Original subtitles

Previously on The West Wing...

What you'd see is Victor Campos sitting courtside with Buckland.

If we're going to spend millions of dollars on tax breaks

we should consider spending it

on people who don't have millions of dollars?

The veto's an awfully big risk to take

if you can't promise anything.

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

TOBY: We're here to recommend that you threaten to veto

any repeal of the estate tax.

( door closes )

DOLAN: Good evening.

Are you Dolan?

Yes, and you're Mr. Kobeleskie?

Koveleskie; with a "v."

We spoke on the phone.

As I said, I'm the only one here right now.

That's okay.

There's usually seven of us, but... Yeah.

And I'm new.

It's the end of my second week.

Do you know what to do?

I call the Deputy Chief of Staff.

And you tell him the Clerk of the House had delivered a bill.

Then you bring it to the President

for his signature or veto.

Yeah.

Okay, here it is.

Thank you.

( door closes )

Yes, this is Mr. Dolan in the Executive Clerk's office.

I'd like Mr. Lyman, please.

Why don't you just wear a pre-tied tie?

'Cause it's not the same.

It looks the same.

The end of the night, you want to be able

to pull it open like Tony Bennett.

You think the tie is the only thing standing

between you and Tony Bennett?

He's also shorter than I am.

Do you know when you're bringing Buckland back here?

I was going to do it before the entree.

You should do it after the entree.

Why?

I don't know.

It's more polite.

Is there etiquette for this? No.

Then why are you bothering me?

( phone rings )

I need to talk to you about something.

My phone's ringing.

Yeah.

You want to answer it?

Can we talk sometime tonight?

Maybe after the cheese course?

Donna...

Josh Lyman.

Yes.

It's here.

Call around.

C.J.: Quiz me.

TOBY: I don't think I will.

You're a lively conversationalist.

You won't have any problem...

Quiz me.

Who are you sitting next to?

Dr. Kary B. Mullis

recipient of the 1993 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

Born 1944, North Carolina.

He earned his bachelors degree from Georgia Tech

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

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

where he went to school and what his name is, you'll be fine.

C.J...

It's here?

Yeah. Uh...

I'll meet you over there.

Toby...

It's here. Yeah, I know.

Listen, the social office called.

And? Seven Republicans

who RSVP'd for the dinner aren't going to show up.

Well, it happened.

Do you think we should... What? Put it off?

Yeah. No.

The President said he was going to veto the bill.

C.J. announced he was going to veto the bill.

He's going to veto the bill.

There's an emergency meeting of the Republican leadership.

What do you think they're going to be talking about?

I think they're planning a surprise party.

They could have left after the entree. Yeah.

They're going to miss hot pumpkin soup with cheese gnocchi

and a chévre brioche. Yeah.

That's a pretty big price to pay

just to override my veto.

Maybe they think they've got the votes.

Maybe something shifted in the last couple of hours.

Leo...

They just sent the bill up

five minutes ago.

They know you're going to veto.

Why schedule an override vote right now?

So I'd think twice about vetoing.

Well, that's what I thought, too.

JOSH: Good evening, Mr. President.

Where is this thing?

It's on its way.

You know what we're starting with tonight?

No, sir. Hot pumpkin soup

with cheese gnocchi

and a chévre brioche.

Was anything you just said food?

Good evening, Mr. President.

Good evening, sir.

It's on its way.

Seven Republicans who RSVP'd for the dinner... We know.

You know that there's an emergency meeting

of the Republic leadership?

Yeah.

until after the entree.

Maybe they didn't know about the chévre brioche.

Does anyone want to consider waiting?

The constitution gives them ten days.

If it's a show of strength and resolve

you don't wait to think about it.

And if they override the veto

it's neither strong nor resolute.

They don't have the votes to override.

Says you. Says me, Josh,

the Office of Political Liaison,

Legislative Liaison,

and the Minority Whip.

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

Good evening, Mr. President.

