Original subtitles

Previously on The West Wing:

So what's your problem?

He did everything right.

He did everything you do

if your intent is to perpetrate a fraud.

We want to see some polling.

Why?

We need to know what to do next.

What kind of questions could they ask that won't

trip an alarm? Josh trusts Joey Lucas.

We need you to put a poll in the field

without asking the questions we can't ask.

I was almost sure I saw you

give the President an injection of something.

ABBEY: It was Betaseron.

It reduces the frequency of the attacks.

Tobacco has spent $380 million to the government's 36...

"They perpetrated a fraud against the public."

They want to get these people.

We're not big tobacco.

Eagle's moving.

PRESIDENT: He talked to her on the phone?

He talked to her at the airport.

But he called her on the phone?

To get her to the airport.

Yeah, but I'm saying, did she hang up the phone

turn to her friends and say

"You're never going to believe why I'm getting on a plane"?

He told her she was coming out

to do some polling on subsurface agriculture.

What the hell is that?

It's vegetables that grow underground.

He told her she was coming out here

to find out if Americans are eating more beets.

Is this a joke?

It was Josh, Mr. President.

It was a job done well.

You want to start

not trusting Josh?

Let's go.

Where are we going?

The basement. Why?

'Cause I don't like the way it looks

the seven of us meeting in the middle of the night.

You like the way it looks if we're meeting in the basement?

Let's go.

These numbers are going to be meaningless.

Yeah.

A Governor from an industrial state...

It's posed as a hypothetical

before people have any education on...

Yeah.

Plus, there's no way to factor existing approval numbers

particularly when it comes to matters of trust.

Sagittarius.

Are they on their way?

Yeah.

They're on their way?

Yeah.

Joey, your flight was all right?

Your flight, uh

was all okay?

These numbers aren't going

to mean anything, right?

With the hypothetical and lack of context?

Plus the preexisting level of trust...

Yeah.

I'm saying he's got

numbers like Walter Cronkite.

Yeah.

Is there anything in there that we're going to like?

We are, in fact, eating more beets.

Okay.

PRESIDENT: Good evening.

Mr. President, you remember Joey Lucas?

Yeah.

And her interpreter, Kenny.

Joey, did you make photocopies of that?

No, sir.

Good. Let's get started.

Mr. President

I polled 1,170

registered voters in Michigan

giving their Governor a hypothetical concealed...

Excuse me.

How many people in this room know Kenny's last name?

It's fine.

I believe this operation is no longer covert.

Mr. President, Kenny's been with me for 11 years.

To trust me is to trust him.

Josh?

Yeah.

Go ahead.

1,170 registered voters

in Michigan were polled

giving their Governor

a hypothetical, concealed

degenerative illness.

These are the results.

"Do you agree that it's okay

for the Governor to lie about his health?"

17% agree, 83% disagree.

"Would you be as likely or less likely

"to vote for the Governor

now that you know he has a degenerative illness?"

71% say less likely.

The largest bloc of likely voters

are women over 55.

78% of those women say

they wouldn't vote for a candidate with MS.

We just lost Florida.

This may be the worst stat, sir.

74% believe MS to be fatal.

They may be right.

62% of Democrats aren't

going to vote for you.

65% of those

describing themselves as liberal

aren't going to vote for you

because you lied.

Joey, is there any good news in there at all?

No, sir.

The UN Observer Group.

Which consists of...?

400 technical advisors and observers

and 65 unarmed security specialists.

And the OAS?

They've got about 200 observers.

What happened last night?

Citing improper permits

Colonel Bazan's soldiers surrounded Carrefour Liberte...

Liberty Square.

Yeah. ...to prevent

a victory rally by supporters of Dessaline.

Some of the crowd refused to disperse and shots were fired.

Anybody killed?

Two people.

Additionally, Rene Ducasse

the newly designated Minister of Justice, was arrested

and soldiers have surrounded the house of the Chief Justice.

They're saying to protect him from death threats.

Our intelligence says he's under house arrest.

Most troubling are personnel carriers with Haitian troops

parked in front of virtually every police station

in Port-au-Prince.

