All language subtitles for The West Wing (1999) - S06E03 - Third-Day Story (1080p AMZN WEB-DL x265 ImE)_track3_[eng]

Previously on The West Wing...

I've got a guy who says
he wants

to come to a peace table,
and I've got a table.

TOBY:
What's the President
doing, Leo,

a summit?
Not today,
okay, Toby?

I got enough problems.

Members of Congress were killed,
Mr. President.

Instead of seeking justice,
you're inviting them

to play dodgeball.
Leo still down here?

Yeah, he's in
his office.

Why isn't he up
at Camp David?

When are you planning
to discuss Jerusalem?
That'll be the last thing.

Because it's
the only...
Damn it,
don't you think

I know that?!

You want me to start

something that may have
serious repercussions

on American foreign policy
for decades!

It's the appropriate,
balanced...

Tell me how this ends, Leo!

My counsel is no longer
of use to you.

I'll need your
successor in place
before you leave.

C.J.:
I'm pleased to announce

that this afternoon at 2:00

Prime Minister Zahabi,

Chairman Farad
and President Bartlett

will hold a joint press
conference in the East Room

( cell phone ringing )
to describe a tentative accord
that's been reached

between the parties.

( ringing continues)

( ringing continues )

Think the President
should address

a joint session
of Congress?
On the phone.

He should address
them on the phone?
No, I'm on the phone.

Yeah, Signal, try Mr. McGarry
again, It's urgent.

My fellow Americans,
please deposit 50 cents

for three more paragraphs.

When he comes back
from Camp David,

they're gonna have
to welcome him like
a conquering hero.

No, operator,

if-if his battery was
dead, it wouldn't...

Yes, it's still urgent.

I already tried him
five times.

We're signing a peace
accord in four hours,

his cell phone should be
stapled to his forehead.

Maybe he's at Foggy Bottom.

Yeah. Signal,
try Leo McGarry again

and try the secretary's
office at State.

Peace in our time.

All downhill from here.

The Republican leadership's
in the Roosevelt Room.

They've been waiting
20 minutes.

Waiting why?
They have a meeting
with Leo.

I can't find him anywhere.

You can't find him?

( phone ringing )

JOSH:
Mr. Speaker,
Mr. Majority Leader.

TOBY:
We're taking
this meeting.

Leo's got a thing
at Foggy Bottom.

He's got a thing?
Yeah, who knows why

he'd be busy--
it's not like we brokered

a major peace deal
last night.

Don't get me wrong,
you guys are doing
great work

on the soy-based
fuel subsidy.

What Josh means is...
Maybe he means
someone's got to pay

for 20,000 peacekeepers
to enforce your peace deal,

and the money's not
coming out of the soy-
based fuel subsidy.

Due respect--

you never thought
we'd get a deal,
and we did.

They're gonna be scraping faces
off Mount Rushmore.

It's a news roadblock.

There's no use
honking your horn.

What Josh, uh, is
trying to say...

HAFFLEY:
Enjoy your roadblock,
which'll last

a day, maybe two,
'cause then the story

goes to Congress
and whose kids
are gonna serve

and who's gonna pay,
and I don't have to honk.

I'll repave the road.

If you called this
meeting to talk about...

We called this meeting

to talk about a tax cut.

A tax cut.
A $300

expansion of
the child tax credit.

We scheduled
this with Leo

more than a week ago.
Well, now we have

a peace to keep.
The one you made

by appeasing terrorists
who're gonna come right back

with badly wired pipe bombs.

Okay, I think badly wired's
the good kind.

Have you seen
the deficit projections?

If we do tax cuts on
top of peacekeeping,

we'll drown in red ink.

You're talking about
an open-ended deployment

with no exit strategy.

We're giving you a way
to grease the skids.

Help us pass a tax cut,

then we'll vote
on peacekeeping.

You're trying to derail
the peace plan.

We're trying to help families
raise their kids.

Makes perfect sense
in Peoria.

Peoria doesn't have
a budget deficit.

You expect the President
to sign this?

And get us

60 Democratic votes in the House

to guarantee passage
and make sure Democrats

can't attack us for it later.

CHARLIE:
Thanks.

Signal's still trying
to reach Leo.

Thank you. And let's get
a little flowchart going.

State calls the
foreign ministers;

I call the heads of state.

Like tag-team wrestling
without the body slams.

All set to pile-drive
Germany, sir.

Thank you.
I want to round up

as much international
support as we can

before the 2:00
peace signing.

The minute
the peace plan gets through

the Hamas leadership,
the Knesset is gonna
take up the debate...

We have a problem with
our own leadership, sir.

