All language subtitles for The West Wing (1999) - S06E21 - Things Fall Apart (1080p AMZN WEB-DL x265 ImE)_track3_[eng]

ANNOUNCER:
Previously on The West Wing:

The only thing you can
pray for on this job

is the strength
to get through the day.

What?

We won California.

How did we end up
in a crouch?

I'm not changing my ads
because of a stunt.

Eric Baker's live
on MSNBC right now.

This is the time that
I can keep my commitment
Says he's not runnin

to the people of Pennsylvania
to be a full-time governor.

Are you asking me
on a date?

You haven't said that you'll go.

I don't want
to leave you guys

with just a candy-gram
and a get-well card.

We'll be fine.

MAN:
As most of you know,

President Bartlet won
a Nobel Prize years ago...

for economics.
( audience laughs )

( knocking )
Yeah.

Mr. Vice President,
the governor is here.

Show him in.

Governor.

Mr. Vice President.

What have they been saying?

( sighs )
Bartlet-bashing mostly.

One advantage of not yet
having our nominee.

They could be going after you.

Have a seat.

( laughter on TV )

SPEAKER:
If you had something of theirs,

they're gonna need it back!

( turns TV off )
It's good of you to come.

My pleasure.

I don't need to tell you

what a critical time
this is for our party.

Brokered convention.
It's been a while.

After the first ballot,
we need a consensus nominee.

Consensus?

We're Democrats.
( chuckles )

The right ticket
could create one.

There's press speculation

about Matt Santos as VP.

Of course.

But you've got
to think seriously

about regional balance.

I think that'd be a must.

Vinick's a moderate.
States'll be in play

that Democrats are
used to counting on.

We need to protect our flank.

Vinick's well-liked
in my state.

...from the convention straight
through to the general....

We're gonna want to do
everything possible

to make sure that...
goes for us.

Thirsty? You want
something to drink?

Sure.

Absolutely.

Eight is enough!

( applause )

Eight is enough!

Eight long liberal years

of social policies out of step
with the values...

Elevating oratory.

Boil your message down
to the title of a bad TV show.

Careful. It was formative
for many of us.

Formative?
Crush on the mom.

Very Mrs. Robinson.

What were you, eight?

Yeah. She seemed knowing.

Eight kids.

Maybe not so knowing
about contraception.

What's he been saying?

I wouldn't know.
I'm not watching.

Yeah, we were "not watching"
up in the suite.

What do we say to years
of failed trade policies?

AUDIENCE:
Eight is enough!

SPEAKER:
To years of overregulation?

SPEAKER:
To years of windfalls
for trial lawyers?

SPEAKER:
To bloated bureaucracy,
runaway entitlements,

and endless red tape?

What say we?

SPEAKER:
Eight is enough.
Would eight,
( phone rings ) be enough?

Uncanny.

Psychic.

You need to...

Someone I'm meeting later.

Don't want to keep
a lady waiting.

It's good for her.

To years of radical, activist...

You wanted to talk?

I have a proposition.

You been watching this?

Is the congressman in?

Yeah, but...

Whoa.
Um...

It's okay.
Sorry.

My time is your time.
Yeah, evidently.

What's up?

I'll just, um...

You should probably
hear this, too.

in return for us releasing
our convention delegates,

is prepared
to name Matthew Santos

as the Democratic nominee

for Vice President
of the United States.

Vice President?

To Russell?

They've given us till Thursday.

Well, don't need it.
Tell them we pass.

We do, do we?

What do you think?

He's trying to act
like the front-runner.

He is the front-runner.

By the skin You've gotth.
all the momentum.

If this race had gone
one more week,

you would be the one ahead.

It avoids a messy floor fight,
chaotic convention.

Also known as exciting,

also known as great television.

Also known as there goes
the Democrats again.

They can never get
their crap together.

The best argument is

it sets you up
as the consensus front-runner

in either four or eight years.

