Original subtitles

Tell me what the problem is, Toby.

Uh, I'm Sam, sir.

I'm the Deputy Communications Director.

I'm Leo McGarry--

White House Chief of Staff.

Well, I'm personal aide to the President.

But I'm a speechwriter.

I'm the Deputy Chief of Staff.

Which I guess makes me Deputy Deputy Chief of Staff.

I'm the Press Secretary.

It's an unavoidable conflict of interest.

I'm Josiah Bartlet-- President of the United States.

Whoever's on the printer, get off... now.

MAN: That's me.

Get off.

SAM: You want to make it clear that we're pushing for Slovenia

and possibly the Baltic States--

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania.

Not Fredonia? We're going to leave Fredonia out, there?

The point is, the zero option's off the table.

* Hooray for Captain Spalding... *

TOBY: Can we please...?

Hey, aren't we pretty much admitting

all the countries we formed NATO to fight?

Yes. Then why not dissolve it?

We like the bomber jackets.

See, when you make a joke...

My jokes are funny.

Fredonia was pretty good. Heard it.

I'll give you $500

if you perform "Lydia the Tattooed Lady"

at next year's Gridiron.

She's got to get in there.

Can we talk about sugar subsidies?

We're not done talking about the summit.

It's a two-day grip and grin.

And, you know, you of all people--

the Russians finally elect a reformer, and you still...

20 years in the KGB and an election

that would make Tammany Hall look

like the League of Woman Voters?

I'm not sure that qualifies as a...

C.J.?

There was a fire

at the King Fatah Middle School in Medina.

17 girls died in the fire when they were prevented

from coming out onto the street

and rescue workers were prevented from saving them.

What was preventing them?

The Muttawa.

The girls weren't dressed properly.

Don't comment.

I haven't spoken to the President

to Leo, to State... to anybody.

You guys want to muzzle me before I go in there

speak now or forever hold your peace.

God knows it's not likely I'm going to.

Let's get a good spot.

( clears throat )

C.J.: Good morning.

PRESS: Good morning, C.J.

I have some schedule details on the summit.

Air Force One will depart Andrews at 7:00 p.m. Friday

arriving in Helsinki 4:00 a.m. Eastern time.

That's 11:00 a.m. Saturday local.

Presidents Bartlet and Chigorin will have their first meeting

at 3:00 at Mantyniemi-- that's a change.

Photo-op, stills only

at the beginning of the meeting.

ALL: C.J.?

What does the President see

as the goals of the summit?

Well, first to meet the new Russian President

but they share the aspiration

of building a secure and undivided Europe.

C.J., you're aware of the fire

that happened at King Fatah Middle School?

Yeah. That's a tragedy. Chris?

Saudi news is reporting that rescuers were prevented

from getting to several female students

by the religious police.

Yeah. I read that, too. Steve?

CHRIS: Does the White House have a comment?

C.J.: I literally just got this a minute and a half ago.

I haven't spoken to the President

or Chief of Staff, State or anyone in Communications.

This is just me.

Well, do you have a comment?

I don't, no.

ALL: C.J.

STEVE: I'm sorry, C.J.

but you're not outraged by this?

( fingers drumming )

Outraged?

I'm barely surprised.

This is a country

where women aren't allowed to drive a car.

They're not allowed to be in the company of any man

other than a close relative.

They're required to adhere to a dress code

that would make a Maryknoll nun look like Malibu Barbie.

They beheaded 121 people last year

for robbery, rape, and drug trafficking.

They have no free press, no elected government

no political parties

and the Royal Family allows the Religious Police

to travel in groups of six, carrying nightsticks

and they freely and publicly beat women...

but "Brutus is an honorable man."

17 schoolgirls were forced to burn alive

because they weren't wearing the proper clothing.

Am I outraged?

No, Steve.

No, Chris.

No, Mark.

That is Saudi Arabia, our partners in peace.

Bonnie then Scott.

who worked here before I did?

Where'd he work?

He worked for the President.

No. What's his first name?

I don't know.

A kid wrote a letter to the President

saying that when he was Governor and campaigning

that he met his assistant, Mr. Farley.

It's probably one of the guys from early on.

I didn't really know any of them.

Yeah, except it couldn't have been that early on

'cause the kid says they met

when his father took him to a speech

about the budget, in Pittsburgh.