The Republicans

want a tax cut
before they vote
on peacekeeping.

I'm surprised
they didn't wear ski masks

and ask for it
in a brown paper bag.

Apparently, Leo
knew about this.

Okay.
We haven't been
able to reach him.

We need this vote,
sir-- if it means

choking down
a tax credit...

I think we should
wait for Leo.

What is it?

Barracks Security found Leo
in the woods at Camp David.

They think it's a
massive heart attack.

They're flying him to
Bethesda Naval right now.

Captioning sponsored by
NBC

WARNER BROS. TELEVISION

He was unconscious
for a long time.

It's a miracle
he has brain function.

Every minute damages
the heart muscle more.

What kind of damage?

They don't know yet.

Will they operate?
They don't know yet.

These are supposed
to be the best

thoracic surgeons
in the world.

What the hell
do they know?

That time is muscle, Jed.

They're going to do
everything they can.

Look, there's no point
in everyone going.

He's gonna be
out for hours.

Charlie can call back
with any updates.

Should we be thinking about
postponing the peace signing?

No. I'll be back in time.

TOBY:
Should we work
out some...

A quick vote on peacekeeping,

and a big show
of international support.

A Security Council resolution
would be ideal.

( siren wailing )

Balloon angio was aborted.

He got three migs of morphine.

We'll give him two more.

Thoracic team's
scrubbing in.

Mr. McGarry,
do you understand me?

You have
near total blockage

in two of the main arteries
to your heart.

Dr. Karnow's one of
the best heart surgeons
in the Northeast.

C.J.:
We should be at the hospital.

Yeah. You know, he
looked pale last night.

I just thought it was
a White House tan.

Could we never use
that expression again?

He should've paced
himself more.

This isn't a guy who treats
his body like a temple.

TOBY:
All right, no Leo.

We'll be lucky to get
the President back
for the signing.

Let's get organized.
The NSC's handling
the signing ceremony.

JOSH:
Remarks are done.

Legislative Affairs
is making notification calls.

Carol says you're having
an interagency meeting

on homelessness
and mental health?

I was.
That's a good idea.

I pushed it back.

Look, we're in the middle

of an intersection
without a traffic cop.

If we want, we can
run things through me.

If we want?

I'm talking
about a process.

And if we want to sacrifice
livestock in your name...?

Fine, a decision-making tree.

How about you be
the Communications
Director; you be

the Deputy Chief
of Staff.

We can use the old
barn for a stage.

How do I tell the
press about Leo?

Just put out a statement--
there's too much

we can't answer.
Yeah. What matters most

in the next 72 hours
is showing

that the peace
accord can hold.

In other words,

A tax cut.
a tax cut.

Are we free-associating?

The leadership wants

60 Democratic votes
for a tax cut.

Or no vote
on peacekeeping.

Which makes it hard
to build a coalition.

And scrape faces
off Mount Rushmore.

But it makes
perfect sense

in Peoria.

And yet here we are,
far from Peoria

and far from
making any sense.

I'll put out
that statement.

Okay, start with
ranking Democrats
on Ways and Means.

They can deliver 30, 40 votes
right off the bat.

No specifics, okay?

We're just jacking up
a tax credit

that's already on the books.

Carol, call State,
let's try to get

statements endorsing
the peace plan

from every member
of the UN Security Council.

If we get them all,
it could make

a Security Council resolution
seem like a done deal.

We've already got
Germany, Japan
and Bulgaria.

State's sending them
as they get them.
Great.

You might want to start
gathering statements

from Security Council members,
build momentum

toward that resolution.

We can tell the President
it was your idea.

Thanks.

Hey, why don't you work
with State,

bundle together any
public statements

from members of the
Security Council.

I got your back on this.

My back gets your back.

This day's gonna be

an absolute nightmare.

What were the indications
for bypass as opposed to a PTCA?

Lesion's too extensive.

He was in profound
cardiogenic shock.

Saphenous grafts?
The internal mammary
isn't viable.

How long till
he's off the pump?

Three hours,

maybe more.
Three hours.

Yeah, he was down
a long time.

Time being muscle.

Yes, sir.

I'll come back when I have more.

Thank you.

Hey. I'm gonna be gone
for about an hour.

Call me if you hear
anything, okay?

State's already
got draft language

for a Security
Council resolution.

Yeah, I heard
Russia's on board.

But Indonesia's
threatening to
vote against it,

and Turkmenistan's
banging on cans for
no reason I can fathom.

Don't comment on
Turkmenistan; don't
even say the name.

Why not?
Their president's
looney tunes.

He created a holiday
for his favorite melon.

