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Previously, on The West Wing:
You have to ask a girl out on a date.
You can't just randomly tumble into a girl sideways
and hope she breaks up with you soon,
Why not?
She goes out with guys. Are you jealous?
No. See?
I don't get jealous.
Gather ye rosebuds, Josh.
Donna, I am not going to knock on her door.
( reporters clamoring )
Katie.
C.J., do you know anything
about the President being sued?
Sued?
There was an item in the Rocky Mountain
something-- Bugler. Bugle.
The Rocky Mountain Bugle.
The Rocky Mountain Herald.
About the President being sued?
Unless this person was making it up.
All right, that's all, everybody.
I'll see you at 5:00.
REPORTERS: Thank you, C.J.
You haven't heard anything about that, have you?
What?
The President being sued.
It's the News, isn't it?
What are you...?
Toby.
There's a group--
a veterans' group that's talking
about not showing up for the anniversary.
I don't know.
Why aren't they going to show up?
They're talking about not showing up.
I don't know.
Do you know anything
about the President being sued?
No.
Katie Witt seems to think
there was an item in the Rocky Mountain News.
I thought it was the Bugler.
It's not.
I don't know anything about it.
Ginger.
Yes. Have you set up a meeting for me?
Yes.
Yes.
The one that's talking about not coming?
Yes.
You haven't yet, have you?
But you will.
Sam.
The President's being sued?
Did you get this from the Rocky Mountain...?
I got it from the DOJ-- Civil Division.
Three months ago at a fund-raiser
the President was asked about air bags.
Someone suggested there are more dangers than benefits.
The President says-- I'm quoting--
"Everything has risks.
"Your car could drive into a lake
"and your seat belt jams
but no one's saying don't wear your seat belt."
Oh, please don't tell me...
That someone thought that's what he was saying? Yeah.
A couple at the fund-raiser got into an accident.
He wasn't wearing a seat belt, he died.
She's suing for contributory negligence.
You can't sue the President.
Lawyers get rich trying to figure out how.
We should do something preemptive.
It's not going to be a big deal.
Isn't that what we usually say
Yes.
Hey, Sam.
Good morning, Mr. President.
Come with me for a second, would you?
Sir, it's possible
you're going to hear some stuff
about seat belts today.
I urge you to ignore it.
No problem.
You straightening things out
with the Smithsonian?
Today.
I'm supposed to speak at the opening of an exhibit
marking the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor,
but there's a small veterans' group
that objects to the exhibit
on the grounds that it's America bashing.
I thought you liked America bashing.
I wouldn't say that.
What would you say?
I wouldn't.
Sir, you needed me?
Frank, what was added?
Hutchinson just told us
that two F-117 strike fighters
have been added to the package.
This is Qumar?
Yeah. That means the total is 15
AMRAAMS, 50 M1-A1s, ten F-15s, the two F-117
strike fighters, and the PAC 3 missile.
There's no way I'll remember that.
Can you send somebody a memo?
Yeah.
This is in exchange for a five-year lease...?
Ten-year lease agreement.
The point is that we've dotted the "I's"
and we're ready to announce.
I'll let C.J. know.
Let C.J. know, but have her
pass it off to the DOD.
You want to bury it?
Passing it off
to another department is usually our way of signaling
we don't want the public to care about it.
I don't know.
Every time we make one of these deals
with a place like Qumar
I feel the women around here look at me funny.
I think you're probably wrong about that.
You think it's just guilt?
Yes, sir.
Well, how should I deal with guilt?
Be more like me.
Yeah, okay.
Anything else, sir?
C.J.'s going to be cool with this, right?
C.J.'s the one you're worried about?
I'm just saying she knows who the good guys are, right?
Okay, thanks.
Thank you, Mr. President.
What's next?
Josh?
Could I get five minutes without being interrupted
by banality?
It's not banality.
It's the boss's wife.
Good morning, ma'am.
Good morning, Josh.
A little heads-up wouldn't be out of line.
I said "Josh."
Yeah. What can I do for you, ma'am?
I got a letter from Amy Gardner.
Yeah, I was cc'd on that letter.
Amy Gardner's
always irate about something.
I wouldn't give it a lot of thought.
I happen to agree with her.
Me, too, and I think it deserves a lot of thought.
I thought you might.
I was kidding.
I don't care.
by NOW, the Women's Action League
and about ten women's groups.
I've got to go to Vienna next week.
Honestly, ma'am, due respect, I think they're overreacting.
We're talking about one word.
Isn't this one word that dramatically alters
the effectiveness of the treaty?
I don't know how dramatically.
The current draft
Yes.
Excluding all other types of prostitution
and sex trafficking?
Well, I suppose that's for prosecutors to...
Well, Amy says that unless the U.N. removes the word "forced"
it's going to be difficult to prosecute at all.