This is a sign that the army

plans to take power

from the Gendarme Nationale.

Where's the President-elect?

Sir, we can't find him.

I'm sorry?

At this moment

we can't find Dessaline.

And that's not the most troubling...?

Jake, what the hell do you mean you can't...?

He never showed up for a 4:00 p.m.

courtesy conference with Gilbert Tass

and calls made to the party headquarters

and both of his houses went unanswered.

Armed forces radio says he's fled the country

but the Dominicans say no.

What about intelligence?

It's not like we can just call around.

It's chaos down there.

Nobody knows anything.

Leo?

Let's evacuate the nonessential personnel

from the embassy.

DANDRIDGE: Mr. President

any move to evacuate the embassy

even the nonessentials, will be a highly visible signal

that the U.S. has no confidence in the Dessaline government.

At the moment, there is no Dessaline government.

There is no Dessaline.

And I just got done

pulling nine dead bodies out of Colombia.

Evacuate the nonessentials

get some Marines at the embassy

and somebody brief Fitzwallace.

Yes, sir.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Sagittarius.

Why not a presidential address?

Ten, 15 minutes.

"I have this illness

"I concealed it, I apologize.

"Let me tell you about it.

Let me reduce your fears."

It's too cold. It's not too cold.

He needs to be with the First Lady.

In some decorative room? Sitting with his wife weakens him.

Let's put him behind the Kennedy desk

let's put him in the East Room

let's put him in the briefing room...

Sam, he's going to go on TV and say he lied.

I don't want him doing it behind the Seal of the President.

You think without the Seal, people are going to forget that he's the President?

We'll do a 30-minute live special for one of the news magazines.

Live, live-to-tape or tape?

Live. I don't want a producer editing what he says.

What if we want to edit what he says?

That's our tough luck.

When?

How about Thursday night? Wednesday night.

Why? 'Cause Thursday night is where they pay their bills

and it's going to be tough enough getting 30 minutes and not telling them why

without cutting into their bread and butter during May sweeps.

Oh, who gives a damn about May sweeps?

They do, Sam.

All right. 30 minutes, Dateline special

Wednesday night, night after tomorrow

President and First Lady in the Mural Room.

And we follow that with a press conference.

Why?

To control the story as long as possible.

Once he gets done with Russert or Diane

or Stone Phillips or whoever the hell does this

I'm going to need every reporter in the western hemisphere

in a room where I can see them.

And we put a team of medical experts up there.

And we have 48 hours to find them.

Hang on. If we take him

from the Mural Room to a press conference

isn't a smart reporter going to ask

"Mr. President, are you planning on seeking reelection?"

"A smart repor..."

Sam, Ted Baxter is going to ask

"Mr. President, are you planning on seeking reelection?"

So we're going to need an answer to that, too.

You're getting an eight-speaker stereo? No.

Six speakers? No.

How many speakers?

I have two ears. How many speakers do I need?

At least six and a sub-woofer.

I'm not getting a sub-woofer.

How about the tow package?

The tow package?

To tow your boat.

I don't have a boat.

What about a camper?

No.

What do you tow?

Groceries.

You could probably put those in the trunk. Yeah.

Tinted windows? Hey.

Hello, Josh.

Mrs. Landingham's picking up a new car today.

Really?

Yes, and I wish I hadn't told anyone.

Why do men think a woman can't buy a car without a man?

It's an old stereotype, Mrs. L.

Did you get the extended service warranty?

No.

Women.

What do you want?

I got a message Leo wanted to see me.

He's in his office.

Did you get the tow package?

See?

He's in his office.

Margaret!

Where's Josh?

He's on his way.

He remembers where my office is, right?

Leo, calm down. I'm right here. He's right here.

Get out.

This report is staggering.

I know.

Justice has 31 lawyers and staff.

Tobacco has 1,893 lawyers

and 2,783 paralegals.

This isn't a typo, right?

No.

We've spent $8.7 million on outside counsel.

They've spent 192.

The $61.3 million

they've spent on travel expenses

is twice as much as we've spent on our entire case.

Yes.

Who oversees the Justice Department budget?

The Subcommittee on Commerce

Justice, State and the Judiciary.

