Original subtitles

Previously on The West Wing:

Five U.S. DEA Agents have been abducted in Colombia.

The government has no control over the region.

There is no law

and they're going to shoot these guys

in the head and then have a parade.

In three hours, I want to be ready to kick in the back door.

When do I see numbers?

There's a 17% response rate.

When do I see numbers?

You'll have the numbers

in five minutes.

It might take a little longer now.

You're mad at me.

We had a deal.

Abbey...

When did you decide

you were going to run

for a second term?

Mr. President.

It was just three hours ago I gave the State of the Union.

Yeah.

You believe that?

What are you doing? It's freezing out here.

I'm not allowed to smoke inside anymore.

I thought you were allowed to do

pretty much whatever you want.

Up to the point where you accidentally burn holes

in priceless antiques.

You should stop smoking. Why?

You'll live longer.

I smoke two cigarettes a day.

It's a bad example.

For who, Russian spy satellites?

George Bernard Shaw said

"You don't live longer. It just seems longer."

I'm not sure it was Shaw.

I'm not sure it was either.

Is it time?

Yeah.

Ten-hut.

Where are we?

Sir, a C-141 with two Delta Force teams has been in the air

for 85 minutes.

Tell me what happens when I give the order.

They'll enter Colombian airspace.

CHRYSLER: At the same time, a 19-man unit

a Special Forces Alpha Team

that's already on the ground at Tres Encinas

will head to Villacerreno.

What do they do when they get there?

They'll hike 11 miles into the jungle and hold still.

Why?

It'll be daylight by then.

Nineteen guys are going to have

to lie facedown in the jungle till sunset?

CHRYSLER: That's when the hostages are going to be moved.

And that's when we go.

They're moving the hostages from where to where?

CHRYSLER: From the Tasco outpost

to the Frente command center.

On foot? Yeah.

10.7 kilometers down the road

there's a plateau called Mesa del Oro.

That'll give the Deltas maximum maneuverability.

The code name's Cassiopeia?

Yes, sir.

Mickey, you look like you want to say something.

Yes, Mr. President. I, I think you should wait.

For what? To see how negotiations continue with Guerra.

Guerra wants Aguilar out of a Colombian prison.

Are there any other circumstances under

which he's going to give these hostages back?

Possibly. Crap.

We know if we keep talking, we don't the risk

of these hostages getting shot during the rescue.

What difference does it make if they're shot during a rescue

or at Frente command at Villacerreno?

I believe we can keep them alive longer

if we let them be taken to Villacerreno.

Are we going to keep them alive longer, or is it just

going to seem longer?

Sir?

I've been given reason to believe

they'll be tortured at Villacerreno.

They're U.S. drug agents.

They know things these people want to know.

Sir, the C-141's approaching Colombian airspace.

Go.

It was second in length only to his inaugural address

and 75 minutes longer than Washington's first address

to Congress...

Officer Sloan, would you be willing to go

on television tomorrow?

They knew how many words there were. In the speech?

Yeah.

About 8,700?

Yeah.

Would you be willing to go on TV?

I think I'd really rather just go home.

This is going to be part of the news cycle

by tomorrow night, whether you go home or not.

And how do you know that?

Roughly the same way I knew there were 8,700 words in the speech.

I have some experience at this.

What'll happen?

You'll do a quick satellite interview.

"What was it like being at the State of the Union?

Did you meet the President?" "It was a thrill and an honor."

Talk about your act of heroism

that brought you to the attention of the White House.

"Well, I really wouldn't call it heroism, but..."

"Now, I understand you had some trouble back in the early '80s?"

"I'm glad I have a chance to talk about that..."

And you tell your story just like you told it to me.

Do I wear my uniform?

Coat and tie.

Carol?

Yeah?

Would you make sure Officer Sloan

gets back to his hotel? Yeah.

MARK: I'd like to thank all our guests tonight.

Henry Shallick, David Satch

Toby Ziegler, Bob Woodward, Jeff Greenfield

CJ Cregg.