C.J., you look very nice.

Thank you, sir. Is it here?

It's on its way.

I've been seated next to a chemist tonight.

Mullis?

23 Nobel Prize winners

in the East Room.

I couldn't get Literature, or, I don't know,

Peace or something?

What's her problem?

She thinks she won't be able

to make conversation with the guy,

but she's wrong,

'cause she knows what year he was born and his name.

They speak in combinations of letters

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

Mr. President?

Is it here? Yes, sir.

Okay.

PRESIDENT: Hey.

Good evening, Mr. President.

What's your name?

I'm Donald Dolan

from the Office of the Executive Clerk, sir.

I don't think the congressional leadership

holds their members back on a weekend for a bluff.

I don't think they're bluffing, Sam.

I'm sure of it. Why would they hold a vote

if they didn't think they could override?

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

Mr. President, I have House Resolution 10:

The Death Tax Elimination Act.

It bears the signatures

of both the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate

and is presented to you

by the Congress of the United States

for your signature or veto.

Excuse me.

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

I think we're about to find out.

successfully overrides the veto

we're going to look weak.

If the House successfully

overrides the veto, we are weak.

N-A-C-L, C.J.

I'm sorry, sir?

Table salt.

Send it back.

presented the Executive Clerk with H.R. 10,

a bill repealing the estate tax,

which opponents sometimes call the "death tax"

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

We call it a tax on fewer than two percent of American estates

valued at over a million dollars, the revenue from which

helps fund frivolous Democratic spending programs

such as teaching people to read and curing disease.

As promised, the President vetoed the bill.

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

Will there be a vote to override tonight?

We don't know. Phil.

You know why the Republican leadership's

meeting in an emergency session?

No. They've held the members back.

Would they have done that if they didn't think

and override? You'd have to ask them. Yeah?

Can you tell us what you're wearing?

It's a dress.

C.J...

Diane Cook. Anything else?

Okay, I'll be in for periodic briefings

and we'll try not to keep you too late.

What's Sherri Wexler doing here?

It's Friday night.

Local news. She was here to cover the Nobel dinner.

Yeah, but now she's got to cover a veto override in the House

and I'm saying this is a girl

who can barely cover the Easter Egg hunt.

What, are you afraid

she's going to misspell Diane Cook?

I need to get back to dinner.

Do you happen to have a copy of the Periodic Table of Elements?

No. Okay.

Yeah.

Toby... What did...

That was the Minority Leader's office.

They've scheduled a vote. When?

90 minutes.

An hour to debate, then 20 minutes to vote.

What do they think?

They think they must be down.

How did we lose votes since yesterday?

A low-in-the-polls President tells chicken-ass Democrats

to vote against a tax cut in an election cycle.

What could possibly have gone wrong?

Ginger! Yeah.

We need ten phone lines in the Roosevelt Room

and some bodies from Legislative Affairs.

We need the whip count.

The old whip count doesn't do us any good.

We need a new one.

That's going to take a while.

They're all sitting there.

Tell them to raise their hands.

Bonnie? Yeah.

who've headed for National, get them back.

Page Delta, United, American.

Nobody gets on a plane.

They've scheduled a vote?

They start to debate in 90 minutes

and vote an hour after that.

We need a new whip count.

Ginger, the phones, the bodies

and keep an open line to the Whip's office!

GINGER: It's coming.

And get Leo out of the dinner.

Excuse me.

Charlie.

Yeah.

How's the dinner going?

Fine.

You and I should talk, you know.

Yeah?

Look, I'm not allowed to talk about it.

You know what it is, right?

I get immunity.

And I'm not allowed to talk about it.

Hey.

We're waiting for a new whip count.

Listen, how ready is he on the environment?

He's been studying.

I don't think I'll be able to be in there with him.

I've got this in here. He'll be all right.

Sometime after the appetizer, before the entree.

at the latest EPA stats on child asthma.

All right? Tell him.