You mean San Diego.

He says Pittsburgh.

We never did a budget speech in Pittsburgh.

This is a little weird.

How many weird letters does the President get a day?

A couple of thousand but this one has

the President's private mail code on it.

That's why I've got it.

Well, how many confused people

does the President befriend every day?

A couple of dozen, but he doesn't give them the private mail code.

I don't know. I'm on with the Russians.

Good morning.

I'm Sam Seaborn.

Nickolai Ivanovich.

George Kowzlowski.

Thanks for coming by.

This should be quick.

Let me first say that President Bartlet's

looking forward to meeting President Chigorin

and having a mutually productive meeting.

GEORGE: Mr. Seaborn

um, we understood that the protocol arrangements

had been, um... had been finalized by the...

by the advance teams in Helsinki.

That's right, but there are points

I'd like to revisit.

My thinking being

I could relay my concerns to you at the Embassy

and you could send them on to Moscow and hopefully

get an answer quickly

'cause we're coming down to it now.

I'm sorry. I, uh...

It's coming up quickly.

The summit.

It's Saturday, and this is Monday.

Oh, yes, yes.

We've agreed to a consecutive translation?

Yes.

I'd like to change that to a simultaneous translation.

They prefer that the two leaders pause

while their remarks are-- rendered?--

rendered into the particular language.

President Bartlet has a rhythm to his speaking pattern

that's best if it's uninterrupted.

That's the only reason I bring it up.

We'll pass that over.

I'm sorry. "Pass it on"?

Yes. I'm sorry.

It's just that one is good, and one is bad.

We'd already agreed

on the Grand Salon in Finlandia Hall for the 6:00 meeting

and I wanted to change that to the Hall of Flags.

Hall of Flags.

Didn't we agree 3:00 for that meeting?

It's funny you should mention that.

I'm sorry?

It's funny...

It's a coincidence that you should happen

to mention the time of the meeting.

See, President Chigorin only has to fly through one time zone.

President Bartlet has to fly through seven.

Don't get me wrong.

This President can do three shows a night

but there's no one in the Western Hemisphere

who has a worse reaction to jet lag than he does.

Any trip eight hours or longer

and someone gets fired at the end of it

and it's already been me three times, so...

We'll pass it on.

I think everyone

on the White House staff would agree when I say

that one's a deal breaker.

All right, then.

Was there anything else?

Oh, yeah. We're just getting started.

Are you guys hungry?

No.

Okay.

DONNA: You ready?

Yeah. Where are we going?

The yogurt place.

Are those angry faxes?

They're... Yeah, they're very angry faxes.

From Saudis? Yeah.

Well, what'd you expect?

Very angry faxes from Saudis

and angry e-mails.

Look at these.

I'm seeing

some troubling spelling here.

"Godless" with two Ds?

Let's go.

Hang on.

C.J.?

I saw it.

It's a death threat.

It's not a big deal.

You sure? Yeah.

Don't tell anybody, okay?

I don't want a lot of production.

All right.

Thanks.

Josh... can you come in here

and look at this, please?

Donna...

JOSH: Look at what?

C.J.'s e-mail.

( sighs )

Call Frank Tenney downstairs.

Tell him I want to talk to him right away.

Yeah.

You take this seriously?

Yeah. It's a death threat, C.J.

I take it seriously.

I've had some experience with this.

Thank you all so much.

Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

What's this one about?

They have a picture they want to show us.

Of what?

I don't know.

We've got a problem.

Jake Kimball came to see me this morning.

What's he doing here?

Looking a hundred years old.

Anteras is going to announce a chip recall on Thursday.

How big?

Everything.

What are you talking about?

They discovered a problem with one of the...

That's got to be 50 million chips.

80 million.

Leo, how the hell are we...?

I know.

That's the end of Anteras.

Yeah.

98,000 workers.

I think 75,000 in the U.S.

Plus the kidney punch at NASDAQ?

I think Jake's going to put a shotgun in his mouth.

I really do.

Sir?

Yeah.

Mr. President.

Fitz, Fitz.

You old polecat. You old so and so.

You trying to be one of the fellas, sir?

Yeah.

Well, well-done sir.

Thank you.

This picture was taken by an SR-71

during a routine flyover in the Gulf.