And of course, the White House

for allowing us to broadcast live on this historic night.

You've been watching a special expanded edition

of Capitol Beat.

I'm Mark Gottfried.

Have a good night.

MAN: We're out. That's it.

( applause )

Great job, everybody.

You said 20 minutes. I was called in for a meeting.

It's now 40 minutes. I was called in for a meeting.

At midnight?

It's not midnight everywhere in the world, Mark.

What's his story? He's innocent.

You just decided? No, a grand jury, a DA

and a civil court judge decided 17 years ago.

Nobody brought charges. The civil suit was dismissed.

Then why on his record...?

The Detroit Police Department cited him

for excessive force to calm down the black community.

It was a robbery; they were climbing through windows and jumping over walls.

The guy's leg was already fractured when Sloan got there.

He's going to do your show tomorrow morning.

Is he doing everybody else's show, too?

No. Why not?

Because you waited 40 minutes.

SAM: Hey.

Hey.

Bill Dryer from Gillette's office called.

He wants to have a meeting with you.

Dryer?

Gillette.

( sighs )

Well...

I'll bet he wants a meeting with me.

Yeah.

It's not going to happen. Toby.

It's not going to happen.

We got enough input from him

during the six weeks we were writing the thing.

I don't need to hear his... He's very upset.

What? I know...

More, I think, than we calculated he was going to be.

We've upset him? Yeah.

Well, we're going to have to learn to live with that pain.

Look... He's not the President of the United States.

He's a junior Senator from North Dakota where nobody lives

'cause it's too cold, and they don't have a major sports franchise.

Do I need to lay out the ways in which this man

is important to us? Nope.

He is adored by the left.

Stop laying out the ways.

He is our link to the environmentalists.

Stop laying out the ways.

Toby, asking for this meeting isn't out of line

and you should take it.

In fact, you should take it tomorrow morning at 7:30 at the Hyatt.

You set it up already?

Just the time and place.

And you expect me to explain myself to him?

Yes, yes, I do.

Fine.

C.J.

7:30. Yeah.

The Post is calling it "sleek, challenging, and oftentimes witty."

Not unlike myself.

Who is Jack Sloan, and why am I just hearing about this now?

Sloan was one of the invited guests.

He was the police officer.

The one we stuck in over the weekend? Yeah.

And what happened?

A long time ago, he was cited

by the Detroit Police Department

for excessive force. Against a black suspect?

Yeah. C.J.

Toby... How was this guy not vetted?

'Cause he wasn't. 'Cause it was last-minute.

What are you doing about it?

Mark Gottfried's going to interview him in the morning.

It's a bad idea. Why?

Why? Yes.

'Cause blacks aren't going to react well

to our supporting a brutal cop.

He's not a brutal cop. Says you.

Says me, a grand jury

two judges, the district attorney

and common sense. C.J.

It's going public anyway, Toby.

Gottfried got the story on his own.

Fine. Where's Josh?

He went back to the phone banks.

Is the electricity back on? No.

Then what's he doing there?

Hoping the electricity goes on.

Well, that ought to do it.

( sighs )

Josh. Yeah.

Can I tell you something about women?

Oh, God, please don't.

We like to be wooed. Donna...

She wants you to ask her out, Josh. She really doesn't.

You're missing the signs. I'm really not.

I know a thing or two about the ways of love.

No, you don't. You're missing the signs.

I'm thinking of firing you.

You fired me twice already tonight.

I'm impervious. Among other things.

Josh. Yeah?

Let's pack it in.

We'll start over tomorrow night.

Why? It's already 9:30 in California...

The power isn't on.

We're missing half the window.

Joey... Pack it in.

Okay.

Folks, we'll start over tomorrow night.

See you.

Take it easy.

Good night.

So, you have to wait another day.

I'm not good at waiting.

No kidding. Donna...

Why do you expect our internal polling

to be any different than any other polling?

We've got dial groups. We've got CNN, USA Today.

We've got Gallup.

Why is our poll going to be any different?

We're asking different questions.

I'll get your coat.