You've spoken with her?
Yes. And I'd like you to do the same.
God...
Really?
See? Now you're wishing it had been banality.
Yes, I am.
Have a good day.
Thank you, ma'am.
Thanks for waiting.
Leo, you know everybody
but these are Drs. Bedrosian and Califf.
This is Leo McGarry.
How you doing?
Fine.
And why are we here?
A herd of cattle in Ogallala, Nebraska
was accidentally given banned feed
and quarantined 18 months ago.
One of the cattle showed
neurological damage.
It was unable to stand-- it's called a Downer Cow.
Tissue was sent to the NVSL in Ames, Iowa
for the first round of tests.
Another sample was sent to the UK's
Central Veterinary Laboratory.
And?
The first round of Iowa tissue
showed a presumptive positive.
Mad Cow?
We don't know that.
But we think?
We have to wait for the UK tests.
Worst case scenario?
We declare a national emergency
and a Class One recall
on all consumer beef.
Mr. McGarry, we've tested over 12,000 samples
and none of them have come up positive.
12,000 out of how many nationally?
40 million adult cattle.
Somebody needs to teach me about this.
What's next?
We'll need a response to Kendall's charge
in the Weekly Standard.
What did he say?
Our education reauthorization bill
has more pork than a pig-pickin' festival.
C.J.: A pig-pickin' festival.
Yeah.
More and more, I'm in favor
of English being the national language.
It's worth knowing
that Kendall's pushing for four new charter schools
in his district, one of which is...
Named after him? Yes. Thank you, Santa.
How about...?
It's pretty hard to get at the pork
when the chairman's hogging the trough.
And that's why he gets all the great women.
What else?
You better be briefed on the arms sale to Qumar
'cause the Pentagon leaked it.
Qumar? Yeah.
In the Gulf?
Is there another one?
No. We lease an air base in Qumar.
It's a ten-year lease, and it's up
and they won't renew without an arms package.
You writing this down?
No. When did we make an arms deal with Qumar?
I really don't know. What does it matter?
Yeah.
What are we selling?
Don't start.
What are we selling?
What are we selling?
15 AMRAAMS,
50 M1-A1 tank kits, ten F-15s
and Patriot missiles for $1.5 billion
and they renew the lease.
Don't start? What the he...?
Anything else?
Thank you.
REPORTERS: Thank you.
This is how it starts.
What?
Trouble. This is how trouble starts.
Seat belts?
Contributory negligence in a wrongful death
is the tort equivalent of ***.
And aren't lawsuits against the President
the tort equivalent of insane?
Toby... Like the guy suing the President
to stop CIA-sponsored radio transmissions in his bridgework?
Yes.
Or the guy who's suing
to have the man from the planet Xanadu
removed from his front yard?
It's Federal.
There's the couple suing
for repayment of all back taxes, ever,
because taxes are unconstitutional.
Technically, they are.
Sam... They're not.
And the bow tie manufacturer from the garment district
who blames the falling market on the fact
that the President doesn't wear bow ties.
There's a reason the Civil Division gave us a heads-up.
What? This one could break.
One random comment, and that's the ball game.
Thank you for coming to Dodger Stadium.
You think *** is going to overtake
education and health care on the campaign trail?
No, you're right
'cause health care and education are much sexier.
What are you suggesting?
That we come out right now for a national seat belt law.
Wait, wait, better yet,
why doesn't he set up his own checkpoint on I-95?
'Cause that's impractical.
So is twisting national policy over a non-story.
It's not going to be a non-story.
Are you talking to me?
No.
Hey.
CHARLIE: Good morning, Mr. President.
Did the Celtics win last night?
No, they got crushed.
you can just say yes or no.
They got pretty well crushed.
What are you doing?
I'm sorry, sir, I had a few minutes.
I'm not on you. I'm just asking.
I'm making notes for a final in Modern American History--
Consumer Movements in Late 20th Century America.
Modern American History sucks.
I had a hunch.
You want to study history, study the Crusades
the fall of the Roman Empire from Theodosius to Justinian.
The Visigoths.
Damn right, the Visigoths.
Modern history's another name for television.
Yes, sir.
Is there any way I can help?
No, thank you, sir.
I'm a master of modern history.
You can ask me anything.
What year did we pass the Clean Water Act?
I don't know.
Okay.
Good morning.
They said you needed to see me.
What's going on?
I'm going to tell you.
Good morning, Mr. President.
Hey.
Sir, at this moment
we're waiting to hear from the UK
on confirmation of a test for Mad Cow.
Oh, man, they got it again?
No, sir, I mean a U.S. case.
A U.S. case?
Yeah. Right now, it's what's called a presumptive positive.
England will come back with definitive results in...
In 72 hours.
Do we say anything in the meantime?
That's my question.
That's why you're here.