He's got them.

There's three we can't account for.

We think Kimball flipped.

If it was Kimball

he'd have taken half his committee with him.

Toby, the phone in front of you.

Newhouse?

Illinois 17 is safe. He doesn't want anything.

What's happening?

There's a vote scheduled. We don't have the count.

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

It's Kimball. I'm telling you

if it's Kimball, we'd have six...

He's on the phone right now.

Congressman, this is Leo McGarry.

Please come to the White House right away.

Donna!

I'm right here.

Where do you think...

My tie's falling apart.

Give me that.

It's not going to be...

You're not going to be Tom Jones tonight.

Tony Bennett.

The Speaker's calling a vote?

Yeah.

Sam's not going to be able

to be in the Buckland meeting with you.

I'll be all right.

He wanted to make sure

you looked at the new EPA stats on child asthma.

I got them.

Can I talk to you about something personal?

Can it wait a little bit?

Yeah.

How's it look?

Good.

Maybe he wants the compromise back on the table?

He's ready to settle for a $10 million exemption

instead of a five million.

Compromising with a $10 million exemption--

here's a conversation my father never had.

Leo...

You're going to have to give away something,

but don't give away the store.

Yeah?

Nancy McNally's in your office.

What's going on?

Something's happened.

What's going on?

A bomb went off outside a cafe

on Ben Yehuda in Jerusalem.

It was a suicide bomber.

He detonated explosives strapped to his body.

How bad is it?

Ten people were killed right away.

It looks about 125 injured-- mostly young adults.

Leo, two of the dead were American students.

We think they may have been targeted.

All right.

Margaret, I'll be in the situation room.

Yeah.

Leo... Yeah.

The INP thinks

they have traces of C-4.

Did this guy have a car strapped to his chest?

MAN: Ten-hut.

Have the parents been notified?

The Consul General called the parents.

Has anyone claimed responsibility?

Not yet.

In the next hour, everyone will claim responsibility.

Nancy, hasn't State issued travel warnings since Bekaa?

They were there for a soccer match.

The Americans were targeted?

Initial eyewitness accounts

indicate the bomber turned left

to go into the nightclub

then stopped when he saw two people

wearing U.S. delegation sweatshirts

with insignias and flags.

They were brothers--

Ariel and Noah Levy.

He walked up to them and detonated.

We know this?

These are the facts

as relayed by the embassy RSO at the scene.

LEO: And, Mr. President?

They think they've found traces of C-4.

You think there's an Afghan connection?

Or even Iran.

We'll know more when the FBI attache

gives a forensic analysis.

How long?

NANCY: 45 minutes, an hour.

I'm going to want

some temperature-cooling options.

Thank you, sir. Yes, sir.

Sodium comes from the English word "soda,"

so wouldn't it make sense for the periodic symbol

to be somehow related to that?

No, because "Na" comes from the Latin word "natrium."

What does "natrium" mean?

It means "sodium."

Come on in.

I'm pretty well briefed.

Is it on the news yet?

Yeah.

They were brothers.

What were they doing there?

A soccer match.

we think they were intentional targets?

Not yet, and we can't release their names.

The Levys just lost their sons.

I'll take the heat for a few hours.

The President'll call them? Yeah.

Can I tell them the President's

been in touch with the Prime Minister?

The Israelis are going to do what they're going to do,

so ratchet down expectations.

Anything else? No.

I'm going to get in there.

Thank you.

Charlie.

Yeah?

Listen, I wanted to...

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

Word is, you're...

Say a guy your age was offered a "Get Out of Jail Free" card.

Nobody's going to jail.

But everybody's getting called

and everybody's getting lawyers

and if you took immunity...

I'd still need a lawyer.

For a few hours, not 100 hours.

Look...

I know what you're thinking.

I really can't talk about it.

Okay. I'm going to change my clothes.

I'll watch.

No.

What the hell's going on?

We're down four votes.

I thought it was one.