By the way, right there?

Back when she said, "see you"-- that was a sign.

You're fired.

Impervious. Yeah.

Mr. President?

Yeah.

You understand we've got heating inside, right?

This isn't cold. It's crisp.

No, it's cold.

Well, you're a big wussy.

Knight to King-4.

It'll leave the Bishop open.

You're going to sacrifice the Bishop for the Queen's Rook.

Where?

Four moves down.

Oh.

Abbey's pretty pissed at me.

How bad?

Pretty bad.

King's Knight-3.

You know, I have this image in my mind

of the dead soldiers coming back from Vietnam...

the caskets coming off the plane...

but I don't know from where.

Television.

The caskets coming off the plane?

Yeah.

Are they down? Yeah.

The Deltas landed in Tres Encinas.

Alpha moved out, and they'll be in Villacerreno at 0700.

Where they wait.

Yeah.

I'll see you in the morning.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you.

MRS. LANDINGHAM: Good morning, Charlie.

Good morning, Mrs. Landingham.

Did you ever solve the mystery?

Of the $500 check?

Yeah.

Yes I did. I solved the mystery.

Well, what was it?

I'm a mystery solver.

That's wonderful, sweetie. What was it?

Mrs. Bartlet wrote the check to a woman

she read about in the paper

who's now living in a battered women's shelter.

You know why the woman never cashed the check?

Because it was from the First Lady

and she had it framed instead?

Yep, that was the mystery.

It's a good one.

Does the President know he has breakfast with Josh and Sam?

He's on his way. Good.

It was a good mystery.

I just think you solved it fast

because I loosened the ketchup bottle for you.

Okay.

Okay.

JOSH: Can I tell you something strange?

Sure.

All last night at the phone banks

Donna was telling me I should ask Joey Lucas out.

You should.

Fine, but that aside

what do you make of Donna being the one pushing it?

I don't make anything.

You wouldn't think she'd be jealous?

She goes out with guys. Are you jealous?

No. See?

I don't get jealous.

So...?

I don't like it

and usually do everything

within my considerable capabilities to sabotage it...

Yes.

Which is why it's curious

that Donna would do nothing to discourage

in fact, do everything to encourage a date

with Joey Lucas, who, quite frankly, is

a very attractive woman.

Josh? Yeah.

Your voice just got really high at the end of that.

Yeah, sorry.

Hey.

Good morning, sir.

Thanks for having breakfast with me.

Did you order something?

No, sir. We were waiting for you.

Billy! You want scrambled eggs?

Yeah, thanks.

Yes, sir?

Can we get these guys some scrambled eggs?

Yes. Anything for you, sir?

No, I'm fine.

Then we're fine, too.

Sir, we're fine. No.

Bring them some food, would you?

Yes, sir.

You guys understand

I can't discuss with you any rescue mission

that may or may not be in play right now?

Of course.

I'm assuming State has people negotiating with Nelson Guerra.

Nelson Guerra wants me to tell President Santos

to release Juan Aguilar from prison.

I wouldn't make that phone call with a gun to my head.

I have a gun to my head and I'm not making that phone call.

I inherited a war on drugs from a President

who inherited it from a President

who inherited it from a President before that.

I'm not a hundred percent sure

who we're fighting, but I know we're not winning.

Ten years ago we spent $5 billion fighting drugs

and we did such a good job

that last year we spent $16 billion.

60% of federal prisoners are in jail on drug charges

as opposed to 21/////2% that are there for violent crime.

We imprison a higher percentage of our citizens than Russia did

under Communism and South Africa under apartheid.

Somewhere between 50 and 85% of the prison population

has a drug or alcohol abuse problem.

We've tried "Just say no."

I don't think it's going to work.

I'm mentioning this because I'd like you to give me any thoughts

you might have on the subject.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you, sir.

Hello.

What are you doing here?

I came in early. Bonnie.

I've been here for an hour.

Yeah?

Are we releasing the names of the agents

or are we not releasing them?

Yeah.

You've got to give me another chance.

At what?