A holiday for a melon?
He mandated that
the Turkmen people

gnaw on bones like dogs
to strengthen their
teeth-- he's nuts.

Well, he's got
a Security Council
vote as a chew toy.

Turkmenistan's taking its turn
as a rotating member.

Ignore him--
he'll fall in line.

Where are you going?

Meet Donna's plane
at Andrews.

Anyone who says these jobs
don't come with a cost...

Yeah.

Look at you.

What?
Leo's having

his chest cracked open, and
all morning you've been headed

toward
a high-fructose coma.

I just eat this stuff
when it's lying around.

Which is all the time.
You know what?

Do me a favor, 'cause
I'd like to see you live
past the age of 12.

Stay off junk for the rest
of the week--

see if you can survive on,
you know, food--

and I'll cook you dinner
this weekend.

Wearing an apron
and one of those floppy hats?

Wearing anything you like.

I mean... You know
perfectly well what I mean.

You're on.

Piece of cake.

NEWSMAN ( over TV ):
According to excerpts made
available by the White House,

the President will declare
that "peace,

so long within our sight,
is now within our grasp."

Many believe that
the Camp David summit

was a fool's errand
to begin with,

tilting
at historical windmills...

Stress actually restricts
the flow of blood

through
the coronary arteries.

NEWSWOMAN:
...the President
won't actually be

a signatory
for the peace accord.

What I'm saying is,
it's physiological.

Unless you wanted him
meditating his way

through intelligence
briefings

and sleeping in
a flotation tank,

there's nothing
you did...
I fired him.

What?

Last night at Camp
David, I fired him.

What does that do to
the flow of blood?

NEWSMAN:
...above all,
the President's putting

America's international stature
on the line.

( monitor beeping steadily )

( beeping continues )

and months of escalating
violence in the region.

Push my homelessness
meeting to tomorrow.

The President did a great
thing at Camp David.

Yeah.

Any news on Leo?

They're trying to
stabilize his pressure.

What does that mean,
exactly?

No idea, but I wish
they'd do it to me.

Congressman,
I know you've got

a big bloc of Democratic
votes on Ways and Means,

and you probably think

the timing of this child
tax credit is a bit silly.

I don't think
it's silly in the least.

We're asking our constituents to
support a huge troop deployment.

We ought to give them
something first.

How's $300?

Sold.

Free wrapping at the counter.

As many Democrats
as you can deliver.

We'll release the names today.

How many children

will be eligible
for this expanded credit?

Same as the current tax code--

income phase-out at 110K...

No, how many children
per family?

How many you got?

The deficit hawks are talking

about capping the number
of eligible kids.

Promise me we won't.

We'll leave that to Congress.

And what does the President
say to the parents

who are on their seventh,
eighth child?

"Try renting a movie sometime"?

The Republicans'll say
any disincentive to have kids

is two steps short of
government-ordered abortion.

You want us to look anti-family?

LACKEY:
It's crazy when we're gonna
need $50, $60 billion

for peacekeeping.
Just crazy.

I agree, Congressman,
but the leadership

isn't gonna authorize
peacekeeping without something

to grease
the skids.

Fine. Just go easy
on the grease.

Not too much grease.

We've already got
an income cutoff.

What more can we do?

LACKEY:
Put a cap on the number

of kids per family
at three or four.

Congressman, only a tiny
fraction of families

has more than four kids.

It sends a message
about social responsibility

as well as fiscal.

Social and fiscal.

We'd prefer to leave
the details to Congress.

Peacekeeping's going
to explode the deficit.

We should, uh, subsidize

every Rube Goldberg's
reproductive glands?

C.J.:
They're opening the Qalandia

checkpoint in Jerusalem.

I'll need more on that.

And check in
with the hospital again.

They've started
the bypass.

We won't know anything
for a couple hours.

Just make sure they
haven't had a power outage.

What's next?

You've got a few minutes
before NSA.

Josh is in with House Democrats,
if you want to sit in.

Nah, I'm fine.

JOSH:
Social engineering...

it's just not a priority.

I wasn't pushing that.

I just threw it out
as a suggestion.

I don't think that...

You know we're open

to whatever reasonable solution
you can come up with.

LACKEY:
...may not be popular to say it,

but this is an information age--
we need quality, not quantity.

Thanks.

Excuse me, Congressman,
it's just that...

Josh... is diabetic,
and I haven't had any lunch.

Anything new?

The damage was
pretty severe.

They had to restart his heart
when they took off the clamp.

I need to see the President

before he goes back
to the hospital.

He's in with Will.

Why is he in with Will?

He wanted to see Will.

Well, I want to see him.

I'll try.
He won't be here long.

