The West Wing (1999–2006): Season 3, Episode 4 - Ways and Means - full transcript

Previously on The West Wing:

You'd see Victor Campos
sitting courtside with Buckland.

If we spend millions on tax breaks,
we should spend it on people...

...who don't have millions.

The veto's an awfully big risk to take
if you can't promise anything.

Then the veto's
an awfully big risk to take.

We recommend you threaten to veto
any repeal of the estate tax.

- Good evening.
- Are you Dolan?

- Yes, and you're Mr. Kobeleskie?
- Koveleskie, with a V.

We spoke on the phone.
I'm the only one here right now.

That's okay.



- There are usually 7 of us...
- Yeah.

And I'm new.
It's the end of my second week.

- Do you know what to do?
- I call the deputy chief of staff.

You tell him the clerk of the house
has delivered a bill.

Then you bring it to the president
for his signature or veto.

- Yeah.
- Okay, here it is.

Thank you.

Yes, this is Mr. Dolan
in the executive clerk's office.

I'd like Mr. Lyman, please.

- Why don't you just wear a pre-tied tie?
- Because it's not the same.

It looks the same.

You want to be able to pull it open
like Tony Bennett.

Think the tie's the only thing
between you and Tony?

He's also shorter than I am.



- When are you bringing Buckland back?
- I was gonna do it before the entr?e.

- You should do it after the entr?e.
- Why?

I don't know, it's more polite.

- Is there etiquette for this?
- No.

Then why are you bothering me?

- I need to talk to you about something.
- My phone's ringing.

- Yeah.
- You want to answer it?

Can we talk tonight?
Maybe after the cheese course?

Donna.

Josh Lyman.

Yes.

It's here.

Call around.

- Quiz me.
- I don't think I will.

- Quiz me.
- You're a lively conversationalist.

- You won't have any problem...
- Quiz me.

Who are you sitting next to?

Dr. Kary B. Mullis, recipient of the
1993 Nobel Prize for chemistry.

Born 1944 in North Carolina. Earned his
bachelor's degree from Georgia Tech...

...and his Ph.D. in biochemistry
from my alma mater, UC Berkeley.

If all he wants to talk about
is where he's from...

...where he went to school
and his name, you're fine.

- C.J.?
- It's here?

- Yeah.
- I'll meet you over there.

- Toby.
- It's here.

Yeah, I know.
Listen, the Social office called.

Seven Republicans who R.S.V.P. 'd
aren't gonna show up.

We knew that might happen.

- It happened. You think we should...?
- What, put it off? No.

The president said he'd veto the bill.

C.J. announced he'd veto the bill.
He's gonna veto the bill.

There was a reason
they had to cancel.

An emergency meeting
of the Republican leadership.

What do you think they'll talk about?

- They're planning a surprise party.
- They could've left after the entr?e.

They're gonna miss hot pumpkin soup,
cheese gnocchi and a ch?vre brioche.

That's a pretty big price to pay
just to override my veto.

Maybe they think
they've got the votes.

What are you saying?

Maybe something shifted
in the last couple of hours.

They just sent the bill up
five minutes ago.

They know you're gonna veto. Why
schedule an override vote right now?

So I'd think twice about vetoing.

Well, that's what I thought too.

And now?

- Good evening, Mr. President.
- Where is this thing?

It's on its way.

- Know what we're starting with tonight?
- No, sir.

Hot pumpkin soup with a cheese
gnocchi and a ch?vre brioche.

Was anything you just said food?

- Good evening, Mr. President.
- It's on its way.

- Sir, the Social office...
- We know.

- Seven Republicans who R.S.V.P. 'd for...
- We know.

- Know there's an emergency meeting?
- Yeah.

I say they could've waited
until after the entr?e.

Maybe they didn't know
about the brioche.

- Does anyone want to consider waiting?
- No.

- The Constitution gives him 10 days.
- I know.

If it's a show of strength,
you don't wait to think.

If they override the veto,
it's not strong.

- They don't have the votes.
- Says you.

Says me, Josh, the political liaison,
legislative liaison and the minority whip.

It's like I don't even need to be here.

Good evening, Mr. President.

- C.J., you look very nice.
- Thank you, sir. Is it here?

It's on its way.