At meeting the President.

You met the President last night.

I was wearing a bathrobe.

You sat in paint.

I was singing and dancing.

You were happy.

I threw my drink up in the air.

Yeah, but not that much of it landed on your head.

I looked like an idiot and it's your fault.

How is it my fault?

You arranged the meeting over my express wishes.

I'm not the one who got you

jumping around like Joey Heatherton.

You have to do something for me.

Arrange another introduction?

You have to arrange another introduction.

Last night you were scared to meet him.

And I'm still scared to meet him

but I'll overcome that in order to erase the humiliation

that I've brought upon myself and my father.

You're just in your own little Euripides play

over there, aren't you?

Please arrange another introduction.

Fine.

Really?

Yes.

Thank you.

You should've given me a heads-up

on the Blue Ribbon, Toby.

Seth...

You should've given me a heads-up.

It happened five minutes

before the man walked into the House chamber.

You're a junior Senator from North Dakota

and you don't get script approval on the State of the Union.

Whatever language you may have couched it in

it was not an insignificant change.

Seth...

You started off

with "We will not cut Social Security, period"

and wound up with "We're announcing the formation

"of a bipartisan Blue Ribbon Commission

to study new options with regard to Social Security."

What exactly is the danger in studying new options?

What's the danger in the White House

getting behind my reform bill?

Diverting general revenue

into the trust funds is not reform.

It's the only Social Security reform bill

supported by any Senate Democrats.

How many votes did you get for it last year?

If the White House had...

18.

The White House never...

82 U.S. Senators think your reform bill sucks.

So unless you have a plan for picking up a majority

I don't know what's so wrong

with saying we're open to hearing new ideas.

And compromise essential Democratic Party principles

to cut a Social Security deal with the Republicans?

It's simply not what we're doing.

If your commission recommends raising the retirement age one day

reducing benefits one dollar, reducing COLAs

if your commission recommends

partial privatization of Social Security...

Are there cameras on someplace?

I will condemn it as the act of a group intent

on destroying Social Security.

And ruling the galaxy.

Oh, you think this is a joke?

You think I won't publicly condemn a member of my party?

The President's not a member of your party.

He's the leader of your party.

And if you think demonizing people

who are trying to govern responsibly

is the way to protect our liberal base

then speaking as a liberal, go to bed, would you, please?

You're running to the right on the environment.

We admonished environmental terrorism.

Please...

You're in favor of it?

It was a cheap shot

and you lost a lot of friends.

We made more than we lost.

And then you go on TV this morning

with this ridiculous defense of a cop

who kicked the crap out of a black kid

'cause you guys don't want to admit

you screwed up in the vetting

and he never should've been invited in the first place.

Seniors, environmentalists

African-Americans...

You tell me which you think has a greater chance of happening.

My reform bill getting passed

or the President getting reelected

without the three groups I just mentioned?

You just named three groups that will never desert the President.

Not unless I run as a third-party candidate, no.

Those 18 votes are looking a little bigger now, aren't they

you patronizing son of a bitch?

I was just thinking about this cartoon I once saw.

A bunch of tiny fish are swimming

through the leaves of a plant.

But then one of the fish realizes that it's not a plant

it's the tentacles of a predator.

And the fish says, "With friends like this, who needs anemones?"

Come at us from the left, and I'm gonna own your ass.

Carrie, if you would

ask someone in my office for the notes on the noon speech?

Women in the Arts?

Yeah. Yes, ma'am.

And would you pack a sweater for the plane?

Yeah. Hey, Charlie.

Good morning, ma'am. You heading out?

Not till tonight. Chicago, then Seattle.

I wanted to check to see

if I had your permission to draw $500 in cash

and walk it over to that woman in the shelter.

Oh, I appreciate that. Thank you.

Is there anything else I can do for you?

No.

Thank you, ma'am. Hey.

Good morning, sir. I'll be in the office.

What was that about?

Charlie's going to bring cash over to Jane Robinson.

You're packing already?

Yep.

You're not leaving till tonight, right?