I think we have to.
I put the secretary in the briefing room
with experts from the University of Maryland
the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
They lay out the facts, soften up the ground.
No. In three days, we'll have our facts straight.
We can make a full disclosure.
But meanwhile...
Meanwhile, the USDA takes the time
for tracing, checking feed logs, herd movements.
We don't know how many herds
are going to have to be quarantined.
We also don't know how many people know about this already.
There's at least a rancher who knows.
The labs in Iowa and England, the USDA...
They're our labs in Iowa, and the rancher
doesn't have any interest
in telling the world his cattle are sick.
Yeah, we got to wait.
Sir...
The second we say positive
beef futures collapse
and we lose 3.6 billion in beef exports;
fast food is deserted, supermarkets pull beef, it's panic.
I want to talk to some more people
but in the meantime, we wait.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Want to see panic?
Hang on.
You want to see panic?
Let the story break on CNN.
Waiting buys us time to get some reassuring answers.
I don't know how many more times
we can get caught keeping a secret.
Sometimes that's what we're supposed to do.
All right.
Thanks.
Listen.
Yeah?
Not for nothing,
but three weeks ago
a woman in Qumar was executed for adultery.
She didn't need a lawyer, 'cause there wasn't any trial.
It was her husband's word against hers.
Yeah. Later today, I'm going to be announcing
that we're selling them tanks and guns.
Okay.
SECRETARY: Amy should be with you
Thanks.
This is interesting art on the walls.
A lot of very strong women who could hurt me.
Only if you provoke them.
You know, I'm sure she's busy with something
very important, or she wouldn't make you wait.
Special J.
Thanks for waiting.
I was playing a little Nintendo.
I'm kidding-- I was
on a conference call.
You want anything?
Coke? Pepsi? Shrimp cocktail?
Uh, no.
How you been?
Good.
Good.
You know what this is?
A map of global trafficking in prostitution?
Yeah, you know who drew it?
Amerigo Vespucci?
No, but that's funny, J.
It was your State Department.
It's your State Department, too, Amy.
Yeah, a little more yours than mine.
Yeah, every time you write a letter
to the First Lady, she gets into gear
because she feels guilty that she's not doing
She's not doing enough for women.
What would you like?
I'm glad you asked.
Not half as glad as I am.
The current draft of the document says
only forced prostitution and not other types
of prostitution is *** exploitation.
What about someone who answers an ad
for an au pair and ends up working a 15-hour shift
in a ***, where they're held hostage and can never pay
Yeah...
That's not the worst case scenario.
The worst case scenario was five days ago
when four 13-year-old Thai girls were found
having hanged themselves in an abandoned house
on Stonycrest Lane in Bethesda.
Not halfway around the world, Bethesda.
There were sheets over the windows,
triple locks on the doors,
no phones, handcuffs hanging off the bedposts.
For the price of a four-slice toaster
their parents had sold them to work as baby-sitters.
How is that not forced prostitution?
I've got a whole floor full of lawyers who...
In the last, in the last two years
100,000 women-- and by women I'm including
girls who should be playing with Easy-Bake Ovens--
100,000 in the last two years were brought here
and forced to work as prostitutes.
You know how many of these cases we've prosecuted?
Not enough.
250. You guys are about to go to Vienna and make it harder
so, yeah, I dropped the First Lady a note.
What the hell are those?
Those are balloon animals.
I'm sorry?
They're balloon animals.
I have nephews who like balloon animals,
so I got someone to teach me.
Are they abstract?
I'm a beginner.
We can't drop the word.
Because we're not
the only ones living in the world.
Prostitution is legal in Germany,
Turkey, the Netherlands
and if we alienate these countries...
So, they don't sign the treaty.
The more countries who sign it, the more effective it is.
The more toothless a treaty is, the more toothless it is.
That's a permeating syllogism, to be sure.
Hey, I'm not screwing around.
The women's vote isn't just half your constituency.
It's the entire margin of victory.
I don't know,
but in the meantime, I don't think
you've appointed enough women
Amy?
Yeah, we'll hold up your other nominations.
I didn't burn my bras, J.
In fact, I like my bras.
I ring your bell when it's important.
All right.
Would you get back to me before the end of the day
and let me know where we are?
Yeah.
Thank you.
The art around here scares the hell out of me.
That's what it's supposed to do.
Good morning. Thanks for waiting.
How are you, Toby? Evan Woodkirk.
Good to see you.
Mary Klein.
And tell me why I'm talking to you.
The Smithsonian is opening an exhibit marking
the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.
And why is that making veterans unhappy?
Well, let's be clear.
The USF is a very small group-- maybe 2,000 members--
and only 30 of them were going to be attending.
They're not attending anymore. They're boycotting.
It's not like we're
not going to be able to fill those 30 seats at the opening.