I've been seated next
to a chemist tonight.

Twenty-three Nobel winners, I couldn't
get literature or peace or something?

What's her problem?

Thinks she won't be able
to make conversation.

She's wrong, because she knows what
year he was born and his name.

You gotta be a cryptographer.
They speak in letters...

...that don't spell anything
but end up meaning"table salt."

- Mr. President?
- Is it here?

- Yes, sir.
- Okay.

- Hey.
- Good evening, Mr. President.

What's your name?

I'm Donald Dolan from the
office of the executive clerk, sir.

Leo, I don't think it's a bluff.

I don't think the leadership holds their
members on a weekend for a bluff.

- I don't think they're bluffing.
- You think they're holding a vote?

- I'm sure.
- Why would they hold a vote...

...if they couldn't override?
- They wouldn't.

What do you got in the box,
Mr. Dolan?

Mr. President, I have House Resolution
10, the Death Tax Elimination Act.

It bears signatures of the speaker of the
house and the president of the Senate.

It's presented to you by the Congress
for your signature or veto.

Excuse me.

Leo, you think we lost some votes
we don't know about?

I think we're about to find out.

Sir, if the House successfully overrides
the veto, we're gonna look weak.

If the House successfully
overrides the veto, we are weak.

NaCl, C.J.

- I'm sorry, sir?
- Table salt.

Send it back.

Good evening.
About 15 minutes ago...

...the clerk of the house presented
the executive clerk with HR 10...

...a bill repealing the estate tax,
which opponents call the"death tax"...

...or the"we're coming
to get your children" tax.

We call it a tax on fewer than
2 percent of estates...

...valued at over a million dollars...

...the revenue from which helps fund
frivolous spending programs...

...such as teaching people to read
and curing disease.

As promised,
the president vetoed the bill.

This was his first veto since
taking office 33 months ago.

- C.J.
- Katie.

- Will there be a vote to override tonight?
- Don't know.

Do you know why the Republicans
are in an emergency session?

Would they hold their members back
if they didn't think they could override?

You'd have to ask them.

- Can you tell us what you're wearing?
- It's a dress.

- C. J... .
- Diane Cook. Anything else?

Okay, I'll be in for periodic briefings,
and we'll try not to keep you too late.

- What's Sherri Wexler doing here?
- It's Friday night.

- She's an entertainment reporter.
- Here to cover the Nobel dinner.

Now she's gotta cover
a veto override in the House.

She can barely cover
the Easter egg hunt.

Are you afraid she's gonna
misspell"Diane Cook"?

I have to get back to dinner.

Do you have a copy
of the periodic table?

- No.
- Okay.

Yeah.

Toby. That was the minority leader's
office. They've scheduled a vote.

- When?
- Ninety minutes. Debate, then a vote.

- What do they think?
- They think they must be down.

How did we lose votes?

A low-in-the-polls president tells
Democrats to vote against a tax cut.

What could possibly
have gone wrong? Ginger.

We need 10 phone lines in the Roosevelt
Room and bodies from legislative affairs.

- We need the whip count.
- It doesn't do us any good.

- We need a new one.
- That's gonna take a while.

They're sitting there.
Tell them to raise their hands.

Any Democratic members who've
headed for National, get them back.

Page Delta, United and American.
Nobody gets on a plane.

- They scheduled a vote?
- Straight up or down.

- When?
- They debate in 90 minutes...

...and vote an hour after.
- We need a new whip count.

Ginger, the phones, the bodies and
keep an open line to the whip's office.

- And get Leo out of the dinner.
- Excuse me.

- Charlie.
- Yeah.

- How's the dinner going?
- Fine.

- You and I should talk.
- Yeah?

The committee's gonna offer you
the chance to give a proffer.

- I can't talk about it.
- You know what it is?

- I get immunity.
- Yeah.

And I'm not allowed to talk about it.

- Hey.
- So, what's going on?

We're waiting for a new whip count.
How ready is he on the environment?

- He's been studying.
- I can't be there with him.

In the Buckland meeting?
He'll be all right.

- When's he doing it?
- Sometime after the appetizer.

He needs to look at the latest
EPA stats on child asthma.

He's got them.

- What's going on?
- There's three we can't account for.

