The West Wing s07e08 Episode Script
Undecideds
THE WEST WING Original air date: 12/04/2005 Go ahead.
they have a more favorable opinion of you than they did before the debate.
CNN/USA Today polls call the debate a tie.
So does Newsweek.
She's running the hair dryer.
Yes.
Makes it hard to hear.
Yes, it does.
He's running the hair dryer.
Kind of wish you didn't know.
Sorry.
One more time.
CNN/USA Today poll calls the debate a tie.
So does Newsweek.
We now have 43% of all eligible voters.
You're only seven points down.
You're a rock star, sweetheart.
You got a four-point bump.
Vinick only got a two-point bump.
What happened to the old, "We go up, he goes down"? You're both polling from undecideds.
We have to be happy with "He went up, we went up more.
" This is the schedule for the weekend, if you could take a look at it.
Yeah.
Stick it in my bag, please.
The bus is here.
We've really got to move.
Sir, do you know what average SMT time was this week? Bram clocks this.
He rounds up because he's got money on it.
That's a lie.
SMT? Santos Mean Time.
The notion that I'm the problem is convenient but completely fallacious.
Honey.
This is a national campaign.
You think I'm driving the bus? Wednesday, 12:55.
Six extra press questions after we called it.
It was a conversation.
A fascinating one.
Just look at the schedule and see if it's something you think you can commit to.
And initial.
At the bottom.
What's C.
S.
? Change shirt.
Every two hours? It's for the sweating.
There's too many women in this room.
Nothing we haven't talked about before.
Today in Denver, tomorrow in L.
A.
I thought that was last weekend.
We cancelled it for the debate, which was also a personal addition of yours to the schedule.
Four-point bump.
Lou, can I get you for a second? On the bus.
You may want to talk to Scheduling.
I'm getting a lot of press calls about a 12-year-old black kid who was killed last night by the L.
A.
police.
What do we know? No details yet, but the community's kind of reeling.
We need a statement sooner rather than later.
We're at the Page Church in L.
A.
tomorrow morning.
Might not be a bad time to be in a black church, show 'em we feel their pain.
See if we can't get some traction in the community.
Yeah, we need it.
Our debate bump did not include a bump in black voters.
Sir, this is the updated stump.
Do you want to give it one last look? Yeah.
Lou? Hang on.
I don't see why the African-American community doesn't like the idea of a Latino candidate.
A little black/brown friction in the 'hood, if you haven't noticed.
Hasn't been my experience.
Yeah, you're a Venezuelan from Princeton.
Yeah, this is fine.
I'm sorry, Lou.
Gerard in Scheduling was considering a bigger change.
I think he may be right.
Gerard is obsessive-compulsive and should be taking slow breaths out of a paper bag.
I think you may want to give him a call.
What's the cop's name? No, this is why we run late: because you take time listening to people like Gerard from Scheduling.
Donna, what's the officer's name? Rafael Martinez.
Yeah, that's what I was afraid of.
Get me Josh Lyman at HQ, Annabeth Schott on the McGarry plane, and Gerard from Scheduling.
Mr.
Bailey.
And a good morning to you.
You were here last Saturday.
As were you.
You here for lunch? We could order something soggy, served in plastic.
I'm hoping to be gone in an hour.
I just have to sit with Ellie and the fiance, sort out some wedding stuff.
I didn't realize that was part of your portfolio.
The social secretary should be doing it but Ellie doesn't know her and she already feels the whole things not so much a wedding as an act of Congress.
Tell her I saw her band's playlist for the reception.
We may need to make a few adjustments.
One too many double entendres? - It's the single entendres I worry about.
- Right.
World stage, shadow of our forefathers.
I'll get into it.
They're in the Mural Room.
Remember how we used to talk? Everything you need is in the folder.
I told you not to come in today.
That never works out.
The only new piece is we're squabbling with Fish and Wildlife on the salmon flow schedule, so she should think about sea bass or, perhaps, a trout.
Sea bass is endangered.
Whitman does a great swordfish with green peppercorns.
That'd be nice.
Let's stay with the trout.
Nobody wants trout at a wedding.
It's not festive.
It's flavorful and underappreciated.
No swordfish or tuna or brie.
You know this isn't your wedding, right? I'm asking you to take my word for it because you're a busy woman and sometimes you don't need anymore information than I give you.
I'll push the trout.
Great idea.
Look at you! Congratulations! Thank you.
It's so exciting.
Have you met Vic? C.
J.
Cregg.
It's a pleasure.
Hi.
Thank you.