This is Bushehr, and this is what looks to me

like the early days of construction

on a light water reactor.

Light water is ordinary water, sir--

tap water... it's Perrier.

Yeah.

Light water is what's used for nuclear reactors

and the Iranians have contracted the Russians to build them

a light water reactor for that purpose.

What's the problem?

Four intelligence agencies tell me I'm wrong, and I am.

The Russians are building them a heavy water reactor.

What do you use heavy water for?

Plutonium.

TOBY: Good morning, Janice.

Good morning, Mr. Ziegler.

Don't you think it's time we make it "Toby"?

Okay.

That's a nice uniform.

How long have you guys had that uniform?

About a thousand years.

Okay.

Hey, Toby.

( tones beep )

TOBY: Excuse me.

I've got to tell you something. You ready?

What?

I've got nothing to do.

What do you mean?

I got to the office at 6:00

and it turned out that everything that I was supposed to do

got done by 7:30.

It's some strange fluke of the calendar.

So I'm just out here walking around, you know

just being in the world.

In the hallways.

Yeah, well, you know, yeah.

Well, I'm going to change all that.

I'd like you to meet with a Russian reporter named Ludmilla Koss.

She's the Washington correspondent for the Novaya Gazetta.

She wants credentials and a seat on the press charter.

Why is she asking us?

The Russians have banned her from the summit.

Why? She supported the other guy.

Ah-hah. Time to teach these Stoli-drinking Tchaikovskys

a thing or two about free press American-style.

You don't ban those who-who supported your opponent.

You make them wallow in their loserdom

by covering your victory.

You-you sit them in the front row.

You give them a hat.

I will save Ludmilla Koss, for I am Toby and in so doing...

Why am I going on like this?

I don't know.

Set up the meeting.

Obviously, I have a little time.

Thank you.

Ron?

C.J., Frank Tenney spoke to me this morning.

Yeah, Josh made me see him yesterday.

He filed everything he was supposed to file.

Can I see the message?

It's just, you know... it's what it is.

Could you type in your password?

Have you checked your e-mail yet today?

I just got here.

Okay, he sent another one at 5:20 this morning.

Have you had cyber-threats before?

Not explicitly.

And Agent Tenney says

that you don't recognize the sender's address.

No.

Have you had a... bad breakup with a boyfriend lately?

God, Ron, I haven't had a boyfriend in...

I get a lot of hate mail.

After the President, I'm the single most visible person

in the Federal Government.

I'm... every day, I'm on TV, and every day

exactly half the people are going to disagree with you

and some of those people are going to hate you

and some of those people are going to write letters.

Yeah, this isn't hate mail.

This is a death threat.

Could I use your computer for a second?

Sure.

( keyboard clacking )

Okay. I'm going to need to take your hard drive.

Why?

I just used traceroute tools

and the server and the IP address don't match.

The address was invented to disguise the origin.

In my briefing yesterday, I made some remarks

about a situation in Saudi Arabia.

I may have gone too far.

I was thinking about apologizing, and...

Yeah, this-this doesn't have anything to do with that.

Well, what do you mean?

Muslim extremists don't get personal.

They don't know your name; they don't care.

They don't want one person; they want dozens or hundreds.

That's why they don't use bullets.

Killing one person is a waste of a bomb.

He wants you.

Why doesn't he want me?

Someone will be by in a few minutes to get your hard drive

and we're intercepting all your e-mails from the address.

Thank you.

NICKOLAI: The press conference

can be moved to 9:00.

Thank you.

And... excuse me.

( whispering )

The venue.

Thank you.

And the venue can be moved to Hall of Mirrors.

Flags.

Yes, but we need something from you.

Okay. On his arrival

and during outdoor photograph opportunity

President Bartlet must wear overcoat.

A coat? He must wear coat.

He must wear gloves.

Scarves and earmuffs, permissible but optional.

Hang on, 'cause... yes, 'cause President Chigorin

wants to wear a coat and doesn't want to look like a wimp.

Sam, it is freezing to cold in Reykjavik.

It is freezing to cold in Helsinki.

It is freezing to cold in Staad.

Why must every American President bound

out of an automobile like as at a yacht club

while in com-- excuse... compar...

Comparison. Compar...

...while in comparison our leader looks like...