We don't see it as a problem.
Well, the President's
speaking at the opening, so, it's a bit of a problem
'cause these guys aren't going to keep
their unhappiness to themselves--
I don't care if there are 2,000 or 20--
and I don't want the President
where there are pissed-off veterans.
They have nothing to be concerned about.
Tell me what they're going to tell me
They'll tell you
they're troubled by the commentary on the propaganda posters.
Which is?
Sorry?
The commentary.
These were fear-inspiring posters.
They were incredibly racist.
And you say so in the commentary?
Yeah?
Toby, "The Sowers" portrays the Japanese
as hulking barbarians tossing human skulls onto the ground.
How about the exhibit titled "America's Vengeance?"
So you've reviewed the material?
"Vengeance" is pretty provocative, don't you think
especially when followed by the burnt contents
of a child's lunch box?
Of course, I've reviewed the material.
( knocking at door )
Excuse me, I'm sorry.
Do you have a moment?
Yeah.
I want you to get with C.J. when you can.
Sure, why?
A lab in the UK is going to let us know in 72 hours
if the first U.S. case of Mad Cow is in Nebraska right now.
We got a presumptive positive on...
72 hours?
Yeah.
We should keep it to ourselves.
That's what I think.
C.J. disagrees and the President wants to hear more.
Okay.
Thanks.
Leo?
Yeah.
You know, the President's being sued, right?
I'm sorry?
The President's being sued.
Oh, the guy from the Planet Zanzibar.
Xanadu, no.
The seat belts.
Yeah, I saw.
That's not going to be anything.
The Washington Times is running it
under "Bartlet Accused of Contributory Negligence."
I didn't think The Washington Times
could spell all those words.
Yeah. A29, above the fold.
There's a fold that deep in the paper?
Look, after three, four, five days
it's going to be picked up by the Post
and The New York Times.
Let's be ahead of it.
How?
We come out for a national seat belt law.
National seat belt law's never going to happen.
Why?
New Hampshire.
Michigan.
What's the only state without a mandatory seat belt law?
New Hampshire.
And where do they make the cars?
Fair enough.
Can I explore it?
Knock yourself out.
Yeah.
It's bluster.
The appointments aren't going to be held up.
At least not by Lady Godiva.
Tell me she wasn't bare-breasted,
at least outside your imagination.
Yeah, no, she was, yeah.
I'm saying, if she wants to front off
it's not like there's a moral imperative
for the White House to get behind... what?
Equity...
Equity in Insurance Coverage for Contraception
or whatever it is the ladies want.
More money for sewing notions and whatnot.
Suffrage, for instance, and the right to smoke.
If she wants to throw heat
we can hold off a few months' backing
for the Child Support Enforcement Act.
But you don't want to do that.
Of course, I don't want to do that, Donna.
I'm a friend of the working mom.
You want her to have sewing notions.
I do.
Can I ask you something?
Yeah.
Do you think it's possible there's a broader point?
No.
Why?
What?
That leaving the word "forced" in the treaty
condones consensual prostitution.
That's ridiculous.
I'm saying it can be spun that way.
That we condone prostitution?
Yeah.
It can't be spun that way.
Okay.
You think it can?
I just did.
All right.
All right, would you check if C.J.'s in her office?
Toby, it's not like the entire exhibit is anti-American.
Hang on, it's not like any of the exhibit is anti-American.
And I can't believe I have to have
this conversation with you, of all people.
Well, I don't know what "me of all people" means, but...
Aren't you the one always standing
I'm not.
This is different from the NEA.
It is.
For one thing, the President's being asked
to speak, which is the only reason I can have you
sitting here in the first place.
Listen, uh... something's come up
and I'm done, if you're done, so...
I appreciate yours.
Can I call later today?
Please.
Yeah.
Fine.
So, I just came from seeing Amy Gardner.
Yeah, how'd it go?
Well, I showed her who's boss.
Who'd it turn out to be?
It's still unclear
but let me ask you something.
The U.N. treaty, Vienna--
if we have to make a to-do
about it being "forced" prostitution,
isn't there a chance it can be spun
that we're condoning prostitution?
Yeah.
How much of a chance?
It'll happen.
Yeah.
Well, this is a whole new thing then.
Leo told me.
Close the door.
Told you what?
C.J.: Close the door.
There was a presumptive
positive on some cattle in Nebraska.
What does that mean?
We have to wait 72 hours for a test.
Yeah.
No.
Yeah.
Oh, my God, you're kidding me.
Really, no.
Well, I guess if the door's closed,
we're not saying anything yet.
Well, that's what we're supposed to talk about.
What do you think?
You know, we have an extra $1.5 billion
we weren't counting on?
What?
There's an extra $1.5 billion.