Three of our guys

are on airplanes, and out of reach.

Why?

That's where they wanted to be.

Where's Kimball?

He's on his way.

Toby's waiting for him.

Josh. Is he in there?

Yeah.

I got to go.

Did you look at the child asthma stats?

Yeah.

Governor.

Josh, good to see you.

Sorry to interrupt dinner.

You know Pam Wachtel

and Jonathan.

I do. Good to see you guys.

Anybody need a drink, or anything?

I'm fine. No.

Thanks, Donna.

( clearing throat )

So, Governor, the president's a tree-hugger?

"If you want to save a spotted owl

"vote for Bartlet.

"If you want to save a job

vote for someone else"?

I never said that either.

No, she did, in the Indianapolis Post-Dispatch.

You weren't misquoted, right?

No.

Okay, listen.

I wouldn't know a spotted owl

if he walked up and introduced himself,

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

who has created 3.8 million new jobs.

Tell that to an unemployed steelworker in Indiana

'cause he's working three of those jobs

the President created just to pay the mortgage.

isn't because of the environment.

Of course it is. Jonathan...

When the president raised standards

and closed down industrial plants across the Midwest.

that says if we hadn't passed the Clean Air Act

two million more people would have suffered

from heart disease, bronchitis, respiratory...

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

The EPA stats on child asthma alone...

BUCKLAND: I don't want to talk about child asthma.

Neither does Josh.

Will the two of you excuse us, please?

Yes, sir.

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

There's a $400 billion worldwide market

in creating technologies that are environmentally safe.

You think a 55-year-old steelworker's

going to get a job building hybrid engines?

Ask me

what you want to know.

You invited Victor Campos to Indiana.

Yeah.

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

Yeah.

Jack, are you going to challenge the President in the primary?

Let's have that drink.

Took you long enough.

I was held up.

And I'm not about to be.

We can win this without you.

I've got four proxies in my pocket

so you can't do anything without me.

Don't worry about it-- I came with a shopping list.

How does a Democrat from Tennessee farm country

where we championed electrification,

the Tennessee Valley Authority, farm safety nets, the...

how do you do this to a Democratic president?

Estate tax costs 65 cents on the dollar.

Why would anyone want to build up...?

That's not my point.

Well, what's the point?

You were with us yesterday

and now you're holding us hostage.

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

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

What?

Grazing fees. Grazing fees?

Yeah. Grazing fees.

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

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

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

The parties themselves negotiated the terms

of the cease fire, and the government

of the United States

remains committed to the peace process.

C.J., what do you have to...?

I like to call on people, Sherri.

What do you have to say to the people of Dallas

who have just lost one of their native sons

to this tragedy?

Well, as I said earlier

we can't confirm or deny the identities

of any American victims

of the bombing.

How is it that the United States government,

supported by the citizens of Dallas,

knows less than CNN, AP, and Israeli TV?

I think the citizens of Dallas will understand

that the 1974 Privacy Act

precludes me from discussing those details

until the family gives its consent. Mark?

C.J., since two Americans were killed,

is the U.S. considering retaliating themselves?

We're still investigating the circumstances.

In the meantime, we continue to urge all parties

to demonstrate restraint. Phil.

It was a Palestinian splinter group

called the Palestine Freedom Front.

Agency and FBI concur?

Yeah.

And we shouldn't be looking outside the box.

Hutchinson talked with the Israeli Foreign Minister

and the Interior Minister.

It was an isolated incident.

Retaliation for Bekaa?

Yeah.

If that's the case

I want to hear it from Arafat's mouth.

I want to hear it from him.

A denunciation of violence.

I want to see security cooperation with the Israelis.

We'll have the U.N. Secretary General

put the screws to the Chairman

and Scorza can be at the Prime Minister's office.

Maybe, maybe, maybe we can get Israel

to hold their fire tonight.

Would you?

No.

who graze their sheep and cattle on Federal lands.