Nomination
would be yours.

Or you're so tainted
by association,

when Vinick cleans
Russell's clock,

you can't run for dogcatcher.

I don't think anyone elects
dogcatchers anymore.

My dad ran for dogcatcher.
Really?

No.
This whole campaign

has been predicated on,
driven by,

gotten all of
the aforementioned momentum

from the ironclad conviction
that Russell can't win.

I am a three-term congressman

at the second most powerful job
in the world.

I thought we were discussing
the vice presidency.

How about we all sleep on it?

Hey, it's, uh...

getting real, isn't it?

Real as it gets.

( door slams )

I'll call you right back.

Well...?

You didn't expect
an answer.

How it hit You know Josh. What's
he gonna recommend?

I'm not asking you to betray
king and country. A best guess.

I have no idea.

That's a real coup
for Santos,

obscurity to
the vice presidency.

WILL:
He'd be a fool
not to take it.

It elevates him
to the big leagues.

How'd it go with Baker?

Definitely receptive.

You said nothing explicit?

No. He got the drift.

Santos turns us down,
we go to Baker.

Win-win.

Good day, really good day.

Treasury, Commerce, OMB,

I want all hands out
refuting that bilious swill

the Republicans
were spewing last night.

Hey.
Is for horses.

Thank you, Grammy Cregg.

You can take the girl
out of the Midwest.

As fast as her little feet
could fly, or not so little.

Something's gone wrong with
the international space station.

It's losing oxygen.

The astronauts onboard
can't fix it?

Not so far. I've got
a NASA administrator

wants to see the President.

President's unavailable.
Bring him here.

Morning.

You watch last night's
Bartlet bash-a-thon.

They think it'll be Russell.
They're tying him to us.

Bob Russell's had
about as much to do

with what's gone on
around here as...

"I had the job, but no one
actually listened to me."

Get ready for press questions
about how organized

and unified the Republicans
are compared to us.

"Organized." They're about
as spontaneous as...

I actually can't think
of anything as unspontaneous

as a Republican convention.

Four nights
of Swiss watch precision--

we get a pie fight.

PRESIDENT:
Thanks, Nancy. Steve, come in.

Children.

Infants.

Yeah, there's a lot at stake
for these candidates.

and that's what my days
have become. Baby-sitting.

Tantrums, Mr. President.

"They have more floor passes."

"We need a bigger room
in the hall."

"We don't like this hotel.
We want their hotel."

I'm sorry
this is falling to you.

Until we have a nominee...

You saw last week's Timecover.

"The Exploding Donkey."

"Dems in Disarray."

You know what next week's
are gonna be.

"Republicans on a Roll"?

( sighs )
Something has to be done, sir.

I've reached the end
of my influence.

They're not listening
to the nanny anymore.

We may be in danger
of overextending the metaphor.

We need Daddy to step in.

A rescue operation
is obviously called for,

but the space shuttles
are grounded right now,

pending an uncompleted
safety review and retrofit.

And the Russians can't get
a launch together in time.

Hmm. Assuming the present rate
How of oxygen loss,got?

in three weeks they'll be dead.

Can't a shuttle be
pressed into service,

not withstanding the review?

One's missing half
its wing assembly

and the other one's undergoing
a complete tile replacement.

Now, we can try
and speed up repairs...

The concern would then be
losing the shuttle crew

Now, that's the
and the spacecivilian shuttle.

Sorry?

Can we speak with the President?

Yeah, they want to announce,

right after
the Republican convention.

Blunt the bounce. Smart.

"Why didn't we offer ite're
I'vto him first?"g: smart?

Because we hope to do better
for our vice president.

If Hoynes's bimbo eruption had
happened three weeks earlier,nt.

we're the nominee...

if New York had been later.

Yeah, if wishes,
horses, et cetera.

What is that?
From some Dylan song?

Guys your age have this thing
about Dylan.

"Guys my age"?

