House of Cards (2013) s04e07 Episode Script

[theme music playing.]
[Dunbar on TV.]
supporting my efforts to reform the Democratic Party and to restore integrity to the Oval Office.
[Hannah sighing.]
Unfortunately, I won't be able to complete the work I set out to achieve.
It has become clear that my candidacy has become a distraction rather than a solution that controversy has trumped the issues.
And for that reason, I am ending my bid - [volume increases.]
- to be the Democratic nominee for president.
That was Heather Dunbar from her campaign headquarters in Washington.
With Dunbar out, that leaves President Underwood as the presumptive nominee.
The focus now is on who President Underwood's running [electric razor whirring.]
Good morning.
- Good morning.
- [chuckles.]
[Hannah moans.]
[breathing heavily.]
[sighing.]
- [moans.]
- [both breathing heavily.]
[Charlie.]
Mommy? - [Hannah sighs.]
- [both panting.]
[Hannah chuckles.]
[sighs.]
Hello, darling.
- I want breakfast.
- You want breakfast? - Where's Daddy? - Oh, he's getting ready for work.
- [electric razor whirring.]
- I'm gonna cut your hair.
- No! No! No! - [chuckling.]
I'm gonna cut your hair.
- No! No! No! No! [laughing.]
- [chuckling.]
What do you mean "no"? - [laughing.]
No! - [Conway growling.]
I'm gonna make you a little bald boy.
- No! No, shave Mom's head, not mine! - Shave Mom's head? Okay.
- [gasps.]
No! No! - I'll shave Mom's head.
- [Hannah laughing.]
No.
- I'll shave Mom's head.
[Charlie and Hannah laughing.]
[Claire.]
We've been moving so quickly.
Maybe we should take a step back.
Think this through again.
We can't afford to be weird with each other, Claire.
Weird? What do you mean? I saw you in the bathroom looking at me.
It's not the first time.
Sometimes I want to say something, I just don't know what to say.
- It's uncomfortable.
- Maybe it will always be like that.
But we have to separate that out.
It can't affect our plan.
Because that's the one thing that we have figured out.
When Walker and Vasquez betrayed us, pulled the Secretary of State right out from under my feet, there was no room for doubt, and you made me remember that.
We took a path a difficult one, because we had no guarantee where it was going to lead us.
It took a steel goddamn stomach, and so has everything else we had to do since.
So don't worry about you and me now.
Find your steel, Claire.
Thank you all very much for coming.
Have you seen this? Hmm? [Brockhart.]
ICO.
Islamic Caliphate Organization.
Ahmed and Yusuf Al Ahmadi.
They've been smart about keeping split up.
If one dies, the other takes over.
But they're holding a planning session in northern Syria.
Both are there right now.
[Frank.]
I got my ass handed to me over the Jordan Valley.
I'm not gonna launch a missile strike unless I believe that there's an overwhelming national security threat, and I'm just not convinced that they pose one.
The president believes ICO to be a serious threat.
We believe they are actively recruiting American citizens.
Accordingly, the government is requesting a Section 702 upstream surveillance order.
- Domestic surveillance.
- Monitoring traffic, not individuals.
Approach the bench.
The FISA Court.
Classified rulings behind closed doors.
Not even these men know we have a lawyer in there this morning.
ICO already has three oil fields under their control.
They made a fortune selling crude when Russia cut down production.
It's blowback, sir.
It's our responsibility to address it.
If we launch strikes, we radicalize even more extremists.
Sir, their army will grow.
The Ahmadis are former Baathists with strong business ties.
We can cut the head off before they get bigger if we strike now.
If the threat level increases, we'll reassess.
[Brockhart.]
Sir, we have a very limited window.
General, the president's made his decision.
[Frank.]
Thank you very much, gentlemen.
I have rubber-stamped some borderline requests, Steve, but this is very I know.
I was surprised, too.
But it's straight from the White House.
Well, this is going to take some time.
I have to do a proper review.
[Claire.]
This gun was illegally obtained by a career criminal at a gun show where background checks aren't mandatory.
This gun killed Officer Dempsey's partner at a routine traffic stop.
This one was ordered on the Internet.
No background checks.
This gun killed Bob and Sue Grant's 14-year-old son.
And this is the gun that killed Agent Edward Meechum.
