chief of staff for
the subcommittee, I got him his job.

You mean the FDA?

This is the second time
this weekend I've done that.

Hey, see this?

This is why I didn't want
to do an announcement.

- We're taking care of it.
- No, I'm taking care of it.

I want to say for the 18th time that
we shouldn't do an announcement event.

If he's gonna run for re-election,
he's gotta announce it.

He did that two weeks ago.

He's not gaining enough ground,
which means he's bleeding.

If we put him up like any candidate,
we trade away our one big advantage.

- What?
- He's the president already.

Signing executive orders
and decorating the tree isn't gonna do it.

Fellas, I'm getting old over here.
This subject was closed on Tuesday.

He's gotta stand up, he's gotta declare,
and he's gotta apologize.

- He won't apologize.
- Why?

- For what?
- For your campaign perpetrating a fraud.

I'm from Oregon. We like to see a man
say he's sorry. Where are you from?

Me? I'm from the United States
of Suck My...

All right.

Let's take lunch.

Republicans talk about
how arrogant you guys are.

I thought it was the reaction
to not getting the girl.

I can't believe how much
they low-balled it.

Josh. Wait up.

Let me walk you to your office.

Sure.

- You know, he had a point.
- Who?

- Doug.
- That we're arrogant?

I guess that means Doug won't be
coming to my sweet-16, then.

- You sent them the press release?
- What press release?

- Subcommittee. About tobacco.
- Yes.

Well, that was stupid.

- You think?
- I know.

I got two years as legislative director
in the House...

...two years as Senate floor director...

...and 30 months as deputy chief
of staff, what do you got?

Kalmbach's a fat-ass Rotarian gasbag.

I knew once I sent it, he'd raise the
profile and give us the press we needed.

Kalmbach is vulnerable in his home state.

He's got an influx of tech and clean
industries along his Route 9 corridor...

...and the suburban voters with it,
parents who don't want kids smoking.

We got the money, Bruno.

You don't want the money,
you want the issue.

You should've waited until fall when the
bell rings, then we hammer them with it.

And Kalmbach, Ross, O'Rourke, Stevens,
whoever gets nominated...

...has it hanging around their necks,
they're nicotine pushers.

Plus, you get the money.

The sooner you get I know what
I'm talking about and I'm on your side...

...the sooner your world gets better.

Of course you got the money.

I'm amazed he didn't send it to you
with candy and a stripper.

Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio.

Three swing states you could've
brought over with that.

That's an election.

You still get nervous talking to crowds?

I've never been nervous talking in front
of big crowds. It's talking to one person.

I didn't know she was gonna be here.

- I didn't know you were gonna be here.
- I'm introducing you.

- I thought Leyland was.
- C.J. thought it would be good...

- Okay.
- I can tell them...

- No, I think it's a good idea.
- Okay.

You need to reach out to the staff.

Once you do that, they'll feel better.

And then so will you.

I'm going back to the house.

What are you reading?

I don't know enough about agriculture.

I wouldn't worry about it.
Agriculture isn't really your field.

Agriculture is responsible for one in five
American jobs, so it is a bit my field.

Fifteen percent of the world's cotton,
25 percent of the world's beef...

...and 50 percent of the world's
soybeans are grown in my field.

Farmers pay taxes in my field,
their kids go to school in my field...

...they go to jail in my field. From time
to time, they go to war in my field.

If I say,"It's not my field,"
I'm not saying something...

...I'm trying to learn so I can.

- Why won't you talk to me?
- Why aren't you with me?

- How do you know I'm not?
- You're not.

- You're pissed at me?
- I'm trying to read here.

You're pissed, I don't believe it.
I don't believe you.

I don't believe you.

You go from"I've got a lot to say"...

...to"I can't say it right now,
because I've got so much to say"...

...to"I gotta read about agriculture"
and"You're not with me and go to hell."

That's an extraordinary evolution.

Can I go a week without
explaining myself?

You can go as long as you want without
explaining yourself, read your book.

- Sit down, we'll talk about it now.
- I'm not in the mood, jackass.