We got close.
Look, this iRussell got closer.

Neither of us is home.

They're offering
a bird in the hand.

You know that one?
What about Hoynes?

He doesn't want it
to be Russell.

He doesn't want it to be us.

You think he still thinks
he has a hope in hell?

He's gonna milk this
for all it's worth.h

And, yes, I believe that

somewhere in the back of his
deeply deluded political mind,

he imagines:
deadlocked convention.

Nation turns its
lonely eyes to Hoynes.

Forget Hoynes.
Simon and Garfunkel.

He's a wounded animal.
He could wind up doing anything.

Matt Santos for President.

Yeah, just a moment.

Will Bailey for you.

Yeah.

Just checking in.

Any preliminary thoughts
on our offer?Okay.

It's the next thing
we're gonna talk about.

Thought the Congressman
might want to sit down

with the Vice President.

I'll get back to you about that.

Okay.

I'll talk to you later.

What'd he say?

Get me Hollofson.
Baker's chief of staff.

We're gonna want
to stay in touch.

They run out of oxygen
How lonin less than three weeks.

If the leak doesn't get worse.

Sir, the NASA administrator

alluded to a
non-civilian shuttle.

Wernher von Braun's
autobiography was titled,

I Aim for the Stars.

Mort Sahl joked
he should have added,

"Only Sometimes
I Hit London."

I want hourly updates
on everything

that's being done to fix this.

Thank you, C.J.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Oh, thanks, Bill.

You know I'm counting on you.

WOMAN:
Left, left, left.

And that is exactly
how Americans feel
Bye.

about the Bartlet-Russell
White House.

Left, left,

left behind.

( applause )

Finish all your calls?

( chuckles )

You don't finish.

At some point you just
decide to stop dialing.

How you feeling?

Hard to say no
to the vice presidency.

Well, it's not what
you signed up for.

No one signs up
to come in second.

Are you kidding me?

We didn't.

No.

( chuckles )

Hard to say no
to the vice presidency.

You don't have to
for another couple days.

Night, Congressman.
Good night.

My fellow Americans,

the body politic is ailing.

We have businesses paralyzed
by overregulation.
You're not going there.

An international profile that's
a shadow of our former strength.
Tell me you're not going the

A foreign policy stumbling
from one crisis to another.
Is he doing what I think he is?

The MS. He's invoking the MS.
Infrastructure progressively

falling apart
before our very eyes.

This is going to backfire.

A defense department
that's enfeebled.

Maybe people
won't get it.

with complications,
it's positively sclerotic.

Okay, they'll get that.

Well, I don't know about you,
but I am sick and tired

of being sick and tired.

You're going to hell!

Arnold Vinick has the right
prescription for America!s
sit over h

( crowd cheering )

Arnold Vinick: strong medicine
for a stronger nation.
How you doing?

I mean, I realize
the VP candidates

that designated hatchet man,
but that...

If Santos accepts, you
can get your revenge.

Yeah, you think I might find
five or 500 ways

to call Vinick old?

You want sclerotic,
I'll give you sclerotic.

Santos wouldn't do it.

Probably not.

Maybe why he shouldn't
take the job.

Maybe why he'd be
a great choice.

Restore some civility.

You want him to accept?

You don't?

I have concerns.

He's not hit man enough.

He's too much voltage
at the bottom of the ticket.

Gets people wishing
the names were reversed.

Gets people willing to wait
till next time.

How'd you get so smart
about this?

I had a good teacher.

Thanks.

I meant Will.

Drive safely.
Good night.

Good night.

PRESIDENT:
Evening, Charlie.

Mr. President, um...

Listening to relentless attacks
upon my record

seems to have left me
wakeful.

Thought I'd stretch
my legs.

that we're caught in this
terribly embarrassing situation.

It's...

I think perhaps

the best thing
is for us to carry on

as if this encounter
hadn't happened.