In Qumar, when a woman gets ***,
she'll generally get beaten
by her husband and sons as a punishment,
so, at some point, we should talk
about how to spend the $1.5 billion they're giving us.
Okay, so...
should we tell anybody?
This is where the Federal Government
forces localities to do stuff
but isn't at all interested in paying the bill.
Don't give me their grumbles.
According to Frank Segal
Danville, Virginia, with a population of 55,000
spent 13,800 staff hours
and $176,000
complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Are employees in wheelchairs
supposed to work in the parking lot?
No, sir.
Segal thinks it's unfair
Yeah, yeah.
How much would it cost the Federal Government
to amend the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
to cover all unfunded mandates?
Tens of billions, I would think.
Let's find out for sure
and then tell Segal to sit down and shut up.
Anything else?
No.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Mr. President.
So paint a picture for me, would you?
We find the source of the problem
which will be the feed.
We buy the cattle and slaughter them.
How many?
Tens of thousands.
That's the live cattle.
What about the beef?
Well, FSIS'll do a Class 1 recall
and get it off the shelves, not that they need to.
Nobody's going to buy beef for a couple of years.
That's a $150 billion industry.
What's the West going to do for a living?
Well, this generation of ranchers is done.
They won't get back on their feet.
People have known about this disease.
They're still eating beef in record numbers.
That's 'cause it's been on the other side of the ocean.
Once we announce a positive,
steak houses are done, fast food is done.
And then the corn and soybean growers, right?
The dominoes don't end on this.
Any good news?
For fishermen.
So we've got frightened parents, rising food prices,
public panic, massive layoffs
and something we've never worried about before--
we're wondering when the next case is going to happen.
Yeah?
Always happen when something we take completely for granted
stops working for a minute.
Yeah.
( sighing )
Okay.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Oh, hey, do you know when we passed the Clean Water Act?
No.
How could you not know that?
My water's clean. I don't ask questions.
What'd I just say?
I wasn't really listening.
All right.
Thank you.
Yes, sir?
Nope, nothing.
You sure there's nothing you need?
No.
You know, Charlie...
Yeah.
...history can't be reduced to dates and names.
Well, I'm pretty sure this final can.
Nah, I'm starting you out with a copy of the speech
George Perkins Marsh used in 1845
to rouse the agricultural community of Rutland, Vermont.
And then you're going to need to study on the word "ecology"
as coined by the German biologist Ernst Haeckel.
Am I being punished for something?
It's better in the original German, of course
but obviously the translation'll be fine.
Good.
SAM: Hey.
Sam.
Sam, how you doing?
Good, good. Thanks for coming down. Come on back.
So, I got a funny joke the President can do
about telling people not to wear seat belts.
Well, he didn't tell people not to wear their seat belts.
He should say, "Maybe I should go back
to concealing my health."
That's a good one.
He can use it at the Rotary Club.
By the way, Josh Lyman shouldn't make jokes about Rotarians.
They're good people.
He feels bad about that.
They volunteer their time
even though nobody's got enough of it.
He's going to apologize.
I'm a Rotarian, my dad's a Rotarian.
My dad's an Elk.
Elks are okay.
So, anticipating this might become a thing
I wanted to float the idea of a national seat belt law.
What's the Democratic leadership going to say?
They're going to say no.
First of all, the Democratic
leadership doesn't do damage control for the President.
Well, you know, I think it's about more than damage control.
Only 68% of drivers are wearing their seat belts.
We get that up to 90% and we save 5,000 lives a year.
And if we get kids to eat their spinach
they'll be as strong as Popeye.
We've done driver safety, we've done food drives,
Who?
He really is going
to apologize, Tom.
Sam...
Look, secondary seat belt laws don't work.
You can only fine someone
if you've stopped them for something else.
Isn't it time for a tough law?
To make up for a bonehead comment at a fund-raiser?
The governors don't like it. It's Federalism run amok.
The governors don't have a vote in Congress.
But the Congressmen do and they won't vote for it, either.
Okay, well, then, it was
a shorter meeting than I thought it was going to be.
Thanks.
You won't catch a Rotarian not wearing his seat belt.
An Elk, maybe.
Yeah.
JOSH: Yeah? Leo's office wanted you to know
that the OMB's going to do a quick report
on expanding unfunded mandates
and it doesn't mean anything, but they're doing it anyway.
My tax dollars hard at work.
I'll be at my desk.
Say, Donna, you've worked as a ***. Yeah?
Let's just say.
Okay.
Why should what you do be against the law?
Well, in this country, you're not allowed to buy and sell people.
You're not selling yourself, you're renting out your body.
You're not allowed to do that, either.
Don't fashion models do it every day?
It's different.
It's only different because we say it's different.
When you get a massage, isn't it just a matter of degrees?
Lots of things are just a matter of degrees.
Wouldn't legalizing prostitution allow women to unionize and get
access to social services and health care benefits
and create some control over the industry?