- We think Kimball flipped.
- He'd have his committee with him.

- The phone in front of you.
- Newhouse?

Newhouse, I don't believe.
Illinois 17 is safe.

- What's happening?
- Vote scheduled, don't have the count.

I don't think it's Newhouse or Kimball.

- It's Kimball.
- If it was Kimball, we'd have...

He's on the phone right now.

Congressman, this is Leo McGarry.

Please come to the White House
right away.

- Donna.
- I'm right here. Where do you think...?

- My tie's falling apart.
- Give me that.

- It's not gonna be...
- You're not gonna be Tom Jones tonight.

Tony Bennett.

- Speaker's calling a vote?
- Yeah.

Sam can't be in the Buckland meeting
with you.

I'll be all right.

He wanted to make sure you looked at
the new EPA stats on child asthma.

Can I talk to you
about something personal?

- I gotta get back. Can it wait?
- Yeah.

- How does it look?
- Good.

- Maybe he wants the compromise.
- He doesn't want a compromise.

He was ready to settle for a $ 10 million
exemption instead of 5.

Compromising with
a $ 10 million exemption?

Here's a conversation
my father never had.

Leo?

You're gonna have
to give away something...

...but don't give away the store.

- Yeah.
- Nancy McNally's in your office.

- What's going on?
- Something's happened.

What's going on?

A bomb went off outside a caf?
on Ben-Yehuda in Jerusalem.

It was a suicide bomber. He detonated
explosives strapped to his body.

- How bad is it?
- Ten people were killed right away.

It looks about 125 injured,
mostly young adults.

Leo, two of the dead
were American students.

We think they may
have been targeted.

All right.

Margaret, I'll be
in the Situation Room.

- Leo?
- Yeah.

The INP thinks
they have traces of C-4.

- C-4?
- Yeah.

Did this guy have a car strapped
to his chest?

- Have the parents been notified?
- Consul general called the parents.

- Has anyone claimed responsibility?
- Not yet.

In the next hour,
everyone will claim responsibility.

Nancy, hasn't State issued
travel warnings since Bek?a?

- They went for a soccer match.
- Americans were targeted?

Eyewitness accounts indicate the bomber
turned to go into the nightclub...

...then stopped when he saw
two people...

...wearing U.S. delegation sweatshirts
with insignias and flags.

They were brothers.
Ariel and Noah Levy.

He walked up to them and detonated.

- We know this?
- These are the facts...

...as relayed by the embassy RSO.

And, Mr. President?
They think they found traces of C-4.

- Think there's an Afghan connection?
- Or even Iran.

We'll know more when the FBI
attach? gives a forensic analysis.

- How long?
- 45 minutes, an hour.

I'm gonna want some
temperature-cooling options.

- Thank you, sir.
- Yes, sir.

Na is sodium. Sodium comes
from the word"soda."

Wouldn't it make sense for the
periodic symbol to be related to that?

No. Because Na comes
from the Latin word"natrium."

- What does natrium mean?
- It means sodium.

Come on in.

I'm pretty well briefed.

- Is it on the news yet?
- Yeah.

They were brothers.

- Why were they there?
- Soccer match.

Do we know if they were
intentional targets?

- Not yet. We can't release names.
- The Levys lost their sons.

I'll take the heat for a few hours.

Tell them the president's in touch
with the prime minister?

Yeah. The Israelis will do what they'll
do, so ratchet down expectations.

- Anything else?
- No.

- I'm gonna get in there.
- Thank you.

- Charlie?
- Yeah.

- I wanna...
- I can't talk about it, C.J.

- Word is...
- Can't talk about it.

Talk hypothetically. Say a guy your age
was offered a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Nobody's going to jail.

But everybody's getting lawyers.
If you took immunity...

- I'd still need a lawyer.
- For a few hours, not 100 hours.

- I know what you're thinking.
- I really can't talk about it.

Okay, I'm gonna change my clothes.

I'll watch.

No.

- What the hell's going on?
- We're down four votes.

- I thought it was one.
- Three guys are out of reach.

- Why?
- That's where they wanted to be.

- Where's Kimball?
- On his way.

- Toby's waiting for him in back.
- Josh?

- Is he in there?
- Yeah.