[Frank.]
Not many Secret Service agents buried at Arlington.
I'd say he earned his place.
I took it for granted, how important he was to me, how much I leaned on him.
It's clear to me now, now that he's gone.
I don't wanna make the same mistake with you, Donald.
- How do you mean? - I didn't realize how much I lean on you.
The way you handled everything after I was shot, it was masterful.
Well, I I guess I kept my head above water.
Claire told me how supportive you were, what a natural leader you proved to be.
I want that by my side, Donald, the same way that Meechum was, as my running mate.
You want me on the ticket? A heartbeat away from the presidency is a serious matter now.
Conway is a tough opponent.
I never expected you'd want me.
I thought I was just a placeholder.
No, we can win, Donald.
You and I, together.
I don't know, Frank.
You need someone who's hungry for this.
I'm not a great campaigner.
- Vermont doesn't help you.
- You have a deep sense of duty, like all the men and women here who served their country, and that's far more important to me than strategy.
[Blythe sighs.]
To be honest, I don't know if I want it, Frank.
When I had to take over, the stress, the responsibility Two weeks as president was about as much as I can handle.
[Frank sighs.]
I'm disappointed, Donald.
But I understand.
And I won't pressure you.
Should we do this? [agent.]
Okay.
[camera shutters clicking.]
[Blythe.]
Do you have other folks in mind, if it isn't me? Well, we should probably reach out to the leadership, and get their advice.
But you're right.
Whoever it is, they need to be hungry for it.
All of these deaths could have been prevented.
- [camera shutters clicking.]
- And that's why I'm working with a coalition of senators to introduce a law that will extend background checks to all gun transactions, including gun shows and online sales.
And let me be clear, this is not an assault on gun ownership.
It's an assault on illegal gun ownership.
- I'll now take questions.
- [all clamoring.]
[Hannah.]
The next President of the United States, the love of my life, the best father a mother could hope for, - my husband, Will Conway.
- [all cheering.]
- [all clapping.]
- [chanting.]
Conway! Conway! Conway! [all cheering loudly.]
Hello, New York! [LeAnn.]
He's ahead by double digits in every battleground state.
[Patricia.]
The RNC is raising two-to-one what we have.
- This guy is a rock star.
- [Womack.]
We need our own rock star.
[Bob.]
Who are you thinking of, Mr.
President? Donald Blythe.
Uh, don't you think there's a more strategic choice? I am being strategic.
Look, it's one thing that Dunbar's dropped out, but we have to get her supporters.
And Donald Blythe, he oozes integrity.
He can help us get all of those disillusioned people back into our camp.
[Bob.]
What about moderates in the general? - We need somebody from a swing state.
- With deep fundraising pockets.
[Frank.]
Well, look, we can sell Donald's experience.
He's filled the shoes.
I see no reason to change horses midstream.
- He doesn't check off enough columns.
- [Bob.]
We want a fighter, not a professor.
I agree, sir.
We can do better than Blythe.
Well, I am hard-pressed to come up with anyone better than a man who actually knows what it's like to sit at that desk.
We can offer you some names.
- He'll be devastated.
- Let me talk to him.
No, it's better that I do.
Let me talk to him.
We'll get you that list right away.
Well, all right.
If you can come up with some alternatives, I'm certainly willing to listen.
Thank you all very much.
And I believe the best government is that which governs least.
[all cheering.]
That's not a new idea.
It's an old one.
The founder of our party, Jefferson, said it.
We need to make it new again.
We need a government that doesn't interfere with people's lives, with their liberty, with their pursuit of happiness.
- [all cheering.]
- Isn't that what we need to protect? Yes.
And that's where President Underwood is failing us the most.
Doug, where are we on the, uh FISA Court could take a while.
The judge was reluctant.
- I should set up a meeting anyway.
- I've never liked this plan, sir.
I don't think we should do anything until we get the court ruling.
Plan A is in motion, let's let that pan out first.
If plan A works, then fine, Pollyhop is no longer a problem, but if it doesn't, I need to start laying the groundwork.
- Macallan could take some convincing.
- We don't know this man Yeah, we don't absolutely need to widen the circle right now.
[LeAnn.]
We do, sir.
Just to get this sort of surveillance operational can take weeks.
Yeah, but Doug is right.