I heard you finished
your courses.

You're done at Georgetown.

I've still got
some requirements.

Besides courses?

A swim test,
stuff like that.
Ah.

Well, let me know when Will
paddles back to the shallow end.

CHRIS:
Syria wishes

the Golan Heights had
been on the table.

And Holland wishes
little rounds

of gouda
had been on the table--

life's full of disappointments.

My sources say
congressional leaders

have concerns
about the peace plan.

Well, my sources--
the major networks--

have shown them
trashing it for days,

so I can't say
that's a surprise,

but we're working with them now.

CHRIS:
Any word on Leo?

C.J.:
Still in surgery.

That's all I have.

Thanks, C.J.

BROCK:
So is it gonna be
Josh or Toby?

What?

The new White House
Chief of Staff.

Gee, C.J., I'm sorry
your boss and dear friend

is sprawled across
an operating table

having his veins harvested,

but I do think
it's kind of neat

the President
single-handedly

forged a major peace deal.

Why don't I write about it
till my typewriter's

tangled up
in ribbon?

All done?

Unless I'm playing
both parts, yes.

Well, jeepers, Brock,

you care about Leo, too,
but there's a power vacuum here,

and your editors
don't take puff pieces,

and you haven't
owned a typewriter

since the Coolidge
administration.

I would never say "jeepers."

Would, too.
Would not.

Would, too.

Would not, and we're riding

one of the best press waves
of this Presidency.

The words "Nobel Peace
Prize" were in two separate

wire stories,
so I don't have to play

your game
of inside baseball today.

What's Leo's prognosis?

Good.
In the middle
of a bypass,

you have no way of knowing that.

Then why'd you ask?

Because we're talking
about the virtual co-President,

and you can't tell me
who's running the place

in his absence.

The President's running it.

How many hours did he spend
at the hospital

this morning? He's cleared
his afternoon schedule.

Does that mean he's going back?

The Israeli and Palestinian
delegations are at Andrews.

The President's finished
his public schedule.

C.J., I can hold off my editors
for a day,

maybe two, but pretty soon
we're gonna have

to know who's
filling his shoes.

PRESIDENT:
Don't worry,
Mr. Prime Minister,

Congress is going
to schedule a vote.

Yes, sir.

I appreciate your help.

Thank you.

I'll do the rest of these
from Bethesda.

You sure I can skip
the reception?

Delegations are gone--
NSC says it's fine.

Okay.

Sir,

I've never been prouder
to work here

than I was this afternoon,
when the Chairman

and the Prime Minister
shook hands, and you...

Watched them shake hands.

Leo would be proud, too.

Will be proud.

He had his reservations
about all this.

I'm not saying
it won't blow up in your face.

Sir?

I'll pack up everything

and meet you
at the hospital.

Okay.

Anything from...

No.

This, uh, tax bill
we're working on

for the leadership...

Just get us a vote
on peacekeeping.

Some of the
deficit hawks

want us to cap
the number of kids.

I'm thinking four,

but, then, you
stopped at three.

That's probably a barrelful.

Let me know when you get a vote.

You know, if you want someone
working out of Leo's office...

just to...

Shout if you
need anything...

I'll let you know
when we got a vote.

Thank you.

NEWSCASTER:
This is a major victory
for the Bartlet White House.

We do expect a heavy U.S.
military presence in the region

to enforce what could be
a fragile peace...

How was your meeting
with the President?

He asked me to pitch in.

I'm surprised
you didn't pitch a tent.

Can we do some business
before we head

to the hospital?
Lebanon's come out

against the accord,
now France may oppose

a Security Council resolution
until Congress acts.

They don't want to get stuck

doing all the
peacekeeping.

The President of
Turkmenistan's

saying he flipped Lebanon.

He's lying.
We should throw an elbow.

This is some nutbag
dictator-of-the-week

begging for surplus rutabagas.

And you, my friend, are
a bounder and a cheat.

You tried to entrap me

with those brownies.

I didn't put those there,

but if you want traps,
mine have metal jaws.

TOBY:
Folks, the President

wants a unanimous
Security Council vote.

We've lost three countries
in the last hour and both

our diplomatic heavies
are in a cardiac ward.

So, we tell State
to lean on France,

slap a tariff on baguettes,

squeeze 'em with
everything we got.

Sounds good.
Great idea.

Except, the Secretary's

not returning my
calls right now.

Me, too.

Me neither.

Do we have 60 votes
on this tax cut?

Some Congressional action
would really help.

I got 23.
JOSH:
I got 27,

plus the Whip's making calls.

I'll get us home.

I had to promise not
to cap the number of kids,

as if anyone in their
right mind would want to...