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

Mr. Seaborn... Based on an archaic formula

set by Congress 30 years ago.

There was cattle 30 years ago.

We're not trying to stick it to ranchers.

We want to raise grazing fees

and use the money to restore streams,

watersheds...

Yes. Yes. ...fish and wildlife,

habitats that have been destroyed by over...

And how do ranchers put food on their tables?

And yours, for that matter?

It's cheaper for cattle to graze on Federal lands

than to feed a young basset hound.

And it's easier to sell out the western states,

where you're not going to win anyway,

than to help cattlemen whose prices are plummeting.

If you look at the range land...

I don't want to look

at the range land anymore.

A one-year moratorium.

The President waits a year

before he tries to raise the fees?

One year. Go vote.

No.

I've got more.

Really?

A GAO review

of the deficiencies in the Freedom to Farm Act

and the need for a stronger farm safety net,

administration support for an increase

in production flexibility contracts,

and a promise...

Donna.

Yeah?

I need Josh.

He's still in with...

Yeah, tell him we're going to need more time.

( knocking )

Excuse me,

Governor, I'm sorry. Josh?

Yeah?

Tell him to call the Minority Leader's office.

Tell him we need to stage an exhibition.

There's a rule against exhibitions

He'll have one of our members bring a poster on the floor,

another one of our members will object

and the Chair has to rule,

followed by a vote of the full House,

and that'll buy 20 minutes.

Okay.

So...

you're polling at slightly less

than five percent in Iowa.

After hearing your issue profile

that number actually goes down.

39% of caucus-goers say

they wouldn't even consider voting for you.

"Shares our values"? 18%.

Did you know that?

No.

In New Hampshire, you got three percent.

"Shares our values," 14%.

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

Did you know that?

No.

South Dakota, three percent;

Georgia, eight percent;

New York, seven percent.

Did you know any of that?

No.

The reason why you didn't know, Jack,

to do out-of-state polling right now.

So, you helped me out.

I did. Now with those

kinds of numbers and no kind of money,

how can you expect to run a campaign?

Where were the President's numbers?

And what kind of money did he have

when he challenged...?

He wasn't challenging a sitting president,

and nobody challenges a sitting president in a primary

by going to his right.

This isn't a serious challenge you're contemplating,

Well, if it isn't a serious challenge

what are you doing in this room?

Your health!

( chuckles )

We don't like your health.

You're a Heisman Trophy-winning football player,

a U.S. Olympian,

you still run

the New York Marathon

and every time we see B-roll of you

tossing a ball around at the local Boys' Club

the President's got to campaign in an oxygen tent.

( chuckles )

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

It sounds like I need to be listened to.

You want to see me do some push-ups?

Yeah. That's what I want.

What do we know?

Keyhole sees 12 Israeli F-15s on the tarmac

at Hatzerim Air Base.

What are they armed with?

Eight AIM sidewinders.

Pilots are in the cockpits. We see heat plumes.

We also got ten Douglas A.H. Apache Longbows

airborne from Betzet.

They're armed with Hellfires.

Any chance it's a training exercise?

It's always a training exercise.

What do we think are the targets?

It looks like the Abu Sneni Bab

and al-Sheikh neighborhoods in Hebron,

a police station in Ramallah and Al-Watan,

which is the newspaper of Hamas,

but we could be wrong about all of that.

Arab reaction?

Egypt will call for an immediate Arab summit

if Israel retaliates.

Nancy, what about the C-4?

Good, 'cause this is what's interesting.

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

Really?

Well, that may be our way out.

All right, that may be it.

Sally, I need to see the President.

Yes, sir.

The networks want to take you live the next time you brief.

Is that okay?

Yeah. Sherri Wexler is

about to do her stand-up.

The station can't send over someone

who knows what they're doing?

She thinks she knows what she's doing.

I thought you showed great restraint in there before.

Walk softly...

and do something else.

Carry a big stick.

Yeah. Walk softly.