We don't know him.
He's a stranger to us.
He is the top data scientist in the country, maybe the world.
- He was exploring behavior adoption and - Stop.
We are talking domestic surveillance, LeAnn.
And the only theory I'm interested in is risk versus votes.
And he gets us the votes.
Didn't you hear the leadership? They said Conway is destroying us.
Macallan reverses that, he wins us the election.
[sighs.]
"ICO occupies Kurdish stronghold.
" How many of you have heard of ICO? They're Muslim extremists taking over oil fields in Syria.
The media is barely covering them because the White House is turning a blind eye.
As the Governor of New York I can't turn a blind eye to terrorism because it's been right here on our doorstep.
You know what I did when 9/11 happened? I joined the Air Force because I wanted to serve my country, just like my grandfather did when he boarded a transport ship on this very dock and sailed to the Pacific to fight the Japanese.
When my children grow up Charlie and Lily I wanna be able to to look them in the eye and tell them that I fought for you.
I fought for your future.
And to me, that future is clear.
Less government, less taxes, more freedom, protect that freedom! [all cheering.]
Thank you so much.
Thank you, thank you.
Governor, can you comment on your relationship with the search engine Pollyhop? Is it true Pollyhop is providing you with voter data? - I want Grant here, right away.
- Uh, he's in California I think.
He's got two Gulf Streams.
Have him pick one.
Thank you so much, thank you.
Thank you, take care.
[reporter on tablet.]
Is it true Pollyhop is providing you with voter data? - The question was caught on camera.
- Did he answer it? No.
It's getting a lot of traction online.
Should be all over the news by morning.
Have Seth send me all the stories and clips so far.
I don't think I have to meet LeAnn's guy now.
- Plan A's gonna work.
- No, no, no.
Meet with him.
Look, it doesn't commit us to anything.
- Sir - Look, I don't wanna go down this route any more than you do, but at least we'll have our bases covered.
Yes, sir.
[sighs.]
Imagine a duel.
Me and Conway.
Now, Conway has a powerful gun, a search engine.
And it's powerful because with it, he can tell what you think, what you want, where you are and who you are.
He can turn all those searches into votes, and that's enough bullets to kill my chances of winning.
But I have an even bigger gun.
It's called the NSA.
It's one of the perks of being president.
That is, if the courts allow my surveillance request.
I imagine the men hanging on these walls wished they'd had a gun like that available to them.
Your phone, the phone of the person sitting next to you, your neighbor's phone and everyone you know and the 300 million Americans you don't know.
I can see you, and I can use what I see to rig this election.
Now, of course, a weapon like that, well, you can imagine how risky it is.
Huh, it might have even given pause to an old crook like him.
I mean, they roasted him on the spit for tapping into a few rooms at the Watergate.
I'm talking about tapping into every single home in America.
And a weapon like that could blow up in my hand and that's why it's plan B.
Plan A is much safer.
Expose that Conway is using his gun illegally and remove the weapon from his hand.
Hmm All three of us took bullets.
Well, I know why we're smiling.
We survived.
[sighs.]
[LeAnn sighing.]
Aidan.
This is Doug Stamper.
[Aidan.]
Yeah, I know who he is.
Tell me why I'm here.
Domestic surveillance.
We need to win an election.
- You serious? - What if we were? The NSA [scoffs.]
- You'd take that risk? - [Doug.]
If you can be trusted.
Every theory you have ever had, everything you have ever wanted to test.
And in return, you get what? Voter data? So you know who to target? And how to target them, to influence them.
To brainwash them? Oh, this is about Conway, the Pollyhop thing.
- I never should've told you that.
- Are we wasting our time? I couldn't put a single person on this.
- No.
It's radioactive.
- We're done.
- This is over.
- How would this even work? To get backbone access requires [LeAnn.]
We're getting a FISA ruling, counter-terrorism.
[Aidan.]
I've never won a bid from the NSA - LeAnn, let's go.
- [LeAnn.]
You'd win the bid.
This is what you want, Aidan.
Jesus.
You came here to see if you can trust me.
How do I know I can trust you? I don't care whether you trust me or not.
But if we go down this road, you take the fall if anything goes wrong.
Not us, not the president.
You.
It's the only way this works.
So you tell me if you think it's worth it.
The worth.