You think if you make prostitution legal
then prostitutes are going to suddenly want everybody
to know they're prostitutes?
Hmm.
What?
The rare valid point.
I'll be back on my street corner.
Okay, round two.
I'm Toby Ziegler, I'll be your referee.
Toby, I'm Barney Lang, National Commander.
We spoke on the phone.
Yes.
Please meet Ed Ramsey
and Ronald Kruckshank.
These are two
of our regional directors.
Welcome to the White House.
RONALD: Been here before.
My unit was invited by Franklin Roosevelt.
That chair used to be over there.
It's nice to meet you.
BARNEY: Toby, before we get started
could I hit you up for a personal favor?
I don't think the President's available for pictures today,
but I can check.
No, it's my buddy, Arthur Holly.
He's been in a wheelchair 'cause he lost his left leg
and the wheelchair is falling apart.
We've been doing a pretty good job with duct tape,
but the guy could really use a new one
and Medicaid is dragging its feet on this.
Leave me his information on a piece of paper.
I can make a phone call for you.
I appreciate that, son. Thank you.
Okay.
Tell me the one point you find most offensive
and would most like to see pulled from the exhibit.
Well, there are a number of points.
What's at the top of the list?
The sections that have
the overreaching message
of a vengeful American and a victimized Japan.
Well, you don't want to ignore
the effects of the bomb.
ED: We don't want to ignore facts,
but in that particular case,
we don't agree with their version of the facts.
The 63,000?
They say 63,000 American lives
would've been lost if we'd invaded.
Marshall told Truman that a ground offensive
would take the lives of at least 250,000.
Well, there's some evidence to suggest
that Marshall told Truman that
and some estimates say 150,000.
Some say 268,000.
There are discrepancies.
I didn't see you there.
This is C.J. Cregg.
I'm Barney Lang.
Ed Ramsey, Ronald Kruckshank.
Good to meet you.
Uh, you need anything?
I just came by to listen.
Before I forget, I want to put you three in a room
with the exhibit directors from the Smithsonian.
Can I do it today?
Sure.
Stay by a phone.
Okay.
Can I interrupt for a second, Toby?
Yeah.
( deep breath )
Mr. Ramsey, I saw on your information
you were in the Tenth Armored Division.
Private First Class, Tenth Armored Division,
Third Army, Second World War.
You fought in the Battle of the Bulge, sir.
Yes, I did. My unit broke through
the German Seventh Army's buffer, which was critical
in winning Bastogne.
That was the moment
we beat the Nazis on the Western front.
That was a hell of a moment.
( chuckles )
I have a granddaughter like you.
She's a chemist.
Can I ask you to imagine something?
I suppose.
Imagine if you weren't as successful as you were.
Imagine, say, that Hitler had taken Antwerp
and we'd lost the Battle of the Bulge
and Germany held the Western front.
BARNEY: It wouldn't have mattered.
The Russians crushed them on the Eastern front.
They wouldn't have won the war.
No, but even if the Russians
kicked them out of Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria
they could've held on to France, maybe kept Italy.
Certainly, they could've defended Germany.
Now it's six decades later
and while they didn't conquer Europe
the Nazis exist as a recognized government
in some small corner of the European Union.
That would never have happened.
Really?
They killed a quarter of my unit.
They killed a third of my classmates
from Erasmus High School.
We would never have allowed...
We did it in Cambodia.
TOBY: C.J., knock it off.
You're protesting because you think
the Smithsonian isn't paying proper respect
to what you and the soldiers
of the Tenth Armored, Third Army,
risked and lost your lives for six decades ago.
How would you feel,
in the hypothetical I just described,
if I told you that at my press briefing at the end of the day
I was announcing that we were selling tanks,
missiles and fighter jets to the Nazis?
Excuse me.
Step outside.
( door closes )
Look...
You know, if I was living in Qumar
I wouldn't be allowed to say "Shove it up your ***, Toby,"
but since I'm not, shove it up your ***, Toby.
SAM: Yes, sir.
You hear about the lawyer
who opened a chain of dry cleaners?
Press your lawsuit while you wait?
There was a better joke in there someplace, right?
Probably not.
Sir...
Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity.
You can't sue the king.
We brought it over from England.
Yeah, but he's not immune
from the court of public opinion.
Forgot to bring that one over.
The RNC'll have a press conference.
The RNC has a press conference when I sneeze.
I think we need to come out
for a strong national seat belt law.
Congress won't pass it.
I'm not saying we need to have the law.
I'm just saying we need to come out for it.
It'll end the question of where you stand.
People know where I stand.
If they don't know, they can ask me.
You were governor of New Hampshire, sir,
the only state...
And I was for it then.
I never did anything about it because nobody wanted it
and, frankly, why waste time and capital?