Walk around.

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

the names of the Americans

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

In the meantime, debate continues on Capitol Hill

over the President's veto of the legislation

repealing the estate tax.

So, it's a tense night here, Alan,

as staffers and press burn the midnight oil.

ALAN: Sherri, going back

to the suicide bomber,

you say the White House can't confirm

whether Americans were involved, yet other news outlets...

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

can't confirm if Americans were involved.

It's not clear the extent to which

C.J.'s in the loop on this.

I can tell you, she's changed her clothes several times

throughout the evening.

ALAN: I'm sorry, Sherri, say again?

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

and perhaps she's missed some information

during one of her wardrobe changes.

( clicks )

Well...

turns out she did know what she was doing.

You want me to take care of it?

I'll take care of it.

Hey, Margaret.

He'll be here in just a minute.

( sighs )

Be back in a second.

Charlie?

I can't talk about it.

You don't know what I was going to say.

Immunity?

Yeah.

I could have been talking about a flu vaccine.

That's immunization.

Yeah.

Come on.

So, what's happening in there?

( Toby sighs )

We've given him a one-year moratorium

on grazing fees, support for an increase

in the production flexibility contracts,

a promise not to lower

agricultural export subsidies.

We're up to a tougher FDA crackdown

on the illegal use of antibiotics in milk.

Are you kid...?

How's Buckland?

JOSH: He wants a seat

at the table, that's for sure.

TOBY: How far do we go with these guys?

Can I offer Buckland...?

No. Well, he's going to keep mouthing off...

I don't care, take him out!

Enough's enough.

First, Victor Campos

then Kimball and his band of four

then Buckland?

Let him know we're going to put it out

he tried to blackmail the President

unless he caved to industry on clean air, clean water,

climate control, and worker safety.

Emphasize worker safety.

That'll get him in good with the unions.

Everyone will know the leak came from us.

Yeah.

LEO: You know what?

Bill Russell was getting eaten alive

'cause they could never get him to throw an elbow.

He didn't want to do it.

So, Red Auerbach told him to do it one time.

"Throw an elbow in a nationally televised game.

You'll never have to do it again."

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

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

take it or leave it.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Thanks, Leo.

Hang on.

What?

Listen...

Yeah?

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

Grazing fees, farm nets, milk subsidies--

what's on the table.

Aren't they the same things

a farm district Republican would want?

Yeah.

Let's offer it to them.

Offer it to who?

Republicans. Royce.

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

First off, when Kimball and his four see

we're going to win, they'll hop onboard,

so we've got a bigger margin.

Second, C.J. can make a big deal out of bipartisanship,

but mostly... We threw an elbow.

On national TV.

We were talking about a tougher FDA crackdown

on illegal uses of antibiotics in milk,

such as excess dosages of...

No.

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

I think I will.

No to the FDA crackdown?

No to everything.

I mean no to the FDA crackdown,

no to lower agricultural subsidies,

no to the production

flexibility contracts,

no to the GAO review,

and the President will seek to raise the grazing fees

at any time he sees fit.

We're going to need the room.

Would you mind, Congressman?

Well...

SAM: Congressman?

We're a little pressed for time.

Good luck.

Thank you very much.

Ginger...

we need Congressman Robert Royce,

Republican

of Pennsylvania, on the phone.

( sighing ): Okay, well...

now this really needs to work.

Yeah.

Hey.

How you feeling?

You shouldn't get too close.

It's all right.

I'm like a petri dish over here.

Yeah, you're pretty gross.

How's the dinner?

It's good... but...

a suicide bomber

got two American kids in Jerusalem.

No.

Yeah.

Were they targeted?

We're pretty sure.

We got some things going.

How old were they?

19 and 21.

They were brothers.

You speak to Zoey today?

No.

I thought the deal was she calls once a day.

She calls most days.

I want her to call every day.

All right.

All right.

You need anything?

No.

Okay.