I'm so sorry you're here on a weekend for this.
Please, not at all.
It's bad enough you have to coordinate with three branches of government.
Anything I can do to help.
Sit, please.
Excuse me.
We're not up to trout yet.
Kate Harper needs you.
No, she doesn't.
She doesn't know I'm here.
Imagine her delight when she learned.
One minute? Ten minutes.
Just a guess.
Surrogates on the Sunday shows.
Do they know what they're saying? They're saying that he won the debate.
Do they have talking points or are they just going to flash a big V-For-Victory? You'll have language to proof in ten minutes.
- Hey.
- Hi, Lester.
What do we know? I'm waiting on more from the L.
A.
P.
D.
but it's a 12-year-old black male named Ronnie Burke.
He's passenger side in a stolen Escalade at 11:00 at night, gets out holding a weapon which turns out to be made of plastic, though it looks pretty darn real.
The cop is Latino? Oh, yeah.
No way the guy could have known the gun was fake? Probably not, but local news has a tape of a bystander claiming the kid was putting his hands in the air to surrender when the officer fired.
Can anybody corroborate that? It doesn't matter, it's on the news.
People are going to assume it's true.
There were demonstrations at police headquarters last night.
There'll be more this morning.
What do you think? It was going to be a tough crowd, even before this happened.
The black community's wondering how we got a Latino nominee before we got an African-American nominee.
There's always been tension between the two communities and now a cop named Martinez guns down one of their kids? Two days later, we send our guy to their church to stump for votes.
If he shows up in L.
A.
and does a tap dance on the head of a pin, great.
If not You may be getting on a plane.
I had a hunch.
I should have sent you on the L.
A.
trip in the first place.
Why didn't I think of that? You can't put me on a plane every time he's going to talk to a black person.
I'm prepared to reconsider that.
I'm doing Ellie Bartlet a favor.
I'm not really here.
NSC just got a call.
There's a China/Russia/Kazakhstan thing happening.
Okay.
My office is supposed to be sending up the briefing book but it's not here yet.
Well, let's go for the nutshell.
- It's better with the book.
- Kate Tarimov just booted a Chinese government delegation out of the country.
He's The acting President of Kazakhstan.
Installed after Issetov was assassinated.
They were negotiating a China-Kazakhstan strategic partnership making plans for an oil pipeline from Kazakhstan to China.
And Issetov called it off.
Tarimov.
Oh, Tarimov called it off.
Yes.
Issetov's dead.
Yes.
Issetov wanted to do business with the Chinese.
Tarimov has stronger ties with the Russians.
And he killed the China oil deal and China's pissed.
Exceptionally.
Margaret?! Sorry.
I was golfing.
You golf? Mini.
Josh, it's the bus.
Morning.
Is Lester there? Yeah.
Lester, I don't think we should go.
Are you getting skittish? There are a lot of angry people on the streets.
We could push it to next week.
We pushed last week for the debate.
He's got the flu, rickets, anything.
We are not canceling.
Sir, I don't think you want to be booed by angry churchgoers.
They're not going to boo me.
How about we go to the house instead? Pay our respects to the mother; less booing.
It'll look like we're exploiting the grief of a family in mourning.
The mayor's doing it.
Yeah, well, the mayor's got a relationship with the community.
They won't notice if he exploits it.
Yeah, but if he exploits and we don't, we look callous.
It's a chance I'm willing to take.
I'm going to the church.
Lou, call Joe Farley at the mayor's office.
See if he'll help us out, keep him away from the house.
Lester is on his way to where are you now? Denver.
Sir, the foreign policy team's waiting.
Are we making any statements? All we say now is "this is a terrible situation.
The Congressman hopes he can provide some support on his visit tomorrow.
" What's he going to say tomorrow? Good question.
I was summoned.
You were.
Do me a favor and talk to Ellie about whatever problems you're having with her music.
Now? I was supposed to be in there but the Kate happened.
It's going to take a few minutes.
I thought you could do your thing.
I was working.
I was golfing.
Mini.
I've mastered the windmill shot, with the bridge.
That's a hard one.
- Hole-in-one.
- People.
Five minutes and then I'm out of there.
What? You were saying there was something we needed to talk about.
Uh, yes.
The music.
Schrodinger's cats.
It was a band I played with in grad school.
Reunion show at the White House? They do weddings and barmitzvahs all the time.
Great.
It's better than it sounds.
It would have to be.
They sent us a copy of the playlist.
We're wondering if we can pull some things.