Who's the ranking minority member? Ritter.

Talk to him and find out what the problem is.

Yeah. Josh?

How's it going downstairs?

They'll have an answer on it by the end of the day.

It's looking like 30 minutes on Dateline

and a press conference

but Leo, it's also looking like any scenario

is going to require a firm position

from the President on reelection.

Well, we'll have that answer by the end of the day, too.

Will we? Yes.

Leo...

He just got Joey's numbers in the middle of the night.

Give me the day. Don't you think it would help him

if he had a discussion among... ( knocking )

...a discussion among the rest of us?

Excuse me.

What?

Two of Dessaline's bodyguards were shot.

We think he's headed to our embassy.

How do we know?

Peter Bratt got a message through.

What is Peter Bratt doing down here?

He went down for the inauguration

and he may well have Dessaline

in the trunk of his car.

The trunk of his car? Yes, sir.

Did we evacuate the nonessentials?

They're on their way.

A C-9's waiting for them on the runway.

Mr. President, if we don't take Dessaline

he'll be convicted in a 20-minute trial, imprisoned for life

or probably executed by the junta.

I'm sorry, sir, but this is an internal affair in Haiti

and the U.S. has no place choosing sides.

Of course we're choosing sides-- there was a free election.

We saw to it there was

a free election, and Dessaline won.

If we grant asylum

we'll officially be in a standoff with Bazan.

And the best way for Bazan to elevate his stature in Haiti

is stage a standoff with the U.S.

Plus, Bazan can surround the embassy

saying he's searching for a wanted criminal

and obviously, he can take everyone in the embassy hostage.

Mr. President, there will never be real elections

in Haiti if the military thinks it can simply kill the winner.

Also, I'd like to point out, sir, that we encouraged

Dessaline to run-- in fact, we strongly encouraged it--

and now he's in the trunk of a car.

The car's at the gate.

I got the gate right here.

Let him in.

Sir...

Let him in!

Tell them to let him in.

He's in.

Do we put Hoynes up there?

At the press conference?

Do we put Hoynes up there?

There's never been a more important time

to emphasize the vice presidency.

The Vice President's presence

underlines the health risk to the President.

And it's good to underscore that the President anticipated

this problem with his selection of the Vice President.

But it will also serve to underscore that he anticipated

the problem and didn't tell anybody about it.

Hoynes was one of the first people to know.

If he's there, it's a breathing demonstration that he signed off

on the President's health and joined the ticket.

And he'll get bombarded with questions

about what he did or didn't know

and the press corps will impanel themselves as a grand jury.

Then let them, C.J.!

We did something wrong or we didn't.

Well, fantastic, Sam.

I didn't realize it was that simple.

( knocking )

There's a situation developing in Port-au-Prince.

I have to get ready to brief.

Sam...

can Josiah Bartlet function as President?

I'm not a medical expert.

Right.

Toby, there is responsibility and the future

and an obligation to the party

and if he is not going to run

then he's got to point to Hoynes

and say this is our guy.

Well, what if they ask Hoynes

"In the meantime, can Bartlet function as President?"

He'll say yes.

What if he says, "I'm not a medical expert"?

MAN: The President of Haiti was taken to the embassy

in the trunk of a car?

JOSH: Yes.

I've lived too long.

Well, don't go anywhere, 'cause I need you.

I mean it, Lyman, this is going to get worse

before it's going to get better.

You may be right, but Haiti's

actually not what I wanted to talk to you about.

Tobacco?

Yeah. Andy, the President wants to get behind

a $30 million appropriations bill

that the Justice Department's had in your committee

for a few months now.

They need the money to continue the case.

I know.

Has the Chairman scheduled a vote?

He's not going to.

He's not going to schedule a vote?

Kalmbach's going to dance with the girl that brung him.

How much tobacco money has he taken?

From the last campaign?

Yeah.

$460,000 in PACs.

Is there a nose count?

Yeah, it's 8-7 against.

Along party lines?

No, believe it or not.

We've got two Republicans; they've got two Democrats.

They've got two Democrats?

Warren and Rossitter.

Warren and Rossitter

aren't even from the South.