You have no idea.
Thank you so much for coming.
- Jeffrey! - Governor.
How you doing? Thank you so much.
Buying a whole table.
I mean, you've just been so great to us.
Anything for you, Governor.
Can I get a photo? Of course.
How you doing, Rich? - Is this, uh, Pollyhop thing true? - Let's get Hannah in this.
Hannah.
- Oh, Jeff.
- Hannah, good to see you.
- Good to see you.
How are you? - Mr.
Grant is here.
I'm good, how are you? Jeffrey, I'm gonna come find you, okay? I'll be right back.
- Okay.
- Let's do it.
I'm getting calls from The New York Times.
There is no way we can keep a lid on this now.
We're getting calls from everyone.
If the media really digs their feet in, forget about the public response.
We need to worry about the Justice Department.
You said what we're doing wasn't illegal.
[Marshall.]
No, I said it was gray, that it's unregulated.
[Benjamin.]
Our data is proprietary.
How we want to use it, it's our prerogative.
If they put a value on the benefits of sharing all that data, the figure would break all campaign finance caps there are.
How the fuck did this get out? Sir? That reporter's not in our press pool.
- We didn't credential him ourselves.
- So, who does he work for? We're still trying to track that down.
Give me your phone.
[woman.]
I'll connect you now, sir.
You are now on with the president.
[Frank.]
I must say, I'm disappointed.
I was hoping the first time we met would be in person.
- We've met before.
- Oh, yes, that's right.
You know why I'm calling, Mr.
President.
No, but I have been reading some curious articles.
How long before you think it becomes mainstream? You planted that reporter.
I did not.
You're giving me far more credit than I deserve.
If you bring the Justice Department into this, I'll come down hard on you for abuse of power, and that'll hurt you just as much as it hurts me.
I won't have to.
They read the newspapers, just like everyone else.
Well, then you better hold them back.
Let me remind you, Governor, in case you do become president one day, the Justice Department is autonomous.
If I were to intervene, it would be illegal.
Just like when you raided FEMA? See, the country wants to believe that you're corrupt, and I'll draw a very clear line between you Go ahead.
The more volume on this, the better.
You hurl accusations, I'll let the press hurl facts.
But what did you really hope to achieve? I think you've wasted your time.
You should have called me when you had some actual leverage.
But I must say, it is a treat to hear you so worked up.
I do thank you for that.
"Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln.
Tall men make good presidents.
" You said that when we first met.
Yes, I remember what I said.
You were intimidated.
I don't underestimate you, Governor.
But intimidated? Takes a lot more than height and arrogance to intimidate me.
You better get back to all your lawyers.
[line disconnects.]
[pumping blood pressure cuff.]
When the Roman general Sulla, who was about the same age I am now, marched on Rome to purge the city of usurpers, it was a bloodbath.
His greatest rival was a young man named Marius, who was just 26 years old.
And after Sulla had him killed, he held up his head in the forum and looked into the boy's dead eyes and said, "First, you must learn to pull an oar.
Only then can you take the helm.
" [air hissing.]
Hmm.
110 over 80.
Not bad.
- Will.
- Hey.
[sighing.]
Hey.
[sighs.]
I called the president.
It was a mistake.
- Okay.
- Mmm.
Look, um why don't we go back upstairs - and collect some money? - [Will chuckling.]
Okay? Everyone wants to see you.
[breathing deeply.]
- Let's go.
- You'll figure it out.
Conway called.
He wanted to make a deal.
I'm sure that was enjoyable.
It will be even more so once the Justice Department gets involved.
Is that the, uh Same model.
Not the actual one.
- Surprised the Secret Service let - Well, they removed the firing pin.
[Frank.]
It's lighter than I imagined.
It's amazing something this small could do that much damage.
I was gonna bring it tomorrow, but I think it might be too theatrical.
[sniffs.]
You want me to help you practice? All right.
Good morning, Mrs.
Underwood.
Good morning, Ms.
Melman.
- No, what's her first name? - Julia.
- Use that.
- We've never met before.
Remind her who the First Lady is.
Good morning, Julia.
Good morning, Mrs.
Underwood.
Please, have a seat.
We want to be inclusive.
We'd like the NRA to work with us on getting this bill passed.
We have major support on both sides of the aisle.