Yeah.

Men and women are completely different in this regard.

When was the last time you packed a suitcase at all?

I don't know.

I just had breakfast with Sam and Josh.

Toby's having breakfast with Seth Gillette

who's every bit as pissed at me as you are.

Abbey, can we...?

Guys, can you give me a minute?

We didn't get a chance to talk again last night.

I don't think we should.

Talk? No.

Ever?

Oh, if wishing made it so, Jed.

I don't think it's a good idea

for us to talk about this now.

Why?

Because you've got to focus on Colombia.

I can do two things at once.

You don't have two things at once.

You have 92 things at once

and one of them is five hostages in Colombia.

Yes, and I'd like to go about my day

without this black cloud around me, so I'd like to talk now!

And I'm saying this is

a longer conversation than that

and I don't want you all over the place

and we can talk about it later and you should focus.

What are you, my Zen master?

Can I be in charge of my own mind?!

Let me tell you something, jackass!

Get as chippy as you want if that makes you feel better.

I am your wife. I love you.

You have a crisis. You have to deal with it.

When it's done, we'll talk.

I feel better already.

JOSH: I'm on hold.

I'm on hold.

I'm on hold.

I'm in some hellish hold world of holding.

Josh? I'm on hold.

They'll call us and tell us when the power's back on.

They did call us.

What happened? I'm on hold.

I'll wait with you.

That'll be a lot of fun.

So you never told me why this poll is different.

Hmm?

You never told me why you're interested

in these particular numbers.

There are five Congressional districts

that are concerning me.

Which districts?

Kentucky 3rd, that's Louisville...

...and Jefferson.

Yeah, Louisiana 4th, Missouri 9th

Missouri 6th and Ohio 12th.

What's with those five districts?

The President last night announced a crime package

that would, among other things...

...require a five-day waiting period for a background check.

The five Congressmen in those districts...

...are sitting on the fence.

Right. So you want to know

how the crime package polled

in those five districts. Yes.

If it polled well, you've got your gun law. Probably.

If it tanked, you've got

to shut up or lose five Democratic House seats.

Why do you ask me the question

when you're going to have the conversation by yourself?

Do you want me to hold the phone for a while?

I can hold the phone.

Take the phone.

Give me the phone.

Why are you trying to fix me up with Joey Lucas?

I think you'd make a nice couple.

Fine.

If you got married

you'd be Joshua and Josephine Lucas-Lyman.

You wouldn't have to get your towels remonogrammed.

Thank you.

The power's back on.

Excellent.

Yes.

What do we do now?

We wait.

How you doing, Ainsley?

My mouth is dry, my hands are moist and I have to pee.

Okay.

Hey, you ready?

Yes.

You sure? Yes.

Let's go.

Call it off.

Here we go.

No, really. Ainsley.

I'll meet him another time.

What other time? A better time.

What's a better time? Tomorrow.

Don't you have to absolve yourself

of the humiliation visited on your family

and the House of Atreus?

Yes, but I believe I'm going to compound the humiliation.

It'll never happen. Really?

No, it probably will.

Hey.

Is he coming?

He's stopping in

on his way from the thing.

How you doing, Ainsley?

I'm concerned about peeing on your carpet.

Okay. Well, now I am, too.

Tell her it's going to be fine.

Your skirt's on backwards.

May I use the bathroom?

Yes.

Thank you.

Ainsley...

Hey.

Good evening, Mr. President.

Is she here?

Ainsley Hayes? Yeah.

Yes, sir.

Where is she?

She's in the closet, Mr. President.

Why?

She thought it was a bathroom.

Why is she still in there?

That's kind of hard to say, sir.

Why don't we get her out here?

Yeah.

Ainsley?

Yes?

Ainsley, why don't you come on out of there?

How you doing?

We met last night.

You were singing and dancing in a bathrobe.

Yes, sir.

Why were you in the closet?

I had to pee.

They won't let me smoke inside, but you can pee in Leo's closet?

Mr. President... I appreciate

your coming to work for me, Ainsley.