I don't even know what word is.

Frumpy?

I don't know what frumpy is, but onomatopoetically sounds right.

It's hard not to like a guy who doesn't know frumpy

but knows onomatopoeia.

I'll talk to the President about the coat.

We'll have a final meeting tomorrow on the last points

and that'll be that.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

What is onomatop...?

Sounds like. Sounds like.

Well, you were right.

About what? The President never made

a budget speech in Pittsburgh.

He's nine; so he would've been five or six at the time.

Maybe he thought everything was a budget speech.

Or maybe it's just a crazy letter.

It's not. How do you know?

'Cause I read a lot of crazy letters.

I got a letter last year

asking me if I would donate my brain

to a medical school in Granada.

I'll tell you, there are days when I think

"Yeah, why not just get it over with?"

He had his picture taken with the President.

The advance guys always get the name and address and we send a copy.

There's no record of a picture being sent to this kid.

Plus, his father's in trouble.

Why? He's a furnace worker

at the Franklin Mill and the kid said

they may fire him 'cause he wants to join a union.

He spoke to a group called

the Steel Workers Organizing Committee.

Have you ever heard of them?

Yeah, except they have a different name today.

What?

The AFL-CIO

and furnace workers are all unionized.

Hey, Charlie.

Hey.

Ms. Koss?

Yes.

Toby Ziegler. Come on in.

You write for the Novaya Gazetta.

Yes.

Your circulation's gotten huge.

Highest daily in Russia.

And it's hard to tell whether that's

because of your reporting, your editorials

or the naked women on page three.

( chuckles ): We did not invent this thing

nor did we invent the comic strips or Lotto.

Touché, madam.

So, what did you do to piss off President Chigorin?

President Chigorin does not like criticism.

Have you met someone who does?

That is not the point.

No, I, uh, I-I'm just talking.

( chuckles )

( chuckles )

Listen, uh, you're already credentialed

to cover our President.

It's just a matter of putting you on the plane

and before I do that, I want to check with the State Department

to make sure it's not a grotesquely insulting thing

to do to a new President

from whom the U.S. is hoping for quite a bit.

Oh, so your First Amendment only extends as far as is polite?

No, it extends farther than that but it only protects us.

Believe me, if we were able to enforce

U.S. law around the world, I'd retire and go scuba diving.

You like diving?

I've never done it.

I've, uh, never done anything

but I've seen pictures and it looks fun.

I've seen pictures of people out there in the world

and they all look like they're glad they are.

Now, granted when I'm looking at these pictures

somebody's usually trying to sell me something

but I'll tell you what, I'm 44 years old and I'm buying.

I usually don't talk this much

but I'm having an odd day.

Want to stay for a little

and look at pictures of scuba divers?

No, thank you. Okay, then.

We'll talk tomorrow.

Thank you very much.

PRESIDENT: Well, thank you all

very much.

Listen, before we go in there

let's take a second and talk about Anteras. Yeah.

It's not like there's nothing we can do.

There's nothing we can do.

I'm not saying Commerce or Treasury calls the banks

but an emergency loan guarantee if we can get Congress...

Good morning, sir. Good morning.

Yeah, we can't do it.

How did it go over there?

Well, they confronted the Russian Atomic Energy Minister

with the photographs.

And? He denies everything.

That's good enough for me.

He doesn't deny that they're building a reactor.

They've had contracts with Iran since '76

and he says that Deuterium-based reactors

have been up and running in Canada for years.

Yeah, well, Canada, Russia

roughly the same relationship with the U.S.

Fitz, you old horse thief, you old muckety-muck.

Well, good morning again, sir.

Josh says the director of MINATOM says

it's commercial power production.

Yeah, except that there are no power lines

to and from the site

and there's no reprocessing facility.

This one's 50 megawatts thermal

which is identical to the reactor Pakistan's got in Kushab.

This isn't used to make the lights go;

it's used to make plutonium.

Mr. President, I am not your National Security Advisor

or your Secretary of Defense or State

but the Russians are giving Iran the bomb.

( closes book )

Well... that's what was said

by my National Security Advisor 20 minutes ago

right after it was said by the Secretaries of State and Defense

and for what it's worth, the Directors of the CIA, NSA

FBI and Naval Intelligence agree.