Capped at four.

I just told the deficit
hawks we would.

You weren't supposed
to negotiate specifics.

And you were?!

"No cap" doesn't count
as a specific?!

When did we become
the Chinese population bureau?

I forgot this was
the free love clinic.

Let me go get
my kaftan.

There better be 23 votes
hidden in that lining...

Okay, okay-- what
if we get Treasury

to crank out
a quick estimate?

This cap might
not save much anyway,

maybe Josh can
woo back his 27

without losing your 23.

I'll call the Office of
Tax Analysis at Treasury.

You'd better look
for more votes

in case that
doesn't work.

Leo's office got
meeting requests

from a couple
of backbenchers.

Well, call 'em
off the bench,

and find more benches.

What about
Turkmenistan?

It's a nation of Labradors
run by Zeppo Marx.

Can we please stop talking
about Turkmenistan?

Five hours he's been on the
pump, you blanched at three.

What can I say?
Five is more than three.

I don't want you
to sugarcoat this.

If I knew how, I would.

Mr. President, Mrs. Bartlet.

ABBEY:
Toby.

PRESIDENT:
We're still waiting.

Mallory told
us downstairs.

Sir, may I have a moment
of your time?

About tomorrow's schedule.

I'm staying here.

All day.

I don't know, Toby,
there are a few variables

floating around.

Sir, you have
to name an interim

Chief of Staff.

Leo is my interim
Chief of Staff.

For two days,
for two weeks,

especially if you're
going to be...

He's been in surgery five hours.

You want to walk in
and take his car keys?

No, sir, and I care
about his surgery,

but we're fumbling
the tax bill,

our diplomatic strategy is
a... is a game of telephone

and these are the things
we're spending time on.

Read the coverage.
We're doing fine.

Today, sure,

and the second-day story's
how you pulled it off.

But the third-day story

is that Congress
doesn't want to pay,

that our coalition's
fraying, that the spokes

are coming
off the wheel...

It's a couple of days.

This was totally unexpected.

No, it wasn't.

Not with Leo's history
with alcohol,

with pills.

Mr. President...

...surely you had
a process in place.

Not for this, and I'm not
having this conversation here.

You think we'd even be
doing this without him?

No, sir, but Leo is one person.

And there's 290 million more

and they come first.

They finished the bypass.

His heart won't function
without the machines.

They'll try again
in a few hours.

We have to talk to
Mallory about options,

in case that
doesn't work.

Anything else?

No, sir.

The surgery went well,

but his heart still
won't beat on its own.

So he's one for two.

Yeah. One for two.

Welcome home, Donna.

Hi.

You shouldn't wheel me
around like this.

I want to wheel you around.

I feel like one
of those Soviet Premiers

who's secretly been dead
for ten years.

Your speeches
to the Comintern

have been a little flat lately.

Donna, hi.

Hi.

I've... got CEA,
I wish I could...

It's so great
to have you back.

You're weak,
and you know you're weak.

Belly up to the
griddle, Grizelda.

Are we opening a restaurant?

C.J.'s trying to trap me

and she's going down like
a cheap pair of salad tongs.

I'm not sure I follow your...

We'll get
to that later.

Hang on one second.
I gotta get this.

Don't go anywhere.

Okay.

Mr. Speaker, the President's
not looking to muscle you,

that's why I'm here
and not Josh.

Okay.

We almost had
the 60 Democrats.

And then half of them wanted
a cap on the number of kids,

the other half didn't,
things fell apart.

There's other Democrats
out there.

And we're looking
to take those meetings

and we're trying
to hold the ones we had,

but the President's hoping

Congress can vote
on peacekeeping first.

I'm here to
sweeten the deal--

a $400 tax credit.

( phone rings )

Yes?

Uh, sure, I'll put him
on speakerphone.

Hello?

JOSH:
Mr. Speaker,

the President's going postal
over this tax credit.

I practically had
to peel him off the ceiling.

I may be able to talk him down,

but you're gonna have to move
on peacekeeping now.

Josh.

Toby?

Hi.

If you want to get back to...

Sweetening the deal?

Did I mention
it's a very low ceiling?

Allow me to speak
from my own ceiling--

60 Democrats, or no vote
on peacekeeping.

I've got a quorum call,

but I'm, oh, so happy I could
bring you two together.

Bye-bye, Josh.

Toby.

( door closes )

Okay, the thing
about good-cop, bad-cop--

Usually helps...

I need to know when Toby's
back from the Hill.

He's trying
to anoint himself

Lord of the Flies.

And, uh, get me

the Democratic Whip.

You know there's an intercom.

And, uh, Donna...