Due respect,

I'm having a hard time
exactly imagining that.

It'we both have to be at work
in the min a few hours,

and you're standing
outside my daughter's bedroom.

I'd say we give it
a shot.

( sighs )

Night, Charlie.

Good night, Mr. President.

C.J.:
Good morning.

Morning.
Morning.

What's the status
of the space station leak?

Unchanged.

Current thinking on options?

Sections of the
space station

can be sealed off.

the crew can repair, too,
There to conserve air.tments

Which just delays
the inevitable.

Which buys time to
fix the problem.

Ground-based
engineers work

around the clock on this.

Around the world.

Which is great
and inspirational,

and hopefully, they'll make
one heck of a movie,

buI don't particularly relish
these effortthe idea

of dead astronauts
floating weightless

in some spaceship sarcophagus.

Rescue options?

That's NASA's area.

DoD's space program
expenditures

for the last fiscal year
came to $22.9 billion,

or seven billion more
than NASA's civilian program.

WhatThat's what the Chinese
we spewould like to know.

Well, since they're not here,
maybe you could just tell me.

Missile warning,
command and control.

20 billion to tell us
every time the sun burps?

They can disrupt
satellite communications.

Yes, and Grand Old Opry
broadcasts.

Are we weaponizing space?

Air Force Special Command
operates and supports

the Global Positioning System

and military
communications satellites.

space systems can support
war fightersok at

in navigation, intelligence.

Is that weaponizing space?

Space-based lasers,
highly targeted,

no nuclear fallout.

Space-based
kinetic energy weapons,

hunter-killer satellites.

R&D guys talk
about a lot of things.

A military space shuttle.

Reusable launch vehicle.

Space bomber.

That has
the theoretical capability

of launching and dropping
a weapon anywhere in the world.

With virtually
no ability

to detect it in advance.

of conventional of reach
air defense systems.

Theoretical capability.

No one wants space to become
a battleground.

C.J.:
Is that the argument
in favor of building it?

Is that the argument in favor
of not building it?

in favor of building it
Or iand not telling anyone?

The answer to that would be yes.

to go up and rescue
Annabethese space station
a contastronautsan

if they can't
fix the leak?

NASA is exploring
all their options.

The precise nature
of what those comprise

is something best gotten
from them,

but the President
has every confidence

What's the White House reaction
to the Bartlet-bashingexperti

on display
at the Republican convention?

Not aware anyone
around here's seen it.

No one?

We have a country
to mis-run.

( chuckling )
CHARLAYNE:
So, you saw it?

I gleaned the gist:
"Republican good, Democrat bad."

Would the White House
Sophisticatcare to comment on
Nuancethe expected contrast

between the high degree
of organization and discipline

and the Democrats'
ianticipated free-for-all?on

I believe the American people
will be the beneficiaries,

in that they will
be presented

with a clear choice:

do they want to be governed
by people who are animated...

or animatronic?

NANCY:
Mr. President,
the First Lady's back,

and Leo's here.

Send him in, please.

NANCY:
Mr. McGarry.

Good morning, Mr. President.

Leo.

How you feeling, sir?

Vexed, riled, irked.

The Republican convention.

Ticked, honked, pissed.

You Problem is, once you're keep
persotelling yourself that,f.

You're already taking it
it'spersonally.

Gonna be more of the same
next couple nights.

We've got calls from everybody
in the party about ours.

Rorsche is going to pieces.

The rock that he is.
Thought he might
cry in here--

actual tears.

But with no nominee,
they're running right over him.

We need someone strong enough
to organize the damn thing.

Wonder who we can get.
If it helps,

it gives me no pleasure,
dumping this damn thing on you.

There's the pleasure
of not having to do it yourself.

Which is not
inconsiderable.

Let's get representatives
of the three candidates in here,

set down some ground rules,
establish a tone.

A floor fight doesn't have
to devolve into a brawl.

There anything
to these press rumors

of a Russell-Santos deal?