Leo, isn't MINATOM in terrible shape?

They lost some customers after Chernobyl.

Yeah, that's welcome to free markets the hard way

but my point is, their light water reactor contracts

are way behind schedule.

There are all kinds of technical failures.

You think the Iranians forced them

to build them a heavy water reactor?

To satisfy their contracts maybe.

Crap, and even if that were the case

it doesn't make them Jean Valjean.

They want to power broker in the Middle East.

Just what the doctor ordered for the Middle East.

All right

while avoiding the biggest diplomacy disaster

since I don't know when, Josh, Leo

you guys have to figure out a way to get me out of it.

Get him out of what?

He's not going to Helsinki.

There's, uh, something really good on television.

What? That's why he can't go-- there's something really good

on television and the President doesn't know how to work a VCR.

No, it's not that he doesn't know how to work it.

They know he's got a staff.

They wouldn't buy it.

It's that he doesn't trust technology.

Josh...

This is insane.

News of the reactor's going to break-- you know it will--

and it's going to break

at the worst possible time.

In fact, my money's on

it's going to break right next to the picture

of him shaking hands with Chigorin...

while wearing a coat to protect his MS-riddled body

from the fierce climate in Finland.

How can you guys, all of you, be so sure it's not MINATOM

and the other Cold War holdouts, the ex-Soviets, walking around?

I don't care... There are other issues on the table.

There's NATO expansion, the Caspian pipeline...

You don't get to put a bomb in Iran!

There are no other issues on the table right now.

We're going to have to fly over there and blow this thing up

and given what they're manufacturing there

I don't know if that's possible.

We were all so smart.

Russia's hobbled.

The next conflict's going to be in the Middle East.

Turns out it is in the Middle East...

with the Russians.

You didn't answer my question.

What question?

Chigorin just took office four months ago.

How can you be sure it's not a rogue thing?

I don't want a leak, Josh.

Everyone's proceeding like we're going?

Yes.

How can you be sure?

I can't.

Toby.

Thanks for coming down.

Is there still a summit to go to?

I'm sorry, what'd you say?

I'm sorry about that. I asked because...

Yeah.

I wanted to talk to you

'cause I've been asked to put a reporter

from the Novaya Gazetta on the press plane.

That's a mistake.

You understand I'm talking about a...

pencil and a pad of paper

from which no one has ever died.

You understand there isn't a paper

any publication in Russia

that's more critical of the Chigorin government.

Well, the editorial judgment aside

what's the damage assessment?

Well, the point of the summit is

to build strong bilateral ties with a new administration, so...

We make it clear it's not personal.

How do you suggest we do that?

I don't know. Uh...

What are the things they could do?

We got about a half dozen

American reporters in Moscow whose credentials are pending.

Toby, this is like if they credentialed

the Enquirer to cover the summit.

If the Enquirer ever asked us, we'd credential them.

Making sure the Enquirer can write whatever it wants

is the only way I can be sure the New York Times is writing whatever it wants.

Well, you asked me what I thought.

I'm 100% against it.

CHARLIE: Okay.

Thanks.

Good morning, Mr. President.

You're going to get Secret Service protection

but I can't order it unless you sign this piece of paper.

So, sign this piece of paper.

Sir, can I ask why you feel it's necessary...?

Because Ron says it is

and around here, we do whatever Ron says.

Well, I think it might be

an overreaction. Good for you.

With all your years of training and experience

in sniffing out crime

your opinion really carries a lot of weight with me.

I don't want to appear fragile. Are you kidding?

Sir... We're talking about one bodyguard.

I have 12, and that's before I leave the house.

You ever count the number of guns that come along with me

when Abbey and I take in a play at the Kennedy Center?

Do I seem fragile to you?

No, sir. Then...

You're also not a woman in a man's job

to say nothing of the fact that you're required by law

to be protected by the Treasury Department.

You don't have a choice, and frankly, sir

you and I both know that you've scored points frequently

with the public and with the press

by shrugging off your Secret Service and doing whatever--

going to a bookstore...

I don't care.

Sir... I don't care.

You're part of my family and this thing is happening

and I simply won't permit it.

Sign the piece of paper.

Look... Let me tell you something.

The last time a member of my staff got a death threat

they missed him and hit me.