- Did you look at the child asthma stats?
- Yeah.

- Governor.
- Josh, good to see you.

Sorry to interrupt dinner.

You know Pam Wachtel and Jonathan.

I do. Good to see you guys.
Anybody need a drink?

- No.
- I'm fine.

Thanks, Donna.

So, governor...

...the president's a tree-hugger?
- I never said that.

"If you want to save an owl,
vote for Bartlet.

- To save a job, vote for someone else"?
- I never said that either.

No, she did. In the Indianapolis Post.

- You weren't misquoted, right?
- No.

Okay. Listen.

I wouldn't know a spotted owl
if he walked up and introduced himself...

...but I do know the president's
a pro-business pragmatist...

...who's created 3.8 million new jobs.

You ought to tell that to an
unemployed steelworker in Indiana.

He's working three of those jobs
just to pay the mortgage.

The decline isn't because
of the environment.

- Of course it is.
- Jonathan...

By raising standards for emissions,
he raised the cost of business...

...and closed down plants
in the Midwest.

You want to see a study that says
if we hadn't passed the Clean Air Act...

...more people would've
suffered from heart disease...?

You know how many healthy people
we've got on the unemployment line?

- The EPA stats on child asthma alone...
- I don't want to talk about child asthma.

Neither does Josh.
Will the two of you excuse us, please?

Yes, sir.

It doesn't destroy jobs, Jack,
it creates them.

There's a $400 billion market...

...in creating technologies
that are environmentally safe.

You think a 55-year-old steelworker's
gonna get a job building hybrid engines?

Ask me what you wanna know.

- You invited Victor Campos to Indiana.
- Yeah.

- Pam's quote in the Post-Dispatch.
- Yeah.

Jack, are you gonna challenge
the president in the primary?

Let's have that drink.

- Took you long enough.
- I was held up.

- And I'm not about to be.
- Yeah?

We can win this without you.

I've got four proxies in my pocket,
so you can't do anything without me.

Don't worry,
I came with a shopping list.

How does a Democrat
from Tennessee...

...where we championed electrification,
the Tennessee Valley Authority...?

- How do you do this to a Democrat?
- Estate tax costs 65 cents on the dollar.

- That's not my point.
- Why would anyone...?

That's not my point.
You were with us yesterday.

Now you're holding us hostage.

I got some things
I'd like to talk about...

...and I feel I'm in a strong
negotiating position.

- What?
- Grazing fees.

- Grazing fees?
- Yeah.

Grazing fees.

Let's go, we're running out of time.

I can't confirm the names
of any Americans killed. Arthur?

Is the White House ready to call
the cease-fire a failure?

The parties themselves
negotiated the terms...

...and the U.S. remains committed
to the peace process.

- C.J., what do...?
- I like to call on people, Sherri.

What do you say to the people of Dallas
who just lost two of their sons?

As I said earlier,
we can't confirm or deny the identities...

...of any American victims
of the bombing.

How is it that the government,
supported by the citizens of Dallas...

...knows less than CNN,
AP and Israeli TV?

I think the citizens of Dallas will
understand that the 1974 Privacy Act...

...precludes me from discussing those
details until the family gives its consent.

Since two Americans were killed,
is the U.S. considering retaliating?

We're still investigating
the circumstances.

We continue to urge all parties
to demonstrate restraint. Phil.

It was a Palestinian splinter group
called the Palestine Freedom Front.

- Agency and FBI concur?
- Yeah.

Then we shouldn't be
looking outside the box.

Hutchinson talked with the Israeli foreign
minister and the interior minister.

It was an isolated incident.

- Retaliation for Bek?a?
- Yeah.

If that's the case, I wanna hear it
from Arafat's mouth.

I wanna hear it from him.

A denunciation of violence.

I want to see security cooperation
with the Israelis.

We'll have the U.N. secretary general
put the screws to the chairman...

...and Scorza can be
at the prime minister's office.

Maybe, maybe, maybe we can get
Israel to hold their fire tonight.

Would you?

No.

There are some 30,000 ranchers
in Western states...

...who graze their cattle
on federal lands.

Yes, and they do it for about
one-tenth of market value.

Based on an archaic formula
set by Congress 30 years ago.

There was cattle 30 years ago.