You're an exceptionally bright young woman.

Is your father proud of you?

Yes, sir.

I'll bet he is.

Listen... Mr. President.

Sam.

What happened?

Charlie, get the door.

What happened?

Mr. President...

Did we lose the hostages?

The hostages weren't there.

What are you talking about? Oh, God.

What are you talking about?

The radio communications

we'd been intercepting on the SigInt were wrong.

When the Deltas got to the area, it was a dry hole

and that's when... No.

one of the two Blackhawk helicopters was shot down

by a shoulder-mounted surface-to-air missile.

How many guys were on the Blackhawk?

The pilot, the engineer and seven Deltas.

So I've got nine more guys now on the ground

we've got to get back.

Mr. President...

Sir, the second Blackhawk went in and recovered the bodies.

They're dead.

Yes, sir.

I want the President of Colombia on the phone.

I want a translator in this room right now.

Damn it!

Damn it!

Sir...

How the hell did that happen?

It was bad intelligence.

You think?!

The Frente left behind a radio and a soldier at the outpost

and they were deliberately sending misinformation.

We've never anticipated the possibility

that somebody might try that?

Sir... We weren't prepared

for someone to try and out-fox us

with a stratagem so sophisticated

it's an entire generation beyond

"Hey look, your shoelaces are untied"?!

Is that how I just lost nine guys

to a damn street gang with a ham radio?!

They lured us there

so that they could kill nine American soldiers.

Where are the bodies?

They're on their way back.

Where?

Dover

around 4:00 a.m.

Mr. President?

We have a secure connection.

Is somebody translating on the other end?

Yes, sir.

Mr. President

this is the President of the United States.

Good evening, Mr. President.

Mr. President, 90 minutes ago

the United States invaded Colombian airspace.

Two Blackhawk helicopters

went into Tres Encinas with 20 Delta Commandos

on intelligence that the hostages were being moved.

One of the Blackhawks was shot down.

There were nine military fatalities.

I'm terribly sorry to hear that, Mr. President.

I'd like to ask for your assistance

in confirming that the five hostages are still alive.

The hostages are alive.

How does he know that?

How do you know that?

We have confirmation

that we're transmitting to you through channels.

Mr. President?

Yes.

I respect and appreciate your diplomacy

in not yet asking me to release Juan Aguilar from prison.

I'm not going to ask you, Miguel.

I'm willing to do it at this point.

Say that again?

I'm willing to let Aguilar out

in exchange for the hostages if you ask me to.

Well, I appreciate your making that offer

but I don't think that's a very good idea.

I agree with you

but I'm making the offer and I'm leaving it up to you.

Okay.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you, Mr. President.

SAM: Wait, Toby...

Hang on a second, Sam.

You give in to terrorist demands and that's the ball game.

I understand the principle

but there are real lives at stake.

Oh, it's easy to stick to principle

if nothing's at stake, Sam.

Well, sir, let's argue about principles

after these five guys get home.

Juan Aguilar runs

one of the largest drug cartels in the world.

Sir... He has produced $15 billion

worth of cocaine in two years.

He's murdered or ordered the murder

of eight Supreme Court Justices

a pro-extradition Prime Minister

and three Federal Police Officers in Bogota.

And from his prison cell

I guarantee you

he orchestrated the kidnapping

of five U.S. DEA agents and the killing of their rescuers.

I believe he did as well, Mr. President

which is all the evidence you need

that it couldn't matter less

whether Juan Aguilar is in prison or not.

I'm not letting him out.

I'll share a cell with him before I let him out.

I want military options.

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Yeah.

Joey says it's probably just another hour.

She'll bring the numbers here?

Yeah.

Josh, how is this not a no-brainer?

Colombia?

Yeah.

You say get them home?

Of course I say get them home.

Who doesn't say get them home?

That should be the person

who has to make the phone call to the families.

And who calls the families of the nine commandos who just died

trying to save five guys

it turns out we could have freed six hours ago?

That's not a good enough reason.