Be a smart move.

A Latino on the
ticket from Texas

gives us a genuine
shot there. Florida.

Maybe even makes
California contestable.

Let's not get carried away.
The Southwest.

Vinick's politics puts
these places in play.

we're coming out of this
with a nominee. anot

Be nice if he didn't seem

like merely
the last clown standing.

KELWICK:
Another space walk is scheduled

for 0900 hours Houston time

to again try and source
the oxygen leak.

Now, the problem with space
walks is they're strenuous,

resulting in increased
oxygen consumption.

Obviously not an optimal
condition at this juncture.

The American people
can be assured

we on the ground are doing
everything possible

to assist these astronauts
at this time.

PRESIDENT:
How was your trip?

You didn't haul
yourself up here

in the middle of your
Presidential morning

just to inquire
about my trip...

Oh, my God, I can't
remember where I was.

Folk dancing,
people winning things

and lots of fiddles screeching.

I'm sure the fiddles
were played wonderfully.

Maybe it was me doing
the screeching... inside.

I caught Charlie tiptoeing away
from Zoey's room last night.

Caught?
!
Discovered.

Encount...
No, damn it.

I caught him red-handed,

skulking away
from my daughter's bedroom.

Oh, I'm sure he
wasn't skulking.

To his credit,
if he'd been sauntering,

there might've been a row.

Ooh, I got a big picture
of that.

Are you being blithe about this
just to irritate me?

Zoey told me
about the two of them,

not that she had to,
because there was
the small matter

of the Secret Service.

The clandestine is a
non-starter around here.

And why have I been
so ostentatiously kept

out of the loop?

Golly, one wonders.

Is that actual dismay

of the standard
or jupaternal attitude?

Does it matter?

Well, I just know how
you abhor the cliche.

( knocking )

What's up?

I have an awkward question
to ask.

"Awkward" prying,
"awkward" embarrassing,

"awkward" prurient...

About your brother.

Okay.

I'm sorry to ask,

but did David ever
mention anything

about another kind
of space shuttle?

Another kind of space shuttle?

A non-civilian shuttle?

A military shuttle?

Did he ever mention anything
about anything like that?

a felonious breach
Youof national security?mit

Hints, intimations.

A brotherly confidence.

Brotherly confidence,
by definition...

Showing off, sibling
one-upmanship.

"Look what I know."

An occasional cryptic hint

when he wanted
to lord it over me.

Like actually being an astronaut
wasn't enough.

Thank you so much.

If he had been up in
that space station,

and we didn't send such
a vehicle up after him...

Would he have
been okay about
To send it resacrificing himself

for national security?

He would've insisted on it.

But don't ask me
what I would've insisted on.

( door opens )

( door closes )

Hey.
Hey.

Post has the VP offer.

You got somebody leaking
in your campaign.

I'd check yours.

We run
a pretty tight ship.

Maybe Hoynes'
people got wind.

Puts more pressure
on us.

WILL:
Lays us out there

if you turn us down.

( door shuts )

LEO:
Thanks for
coming in, guys.

in organizing the convention
since we don't have a nominee.

Though, from what
I'm now hearing,

that may change.

We hope so.

It's under respectful
consideration.

Well, the White House is
officially neutral, of course.

But I don't think
anyone would be opposed

to avoiding a prime-time display

of disharmony
and dysfunction,
which is what

we're here to discuss.

We'll just wait

for the Hoynes representative
to arrive.

I don't know why
he was even invited.

( chuckling ):
He has 956 delegates.

And no chance
for the nomination.

Dylan Clark,
Hoynes for President.

And thank you for that
dispassionate assessment

of our chances.

I'm sorry you heard that,

With you two maneuvering, it
to preempt the floor vote.

Gentlemen...

You going to accept?

We're mulling.

I'm sure your candidate
It'would agree.b.

Mine certainly does.