You know, you
can just use...

...the intercom.

BROCK:
C.J.

Hate to take
your time with this.

What do you think my
time's for, big boy?

Don't do that,
'cause now I've gotta

do my lousy Cary Grant,

and you end up
stealing the scene anyway.

What do you need?

Who's the new White House
Chief of Staff?

I'll tell you about him.

His name's Leo McGarry,
he comes out of Chicago,

an unconventional
choice, sure, but...

I thought we were
off the '30s comedy.

Leo just got
out of bypass,

a few more hours,
he could be out of the woods.

Hmm. Then I guess
these woods

don't include incisional pain,

chronic pain,
swelling in both legs

'cause they took grafts
from both.

I guess they don't
include mood swings,

loss of short-term memory,
loss of blood supply.

'Cause if they do, then
Leo won't be out of them

for three or four months,

and I have to ask:

Who's the new White House
Chief of Staff?

You know so much, you tell me.

I'm hearing Will Bailey.

Then you should have
your hearing checked.

Had a one-on-one with
the President yesterday,

first time all year,
knows the military,

which Josh and Toby don't.

First of all, it's Leo.

Second, Josh and Toby know
every inch of the government--

military, industrial,
animal, mineral...

Lots of folks can manage down.

Will's proven he can manage up,
a fully-fledged adult.

Again, it's Leo,
but Josh and Toby

are both adult,
responsible, highly...

JOSH:
You could throw me
in a vat

of custard with
a chocolate-covered snorkel--

it's gonna be you and me
this weekend, baby!

And you are wearing
a floppy hat!

Congresswoman,
thanks for seeing me.

I'm doing back-to-back meetings
while I'm on the Hill.

Mm. Well, thanks
for seeing me.

Obviously, Leo's
out of commission.

I hope he's doing okay.

Thank you. We're gonna need
your help on this tax bill.

Harder than we
thought to get

60 votes in two days.

Well I'd like to amend it--

to appoint a monarch for the
United States of America.

( chuckles )

Oh, I'm serious.

What are these?

The President's
public schedules

for the last four months.

I've calculated
that he spends

53.7 percent of his time
on ribbon-cuttings

and overseas tea ceremonies,

which may be why, on
his trip to Argentina,

he went to three state banquets
and didn't do a damn thing

for the pork producers
in my state of Iowa.

You can't.
This isn't...

If they don't get
tax relief in this bill,

I'm calling for a monarch,

someone to do the glad-handing
and the ceremonial fluff,

so maybe the President will
help people here at home.

For a Democrat to do this,
we're gonna look like buffoons.

I know the argument--

the staff runs the show

while the President's
off dedicating supermarkets.

All due respect, no one elected
Leo, and no one elected you.

( wry laughter )

Sorry I'm late,
Congressman.

I'm sure Leo would want
to be here himself.

I'm sure.

A few snags
with the tax bill.

So I gather.

The truth is,
we could use your vote.

I'm very upset
that your Justice Department

hasn't filed a single amicus
brief in the Oregon

or Massachusetts
gay marriage cases.

We've debated this a lot.

You know how dicey it is

for the party.

I do.

We're headed into
a Presidential election year.

Can't get too far
ahead of public opinion,

much as we'd like to.

That's why I'd like to help.

By introducing a bill
to ban marriage.

That's an interesting idea.

We drop a bill
to ban gay marriage,

tag a few moderate Republicans
as intolerant,

but, trust me, it hurts
our moderates 50 times more.

My bill bans all marriage.

All. As in...

If the government
can't make it

available to everyone,
I want us

out of the business entirely.

Leave it to churches
and synagogues.

And, of course, um, casinos
and department stores.

Did the RNC put you up to this?

They don't condone my lifestyle,
and I don't condone theirs.

The Democratic leadership.

What about them?

Did they call to warn me

that Benoit wants
to ban marriage?

Ban marriage?

If we won't support
gay marriage,

he wants the government
out of it entirely.

Who takes an idea
like that seriously?

It's a direct-mail bonanza
for the other side.

Even a fringe bill
to ban marriage...

they'll be reenacting Caligula
at the Republican Convention.

You'd look cute
in a toga

and a dog collar.

Thank you.

C.J. says China's
joined the opposition

to a Security Council vote
until Congress acts.

Why isn't the State Department
cracking heads?

And the President
of Turkmenistan told AP

he knows of six more
wavering votes.

No, he doesn't!
He's making that up!

We need a coalition.

We're being mugged
by a melon worshipper.

For Mr. Lyman,
from the Southwest Gate.

Probably stuck me
with the bill, too.

Thank you.

Send it to the President
of Turkmenistan.