C.J. will get asked about it at the 5:00 briefing.
I can't be responsible
every time somebody irrationally twists my meaning.
People are responsible for themselves.
Today's cars are safer than they've ever been.
They've all got airbags, they've all got seat belts,
and they're all crash tested from here to Tuesday.
All that's left is personal behavior and bad luck,
and I'm not responsible for either one.
And, Sam, if Mrs. Landingham was here right now
she'd say the exact same thing,
Yes, sir.
I don't blame this woman for suing me.
I'm not a king and I'm not sure
the law should treat me like one,
though certainly for the moment I don't mind.
I'm not blaming her.
She's got to go someplace with her grief and her anger.
The ones who should be horsewhipped with a horsewhip
are the ones exploiting her grief for political gain,
and I'm not getting down with those guys.
Yes, sir.
Let Congress pass that law, I'll sign it.
Yeah, let's go, get Leo.
Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you.
Good evening, Mr. President.
Isn't there a joke to be had with lawsuits and dry cleaners?
I've been working on it all day.
You've been working on other stuff though, too, right?
Yeah.
Good evening, sir.
Hey.
Okay.
Okay, what do we think?
When do you tell the public what you know?
I think it's right now.
And I think it's when you know something.
I think absolute confirmation has to be the rule
when we're talking about public panic.
JOSH: Are we sure
there's going to be public panic
if we're only saying there's a chance?
We think, maybe...
usually it's negative.
I do, because we're not talking about sushi, it's hamburgers.
I'm not kidding around.
It's these things, the everyday things,
the everyday American things, the 99-cent things,
that when you suddenly have to be afraid of them,
strike at the center of our equilibrium.
LEO: I'll tell you what else.
Democrats--
not exactly loved by the beef industry to begin with--
are going to get killed for causing false panic.
Yeah, what we say now
is going to be measured against the facts--
the consequences of which will be far worse, if we
don't say anything and it goes the other way.
I disagree.
Then pretend for a moment the cow has MS.
No, I don't think I will.
Is something going on with them?
I think they can hear you.
They're standing right in front of you.
That was a bad analogy, I apologize.
What I meant was
that the public will not forgive a President
who withheld information
that could've helped them or saved lives.
Second, in a crisis, people need to feel
like soldiers, not victims.
Third, information breeds confidence, silence breeds fear.
That's my argument.
If it comes from the President...
TOBY: It shouldn't come from the President.
It shouldn't even come from the White House.
JOSH: It should come from Health and Human Services.
LEO: Not the Secretary, mid-level.
All right, that's what we'll do then.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, sir.
Toby.
What's going on with the Smithsonian?
It'll be fine, sir.
Where are you leading them?
Not to turn a blind eye
toward the dark periods in our history, for sure,
but I think there's a time and place for that
and this isn't it.
You're changing.
No, I'm not.
Yes, you are.
A very, very little bit.
Okay.
Mr. President, could you
point me in the right direction
on something?
One of the vets who was here
has a buddy whose wheelchair's fallen apart.
Who can get something done overnight at Medicaid?
Ah, Toby, we've got to straighten out Medicaid.
Yeah.
You know, after the Civil War
veterans had to come to D.C. to get their pensions.
They had to visit the office personally.
They waited for a clerk to look through
all the Civil War records until their papers were found.
Do you know what the papers were bound with?
No.
Red tape.
That's where it comes from.
I didn't know that.
Go and apologize to C.J. for whatever you did.
I didn't do anything.
Like that matters.
Thank you, sir.
What's next?
What? You know, sir, that story
about red tape and Medicaid was interesting, but...
What?
Nothing.
I'm sorry, you've got
economic advisors in the Roosevelt Room.
It was interesting but what?
But the man just wanted a wheelchair.
Toby's trying to get him a wheelchair.
I forgot. Yes.
Hey, I forgot, is all.
Get the information from Toby.
I'll make the call myself.
Maybe the guy can wheel himself around on a book
by German biologist Ernst Haeckel.
Get the information
and get the director of the CMSO on the phone.
Yes, sir.
1972.
I'm sorry, sir?
Is when we passed the Clean Water Act.
Thank you, sir.
You know nothing about the Visigoths.
Yes, sir.
And I know everything.
Yes, sir.
Hey.
What are you doing here?
I went up to your office and they said you were here.
Eleanor Roosevelt
once made a speech to the U.N. General Assembly
saying that we should decriminalize prostitution.
Eleanor Roosevelt was the one who liked hats, right?
The Undersecretary for Global Affairs and Regina Pierce
are going to sit with our legal advisor at the U.N.
and look at some alternative language.
I heard.
Indeed.
That's right.
Are you walking me back to my office?
How's making prostitution illegal
not suppressing women's rights?
How is making *** use illegal
not suppressing a *** user's rights?