Is there any way to change your mind?
Because I really had my heart set on it.

Go to hell.

You feel all right?

Yeah.

C.J. wants her to introduce me?

Yeah, I thought it was a good idea too.

I wouldn't mind a little... . You know.

There's gonna be a big crowd
here tomorrow.

Well, that's your kind of crowd.

- I need to finish the speech.
- Yeah.

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

- I'm...
- Going over the transcript?

He needs to apologize.

- Don't worry about it.
- He lied.

He didn't lie. It's what your people call
a"sin of omission."

I'm not Catholic. It's what everybody
calls a sin of omission. Bartlet lied to us.

President Bartlet, Sam, come on.

Did you know many multiple sclerosis
advocates actually instruct victims...

...to hide the illness because
it's so misunderstood?

You think they advise
presidential candidates to do that?

I don't.

- That night he told you...
- Yeah.

- Didn't you feel like...?
- I went crazy.

I whaled on him in the Oval Office.

- None of us had the chance to do that.
- I know.

We could've gotten it done.

If he had just told us,
this would've been a different...

Yeah.

Go home.

All right.

Hey.

- Hey.
- What are you doing?

- Talking to myself.
- I'll join you.

Feel free.

I thought the speech was locked,
but they're at the house, arguing.

It's not locked till
the president says so.

I was out trying to find a Starbucks.

A guy in a gas station said,"Around
here, people don't pay $4 for coffee."

New Hampshire: Live Free or Cheap.

Doug means well, you know,
and he's smart.

It seems to me, your job is to wait
until Doug leaves the room, then say:

"What Doug really meant was... ."

How much do they pay you for that?

Sometimes it's my job to say it
when he's in the room.

Yeah.

We're making a mistake
not including an apology.

- Is this what you mean or Doug means?
- Both.

- It's not gonna happen.
- Why not?

Because Jed Bartlet's Jed Bartlet
and that's the way it goes.

That's what you're saying and it
makes sense, but you know what?

You want him to apologize
and not just for political reasons.

I haven't really thought
that much about it.

There's been a lot going on and I haven't
really thought much about it.

You were with him at the beginning.

You got him elected.
You work for Bartlet 18 hours a day.

- You never felt...?
- Connie.

Please, it's President Bartlet.

Okay?

Yeah.

I should get back to the hotel.

We have to mention values.

If we don't, we're gonna spend
the next 15 months...

...trying to convince people
we did mention values.

"My values are New Hampshire's values:
hard work and responsibility.

Strong families and communities.

Boundless faith in
an ideal of self-reliance.

And poor people can go
screw themselves."

My point is, for 30 years, Democrats
have been labeled tax-and-spend...

...as if they don't believe in getting up
and going to work.

- That's why we have to say it.
- Then nobody's gonna understand it.

Which is why I wanted to
cut the three paragraphs about...

Do you want to solve problems...

...or are you helping us run for grand
marshal of the Rose Bowl Parade?

- Look...
- I'm stretching my legs.

Yeah?

Okay.

Is that something you run for?

The Rose Bowl Parade.

Don't you just get picked?

I don't... .

I don't know.

You guys are so pissed at him
you don't even know it.

You're more pissed at him
than the press is.

You're more pissed at him
than the party is.

You're so pissed at him,
you're pissed at me.

If he hadn't lied, you could've run
the campaign you wanted to...

...instead of lots of people coming in and
teaching you how not to bother anybody.

I never drank the Kool-Aid, Toby.
I came to win.

And you're so pissed at him, you can't
even admit that for the last two weeks...

...you've gone to sleep at night
thanking God that I did.

Yeah?

Bruno just got off with Leo.

The speech is locked.

Whitley left in the first van.
He's there already.

So somebody sit with The Boston Globe.

Donna, where's Josh?

I'll get him.

Come in.

- You're supposed to be downstairs.
- Yeah.

- You're not ready?
- We're blowing this RU-486 thing.

You gotta get in the shower.

It'll look like we're starting the campaign
by pandering to women's groups.

No question, most voters are pro-choice,
but the ones that aren't...

...are gonna devote their lives
and money to beating you.