We don't want
to stick it to ranchers.

We want to raise grazing fees and use
the money to restore streams...

...fish and wildlife habitats
that have been destroyed...

And how do ranchers
put food on their tables?

And yours, for that matter.

It's cheaper for cattle to graze
on federal lands than to feed a hound.

It's easier to sell out the Western
states you won't win anyway...

...than to help cattlemen
whose prices are plummeting.

If you look at the range land...

I don't wanna look
at the range land anymore.

A one-year moratorium.

The president waits a year
before he tries to raise the fees?

One year. Go vote.

No. I've got more.

- Really?
- A GAO review...

...of the deficiencies
in the Freedom to Farm Act...

...and the need for a stronger
farm safety net.

Administration support for an increase
in production flexibility contracts... .

- Donna.
- Yeah.

- I need Josh.
- He's still in with...

Tell him we're gonna need more time.

Excuse me, governor, I'm sorry.
Josh?

- Yeah.
- Sam says they need more time.

Tell him to call the minority leader.
Tell him we need to stage an exhibition.

Will he know how that works?

No exhibitions allowed
on the House floor.

One of our members brings a poster
on the floor, another one objects...

...the chair has to rule,
followed by a vote of the full House...

...and that'll buy 20 minutes.

So...

...you're polling at slightly less
than 5 percent in lowa.

After hearing your issue profile,
that number actually goes down.

Thirty-nine percent of caucus-goers
wouldn't even consider voting for you.

"Shares our values," 18 percent.

- Did you know that?
- No.

In New Hampshire, 3 percent.

"Shares our values," 14 percent.

After hearing your profile,
41 percent think you're a Republican.

- Did you know that?
- No.

South Dakota, 3 percent.
Georgia, 8 percent. New York, 7 percent.

- Did you know any of that?
- No.

You don't even have the money
to do out-of-state polling right now.

- So you helped me out.
- I did.

Now, with those kinds of numbers
and no kind of money...

...how can you expect...?
- Where were the president's numbers?

And what money did he have...?

He wasn't challenging
a sitting president.

Nobody challenges a sitting president
in a primary by going to his right.

This isn't a serious challenge you're
contemplating, so tell me what it is.

If it isn't a serious challenge,
why are you here?

Your health.

We don't like your health.

You're a Heisman Trophy-winning
football player, a U.S. Olympian...

...you still run
the New York Marathon...

...and every time
we see B-roll of you...

...tossing a ball around
at the local Boys Club...

...it makes people think the president's
gotta campaign in an oxygen tent.

Well, it sounds like a bit
of a serious challenge.

It sounds like I need to be listened to.

You want to see me
do some pushups?

Yeah, that's what I want.

What do we know?

Keyhole sees 12 Israeli F-15s
at Hatzerim Air Base.

- What are they armed with?
- Eight AIM Sidewinders.

Pilots are in the cockpits,
we see heat plumes.

We've also got 10 Douglas AH Apache
Longbows airborne from Bezet.

They're armed with Hellfires.

- Any chance it's a training exercise?
- It always is.

- What are the targets?
- Looks like the Abu Sneni Bab...

...and al-Sheikh neighborhoods in
Hebron, a police station in Ramallah...

...and Al-Watan, which
is the newspaper of Hamas.

But we could be wrong.

Arab reaction?

Egypt will call for an Arab summit
if Israel retaliates.

- Nancy, what about the C-4?
- This is what's interesting.

The agency indicates that
the bomber had ties to Abdul Mujeeb.

- Really?
- Yeah.

Well, that may be our way out.

All right, that may be it.

- Sally, I need to see the president.
- Yes, sir.

The networks want you live
next time you brief, okay?

- Yeah.
- Sherri Wexler's about to do her standup.

They can't send someone who knows
what they're doing?

She thinks she knows what she's doing.

- I have to watch this?
- I thought you showed great restraint.

Walk softly... .
And do something else.

- Carry a big stick.
- Yeah. Walk softly. Walk around.

... the White House not able
to confirm or deny at this point...

... the names of the Americans or, in fact,
if any Americans were involved at all.

In the meantime,
debate continues on Capitol Hill...

... over the president's veto of the
legislation repealing the estate tax.