Well, you do for now, but not for long.
You can have 20 kids massacred in a school shooting.
There's always the usual public outcry, demands for gun reform.
[Frank.]
But a few months go by and people forget.
Well, this will move through Congress quickly.
We've got major support on both sides of the aisle.
Not enough to break a filibuster.
[Frank.]
We'll drag this out till the election.
We'll tie up every other bill in the Senate.
Well, I've spoken to a lot of Senators and they [Frank.]
No, don't get bogged down there.
Pivot right to the Supreme Court.
You plan on holding up the Supreme Court nomination, as well? Unless you're going to nominate an NRA member.
- You know we can't do that.
- Jacobs was unpredictable.
This time we're not taking any chances.
[Claire.]
If you bring the government to a standstill, we're gonna make this election about the NRA.
You can't match $100 million in ad buys.
[Julia.]
Go for it.
Flush your money down the drain.
The Democrats lost that battle decades ago.
And you'll lose it again.
The president never offered up one gun reform bill while he was whip.
Well, because it wasn't a top priority for him No, no, no, no, no.
Make it, uh, stronger.
Say, uh, "The president took a bullet!" Make it personal.
I'm sorry your husband got shot.
But not enough to roll over.
[Claire.]
Oh, we're not asking you to.
We're inviting you to be on the right side of history.
Yeah, that's good, but you wanna go in for the kill.
We want this woman storming out of that door, foaming at the mouth.
All right.
Don't disgrace yourself, Julia.
- Think about the future - [Frank.]
No, tougher.
Stronger, tougher! All right, what about Thirty years from now when you're dying in hospice care you can look back and be proud of all the lives you saved.
Or you can be forgotten clutching onto the past with your cold, dead hands.
I'll show myself out.
That's exactly the steel goddamn stomach I was talking about.
Was it Pete Dreyer? [Conway.]
Congressman Dreyer's been a mentor for years.
- He had no right to tell you.
- He had every right.
If a member of the House Intelligence Committee chooses to share information with me, he's at liberty to do so.
[Brockhart.]
Our conversation was in confidence.
I don't feel comfortable with this.
The Congressman is just as frustrated as you are, and he spoke to me because he wants to help.
And so do I, General.
Governor, I'm a soldier.
I'm not going to play politics.
You played politics the moment you opened your mouth to Pete.
- Did you see my speech yesterday? - Yes, I did.
I meant every word of it.
Now, you and I have both fought for our country.
Underwood hasn't.
He has no idea.
He doesn't understand.
And that's why I need to be president, so we can strike when we need to strike.
Look, I can help you, but I need your help to do so.
I've never leaked classified information to the press.
Not once.
My colleagues have.
I haven't.
[Conway.]
There's a better way.
You're not gonna like the sound of this at first, but if you hear me out, we can fight back on this.
- General.
- Mr.
President.
[door closes.]
You can take this back.
I am not accepting your resignation.
Please, sit.
I fought in Lebanon, sir.
Commanded troops in Somalia, in Bosnia, in both Gulf Wars, in Afghanistan.
I just don't wanna see us bogged down in another conflict like those.
ICO is the next Al Qaeda and Taliban.
And you accomplish nothing by resigning your commission.
We've accomplished nothing with your current policy.
[inhaling sharply.]
You know, I just can't help but think that the timing of this, it's just a bit coincidental.
- Sir? - Well, Conway gave a big speech yesterday.
I mean, he made a big meal out of ICO, didn't he? I suppose he realizes just how dangerous they are.
Hmm.
I wonder where he's getting that information.
I've no idea, sir.
I've never spoken to the man, nor would I.
It's classified.
And you're speaking from your conscience.
Yes, sir.
Conscience has an unmistakable stink to it, sort of like raw onions and morning breath.
But a lie stinks even more when it's coming from someone who isn't used to lying.
It's more like rotten eggs and horseshit.
- How soon can we move on this? - You want to conduct the mission? Would it keep you from resigning? Well, I I need your expertise and your experience, and if both are telling me I'm wrong, I'd rather trust your instincts than mine.
Do we still have an open window? The gathering is set to end by tomorrow night.
Let me talk to the Chairman and the Secretary of Defense - before I sign off on the order.
- Of course, sir.
General, it takes a brave man to stand up to a president.