The good enough reason is

you give in to terrorists

it gives them an incentive to keep terrorizing.

Not negotiating with them

hasn't given them much of a dis-incentive.

How do you know?

You don't think they're going to kidnap another five people

tomorrow morning and demand 12 months of free cable?

So you give them free cable.

How about the keys to the Situation Room?

You draw a line.

Where?

She said about an hour?

On the early numbers?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Do we know where they are?

They were moved about 60 miles into the jungle at Villacerreno.

What would it take to get them back?

Alive?

Yeah.

Mr. President, um...

What would it take to wipe them out?

The Frente?

Yeah.

What would it take?

Mr. President

for the kind of victory Americans are used to

the kind of victory Americans demand from a war

you need a ten to one ratio.

It was only after we built up a ten to one ratio

in the Gulf that we felt comfortable making a move.

The Frente has 20,000 well-armed, well-trained soldiers, each of whom has

a financial stake in heroin and cocaine.

We need to put 200,000 to 300,000 men into a jungle war

and I think we'd lose as many as half.

Half.

Yes, sir.

( sighs )

You really got to ask yourself

what's the point in being a superpower anymore.

I wanted to bring that book for the Governor.

The Truman biography?

Yeah, and you've got a sweater for the plane?

Yes, ma'am.

And you guys should both take sweaters.

And then there's the repacking.

Good evening, Mr. President.

First there's the preliminary, or the dry run.

Then there's the actual packing.

Abbey, you're just going away for two days, right?

Guys.

Right?

What happened?

It was an ambush.

Oh, God.

A guy with a shoulder thing shot down a Blackhawk.

Everybody's dead.

Nine guys.

Meanwhile, they've moved the hostages

60 miles into the jungle

where we'd need a pair of tweezers to get them out.

You want me to stay?

No.

I can stay.

No.

I didn't make the decision to run again.

I wouldn't do that without you.

Oh, we don't need to talk about that now.

When, Abbey? Jed...

I didn't make the decision to run again.

Yes, you did.

If we're going to talk about this, let's talk about this.

The moves over the last few weeks

the changes in last night's speech...

this whole place is in reelection mode.

That's what we do, Abbey-- we run for things.

From the day a Congressman is sworn in

he's got to raise $10,000 a week so he can get reelected.

A President gets to govern for 18 months.

We try to get people to vote for us

and, in the process

we hope the people force us to do good things.

We had a deal.

Yes, we had a deal.

Yes, Jed.

Look at me!

Do you get the you have MS?

Abbey...

Do you get that your own immune system is shredding your brain?

And I can't tell you why.

Do you have any idea how good a doctor I am

and that I can't tell you why?

I've had one episode in two years.

Yes, but relapsing/ remitting MS

can turn into secondary progressive MS--

oftentimes ten years after the initial diagnosis.

Which is exactly where we'll be in two years.

Do you know what that's going to look like if it happens?

I know what it's...

Fatigue

an inability to get through the day.

Look...

Memory lapses, loss of cognitive function

failure to reason, failure to think clearly.

And I can't tell you if it's going to happen.

I don't know if it's going to get better.

I don't know if it's going to get worse.

But we had a deal

and that deal was how you justified

keeping it a secret from the world.

It's how you justified it to God.

It's how you justified it to me.

( knocking on door )

Mrs. Bartlet?

Yeah.

( door closes )

You sure you don't want me to stay?

Yeah.

Okay.

Have a good trip.

Call me when you get there.

I will.

I love you.

I love you, too.

Son of a bitch.

I'm sorry.

Five-day waiting period-- that's all.

A person can't wait five days to buy a gun?

Someone needs a gun right now

right this second, isn't that something

the public should be concerned about?

On the other hand, taking the feelings

of gun owners into account, if you've got to shoot somebody

it probably isn't something that can wait.

Yeah.

You mind if I take off?

What time is it?

2:00 a.m.

All right, we'll call that a full day.

But come in early tomorrow.

Yeah.

You all right getting home?

Yeah. Good night, guys.

Good night.

They're just preliminary numbers.