We can connect the bomber to Abdul Mujeeb.

How?

and other chemicals that are tagged.

So, you think I get on the phone with the Chairman and...

I think you get on the phone

and I think you tell them to hand Abdul Mujeeb over

to the Israelis.

You remind him Israeli Secret Police

are going to kill him anyway.

It's going to take more than that.

If it does, you tell...

Congress? Yeah.

We'll withhold the $100 million in NGO aid

if they don't hand him over.

Yeah.

And you think handing him over

puts the pin back in the grenade?

For a day.

For a day?

Yeah.

All right. Set up the call.

Thank you, Mr. President.

BUCKLAND: This isn't...

Hang on. Wait.

I'm the Governor of Indiana. You hang on.

You're saying I should get out

of the race, 'cause I'm too healthy?

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

I didn't say... How am I supposed to keep

advocating the issues that I care about

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

You... ( knock at door )

( door opens )

I'm so sorry, Josh.

Yeah.

All right, tell him to have a Democrat

call for a journal vote. Okay.

the full House has to approve the previous day's floor activity.

Okay.

After that, he can have a member try to attach

an amendment to the override vote.

What kind of amendment?

Doesn't matter.

"To qualify for the estate tax repeal

the estates have to have Astroturf."

And still, it's hard to figure

why Congress can't get anything done.

I'm sorry.

No, that's all right.

There's a lot going on here tonight.

I meant... I'm sorry.

You came through for us in Indiana.

Really, the whole Midwest.

You would have been great in the number two spot.

And it was me as much as anyone pushing Hoynes.

You couldn't win without Hoynes.

Yeah.

I'm term-limited, Josh,

and I still have things I want to say.

Listen, I have instructions to, you know...

To bust me.

Yeah.

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

you think you could say what you want to say?

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

I know, but I can tell you that Carl Reed wants

to accept a position at Shearson

and he'll be leaving in about three months.

You guys are that afraid of my health, huh?

Well, we're afraid of everything.

( laughs )

But no kidding, Jack, I-I...

I think you'd make an interesting nominee

for Labor Secretary.

So, if I could convince Leo...

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

Thank you, Governor.

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

Yeah. ...a GAO review of the need

for a stronger farm safety net...

Yeah. ...a promise not to lower

agricultural export subsidies... Yeah.

...and a tougher FDA crackdown on what?

The illegal use of antibiotics in milk.

In exchange for my vote to sustain the veto?

And the six that come with you.

And this is the exact same deal you were offering to Kimball.

Yes. And he was ready to take it?

Yes.

I don't want it.

Congressman, you've been uneasy

about the estate tax from the beginning.

That's right, I have.

And yet, the White House did what it always does.

It went to the extreme flank of its own party.

Which meant more arm-wrestling, more deal-making.

God knows how many billions wasted in pork barrel promises.

What are you saying?

That the moderates get shut out.

Let me tell you something.

The idea of repealing the estate tax

makes me embarrassed to be a Republican.

We used to be about the sensible center

about fiscal discipline.

( snorts ): Of course, this thing should be vetoed.

It was a Republican named Oliver Wendell Homes who said

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

Are you saying...?

Don't target me

for defeat.

I'm vulnerable in my district.

The DNC will run a conservative Democrat.

If he's elected, he won't even be

photographed with the President

much less vote with him.

Take a look around at all the Democrats

running from you right now.

Do you even know who your friends are anymore?

If we do our best

to see that you're not seriously challenged...?

You have seven new votes tonight.

Oh, and, uh...

throw in the milk thing.

Go vote, Congressman.

You're home.

You? Get in here.

Take the immunity.

I'm not allowed...

Take it.

Is anyone else taking it?

No one else is being offered it.

Would they take it if they were?

Charlie, who the hell knows what's going to happen

with this prosecution?

It's a partisan prosecution.

You could go broke.

You could be barred from law school.

Doesn't immunity imply guilt?