If you authorize the mission, we won't get our court ruling.
There is no way to justify domestic surveillance once ICO is eliminated.
Which is fine, because media pressure is mounting.
Conway has no choice but to distance himself from Pollyhop.
We don't know how that's gonna play out.
Oh, I can tell you how Brockhart's resignation is gonna play out.
Thirty-second ads in every swing state.
A decorated war veteran pulverizing us for being weak on national security.
Pollyhop is gonna pulverize us more than Brockhart ever could.
Not if Conway is busy fighting public outcry.
Think about the data they have already gathered.
When you sold us this, you said it was going to be a last resort, not the only resort.
There is no risk in getting surveillance approved.
Then we either use it or we don't.
But if you order this strike, sir, we don't even have the option.
- You've met with him, Macallan.
- Yes, sir.
- So, can he be trusted? - I honestly can't say.
[LeAnn.]
He understands the risks even better than you do.
- I'm gonna authorize the strike.
- [LeAnn.]
Sir - Your guy's an unknown.
Brockhart isn't.
- [LeAnn.]
Ma'am - I agree with Francis.
- [Frank.]
Get me the Secretary of Defense.
[sighs.]
I've asked Claire to join us today because this directly affects the legislation she's trying to get passed.
Your top three choices for running mate, they're all tight with the gun lobby.
[clears throat.]
Mrs.
Underwood You know everyone in this room agrees with the reforms you want, but we're thinking about the general election, and the NRA is a terrible enemy for us to make.
Yeah, now Whittaker's gonna focus on swing states, fundraising That's where I'll play the bad cop.
You play the worse cop.
Then when we get them off balance You come back in again as the good cop.
Exactly.
So I will start with Well, I feel that these choices send mixed messages.
We're for gun reform, they're not.
If both names on the ticket are gun-control fanatics, then the whole election becomes about Get personal, the way you told me to with Melman.
One out of four presidents gets shot at.
One out of every ten dies from a bullet wound.
Better than that.
I saw Edward Meechum die before my very eyes.
- Good.
You were lucky.
- I'm lucky.
[Patricia.]
Statistics don't mean anything to these people.
They see this as a one-way road to confiscation.
I lose my seat in a heartbeat if I take this stance.
- Now, this is where I will play good cop.
- Okay, so Birch goes, "We're asking you to look at the bigger picture here, Mr.
President.
" You're right, Bob.
- Claire! - They're all right.
They are.
My meeting with the NRA did not go well.
They're going to fight this tooth and nail.
[Bob.]
Well, of course they are.
And and the chances are the legislation won't pass.
[Claire.]
Oh, it'll pass.
Because you are going to push it until it goes through both houses and gets on the books.
We may have support now But by the time this bill gets onto the floor You focus on the language, Congressman.
Leave convincing the American people to us.
Now, if you wanna work with us on this bill, I can stomach a gun-friendly candidate.
What about you, Francis? The kill.
Only on one condition, Claire.
I don't want us to work our asses off getting this bill passed just to see it knocked down in the courts.
- We don't have any control over that, sir.
- We still need to fill Jacobs' seat.
If you can confirm an anti-gun justice, I'll put a gun-lover on the ticket.
A Supreme Court confirmation in the middle of an election? Oh, come on, grow a pair, Bob.
We're giving you what you want.
Give us what we want.
[sighs.]
Who are you thinking about? [Janine.]
Nobody followed you? [Tom.]
No one.
I'm positive.
[Janine.]
You know, sometimes I have a student and something seems off.
They look a little too old, you know? To be in college.
- [Tom.]
What is that? - Xanax.
[breathing deeply.]
Lucas came up here.
To the campus.
He wanted my help and I said no.
Maybe if I had, he wouldn't have [sighing heavily.]
So stupid.
He got out.
Why did he do this? - [Tom.]
That's what I'm trying to find out.
- [sighs.]
[sighs.]
It's all true, Tom.
- How do you know? - Because I know.
Lucas didn't mention you in his suicide letter.
I'm sure it was to protect me.
If you have any proof, now's the time to share it.
If I did, do you think any of this would've happened? - You could go on record - I signed an affidavit.
Anything I say now is worth shit.
That's probably why they've left me alone.
[Janine shudders.]
No, no.
No.
No more pills.