They're not going to change.

No.

A five-day waiting period.

It tested well nationwide.

Yeah.

58 percent.

I didn't need nationwide.

I needed those five districts.

Now we're going to have to dial down

the gun rhetoric in the Midwest.

Why not dial it up?

Because these numbers just told us that...

You don't know what these numbers just told you.

I'm an expert.

I don't know what these numbers just told you.

We know.

Really?

Numbers don't lie.

They lie all the time.

They lie when 72 percent of Americans

say they're tired of a sex scandal

while, all the while, newspaper circulation

goes through the roof for anyone featuring the story.

If you polled 100 Donnas

and asked them if they think we should go out

you'd get a high positive response.

But the poll wouldn't tell you it's because she likes you

and she knows it's beginning to show

and she needs to cover herself with misdirection.

Believe me when I tell you that's not true.

You say that these numbers mean dial it down.

I say they mean dial it up.

You haven't gotten through.

There are people you haven't persuaded yet.

These numbers mean dial it up.

Otherwise, you're like the French radical

watching a crowd run by and saying

"There go my people.

I must find out where they're going so I can lead them."

Yeah.

We'll go through the rest of the numbers in the morning.

Okay.

Good evening, sir.

Hey, Charlie.

You shouldn't be out here without a coat.

I'm okay.

Mr. President?

Yeah.

Is there anything I can do for you?

No. Thank you.

Hey.

I checked outside.

I thought you'd be having a cigarette.

Let me tell you something, Leo

after heroin and cocaine, tobacco's next.

Great.

Another criminal empire we can give birth to.

There'll be speakeasies all over Chicago

where you can get smuggled cartons of Marlboro Lights.

I fought a jungle war.

I'm not doing it again.

If I could put myself anywhere in time

it would be the Cabinet Room on August 4th, 1964

when our ships were attacked

by North Vietnam in the Tonkin Gulf.

I'd say, "Mr. President, don't do it.

"You're considering authorizing a massive commitment of troops

"and throwing in our lot with torturers and panderers

"leaders without principle and soldiers without conviction

with no clear mission and no end in sight."

This war is at home.

Its casualties are in our prisons and not our hospitals.

The amount of money

the American government is spending in Colombia

is the exact same amount

American consumers are spending buying drugs from Colombia.

We're funding both sides of this war

and we'll never win it that way.

Leo, I can't possibly reverse...

No one...

I can't possibly reverse our position on negotiating.

No one's going to know.

You don't make another phone call.

That happens someplace else.

Santos is going to be the one to let him out.

There were just 14 people in the room

who heard Santos make me the offer.

Those 14 people keep bigger secrets than this.

You know what Truman Capote said

was the bad part about living outside the law?

What?

You no longer have the protection of it.

What's to stop me?

200 CIA operatives, Black Ops

200 guys with no wives, no kids, no parents...

I send 200 operatives down there.

Monday morning, I read in the paper Juan Aguilar is dead.

What's to stop me?

We lost this one, Mr. President.

It was bad intelligence

and we lost this one.

It was the Queen's Rook.

That's why I couldn't trade the Bishop.

It was over six moves ago.

Arrange for their immediate release.

Yes, sir, Mr. President.

If they so much as experience turbulence on their way out...

Yes, sir.

I want to go to Dover later tonight.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Carol: Folks, take your seats please.

The briefing will start now.

Folks, can you take your seats?

Good evening.

Thank you for coming back so late.

I want now to fill you in on some events

that have taken place in the last 24 hours.

When I'm through, there will be representatives

from the Pentagon, State Department

and Justice Department who will continue with your questions.

Yesterday, at approximately 8:00 p.m. Eastern time

five agents from the DEA were taken hostage

in the Putumayo region of Colombia by members...

( reporters clamoring )

Let's hang on a second...

Hostages are out.

I'll call their families after this.

...whose name we're not releasing at this time.

President Miguel Santos, acting on his own authority

has informed the President that he will release the hostage

if the President...

Left wheel, halt.

Forward, march.