Ron... is there any evidence...

any evidence at all that this guy...

Look, I work in the White House--

everybody knows that--

but is there any evidence to suggest that...

Where did you get these?

Today's e-mail.

That's me leaving my house on Monday.

This one's at a restaurant

where I had dinner with my niece.

This one's from this morning.

It was taken from about 20 feet away.

Okay, okay.

RON: Let's go outside and talk.

Okay.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Toby?

PRESIDENT: Yeah.

Morning, sir.

What's going on?

TOBY: Just wanted to give you a heads up

the Journal's going to run an editorial

with regard to broken promises and fiscal spending.

Oh, man, the greatest campaign speech ever about money.

F.D.R. promises to tighten our belts.

What's he do when he gets here?

Spends more than we knew could be spent

and it's 'cause he discovered it's better

for long-term growth.

The Journal probably wrote an editorial

about his broken promises, too.

Hey, I should be able to reference that speech.

Where did he give that?

It was in the Industrial Northeast.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Charlie, F.D.R. gave a budget speech

in 1932 in Pittsburgh.

Can you get your hands on a copy?

I'm sorry, sir?

I'm said F.D.R. gave a budget speech in 19...

Yeah.

Yes, sir.

Okay.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Mm.

Good morning.

How's it going?

Is there a TV show you really, really like?

No.

Then don't worry about it.

Let's talk about something else.

What?

Helping out Anteras.

Ah, was wilst du von mein Leben?

What do you want from my life?

The government can't be in the business of cosigning loans.

We wouldn't be handing them a bag of unmarked bills

just backing the loans to cover the cost of the recall.

It's a subsidy.

It's a small one.

I'm an economist.

Sir, this was not a failure of business.

It was-- I don't know-- it was a mistake, it was human error

and Jake's been completely forthright...

The marketplace will take care of Anteras.

The marketplace will kill Anteras.

That's what's supposed to happen.

It's not like it's unprecedented, sir.

We helped out steel.

That was an industry

that was hurt by unfair trade practices.

Anteras was hurt by their own carelessness.

A loan guarantee doesn't cost the taxpayers a nickel.

Unless they go under

and either way, we've just said

"We're open for business."

For a corporate icon that feeds into tech companies

computers, aerospace...

The ripple effects.

Workers losing jobs, it's a blue chip stock

that's in every major...

They were huge contributors!

How the hell am I suppo...?

The were huge contributors!

Carelessness doesn't have to exist for a mistake to be made.

What?

You said it was carelessness

and I don't believe carelessness has to exist

for a mistake to be made.

Jake was a contributor, and he's never asked for a favor

not even now.

He was a contributor 'cause he knows us

and we know him

and we know that if a mistake happened

in design or production at Anteras

it wasn't shoddy... it wasn't on the cheap.

You know how many chips have acted up so far?

One.

Dollars to donuts, he could've gotten away with it

but he wanted to warn people

they may have a problem before...

I don't even know what happens

when 80 million computers stop working right

but tell me this isn't exactly how we want

American business to behave.

I know it doesn't look good-- he's a friend of ours--

but there is a reason he's a friend of ours.

They're announcing end of business tomorrow?

Yes, sir.

( sighs )

I'm not saying anything

but grab some people and put together some numbers.

Yes, sir.

I'm not saying anything.

Thank you, Mr. President.

of recent trade agreement between Russians and Finns.

However, we'll take off menu.

Why?

We were asked to.

Mrs. Bartlet likes shrimp.

That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

Put whatever you want on the menu.

Very well.

And I would like to request

that the press pool be allowed

to take photographs of the Arctic Peoples exhibit.

Also very well.

And that, my good friends, is that.

It was a pleasure doing business with you.

Uh, we have one more.

Name it.

On the issue

of the language in the joint statement.

Well, I can't negotiate language in the statement.

It's just a suggestion.

The language has been worked out

by State and Commerce and Defense.

It's way beyond...

Just hear suggestion, Sam.

Okay.

( clears throat )

"Both President Chigorin and myself agree

"that we must enter 21st century

"as partners and friends, not as adversaries.

"We must lead way in stemming tide of nuclear proliferation

"and we must start with ourselves.

"For why should two nations still possess power

"to destroy each other ten times over?

Surely, once is enough."

Whose idea was this?

Mine.