It is, but ***'s bad for you.
So's being a ***.
How am I not supposed to call you a hypocrite
when you say that the government
shouldn't tell women what to do with their bodies?
Exercise some self-control, I guess.
AMY: Prostitution is about the subjugation
of women by men for profit.
JOSH: But the profit goes to the women.
In some cases, but I know of no little girl,
and neither do you,
who says, "I want to be a *** when I grow up."
They do it because they're forced to
out of financial circumstances
and dire economic need is a form of coercion.
But the guy who breaks into my apartment
and steals my stereo does it for the same reason.
And he's going to jail.
Yeah, because he broke into my apartment
and stole my stereo
and nobody wants that to happen to them,
but you can't say that about the other thing.
( elevator bell dings )
J...
Forget for a second that it's a women's issue.
The law isn't a deterrent.
Prostitutes advertise
in the Yellow Pages.
J...
Aren't we just serving to create more criminals
in a criminal environment?
Josh.
Yes.
Why did you come here?
To tell you about the thing.
The U.N.?
Yeah.
I'd heard.
I didn't know that.
Why didn't you call?
I'm sorry?
Why didn't you call me on the phone?
Your office is on the way home.
It's 5:00.
Yeah.
You go home at 5:00?
I just stopped by.
Are you dating your assistant?
No.
I heard you might be.
I'm not.
She's cute.
She's my assistant.
Are you dating Joey Lucas?
No.
She's not your assistant.
I know.
You know the thing
with guys like you?
Why are we talking about this?
Because you stopped by.
I'm a visible guy--
people say things about me, people write things,
and what I do reflects on the President.
Nice save.
I didn't make that up.
Okay.
What's the thing about guys like me?
Hmm?
What's the thing with guys like me?
You want to get hit over the head.
I have to go.
I'll see you.
Taxi!
What the hell...?!
It was a water balloon.
What are you, 15 years old?
You almost hit me in the head!
CAROL: Folks, would you take your seats, please.
The briefing will begin in a few moments.
Please take your seats.
Hey, Nancy.
I understand you're troubled by the arms sale.
The Nazis were a bad analogy.
We're not fighting a war with Qumar.
Well...
this isn't the point, but we will.
Of course we will.
Of course we'll be fighting a war with Qumar one day
and you know it.
So, well, at least we'll be familiar
with the weapons they're using.
We need Kalifa Air Base--
we refuel there and we keep AWACS radar.
We don't need it. It's convenient.
C.J.... We don't need it.
We've got Turkey. We've got Bahrain.
We've got Diego Garcia. Qumar's convenient.
Yes, it's convenient.
They beat women, Nancy. They hate women.
The only reason they keep Qumari women alive
is to make more Qumari men.
What do you want me to do about it?
How about instead of suggesting
that we sell the guns to them,
suggesting that we shoot the guns at them.
And by the way, not to change the subject,
but how are we supposed to have any moral credibility
when we talk about gun control, and making sure that guns
don't get in the hands of the wrong people?
God, Nancy, what the hell are we defining as the "right" people?!
This is the real world and we can't isolate our enemies.
I know about the real world
and I'm not suggesting we isolate them.
You're suggesting that we eliminate them.
I have a briefing.
You're suggesting that...
I'm not suggesting anything.
I don't suggest foreign policy around here.
You are right now.
It's the 21st Century, Nancy, the world's gotten smaller.
I don't know how we can tolerate this kind of suffering anymore,
particularly when all it does
is continue the cycle of anti-American hatred,
but that's not the point either.
What's the point?
The point is that apartheid was an East Hampton clambake
compared to what we laughingly refer to
as the "life" these women lead,
and if we had sold M1-A1s to South Africa
15 years ago, you'd have set the building on fire.
Thank God, we never needed to refuel in Johannesburg.
It's a big world, C.J.
and everybody has guns.
And I'm doing the best I can.
They're beating... the women, Nancy.
Good evening.
One cake-- it's nice to share.
Quickly, before I take questions
a late addition to Monday's schedule.
The President will be
at the opening of the Smithsonian exhibit
commemorating the 60th anniversary
of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
That's 3:00 in the afternoon
and I'll have more information Monday morning.
Labor Secretary Carl Reed
will brief from this podium in one hour's time
on our school-to-work initiative and-- let me check--
yeah, while that's going on, there'll be a briefing
at the Department of Health and Human Services
by USDA Director David Reingold.
Sometime Tuesday, you'll be briefed at the Pentagon.
The DOD will be announcing that we've renewed our lease
another ten years at the Kalifa Air Base in Qumar.
I understand they've promised to paint and add new carpet.
A delegation from...
State and the U.N. will be sitting down
to go over some last-minute language for Vienna,
and, for that trip, we'll have your schedules ready
middle part of next week.
Who's got questions?