PRESIDENT:
The Speaker was
never for this deal.

A Security Council
resolution would prod him.

What sense does
it make to wait?

Thank you, Madame President.

DEBBIE:
Charlie's bringing
a change of clothes

and a new batch
of call sheets.

Tell him to leave them
at the White House.

I'm staying here.

Tell him to leave them
at the White House.

I can do this from here.

The way they wire up
these places,

I could do it from
a cardboard box

in Lafayette Park.

You think this is your fault.

It's not.

He's my best friend.

And I'm not the kind of person
who has best friends.

Because your life
is your work.

And so is his.

Your work.

What are you trying to say?

You chose this-- both of you.

You're running a country,
for God's sake,

not a tree house.

Well, Leo stays in the tree,
if he wants to.

We'll work around his recovery.
Half-days, whatever it takes.

He's not going to work

half-days.

He's not going
to work around his recovery.

He's not going to do
whatever it takes.

That's his decision.

And we know what
that decision will be.

So I should wake him up
and fire him again?

'Cause it worked so well
the first time!

Let's talk about this time.

You've got to keep him
out of that job.

He'll kill himself for you,
if you don't.

Debbie, I'm ready
for my next call.

I'm late for
an economic briefing.

It just started,
but there's...

England, Iceland,
Spain and Canada

have all pledged troops
for peacekeeping.

DOD called me in the car.

That's great, but there's
something else...

Does Canada even have troops?

What do they do,

hurl those little
bottles of maple syrup?

Put out a press release.

C.J.--

Something else. What?

Leo's heart's
beating on its own.

He's still critical,

but he's off the heart
and lung machine.

I'm late for
an economic briefing.

Leo's off the pump.

I heard.

What's this?

A pen.

Am I having a bar mitzvah?

It's from the
peace signing.

The Prime Minister used it
to sign the H in his name.

I tried to get the Z,

but the Israeli Ambassador
beat me to it.

I didn't have anything to do
with the peace agreement.

Let's just say
you were a blood donor.

I want to stop taking
those for granted.

Thank you.

Why is the Treasury
Secretary on TV?

She's probably spinning
the peace deal.

C.J.'s rolling out
Cabinet heavyweights.

We ought to loop her in
on that tax cut.

REPORTER:
...there'll be a Knesset vote
scheduled for Tuesday.

I believe so, Steve.

I'm hopeful.
So's the President.

REPORTER:
There are rumors
circulating

on Capitol Hill
about a new tax cut proposal

from the administration.

Some believe it's a way
to buy support

for a tough peacekeeping
mission.

That's without foundation,
Steve.

The Treasury did an estimate

of the cost of tax cuts
on top of peacekeeping.

It would substantially

increase the deficit

and I can guarantee
the President won't sign it.

REPORTER:
Thank you, Madame Secretary.

The Treasury estimate?

Did you see it?

No. Did you?

Treasury Secretary did.
Yeah.

She looked pretty upset.

Upset. Pretty.

Maybe we should've
looped her in sooner.

Or ever?

That, too.

So, when I suggested
a Treasury estimate,

I guess I assumed we'd told
the Treasury Secretary,

head of all federal tax policy,

what in Alexander Hamilton's
name we were doing.

Good assumption,
though.

I'll call her press office.

See if we can
roll this thing back.

Tax cut just got
more expensive.

I had to give incentives
to pork producers

to... avoid a little
PR problem.

You didn't.

What?

I promised we wouldn't

back any amendments,
so Benoit wouldn't

do something I don't want
to go into right now.

You weren't supposed
to negotiate specifics.

I thought "no specifics"
wasn't a specific.

You made these stupid rules.

And if I was the only one
who broke them...

Well, what kind of
double standard is that?

Find a standard,
I'll let you know

So you just want to run this
if ioff the top of your head?

I want to run it off
something, anything--

a decision-making tree.

With you at the top.

No!

With you at the top.

Me.

Till Leo gets back.

I tried to tell the President
to give you the job.

He seems to want us
topless for now.

You wanted me at the top?

For two days, I've been
trying to hold a meeting--

one lousy kick-off meeting--

on homelessness
and mental health.

That's the best idea
you've had in months.

It was Leo's.

He didn't want the urgent
to crowd out the important.

Getting harder to tell
the difference, isn't it?

Well, someone ought to try.

HAFFLEY ( on TV ):
But we can't just rush in
with billy clubs.

Hamas and other terrorist groups
will have to stand down first.

So, yes, we're in discussions
with the administration

and I hope to have more to say

about a possible
U.S. military role

in the Middle East very soon.

Possible role.

Still, coverage today
was extraordinary.