They have ideological problems with the case.

This is a phenomenally important case; it's historic.

It has to be won, and we're fighting it

with paper clips and a slingshot.

We were wondering when you guys were going to notice.

Hi.

Hi.

Have a seat.

I was told you wanted to see me.

Yeah, Donna.

Uh... I'm going to tell you something shocking

except we don't have time to be shocked.

So I need you to just hear it and go back to work.

Yeah.

Eight years ago, the President was diagnosed with MS.

He concealed it during the election

but we're going public Wednesday night

with a live network interview

and a press conference.

This is what Josh is going to be working on 24 hours

and he's going to need your help

and he's going to need you to know

and so I'm telling you.

Yeah.

You're the first person on the assistant level

to find out.

Margaret doesn't know

Bonnie and Ginger don't know, Donna...

Mrs. Landingham doesn't know.

Is the President in a lot of pain

or discomfort right now?

No, he's in remission.

Okay.

Is there anything else?

I want to impress upon you how important it is

that this not be discussed beyond...

Yeah.

You want to know where you made your mistake?

I didn't make a mistake.

You probably did, and here's where you went wrong.

Where?

You went to the dealership alone.

Yes. That was a mistake.

Because the dealer would load me up

with a lot of extras I don't need?

That's right.

Like, uh, a tow package?

How are you going to tow your camper

without a tow package?

I have never been camping.

Neither have I, and I was hoping you'd take me.

I'd be sitting there fishing

listening to the Orioles on a transistor radio.

What would I be doing?

Warding off bears, that kind of thing.

How much did you pay?

We don't talk about money, dear.

Can you tell me how much you paid below sticker?

I didn't pay anything below sticker.

What do you mean? In my own defense

I didn't pay anything above sticker, either.

Mrs. Landingham, seriously. Charlie...

No seriously, you paid sticker price?

Yes. Why?

That was the price. Mrs. Landingham...

Says so right on the sticker.

Who pays sticker price? I do.

You got to let me go back there with you.

I wasn't duped, Charlie. You paid sticker price.

I'm a government employee.

That doesn't necessarily mean you're a fool.

No, but it means I'm not allowed

to accept gifts of a certain value.

It's not a gift. Of course it is.

The price tag says one thing

and the dealer is giving it to me for something less.

That's what happens when you buy a car.

Not me.

I was looking for Leo.

He's in the Situation Room.

That's usually a good sign.

LEO: How many are they saying?

MOSLEY: They can't say.

Well, how many are they estimating?

It changes every minute.

How many this minute?

Nancy. The cavalry.

You guys need some adult supervision?

No, we need the cavalry.

Nah. Jeff, what's the latest estimate?

It's about 500 soldiers

maybe 300 of them with AR-15s.

We sold those to them, right?

Well, until a few hours ago, they were on our side.

Still...

Yeah. The AR-15s aren't the only thing they've got.

They've got two Bradleys with 120-millimeter cannons

and a couple of artillery tubes.

What do we have?

37 Marines with M-14s and Beretta side arms.

What happens when the first shot is fired?

Sally, get me hooked up to operations.

Yes, ma'am.

Embassy Marines aren't lawn jockeys.

They're not decorative.

They're trained in restraint

and they're trained well.

SALLY: Operations, ma'am. Thank you.

Nancy, if they take the embassy, how are we going to know?

Are they going to send some kind of note?

Sidney, I need com-con status. This is a few minutes old.

Yes, ma'am.

There's no note, Leo. They're taking the embassy.

Fitz, this is Nancy.

I think we should mobilize the 8-80th Hostage Task Force

out of Parris Island.

as well as amphibious carriers out of Mayport, Florida

are being dispatched to the region

and are expected to be there in 36 hours

and aircraft will be in a combat radius

of 300 to 400 miles within 12 hours

and you'll get more details on that

when the Pentagon briefs at 3:00.

REPORTERS: C.J.... Katie?

Should we be reading anything into the fact

that the Pentagon's briefing and not State?

State'll brief later in the day.

Is one option recognizing the Bazan government?

There is no Bazan government.

Yeah, but is one option being...?