So it's a tense night here, Alan, as
staffers and press burn the midnight oil.

Sherri, going back
to the suicide bomber...

... you say the White House can 't confirm
whether Americans were involved...

Yes, I should say the
Press Secretary C.J. Cregg...

... can 't confirm if Americans
were involved.

It's not clear the extent
to which C.J. 's in the loop on this.

I can tell you, she's changed her clothes
several times throughout the evening.

I'm sorry, Sherri, say again?

I say, C.J. Cregg's known
to be a bit of a clotheshorse...

... and perhaps she's missed
some information...

... during one of her wardrobe changes.

Well...

...turns out she did know
what she was doing.

You want me to take care of it?

I'll take care of it.

- Hey, Margaret.
- He'll be here in just a minute.

I'll be back in a second. Charlie?

- Can't talk about it.
- You don't even know what I'm saying.

- Immunity?
- Yeah.

I can't talk about it.

- I could've been talking about a vaccine.
- That's immunization.

- Yeah.
- Come on.

So, what's happening in there?

We've given him a one-year
moratorium on grazing fees...

...support for an increase in the
production flexibility contracts...

...a promise not to lower
agricultural export subsidies.

We're up to a tougher FDA crackdown
on the illegal use of antibiotics in milk.

- Are you kidding...?
- I swear to God.

How's Buckland?

He wants a seat at the table,
that's for sure.

How far do we go?

- Can I offer Buckland...?
- No.

- He'll keep mouthing off...
- I don't care, take him out.

Enough is enough.

First Victor Campos, then Kimball
and his band of four, then Buckland?

Tell him we'll put it out he tried
to blackmail the president...

...unless he caved to industry on
clear air, clean water, climate control...

...and worker safety.
Emphasize worker safety.

That'll get him in good
with the unions.

Everyone will know
the leak came from us.

Yeah.

Know what? Bill Russell
was getting eaten alive...

...because they could never get him
to throw an elbow.

He didn't want to do it, so Red
Auerbach told him to do it one time.

"Throw an elbow
in a nationally televised game...

...you'll never have to do it again."

You bet your ass they'll know
the leak came from us.

Toby, whatever's
on the table in there...

...take it or leave it.

- Yes, sir.
- Thank you.

Thanks, Leo.

- Hang on.
- What?

- Listen.
- Yeah?

What's on the table, don't you...?

Grazing fees, farm nets,
milk subsidies.

What's on the table, aren't they the
same things a Republican would want?

Yeah.

- Let's offer it to them.
- Offer it to who?

The Republicans. Royce.

He'll carry six Republicans.
That'll be seven votes.

When Kimball sees we're gonna win,
he'll hop onboard...

...so we've got a bigger margin.

C.J. can make a big deal
of bipartisanship, but mostly...

- We threw an elbow.
- On national TV.

We were talking about
a tougher FDA crackdown...

...on illegal uses of antibiotics in milk,
such as excess dosages of...

No.

Well, I wouldn't be so quick
to say no.

I think I will.

- No to the FDA crackdown?
- No to everything.

What do you mean?

I mean no to the FDA crackdown,
no to lower agriculture subsidies...

...no to the production flexibility
contracts, no to the GAO review.

And the president will seek to raise
the grazing fees at any time he sees fit.

We're gonna need the room.
Would you mind, congressman?

- Well...
- Congressman.

We're a little pressed for time.

- Good luck.
- Thank you very much.

Ginger...

...we need Congressman Robert Royce,
Republican of Pennsylvania...

...on the phone.

Okay. Well...

...now this really needs to work.

Yeah.

Hey.

- How you feeling?
- Don't get too close.

- It's all right.
- I'm like a petri dish over here.

Yeah, you're pretty gross.

- How's the dinner?
- It's good.

But...

...a suicide bomber got two
American kids in Jerusalem.

- No.
- Yeah.

- Were they targeted?
- We're pretty sure.

We've got some things going.

- How old were they?
- Nineteen and 21.

They were brothers.

- You speak to Zoey today?
- No.

I thought the deal was
she calls once a day.

She calls most days.

I want her to call every day.

All right.

All right.

- You need anything?
- No.

Okay.

We can connect the bomber
to Abdul Mujeeb.

- How?
- Traces of C-4...