Maybe why he treated it
with such dubious respect.

This is exactly
what we don't want

LEO:
The first order
on primeof business

is to select a
convention chair.

I've drawn up
a list of candidates.

Martindale?

I have no problem with him.

He stumped for you
all over Ohio.

JOSH:
"Couple"? If they'd showed up
together any more,aract

people would've thought
he and Russell had eloped.

I'm dinging Martindale.

Frenley's not acceptable.

He's strong, respected.

He's on your VP short list.

WeWe don't believe in putting

theYou have one, he's on it,
before tI'm dinging him.

No to Pereira.

JOSH:
Why not?

HGod forbid
we show off our diversity.

Said the man
with the Latino candidate.

JOSH:
I hope
you're not suggesting

Latinos can't be trusted
to be fair and unbiased.

The three of you knock it off.

Put lines

through the names you object to,
and let me have them back.

I'd like a day to go over this.

No.

( clearing throat )

Maybe you guys
would prefer a Republican.

Mmm...

I'll look these over later,
see if there's a consensus.

I'd like to discuss
floor positions.

To counteract the perception

that Vinick has it wrapped up,
I propose

prominent placement of the
California delegation up front.

Wouldn't have anything to do
with Santos having won there?

Nice try.
We're not really

suggesting states
your campaigns won.

Battleground states:
Missouri, Wisconsin.

Texas: spirited, boisterous.

And loud enough to carry
from way in the back.

Do you have something
against my guy's home state?

The Vice President
carried his home state.

We're not putting Colorado
up front.

DYLAN:
A Southern strategy,

I am telling you...

California. Fifth largest
economy in the world.

WILL:
What has that got
to do with anything?

( knocking )

Mr. President,
you wanted to see me?

You were right.

Avoiding last night
is really not going to work.

Yes, sir.

I don't want to get
all righteously paternal...

Sir, I don't want to sneak
around the White House.

I'm not trying
to break you two up.

No, sir,about actually
I'm taseeing more of Zoey.

More time with her.

Spent together.

Being together.

And such.

Charlie...

The President's daughter
can't move in with somebody,

and I assume you understand
that you cannot...

Yes, sir,
that had occurred to me.

Then I'm sorry, I'm not
quite sure what you me...

Oh.

Are you... talking about...?

Uh... yes, sir.

You want to make an honest woman
out of her?

No, Mr. President,

We've been sleeping together
tfor kind of a while.

You might want to consider
quitting while you're ahead.

Yes, sir.

Sir...

would I have your blessing?

I'm not the member of the family

you should be concerned about
at the moment.

Yes, sir.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Josh.

Probably not exactly
what you had in mind in there.

It's exactly what
we're worried about.

People are
always complaining

about how canned
these conventions have become.

Not the people
trying to use them

to put a clear,
cohesive message

in front of the
American electorate.

LEO:
Good TV.It'll be entertaining.

Professional wrestling
is entertaining.

But when
they click off the set,

no one
runs out and votes

for the loudmouth
in the leotard.

Outside of Minnesota.

You need to take
the VP deal.

Uh, we're considering it.

Not consider it.

Take it.

The party, the President
needs you to accept.

Yeah.

Santos will be incurring
the gratitude

People who can be very helpful
to his future plans.ple...

That future could be now.

A three-term
congressman

going up against Arnie Vinick?

Be careful what you wish for.

I don't know

that Russell
has a better shot.

But Russell goes down,
you want people in the party,r.

key people--
organizers, fund-raisers--

thinking it was partly
Matt Santos's fault?

Long memories, Josh.

Big win for your guy.

Four years from now,
he can run the table.

You'll be doing him a favor.

PRESIDENT BARTLET:
The space walk?

KATE:
Unsuccessful.

How much oxygen
it cost them?

Could've been worse.
KATE:
"Worse" being a relative term

when it comes
to slow suffocation.

We have a decision to make.

The security concerns
outweigh the consequences.