Who wrote it?

I did.

You'll, uh... pass it up?

Yeah.

That's good one, yes?

Yes.

Thank you.

Hello.

LUDMILLA: Hello.

Here are your credentials for the plane.

Mm-hmm.

Here's your plane ticket.

Here are your credentials for the palace

the Saturday press conference

the Arctic Peoples exhibit

the Sunday press conference

and the Hall of Flags.

Thank you very much.

By the way, I found out why Chigorin and his people

have such a problem with you.

It's because I don't flatter them.

No, it's because you stink.

I beg your pardon?

You can beg all you want. You're not going to get it.

Last month, you alleged that the Chigorin Government

bombed several apartment buildings

based on an unattributed source.

It was refuted. You never retracted it.

The Government's case was all over the television.

Last week, you wrote a cover story

about President Chigorin's mother-in-law moving closer

to the Kremlin.

You printed her home address.

She had to relocate.

Well, that's her decision.

You reported the failing grades

of the Defense Minister's 12-year-old son.

Does that even count as journalism?

Does that do anything

but bring ridicule on a defenseless kid?

We've got people like you here on cable and on the Internet

and there's no one anywhere on the ideological spectrum

who doesn't roll their eyes

when their names are spoken out loud.

You know, we've always had free press here--

we take it for granted-- but how can you...

treat it like this?

You should give up your space

and put another naked woman in there.

Anyway...

There are your credentials.

The Majority Leader moves up HMO reform.

He'll do that?

We've talked to him.

He's moved up HMO reform

there's nothing we can do about it

and the welfare of your people comes first.

He has a Duma. He'll understand.

This makes sense.

We save face and send a strong message.

Anybody?

( affirmative murmuring )

Can I use this to get out of weddings and stuff?

( all chuckling )

Sam, the Majority Leader's going to move up HMO reform

and my Duma's going to vote on it.

What do you think?

Sorry, sir. Would you hear

what Sam has to say for a moment?

What?

Listen, I'd like to tell you about something

and if, when I'm done

you think I sounded like an idiot

just know that I'll be feeling like one, as well.

Nickolai Ivanovich

the senior member of the logistical negotiating team

said he had language he wanted added to the joint statement

and that he wrote it, himself.

What's he getting involved with the language on the statement for?

Yeah, and what he wanted added was:

"Together in partnership

"we must stem the tide of nuclear proliferation.

"For why should our two nations still possess the power

"to destroy themselves ten times over?

Surely, once is enough."

Now, I have to tell you, sir

that both these negotiators had conversational English

but they didn't have idioms.

I promise you...

"Stem the tide" is an English idiom.

Yeah, and they don't have

"Surely, once is enough," either.

Sir, Chigorin wrote that.

I think he's trying to send you a message, Mr. President.

He is trying to send me a message.

( murmuring agreement )

We've been trying to get nonproliferation on the agenda.

We've been trying to put those exact words

into Chigorin's mouth.

He's got a whole Soviet defense establishment

that's trying to do business.

Wait a second. Hang on.

You're telling me that foreign policy

of this magnitude is conducted through Sam

and I'm still alive?

We're pretty impressed ourselves, Mr. Chairman.

Why didn't he just have somebody pick up the phone?

It's the old diplomatic corps, and he can't

trust them yet. Fitz?

I think he's going out on a limb.

I think you should meet him there.

Let's go to Helsinki.

But the reactor's first thing on the agenda.

Anybody?

( affirmative murmuring )

Thank you, Mr. President.

Thanks, everyone.

Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I've got Jake Kimball in my office, sir.

I'll be right in.

Sam?

Yes, sir?

Nice job.

Thank you.

Tell me again why I can't wear

whatever the hell I want?

Well, that's not entirely true, sir.

The earmuffs are optional.

Okay.

I probably won't be wearing them.

Yes, sir.

Whatever happened to Pong, huh?

It was great. It was relaxing.

It had that very satisfying sound.

I, uh, I don't know, sir.

Yeah, me neither. Leo?

No.

Leo wanted to see if we could guarantee a loan.

I didn't know that. I can't ask you for that.

I appreciate it, and I can't give it to you

but I think I can do Leo one better.

What?

We'll stay his biggest customer.

When you announce your recall

you can announce you're keeping

your government contracts.