Not necessarily. And if someone in my position

took a deal to protect himself...

what would that person be saying to his employer?

That they were wrong to trust him.

Don't be a hero.

Why not?

I'll stay with my team.

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

( knock at door )

( door opens )

MARGARET: Leo?

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

Yeah, okay.

Nancy.

Thanks.

Palestinian police arrested Mujeeb at his residence in Gaza.

Margaret?

Yeah?

Get me C.J. on the phone.

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

but you should really learn how to tie a bow tie.

Or you could.

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

You can go home.

I'll stick around.

You wanted to talk to me

about something before.

Yeah.

Listen...

I was fixed up

on a blind date a few nights ago.

When?

A few nights ago.

And Ainsley fixed us up.

He's a Republican lawyer working for Ways and Means

but he was being transferred.

And it turns out now

he's on Government Oversight, so...

You can't see him anymore.

You can't see him anymore.

I know that.

It was just that night?

Yeah.

No...

We got together the next night again.

We shouldn't have.

Yeah.

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

You just thought he was with Ways and Means

who I was battling on the estate tax.

I'm sorry. Did any reporters see you?

No. The second night?

No.

All right.

You can go home.

The President wants you in five minutes.

Thanks.

REPORTERS: C.J.! Phil.

Did the President urge

the Chairman to hand over Abdul Mujeed?

As I said, the President urged

the parties to abide by the terms of the cease fire.

And he reiterated the United States' commitment

REPORTERS: C.J.! Katie.

C.J., an AP report out of Gaza

says the President threatened to withhold

more than $100 million to Palestinian NGOs

unless the Chairman handed over Mujeeb.

Well, I'm not going to get

into the details of the diplomatic exchange.

I'm told at this moment, the House is getting ready

to vote on the override of the President's veto

and I know you'll all want to cover that.

Since this is the President's first veto

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

Sherri, can you tell us how many votes it takes

How many votes does it take to override, Sherri?

A majority. Actually, it takes two-thirds.

Yes, a two-thirds majority.

Yeah, 290.

And how many votes does it take to sustain?

That should be easy.

You just subtract 290 from the total number

of members in the House and add one.

How many people sit

in the House of Representatives, Sherri?

Okay, maybe you can get the notes from a classmate.

That's all, guys. I'll see you in the morning.

REPORTER: Thank you, C.J.

They're meeting in the Oval Office.

Thanks.

SHERRI: C.J.?

Hey.

That was totally uncalled for.

Yeah?

My competitors are going to show that tape.

Every local station in town...

That thing's going out to 154 affiliates.

I changed my clothes because I didn't think

it was appropriate to talk about the death of two teenagers

while wearing a ball gown, and you knew that,

because you're stupid, but you're not stupid. Know what I'm saying?

Security's going to take your press credentials.

You call my office every day, and I'll

decide if you get into the room.

on Pebble Beach, you can do your stand-ups

One more word out of your mouth, and every local station

in town but yours gets an exclusive with the President.

Hunting season on me is over.

And the chemical abbreviation for table salt is NaCl.

You could say...

You could say, "On behalf of Abbey and myself

"please accept our deepest condolences.

Your sons' lives were not lost in vain."

What I meant was that this further calls

national attention to the peace process.

"Though tragic, this tragedy further calls national attention

to this... alarming, escalating conflict."

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

The spirit of peace at a soccer match?

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

JOSH: Studying together, discovering each others world's

This guy at the dinner

he told me something I didn't know.

On Yom Kippur, you ask forgiveness

for sins against God

but on the day before Yom Kippur

you ask forgiveness for sins against people.

Did you know that?

Yeah.

It's called, uh... I can't remember.

It's Erev.

Erev Yom Kippur.

You can't ask forgiveness of God

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

( knock on door, door opens )

Mr. President?

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm going to do this alone.

Have a good night, everybody.

ALL: Thank you, Mr. President.

( sighs )

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

I have three children.

I really don't know what to say.