C.J.:
It's presumably
been launched before

I realize this
is a high-profile situation.

It would disclose the asset.
Possibly, but

measured against
our responsibility

toward three lives...

Two. Only two are Americans.

C.J.:
Meaning what?

TheTwo Americans are more
dexpendable than three?

The cosmonaut
would see the asset.

Ride in it.

Take piEven without the
for acamera in his shoe,

It'd be the greatest
intelligence coupy.

of the new century.

But wouldn't we essentially
be revealing a piece of hardware

HUTCHINSON:
Maybe we should invite
the Chinesesumes we have anyway?

and the Russians over
for a formal tour.

can visit each other's
nuclear weapons facilities.

C.J.:
I can't help note
the absence of anyone

from NASA
to make the case for a rescue.

I don't need anyone to make it.

I need more time.

C.J.:
Thank you,
Mr. President.

SANTOS:
I appreciate
that, Senator.

I'm giving it
every consideration.

Thank you for the call.

Another voice for party unity.

Yeah, the White House
just leaned on me pretty good.

Same extortionate undertone?

I heard something else
on the way over.

Source I have in Philadelphia.

Russell's been talking to Baker.

As backup, we turn him down.

Thinks it flips Pennsylvania.

It does flip Pennsylvania.

178 votes swing from us
to Russell on the second ballot.

If the Hoynes delegates
break anywhere near even

once they're released...

It's game over.

Smart. Smart.

How come we're not that smart?

You have to go sit
down with Russell.

And when you're in there,

you look for a way
to tell him yes.

( inhales )

( exhales )

( sighs )

You okay?

Yeah.

Yeah. Just...

You know.

Night yips?

Little bit.

Because you've made a decision,
or because you can't?

Both.

Neither.

( sighs )

I bet Arnie Vinick is sleeping
like a rock.

I don't know.
He's old.

( laughs )

What?

Old people don't
sleep so good.

Old people who
have their party's

Presidential nomination
wrapped up and...

have a mortal lock on
California in the general--

they sleep like the dead.

The prospect of sleeping
like the dead is part

of what keeps old people up
nights.

You ever stop to think

that maybe Arnie Vinick's up
right now worried about you?

Hmm?

I can guarantee
that's not happening.

Oh.

Smart guy.

Young guy.

Good-lookin', too.

Yeah.

( sighs )

Let's see about helping this

troubled office-seeker
get himself some sleep.

Morning.

What do you do
when he's just wrong?

You remind yourself that
he was the one got elected.

We could rescue
these astronauts.

He's got 295 million Americans
to think about,

not just these three.

Only two are Americans.

if they offed the third,
he'd be all for sending it.

Wouldn't that be
a lovely affirmation

of international cooperation
in space?

building space bombers
We don'of their own., Chi

Oh, they're gonna build them

anyway if they assume
we've got one.
But if they know we've got one,
they have to build it.Yeah.

This is Alice in Wonderland.

Yeah. Some days it is.

Quick, hide
the Ouija board.

Josh still has usn
reading chicken entrails.

I'll tell the Vice President
you're here.

We're very excited you've come.

Excited to be here.

It's exciting.

Congressman, welcome.

Good of you to see me,
Mr. Vice President.

Shall we?

Remember, three feet
on the floor at all times.

( Josh laughs )

Have a seat.

SANTOS:
Thank you.

Don't.

Congratulations
on a well-fought campaign.

You, too.

And, hopefully,

we're about
to put that all behind us.

That's what we're
here to discuss.

Arnie Vinick is going
to be a tough customer.

We need to marshal
all our strength.

And I can't think
of a better way

than by having both our names
on the ticket.

It's a good point.

So, you want to flip a coin?

( laughs )

That's a good one.

Um, in all seriousness,
let me...

let me describe the relationship
that I envision.

A substantive role in policy,

strategic planning.

A voice.