You're not taking me there, Mark.

C.J., is the U.S. prepared to invade Haiti?

It should be clear

that we're talking about two separate issues:

One is a democratically-elected President

whose people are being denied their leader by an armed militia

the other is the lives of the Americans in the embassy

and the American Marines who are guarding them.

You didn't answer my question.

How about that.

I'll be back in a few hours.

REPORTERS: C.J., C.J., C.J....

Is he here?

He's in the Mural Room.

I look all right?

You look pretty tired.

That's what you're saying to me?

You're sure there's nothing I can get for you, Mr. Hacket?

No, Bonnie, thanks. I'm fine.

Paul.

Good afternoon, Claudia.

Bonnie, thank you.

Would you stand outside the door, please

and knock if anybody wants to come in?

Sure.

( door closes )

She took me in through the basement.

Yeah.

I've been in this building 200 or 300 times.

Never came in through the basement.

What do you got in front?

The White House Press Corps.

Yeah?

I need 30 minutes, night after tomorrow.

C.J., what the hell

are you guys planning for Haiti?

It's not Haiti.

What is it?

I'm not going to tell you.

What am I supposed to tell my news director?

Tell him it's your network.

It's not my network.

It belongs to a company that belongs to stockholders.

So what am I supposed to tell my news director?

That we need 30 minutes Wednesday night.

On Wednesday morning, I'll tell you why.

You pick the interviewer.

They'll have ten hours to prepare.

Just the President?

The President and First Lady.

On our set?

In this room.

So, we just get the interviewer and the network logo?

No network logo.

C.J.... Paul, I've got to get two other networks and CNN

to pick this up live.

Bad enough it's going to be your guy and not theirs

but they'll run an old Petticoat Junction

before they put your network brand on their air.

C.J....

Yeah?

Between friends...

Yeah?

Is the water over your head?

No. The water's exactly at my head.

I'll talk to Jeremy.

Paul, we'll start to leak Wednesday morning

to soften up the ground a little

but anything leaks before then

and I'll take my business across the street.

Yeah.

JOSH: Well, I was surprised when Andy gave me the nose count

because I wasn't aware of any ties to tobacco you have.

We don't.

Yeah.

I don't. Do you?

No. No, we grow no tobacco in my state

and I'd have to check

but I don't think I've taken contributions.

However, we are both former U.S. Attorneys

and it's the suit itself

we find troubling.

The suit?

The suit alleges that

the tobacco companies have been engaged

in a broad conspiracy of lies since the 1950s.

Yes.

How exactly are the Justice Department litigators

going to demonstrate that?

Well, I-I'm not a litigator

and I don't work at the Justice Department

and there's a reason why both those things are true

but I wouldn't think it'd be that hard to prove

that the tobacco companies have lied

since we already know they did.

ROSSITTER: Every Surgeon General since 1964

has warned the public about smoking

and since 1966

through Congressional mandate

a pack of cigarettes has had to carry a warning label.

Turning around now and saying we've been had

is frankly ridiculous.

Are you saying that the people who start smoking

and get addicted to nicotine are too stupid to live?

No. I'm saying they're too stupid

to be protected by the courts.

Too stupid to be...?!

Every day the Justice Department uncovers evidence

that cigarette companies knew far better than the rest of us

that smoking causes death and disease

to say nothing of the CEOs

being the last seven people on earth

to discover that nicotine was addictive.

Josh, your administration wants to prosecute a suit

they know is hopeless

so they can score points at the expense of an industry

that funds your opponents.

It's politically correct extortion

and that's why it's unlikely the appropriations bill

will make it out of the subcommittee.

It's almost 3:00.

By 7:00, 3,000 new people will have taken up smoking.

2,800 of them will be under 18.

Thanks.

Good afternoon, ma'am.

Sagittarius.

Good afternoon, Mrs. Bartlet.

What do we use this place for when we're not...

using it for this?

I think... I know we used it to plan

some of the millennium things.

It didn't used to be the photo office?

I don't know, ma'am. I could check it out.

Would you like to sit down?

Yeah.

What we're talking about

is 30 minutes with an interviewer.