- Promise me you'll be careful.
- I promise.
I would help if I could, I You just focus on taking care of yourself.
[sniffling.]
Come here.
Come here.
[sniffling.]
[Conway.]
Is there anything I can do to make you reconsider? Yes, sir, I understand.
I'm pleased the strike's on, as well.
Thank you for the heads up.
Bye.
Fuck! - [Hannah.]
What's wrong? - He caved.
- [sighs.]
The general? - Yes.
Daddy, when is it? [Conway.]
When is it? [grunts.]
Ben? I'm not sure about this, Will.
Maybe we should cancel it.
My lawyers are saying it's a terrible idea.
If it's not us, it's the Justice Department.
- I've put everything into this company.
- Just trust me on this.
- Hey, Will.
- Mmm-hmm? - For my Insta.
- Yeah.
Okay.
Smile, Charlie.
Smile.
- [Conway chuckles.]
All right.
- Great.
[Conway.]
Here we go.
- You little - [Charlie giggling.]
- Scoot over.
- [laughing.]
Are we all set? Yes, sir.
Ready whenever you are.
[Hannah.]
Here we go.
[cell phone chimes.]
Okay.
[Conway gruffly.]
You ready? You ready? - [Charlie.]
Yep.
- [both chuckling.]
[Hannah.]
Here we go.
Hello, America.
I'm Will Conway, Republican candidate for president, and this is my son, Charlie.
You wanna say hi to everyone, Charlie? - A little hi.
Can we get a little hi? - [Hannah laughing.]
No? That's all we get? That's all we get.
And this is Hannah, my wife.
And our little rascal Lily.
[laughing.]
Well, she's not so little anymore, but definitely still a rascal.
- [Conway chuckles.]
- Aren't you, sweetheart? And we are webcasting from our home here in Albany.
As you can see, we don't live in the governor's mansion.
We live in a regular house, just like many of you.
And this is our living room.
Hannah has decorated everything herself.
- [both chuckling.]
- Well, except for the toys.
That's the That's the kids' addition to the decor.
A lot of toys.
Now, many of you have seen or read in the news rumors about my campaign teaming up with the search engine Pollyhop, and I'd like to speak to you today about those rumors because they're not rumors at all.
They're facts.
One hundred percent accurate.
And here is my good friend Benjamin Grant.
He's the founder of Pollyhop, and he's gonna tell you about our partnership.
Well, a lot of big companies stay out of politics.
They don't want to offend anyone.
But not Pollyhop.
We're not shy about who we support, and we're proud to support Will Conway.
He knows what this country needs and where it's going.
Now I realize this might scare a lot of people.
Do we know your personal information? Can we see what you're searching for? Are we reading your emails? The answer is no.
We're not tracking individuals.
We're looking at metadata, large-scale browsing patterns, search trends, regional portraits.
'Cause Ben is right.
A president should know his constituents.
And the Internet is the best tool for that.
Now, I've met thousands of people and shaken a lot of hands, but I can't meet everyone.
So this is my way of listening to millions of you.
Now, it's only fair if I get to know you better, you should get to know me better.
So while I'm not reading your personal correspondence, I want you to have access to mine.
So, from this point forward, every email, text message, photo, or video that I use on this phone, you can see it all, including everything since I became governor.
Now, all you have to do is go into my campaign website at Conway2016.
com.
That's correct.
And you'll find a link right there.
Our life is your life.
And your future is our future.
Thank you, and God bless America.
[Conway exhaling.]
- That was good.
- Yeah, that was good.
Well done.
Well done.
- You got it, Governor.
- [Hannah sighing.]
All right.
Now we wait and see.
His honesty and openness have made quite an impact, and America is paying attention.
Just three hours since Conway's webcast, over two million people have visited his website The massive public interest has driven traffic to Pollyhop.
com.
Pollyhop CEO Benjamin Grant is reporting three times its normal volume of searches.
All of the cell phone footage is on the Conway campaign website.
There's a ton of archived clips.
Some have already gone viral, including this one, filmed just this morning, of Conway with his gorgeous wife Hannah, so jealous, and his totally adorable son Charlie.
- [Conway grunting.]
- [Charlie laughing.]
[Conway.]
Whee! - Shave Mom's head, not mine! - Shave Mom's head? - Okay.