Leo will work it out with Congress.

That's very generous, Mr. President.

I appreciate your confidence.

Talk to me about the 75,000 workers.

I won't be taking any salary for two years

and my managers will cut their salaries by 50%

before we even consider laying anyone off.

All right.

Jakie, this is the White House.

If we only screw up twice before breakfast

it was a very good morning.

Yes, sir.

One more thing.

You can't make any more campaign contributions

to me or any Democrat.

You can vote. That's it.

Yes, sir.

I knew I'd get screwed by a computer one day.

I have an important photo op.

Excuse me.

NANCY: Charlie?

Mr. Tatum.

I'm Dr. Tatum.

I'm the one you talked to on the phone.

This is my father.

I'm Charlie Young.

I'm Personal Aide to the President.

Yes.

You didn't tell him anything, right?

He thinks we're on Candid Camera.

Or that this is a ruse of some kind.

What the hell...?

It's not. It's not a ruse.

When you were nine

you wrote this letter to Franklin Roosevelt.

You met him when he was Governor of New York and a candidate for President.

Well, I'll be damned.

You met his Personal Aide, Tom Farley.

That's me.

Mr. Tatum, by any chance

the apartment where you grew up in Pittsburgh

was it 23-45 Northern...?

State Boulevard.

Yeah. That's the only residential building

in Pittsburgh that's been torn down recently.

In fact, it was just two weeks ago.

Somebody found your letter and put the right postage on it.

Hmm. Well, would you look

at what people will do!

I tell you, none of it would have happened

except there's a five-digit code

that Presidents give out to close friends

and President Bartlet copied his from FDR.

For the hundredth time, it was an homage.

Yes, sir.

Alan Tatum?

Yes, sir.

The White House owes you one picture.

Oh, my!

Let's go, Dad.

Mr. President, this is my son, Ted.

Good to meet you.

Same here.

He's a doctor.

Dad...

Oh, God, I'm sorry. I'm married to one.

Oh, no, you meant that as a good thing.

Let's go.

( Alan chuckling )

FDR was a fine President-- don't get me wrong--

but if you want something done right, damn it

call New Hampshire.

( chuckles softly )

Come in, please.

Are you retired, Mr. Tatum?

Yes, sir. 53 years

on the Spirit of St. Louis.

From New York to St. Louis.

PRESIDENT: Your grandfather was a furnace worker.

Your father was on the railroads.

You couldn't find honest work?

( laughs )

I'd like my picture taken

with that young man, if you don't mind?

Charlie...

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Well, thank you very much, sir.

This was really

a once-in-a-lifetime experience for both of us.

Where are you going?

You got pictures. What do I get?

ALAN: I don't know what...

You were there. You were at his speech.

You got to tell me everything. Sit.

We're going to get some food.

You, sit quietly over there

and try to resist the temptation

to bill me for something.

( Ted chuckling )

C.J.: "... discharges the company and the company's directors."

Okay. That's not going to be in there.

Hello.

C.J. Cregg? Yeah.

I'm Special Agent Simon Donovan.

I'm with the Treasury Department.

Uh-huh. What branch of the Treasury Department, Agent Donovan?

U.S. Secret Service.

I don't like flashing it around--

it gives some people the jumps--

but Agent Butterfield said you were a reluctant customer.

How does this work?

What is it you'd like to know?

Well, first of all

from how far away can you do this?

I can respect a certain perimeter of privacy.

What does thatmean?

I don't need to see you naked or anything.

Okay.

Though... "better safe than sorry"

is a bit of a motto for us over at Treasury.

I don't know. You're the boss.

I'll be leading a detail of four agents

each working a third of the day, one day off a week.

We've set up a command post in your apartment building.

We've set up surveillance.

You can put your car in a garage.

You'll be using ours.

You can't come in the Briefing Room.

A crowded room where anyone can get credentialed

and you're up at the podium?

No, I'm pretty sure I'll be there.

This is what you meant by I'm the boss?

Uh, yeah, I guess that's more of an honorary thing.

This guy isn't small-time, Ms. Cregg.

You're being hunted.

By the way, I can't guarantee anything

except to say that if you're dead

chances are, I am, too.

Well, I guess it's going to have to be

the little things now.

Yeah. I'm going to go check in with my command.