It's that little burst

of warmth
before you freeze to death.

It's a bit drafty
in here, actually.

Shut the door.

Your meeting with
the President yesterday--

I'm getting questions.

If there's anything
you want to tell me.

He wanted a few thoughts on
NATO's role in peacekeeping.

NATO...

Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada,

Denmark, Estonia...

Well, heavens to Murgatroid.

What?

We have all the NATO countries.

We've been focusing

on the Security Council,
but we have...

Does this mean you're cooking
for me this weekend?

Not a chance.

Carol, call State,
draft a press release,

every NATO member's
endorsed the peace accord.

We're moving the goal post
and claiming the match.

He's only back here to meet
with the CINCs.

Do this fast.

You go first.

Why's that?

You got the special
relationship.

If by special, you mean
bound for deportation...

DEBBIE:
I don't know what
you're worrying about.

He's not that upset.

Really?
Really?

No, just kidding.

He's ready to rip off his finger
and light it like a cigarette.

I'd like to know why

my Treasury Secretary
is on national television

denouncing a tax cut
I never saw

because of an estimate
I never asked for.

We did offer to brief
you on the details, sir.

Brief me now.

We're not quite ready
to brief you on the details.

Because you made a
complete hash of it.

The leadership's sole request

before taking up
peacekeeping.

We're close
to 60 Democratic votes.

It's just that... you
might face a decision

about the fall
legislative agenda.

What is that?

Would you prefer a bill to
appoint an American monarch?

JOSH:
Or a ban on the institution

of marriage?

Except in casinos
and department stores.

You tell the Speaker
and the Majority Leader

that, with my newfound
royal authority,

with all my free time now that
my marriage has been banned,

and with the support
of every NATO member
in my pocket,

I'm sending those peacekeepers
to the Middle East.

If Congress wants
to feed them, pay them,

or ever bring them back,
that's entirely up to them.

TOBY:
I assume we're free

to play with the language
on that.

PRESIDENT:
We're done here.

Oh, Josh.

Perhaps you could
shed some light

on this State
Department cable.

Sir?

"Turkmenistan to U.S.

We didn't order these pizzas."

Bet you're thinking

there's a really good
explanation for that, sir.

Hey.

Hey.

Some welcome home party, huh?

Feels lucky
just to be home.

How's Leo?

He's in step-down.

He can see visitors
pretty soon.

Coming to the hospital?

A bit later, yeah.

Zoey came to see me.

I told her you were back.

She told me you
finished up
at Georgetown.

I wish she'd stop
telling people that.

Why? If I was
done with college,

I'd shout it
from the rooftops.

We've got snipers up there.

That was more of
a metaphorical thing.

The truth is,
I'm not done.

I never took
a swim test.

There's forms
I haven't filed.

You're holding up
your college degree

over paperwork
and laps in a pool?

When I started Georgetown,
the President made me promise

that when I got the degree,
I'd leave this job.

Why would he want you
to do that?

He doesn't want me holding his
jacket for the rest of my life.

I'll see you at the hospital.

Happy almost-graduation,
Charlie.

I'm not wearing a tassel.

I don't care what they do to me.

( monitor beeping steadily )

( slow, regular breathing )

( weakly ):
Mr. President.

A morphine drip and we can
skip the formalities.

I might get one myself,

wheel it into meetings
with the Joint Chiefs.

You're not fired, Leo.

You can delegate,
work part-time,

bring the morphine with you,
for all I care.

You remember what you told me
when you offered me the job?

I need you to
jump off a cliff.

And I did.

And I'd do it again.

But you need
a new Chief of Staff.

We came here
to put the job first,

spend our lives for something
that would outlast us.

I just thought we'd have

a longer line
of credit is all.

I'm gonna need
that list of names.

Only one name.

You planted these baskets.

I promised Donna,

no more traps.

It's like a torture chamber

designed by renegade
Keebler elves.

I never took a moment to thank
you for your work at Camp David.

And for holding
the building togeth--

well, not exactly together--
in Leo's absence.

It's been a rocky
couple of days

and that's my fault,
no one else's.

We're going to meet with
the joint leadership tomorrow

and work out a deal
on that tax cut.

Even then, we've got

some fences to mend at the UN.

So, I imagine we'll see
some pretty rough third-

and fourth-day stories.

But you know what?

There'll be a fifth day,
and a sixth,

and a seventh after that.

So...

...go spend some time
with my outgoing Chief of Staff.

'Cause then we got work to do.

C.J.

Sir?

There's something
I need you to do for me.

What's that?

Jump off a cliff.

We'll talk about it
on the ride back.

Yes, sir.

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