- [Hannah squealing.]
No! You guessed it.
I still hate children.
People don't care about their privacy.
They want him to have access.
He's still breaking campaign finance regulations.
But he's getting good press, not the public outcry we had hoped for.
You can't let the Justice Department investigate.
It'll backfire on us.
What you need to do is call off the air strike.
Sir, you've already signed the order.
We've got planes in the air.
My job is to win a campaign, I need to have - And my job is to protect the president.
- Enough! Jesus Christ.
Go.
I need to speak with him.
[Claire.]
What are you thinking? That I was fine with this when it was just plan B, but this is domestic surveillance.
I mean, we don't even know this guy.
[Claire.]
You're right, we don't know him.
What we do know is we'll lose if we do nothing.
They're beautiful, aren't they? The Conways.
- Their youth, their two little children.
- [Frank sighs.]
The country is falling in love with them.
They won't fall in love with us like that, but we have something they don't.
We are willing to go one step farther than everyone else.
General, a word.
[Brockhart.]
We're approximately two hours out - Abort the mission.
- Mr.
President? - I'm ordering you to abort.
- But you said Don't make me say it a third time, and don't threaten to resign, because I know you won't, because you can't even fathom what it means to be a civilian.
- Execute my order.
- Yes, sir.
- [Doug.]
Sir.
- It's done.
- Sir.
- I aborted.
[cell phone chiming.]
You're up late.
[Claire.]
Go to Conway's website.
December 31st, 2012.
[Conway.]
Hannah's last moments of 2012.
- Oh.
[laughing.]
- [Conway chuckling.]
Stop, I'm stuffing my face.
[Conway.]
You're feeding a growing girl.
Hello, little baby.
[Hannah.]
Mmm.
Yes, I am.
She's kicking like a maniac, too.
Will, please, stop.
- No, come on.
- No.
You've got You have You have a little something [Frank.]
Mr.
Governor-elect.
Congressman, such an honor to meet you.
- Well, the honor is mine.
- This is my wife, Hannah.
It's a pleasure.
And this is Claire.
Hello.
- Oh, wow.
How far along are you? - Almost seven months.
Thank you so much for inviting us here.
This is a real treat for us.
Well, I'm glad you came.
I thought you'd be in Times Square tonight.
It's Governor De Luca's last year in office.
I thought he should have the spotlight to himself.
Well, that's very classy of you.
And I didn't wanna miss the chance to make some new friends in Washington.
Well, that was a smart idea.
Have you met Garrett, yet? No.
No, sir.
Well, come on.
Ladies, we'll be back.
Mr.
President-elect, Governor-elect Conway.
- Congratulations.
- You, too, sir.
So here he is, the boy wonder.
He isn't a myth after all.
- [Frank chuckling.]
- More like a pariah.
- There's a lot of Democrats here.
- [chuckling.]
Plenty of Republicans, too.
Frank made sure of that.
Well, if you wanna push the sludge through Congress, it's best to have grease on both sides of the aisle.
- [Conway chuckles.]
- [whispering indistinctly.]
Oh, I'm sorry, I have to go.
It's almost time.
- Thank you for your service.
- [Conway.]
Thank you, sir.
So, is it true that you joined up a day after 9/11, or is that just something you say? - Within 24 hours, honest to God.
- That's incredible.
Hey I was 25, just out of law school.
You want a career in politics and the Twin Towers fall in your lap? Timing couldn't have been better.
- Oh, I see how you won.
- [both chuckling.]
- Well, he must be on top of the world.
- I I can't imagine.
Oh, really? How old are you? Thirty-five? Thirty-six.
Oh, you've never thought about it, late at night? - The White House? - What else? - Have you? - Haven't we all? [sighs.]
I'm in no rush.
Who knows? Maybe, one day.
Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln.
Tall men make great presidents.
[laughing.]
It's like you want me to run.
Oh, goodness, no.
You running? That would be a disaster for the Democrats.
- I better see my wife.
- [crowd.]
Ten - Me, too.
- [crowd.]
nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one! Happy New Year! [all cheering.]
["Auld Lang Syne" playing.]
- That was before everything.
- [Claire.]
I know.
Francis, are you there? [door opens.]
We're going to destroy them.
Yes, we are.
[dramatic music playing.]