The questions will be entirely about the medical history.

There'll be no questions about the law.

C.J. got them to agree to that?

She will Wednesday morning

when she tells them what it's about.

Why will they agree?

'Cause if they don't, they lose the story.

It's all right with me.

So, I'd like to go through the story

get a sense of what you're going to say

run it by Oliver Babish, and spend

the next couple of days going over it with you.

That sounds fine, Sam, but you know

I'm kind of seeing someone right now.

Yeah. It's not serious, but it could be.

You know what I'm saying?

Ma'am...

Ten years ago, he began experiencing fatigue

and signs of paraparesis of the anterior femoral muscles.

In laymen's terms?

He had a tingling pain in his thigh.

And those symptoms subsided.

Yes.

And two years later?

My husband experienced neuropathy

and presented symptoms of optic neuritis

with partial unilateral nerve paresis.

Mrs. Bartlet...

Dr. Bartlet.

Yes, ma'am.

The language

you use...

Why aren't the President and I doing this together?

I'm sorry?

Somebody's doing this with the President

and I was asking why we're not doing it at the same time.

Is it so you can compare our stories?

Yes.

The language you use...

Two years later, he felt numbing and dizziness.

Look... Section 2635

of the guidelines laid out in Ethical Conduct

for Employees of the Executive Branch

Final Regulations, Issued by the U.S. Office

of Government Ethics...

Mrs. Landingham... Section 2635

wherein White House employees are specifically enjoined

from receiving or soliciting gifts over $20 in value.

They want to give me a $19 discount on my car

I'll take it.

CHARLIE: He's waiting for you.

Thank you.

PRESIDENT: What happened?

We shot three Haitian soldiers on the runway.

They boarded the plane?

Ground traffic control stopped the plane.

When the soldiers boarded it

they were told they'd illegally boarded

a U.S. Air Force C-9.

They were told to drop their weapons.

They were told again.

Two staff sergeants in the bulkhead

had a clear shot and took them.

They dumped the bodies on the tarmac

and made an emergency takeoff.

Leo... Sir...

That wasn't supposed to happen.

Look, if...

I evacuated the nonessentials

specifically so that wouldn't happen.

And we came two minutes... I gave the order six hours ago.

They had to... Six hours ago I gave the order!

What the hell were they still doing on a runway?!

They had to be collected, sir.

They weren't all in one place.

We shot three men...

That's what you do.

We what?

A foreign hostile puts his foot

on an American military plane

that's an attack, and rules of engagement

give us every right to repel.

And I'm sure these guys had their handbooks with them!

These guys were there to keep the plane on the ground.

The plane is up in the air?

Yes, sir.

What's happening on the ground?

We're communicating through diplomatic back channels.

Who are we using?

The Canadian Ambassador

Dominican intelligence.

And what does Bazan want?

Dessaline.

On what charge?

That as Treasury Minister

he embezzled $18 million earmarked for humanitarian aid.

I'm sold.

Margaret, get me the Secretary of State.

You're right, you know.

I should be bringing them in

on reelection.

I should be talking to them.

Yeah.

I don't want to make the same mistakes over again.

Yeah, not when there are so many new mistakes we can make.

Yeah.

Let's start tonight.

Around 9:00, we'll meet in the residence.

Scott

I'm with the President.

We're going to need to invoke 1070 at OAS.

Good evening, Mr. President.

Bob Cratchit.

Oh, sir, surely you have better things to do than annoy me.

Never. You bought a new car? Yes, sir.

And you paid sticker price?

Section 2635...

You need to look at the next page--

Subsection "B," Paragraph 4, Mammy Yokum.

You know, I could beat you up

anytime I want, sir.

Secret Service would have you down

like a calf at a rodeo.

"The definition of 'gift'

"excludes opportunities and benefits

"including favorable rates and commercial discounts

available to the public at large."

I did look at the next page.

And?

I work next door to the Oval Office, sir.

Caesar's wife must be above reproach.

Is the reason you didn't tell me you were getting a new car...?

Did you think I was going to think it was an extravagance?

You don't think I think you should have a new car?

Delores, have you ever had a new car?

No.