...and other chemicals that are tagged.

So you think I get on the phone
with the chairman...?

I think you get on the phone and tell him
to hand Abdul Mujeeb to the Israelis.

You remind him Israeli secret police
are gonna kill him anyway.

- It's gonna take more than that.
- If it does, you tell him...

We'll withhold the 100 million in NGO
aid if they don't hand him over.

Yeah.

And you think handing him over
puts the pin back in the grenade?

For a day.

- For a day?
- Yeah.

- All right, set up the call.
- Thank you, Mr. President.

- This isn't...
- Hang on. Hang on...

No, you hang on, Josh. I'm the
governor of Indiana. You hang on.

You're saying I should get out
of the race because I'm too healthy...

...and you're telling me
I'm making a flaky argument?

How can I keep advocating
the issues that I care about...

...if I don't get into the race
for a while?

- I'm so sorry. Josh?
- Yeah.

Sam needs more time.

Tell him to have a Democrat call
for a journal vote.

If a member calls for a journal vote...

...the full House has to approve
the floor activity.

Then he can have a member try to attach
an amendment to the override vote.

- What kind of amendment?
- Doesn't matter.

"To qualify for the estate-tax repeal,
the estates have to have AstroTurf."

And still, it's hard to figure why
Congress can't get anything done.

- I'm sorry.
- No, that's all right.

There's a lot going on here tonight.

I meant, I'm sorry.

You came through for us in Indiana,
really the whole Midwest.

You'd have been great
in the number two spot.

It was me as much as anyone
pushing Hoynes.

- You couldn't win without Hoynes.
- Yeah.

I'm term-limited, Josh.

And I still have things I want to say.

Listen, I have instructions to... .

- You know... .
- To bust me.

Yeah.

If I could convince Leo
to put you on the short list...

...think you could say
what you wanna say?

You can't offer me quid pro quo,
it's against the law.

But I can tell you that Carl Reed wants
to accept a position at Shearson...

...and he'll be leaving
in about three months.

You guys are that afraid
of my health, huh?

Well, we're afraid of everything.

But no kidding, Jack, I... .

I think you'd make an interesting
nominee for labor secretary.

So if I could convince Leo... .

I'm gonna go see
if there's any dessert left.

Thank you, governor.

I wanna make sure I understand this.

You're offering a one-year
moratorium on grazing fees.

- Yeah.
- A GAO review of the need...

...for a stronger farm safety net.
- Yeah.

A promise not to lower
agricultural export subsidies.

And a tougher FDA crackdown on what?

The illegal use of antibiotics in milk.

In exchange for my vote
to sustain the veto.

And the six that come with you.

- Same deal you were offering to Kimball?
- Yes.

- And he was ready to take it?
- Yes.

I don't want it.

You've been uneasy about
the estate tax from the beginning.

That's right, I have. And yet, the
White House did what it always does.

It went to the extreme flank
of its own party.

Which meant more arm-wrestling,
dealmaking...

...billions wasted
in pork-barrel promises.

- What are you saying?
- That the moderates get shut out.

Let me tell you something. The
idea of repealing the estate tax...

...makes me embarrassed
to be a Republican.

We used to be about the
sensible center, fiscal discipline.

A tax break for billionaires?
Of course this thing should be vetoed.

It was a Republican named
Oliver W. Holmes who said:

"Taxes are the price we pay
for a civilized society."

- Are you saying...?
- Don't target me for defeat.

I'm vulnerable in my district.

The DNC will run
a conservative Democrat.

If elected, he won't even
be photographed with the president...

...much less vote with him.

Take a look around at all the Democrats
running from you right now.

Do you even know
who your friends are anymore?

If we do our best to see that
you're not seriously challenged...?

You have seven new votes tonight.

Oh, and throw in the milk thing.

Go vote, congressman.

You're home.

You. Get in here.

- Take the immunity.
- I'm not allowed...

- Take it.
- Is anyone else taking it?

- No one else is being offered it.
- Would they take it if they were?

Who knows what's gonna happen
with this prosecution?

It's a partisan prosecution.
You could go broke.

You could be barred from law school.

- Doesn't immunity imply guilt?
- Not necessarily.

And if someone in my position
took a deal to protect himself...