"Guns don't kill people, Bartlet does."

It'll look like we screwed up the timing,
so the press will write about process...

...not issues, and getting political
reporters to write about issues...

...is like getting kids to eat vegetables.
- You gotta shave.

Don't you wanna know
how it's like getting kid...?

Shave and shower.

It helps if there's nothing else
on their plate.

- You couldn't sleep?
- I know I could stop this thing.

One phone call.
The president's not even involved.

"Could you do us a favor?
Could you hold off two weeks?

We love your drug, but we don't
want it in our news cycle."

- I could've picked up the phone... .
- Josh?

God!

What's this about?

I blew the tobacco thing.

That could've helped us. That was... .

It's gonna be a very close election.

I gotta take a shower.

- Good morning.
- You can go on up.

- Mr. President?
- Come in.

- I was told you wanted to see me.
- Yeah.

Don't be a marriage counselor,
it pisses me off, okay?

- I'm sorry?
- You know what I'm talking about.

That part of my life
doesn't belong to you.

I simply put together what I thought
was the best event.

- The first lady is an excellent speaker...
- All right. That's all.

I think if you get a bump in the polls
after today's speech, as we expect...

...it'd be good for me to resign.

Yeah?

- To leave earlier would be strategically...
- Yeah. Okay.

- The press is...
- That's nonsense to me and I don't care.

For all the jobs we've created, single
mothers work two at minimum wage.

There are school districts
where less than half graduate.

And a kid born in Harlem is more likely
to go to prison than a four-year college.

They're bringing guns to school!

Don't you dare lecture me, sir,
don't you dare do it!

I was never supposed to win.

I got in it polling in the single digits.

Hoynes had it locked up.

I got in it to give some speeches
and keep him honest.

Then you guys came along...

...and all of a sudden,
I got 22 percent in lowa and then...

...South Carolina and Michigan.
And then Illinois.

It was a mistake benching you
for that last press conference.

Excuse me. C.J., they need you.

I need you too.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Did you know that hardly any of
the guys who landed on the moon...

...are married to the same people they
were married to before they went there?

What?

I'm just saying it could be worse.
I could've been an astronaut.

- You could not have been an astronaut.
- I'd have been a great astronaut.

You're afraid of heights, speed, fire
and small places.

I'd have overcome it to go to the moon.

I know you would've.

I'm really happy you're introducing me.
I'm really happy about that.

There's something important
I have to say.

Say it.

I haven't really made up my mind yet...

...but at the moment...

...I'm leaning towards voting for you.

"Fall victim to torpor and timidity."
Torpor...

...is not a word a lot of people know.

- It means apathy.
- And dullness.

- I know what it means.
- Doug means...

- They know what I mean.
- Hi.

If they don't know what it means...

- What's the word?
- Torpor.

- It means apathy.
- And dullness.

I know what the word means. I'm saying
if people don't know what it means...

- They can look it up.
- Good morning, Mr. President.

It's not our job to appeal to the lowest
common denominator, we have to raise it.

If you're gonna be the education president,
don't hide that you have an education.

Bruno, would you mind?

Churchill and F.D.R.

Serious men using big words
for big purpose.

It occurs to me I never said I'm sorry.

I am.

For the lawyers, for the press...

...for the mess, for the fear.

Bruno, Doug, Connie, these guys are
good and they wanna win. So do we.

The only thing we want more
is to be right.

I wonder if you can't do both.

There's a new book,
and we're gonna write it.

You can win if you run a smart,
disciplined campaign...

...if you studiously say nothing...

...nothing that causes you trouble,
nothing that's a gaffe...

...nothing that shows you think a wrong
thing, nothing that shows you think...

...but it isn't worthy of us, is it, Toby?
- No, sir.

It isn't worthy of us or America.
It isn't worthy of a great nation.

We're gonna write a new book,
right here, right now...

...this very moment, today.

Sir?

It is my pleasure...

... and my great fortune...

... to introduce my husband...

... our friend...

... New Hampshire's greatest son...

... and the President of the United States,
Josiah Bartlet!

You know what? Break's over.