No, Henry would go to Calvin Hilly in Concord

and Calvin would give him a good deal

on something reliable.

How about you let me find out what you were supposed to pay

and write you a check for the difference?

Oh, no.

Thank you, but I'm buying this car myself.

This car is going to feel good.

Is it a nice one?

It's a beauty.

It's blue

it has air conditioning--

I told them I could just roll down the windows

but it comes with it anyway--

Consumer Reports rates it very high

it's very safe

and when you get inside, there's this...

Smell?

How did you know?

It's the smell of freedom...

and the chemicals they treat the dashboard with.

When are you picking it up?

Right now. Do me a favor, would you?

Come back here after you pick it up.

I'd like to talk to you about something.

Yes, sir.

And put the car in the driveway.

I'd like to kick the tires.

Why?

It's an expression, Fannie Mae.

Go get your car.

What happens is basically that small stones in the inner ear

which respond to gravity become dislodged

and that'll cause benign positional vertigo.

You all right?

Yes, ma'am.

Sure you don't want some acetylsalicylic acid?

Aspirin, my brother.

What a dumb major you had.

Good evening.

Oh, Oliver.

Do you know what peripheral

neuropathy indicates?

No, but I don't really care that much.

Sam, would you mind for a minute?

No.

B-12 deficiency.

Thank you. Sure.

( sighing )

Mrs. Bartlet, I want to talk to you about...

Dr. Bartlet.

When did I stop being Dr. Bartlet?

When in the campaign did I decide

that women were going to like me more

if I called myself "Missus"?

When did I decide that women were that stupid?

Ma'am, I want you to get your own lawyer.

I have my own lawyer. Pat's a family lawyer.

I want you to get someone for this. I'll give you eight names.

You, Pat and the President whittle it down to three. I'll pick the one.

Can we do this after the broadcast Wednesday night?

No, I want you to do it right away because I don't think

you should do the broadcast Wednesday night.

Why? Because I don't think you should answer questions without a lawyer.

Sam said they're not going to get into issues of legality.

I don't know how they're going to avoid it.

Oliver... Herman Vikram was the original specialist, right?

Yeah.

It was Vikram who put him on prednisone. Yeah.

Then almost four years ago

you put him on Interferon Beta 1-b.

Yeah.

Betaseron. Yeah.

You did it, not Vikram.

It was in consultation with Vikram.

But Vikram didn't write the prescription.

I thought under the circumstances

it would be wrong to involve

another doctor.

So you wrote these prescriptions to yourself

and then had them filled where?

At the Dunwich Women's Health Clinic.

And then had them shipped to various locations?

It was the campaign.

One location was

Phoenix? Probably.

Another was St. Louis. Yeah.

You violated the medical ethics rules

of three State Boards-- New Hampshire

Arizona, and Missouri.

"The Board may take disciplinary action

"against any person who is engaged

in dishonest or unprofessional conduct."

They were extraordinary circumstances, Oliver.

I gave my husband excellent medical care

and I'll line up tenured professors

who will say so.

Did you keep medical records?

No.

"...or any person who has failed to maintain

"adequate medical records or documentation

on diagnostic and therapeutic treatment."

The AMA's code of ethics pretty well spells out

the egregiousness of treating your own family members.

We do it anyway.

We write prescriptions for migraines, antibiotics...

Can I ask you, as the President's physician

have you ever asked him

if he's ever had any extramarital affairs?

No.

Isn't that a crucial question

in the diagnosing of autoimmune diseases?

I'd like to be next to my husband when he does this.

I'd like you to get your own lawyer.

Is there anything else?

No.

Thank you, Dr. Bartlet.

( door closes )

You need this?

I didn't even see you there.

I haven't seen you all day.

I've been with...

( clearing throat )

...you know, tobacco.

You need this?

Yeah.

Josh, the President wants you at a meeting tonight

in the residence around 9:00.

I'll tell you what that is.

That's the Blue Ribbon Commission on Reform.

Let me tell you, I'm going to be collecting benefits

or, you know, not

by the time we get this Blue Ribbon thing up.

Josh.

Yeah?

Um...

I'm trying to...