...what would that person be saying
to his employer?

- They were wrong to trust him?
- Don't be a hero.

Why not?

I'll stay with my team.

People should stop trying
to get me not to do that.

Leo?

Anyway, I'm not supposed
to talk about it.

Yeah, okay.

- Nancy.
- Thanks.

What are you smiling at?

Palestinian police arrested Mujeeb
at his residence in Gaza.

Margaret.

- Yeah.
- Get me C.J. on the phone.

And see if there's still
any food over there.

I got away with this, but you should
really learn how to tie a bow tie.

Or you could.

Yeah, but that doesn't seem
that likely, right?

- You can go home.
- I'll stick around.

You wanted to talk to me
about something before.

Yeah. Listen.

I was fixed up on a blind date
a few nights ago.

- When?
- A few nights ago...

...and Ainsley fixed us up.

He's a Republican lawyer working
for Ways and Means...

...but he was being transferred...

...and it turns out now he's
on Government Oversight, so...

- You can't see him anymore.
- I know that.

- You can't see him anymore.
- I know that.

- It was just that night?
- Yeah.

No.

We got together the next night again.
We shouldn't have.

Yeah.

Look, when we got together
the first time...

You just thought he was
with Ways and Means...

...who I was battling
on the estate tax.

- I'm sorry if...
- Did any reporters see you?

- No.
- The second night?

No.

All right. You can go home.

The president wants you in five minutes.

Thanks.

- C.J.
- Phil.

Did the president urge the chairman
to hand over Abdul Mujeeb?

The president urged the parties
to abide by the terms of the cease-fire...

...and he reiterated the U.S. commitment
to the peace process. Katie.

A report out of Gaza
says the president threatened...

...to withhold more than $ 100 million
to Palestinian NGOs...

...unless the chairman
handed over Mujeeb.

I won't get into the details
of the diplomatic exchange.

There'll be more on that tomorrow.

The House is getting ready to vote
on the override of the president's veto.

You'll all want to cover that.

I thought it might be helpful
if we brushed up on the rules.

Sherri, how many votes does it take
to override a veto?

- I'm sorry?
- How many votes to override, Sherri?

- A majority.
- It takes two-thirds.

- Yes, a two-thirds majority.
- Yeah, 290.

And how many votes
does it take to sustain?

Just subtract 290 from the total number
of members in the House and add one.

How many people sit in the House
of Representatives, Sherri?

Get the notes from a classmate. That's
all, guys. I'll see you in the morning.

- They're meeting in the Oval Office.
- Thanks.

- C.J.
- Hey.

- That was totally uncalled-for.
- Yeah?

My competitors are gonna show that
tape. Every local station in town...

Are you crazy? That thing's
going out to 154 affiliates.

I changed because it's not appropriate to
talk about death while wearing a gown.

You knew that because you're stupid,
but you're not stupid, you know?

Security's gonna take your credentials.
I'll decide if you get into the room.

I'm taking your spot on Pebble Beach.
Do your standups from Lafayette Park.

One more word, and every other station
gets an exclusive with the president.

Hunting season on me is over.

And the chemical abbreviation
for table salt is NaCI.

You could say... .

You could say,
"On behalf of Abbey and myself...

...please accept
our deepest condolences.

Your sons' lives were not lost in vain."

They were lost in vain.

What I meant was that this further calls
national attention to the peace process.

"Though tragic, this tragedy
further calls national attention...

...to this alarming, escalating conflict."

Is there anything to"they went
there in the spirit of peace"?

"The spirit of peace, a soccer match... ."

"Hope of Israeli and Palestinian
children playing together and..."

"Studying together,
discovering each other's worlds."

This guy at the dinner,
he told me something I didn't know.

On Yom Kippur, you ask
forgiveness for sins against God.

But on the day before Yom Kippur...

...you ask forgiveness for sins
against people. Did you know that?

Yeah, it's called... .

- I can't remember.
- It's erev.

Erev Yom Kippur.

You can't ask forgiveness of God...

...until you've asked forgiveness
of people on the day before.

- Mr. President?
- Yeah.

I'm gonna do this alone.
Have a good night, everybody.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. And Mrs. Levy, this is Jed Bartlet.

I have three children.

I really don't know what to say.