More of a partnership, frankly,
than I've had with Jed Bartlet.

I'm flattered.
You should be.

it's not the relationship
I'd envision with a lesser man.

You're capable and bright.

Very kind.
I'm sure

there's things
that I could learn from you.

Well, uh... uh, I don't...

Just as there are undoubtedly
things you could learn from me.

Thank you all.

Josh.

( door closing )

( Santos sighs )

Mad at me?

No.

Oddly.

Disappointed?

Proud. I think.

You've got a tough conversation
ahead.

Not so tough.

( elevator bell dings )

Yeah, I do.

MAN ( on T.V. ):
Ladies and gentlemen,

please welcome
the next President

of the United States,
Arnold Vinick.

MAN:
Yeah.

( cheering and applause )

( cheering and applause
continue )

VINICK:
Thank you.

Thank you.

We're gonna run out
of prime time.

( laughing )

It is with great humility
that I accept your nomination

for President
of the United States.

( cheering and applause )

Before I share with you
my vision for America,

I want to say a few words
about the man

who I hope is my predecessor,

President Josiah Bartlet.

( booing and cheering )

He has graced
and honored his office,

the highest in the land.

The most powerful in the world,

some would say, myself included.

He has served this country
steadfastly and laudably.

And I say this
despite our political

and-and philosophical
differences.

For in the end,

a Presidency is more
than a simple catalogue

of policies pursued,

crises weathered,
battles lost or won.

It's a stewardship.

A sacred trust.

A commitment to sacrifice
every fiber of your being,

every thought,
every moment, every...

every... everything
in service to your nation.

President Bartlet
has done this well

and ably.

And he deserves nothing less
than our humble appreciation

and heartfelt gratitude.

( applause )

Nice what he said about you.

Yeah...

This is the basis on which

I make my appeal
The bastard. He just picked up
five million Democratic votes.

My commitment to strive
.to be worthy of the example

of the great men
who have gone before.

Presidents walk
in giant footsteps.

They have magnificent legacies
to uphold.

I stand here on this day
and put my name forth

as one who aspires
to their example,

who will daily make
that sacrifice,

who will honor
not just the office,

but the people
that office serves.

Their President of these
United States of America.

( cheering and applause )

( whistling, cheering
and applause continue )

Arnold Vinick just
positioned himself

as Jed Bartlet's
natural successor.

How'd he do that?

Without one mention,
without so much as an allusion

to either one, he managed
to dismiss Russell and Santos

as puny, dwarf-like children

trying to get a seat
at the grownups' table.

( phone ringing )

Yeah.

I'll send him right down.

Josh is here to see you.

We start working
to beat this guy right now.

Hey.

Hey.

What, uh...?

Talk to Leo.

Okay.

Could've used
you out there.

Did okay without me.

It's not the same.

Good luck.

Thanks.

Listen to Vinick?

No.

You're better off.

Santos turned
Russell down.

Okay.

Okay?

Okay, so now you get him
to un-turn it down.

Doesn't work like that.

Now it does.

I told him to find a way
to say yes.

You find it for him.

You're not hearing me.

You're not hearing me.

Matthew Santos has had
a terrific ride.

Improbable, impressive.

And over.

This is the return to reality.

He's Russell's Vice President.

It's not gonna happen.

You are going to do this

for us.

For the President,
for your party.

I'm not
'cause I don't agree with it.

I told him
to say yes.

I was wrong.

He's twice the man Russell is
on his best day.

And Russell doesn't have
that many best days.

I'll go tell the President.

Toby.

Okay. Yeah. Okay.

You have to quit and
then get rehired.

Leo wants you
in California...

Greg Brock just released a story

about a classified
military space shuttle

that could be
but hasn't yet been sent up

to rescue those astronauts.

It'll be on the front page
of tomorrow's New York Times.

To do this,
Brock would have had

to assure them
that he had it cold,

which means whoever leaked it--
it's somebody big.