See, this is why I'll never have a career as a...

Donna, what? Sagittarius.

Are you all right?

Yeah.

There's an empty office

next to the conference room downstairs.

I moved two couches in

and there's some pillows and blankets.

C.J. putting the lid on?

Right now

and Leo's ready for you now.

The OAS has agreed to meet

in an emergency session tomorrow morning

but we're still waiting for confirmation.

Can you tell us exactly what you're going to say to them?

Yes, but first we're going to say it to them.

C.J., one more question on the Haitian casualties.

Sorry, Mark, we're out of time, but we'll pick it up

with our lightning round tomorrow.

I'm calling a full lid.

Any developments throughout the night

and you'll be paged.

Thanks for your patience, everybody.

Thank you, C.J. Thank you, C.J.

Leo's ready for you.

Thanks.

Leo.

This is insane, plain and simple.

What's insane?

Oh, never mind. What isn't?

You don't think it's crazy?

I don't even know what we're talking about.

We're firming up strategy

on what will define the future of this presidency

and we don't know if this President

is interested in the future.

We have to have a discussion

and we have to have it tonight.

We're having a discussion.

When? Tonight.

Okay, then.

Good evening.

Good evening, Josh.

Leo, would you

excuse us for a second?

Toby, can I talk to you outside?

You told Donna.

Yeah.

Why didn't you let me?

You hadn't yet.

How'd she take it?

If everybody out there takes it the way she did

we may be okay.

If a few more people in here took it the way she did

that'd be all right, too.

Was that for me?

That was for me.

Tobacco.

Kalmbach's not going to let it

come to a vote in the subcommittee

which for the moment is fine

'cause if he did, it'd be 8-7 against.

Party lines?

No.

We have Stacy and Miner

but Warren and Rossitter are voting against.

They have ideological

problems with the case.

What do you want to do now?

Stick some dynamite up Warren and Rossitter's ass.

Yeah, the problem is, Rossitter sits on the Judiciary Committee

and I don't know how many enemies on Judiciary

we want to make right now.

LEO: Both of you listen.

We're not going to stop

soften, detour, postpone, circumvent, obfuscate or trade

a single one of our goals

to allow for whatever extracurricular nonsense

is coming our way in the next few days, weeks and months.

When did we decide this?

Just now.

Light 'em up.

You got a recommendation for me?

30 minutes Wednesday night. Live.

Live to tape? Live.

In the Mural Room? Yeah. They pick

the interviewer, it's carried on all the networks and CNN.

I give it to them ten hours before.

And that's followed by a press conference.

There isn't another step we can take

until we know what the President's intentions are.

We need a discussion, and I hate to sound shrill

but it can't wait another night.

We're having a discussion.

When? Tonight.

Really? Yeah.

C.J.: That's great.

Good evening.

Sam, what do you know?

I know that fluid accumulating

in the semicircular canals of the vestibulo-cochlear nerve

is usually what'll account for dizziness.

Leo, I want to state

right here, right now, in terms so plain and clear as to command their assent...

We're having a meeting tonight.

The whole country is going to assume he's not running

when he announces the thing. We're having a meeting.

The press is going to assume... We're having a meeting!

Really? Yeah.

That's great.

Yeah.

Why doesn't everybody

grab something to eat

be back at 9:00, and you'll get called

to come over to the residence.

Josh, walk out with me.

I mean it-- set one off under these guys.

How about I have C.J.

make a statement at her briefing?

A strong statement.

"The President calls on Congress

"to fund the Justice Department's tobacco lawsuit

at the levels necessary to continue this litigation."

"The American people deserve their day in court."

"And this Administration won't sit on the bench

"while well-fed members of the Appropriations Committee

"choke off funding for a lawsuit

"aimed at the perpetrators of hundreds of thousands of negligent homicides

while filling their campaign war chests."

Light 'em up.

Charlie?

Leo, there was an accident at 18th and Potomac.

Mrs. Landingham was driving her car back here.

What happened?

There was a drunk driver

and they ran the light at 18th and Potomac.

They ran it at a high speed.

Charlie, is she all right?

No.

She's dead.

Is he alone?

Yeah.