Is there a problem? Well, is "Baby Got Back" something you're particularly attached to? I can't make a bullying phone call to the Russian Foreign Minister because the Chinese got bounced out of an oil deal.
Tarimov is acting President.
He was supposed to hold elections but he called them off.
He suspended them.
He didn't call them off.
He suspended them weeks ago and has made no move to reschedule.
They guy's a Russian puppet.
It was looking like China was getting there foot in the door so he halts negotiations and kicks the Chinese out of the country.
Kazakhstan isn't China's only oil source.
They're their most promising one.
The Kazakh people, meanwhile, are rioting in the streets because they've just been screwed out of an election.
China's looking at major instability on their border, not to mention the 300,000 ethnic Chinese living in Kazakhstan who aren't looking particularly safe, all because the Russians want the oil and are willing to fight for it.
Best-case scenario, I'm ruining your Saturday.
Worst-case scenario, two nuclear powers are positioning themselves to actively engage in an armed conflict over oil.
Ted Barrow's on his way.
Margaret? See if you can track down the Russian Foreign Minister.
First they cut taxes, then they never get around to cutting spendings, - so they run up huge deficits for our children.
- There we go.
Okay.
Nice.
What's the time code? Send a copy to Josie at CNN and ask her to please stop running that stupid line about the EPA.
Enough, already.
Ladies.
Well, welcome to Denver.
I spoke to the L.
A.
mayor's office.
I think I talked them off a visit to the dead kid's house at least until tomorrow.
You got a confirmation or they're thinking about it? - Lou? - They like me and they don't want to mess with me.
I'm prepared to call it a confirmation.
I'm sorry.
Lou? They like you? I'm very personable.
It goes a long way.
The mayor's on his way to Ronnie Burke's house.
No, he is not.
He's going there now.
His people want to know if we want to coordinate press statements.
Joe Farley.
You get them to put Joe Farley on the phone.
He is a mealy-mouthed little snot.
This is him.
He doesn't seem to want to talk to you.
Personable.
Mayor didn't have a choice.
It was a bomb in his own backyard.
It kind of backs us into a corner.
It was a good idea to go to the house even before we were in a corner.
The Congressman hates it.
The Congressman may have to get over it.
We need to cover as many bases as we can.
Okay.
Edie, call Secret Service and Advance and tell them we may need to add another stop in L.
A.
tomorrow.
What's the mom's name? Brenda Burke.
Call her.
Tell her that Congressman Santos will be visiting Page Church tomorrow morning and can he stop by on his way and pay his respects.
No, we're not going to have time in the morning.
We have to be at the church by 9:00 am.
We should scrap the afternoon in Denver, go to L.
A.
now, and be at the house by late afternoon, early evening.
All right, let's look into it.
Who's going to tell the Congressman? I'm evens.
Once, twice, three, shoot.
Damn.
Hey, I covered the music.
No offensive lyrics by Schrodinger's Cats.
I am sending the happy couple back in here.
That's not going to work.
They're cleaning the carpets in the Mural Room.
Better here than in there.
Problem in Kazakhstan.
Nuclear powers pissing off other nuclear powers.
I need you to stay with them.
Seriously? Just look at this folder, deal with whatever's on the list.
I'll take over in 20 minutes.
I'm really not your man on weddings.
Margaret laid the whole thing out.
Half hour, tops.
You ask him? I'll ask him on the bus.
Coward.
Absolutely.
I've been thinking.
This is a national story.
The church is going to be full of cameras.
If African-Americans stay home on Election Day, we're out of the game.
Are you trying to raise my anxiety level, because it's already pretty high? I think we need reinforcements.
Hey, Edie? Call Annabeth, get Leo McGarry on the plane.
We want backup at the church tomorrow.
I'm talking serious reinforcements.
N o.
We need 90% of black voters.
We've got 81%.
undecided in this race.
The black vote's never had undecideds, but they're willing to hang back and weigh their options on this one because they don't hate Vinick and they're not sure they like the whole idea of Santos.
This is not a small problem.
Get me Josh, please.
Sorry, hang on.
Uh yeah, this is pretty straightforward.
Okay.
C.
J.
's going to be back in a few minutes, she just thought we could get the ball rolling.
Everybody's dream scenario: me planning your wedding.
Okay, anything I should know before we get started? Look, we realize there's a lot the goes along with having a wedding at the White House, but anything we could do to keep the numbers under control? Sure.
I know my father needs to invite a lot of people but I'm not crazy about the spotlight and Vic's a little agoraphobic.
It's not a phobia.
I was exaggerating.
It's the occasional shortness of breath.
It's really nothing.
Sometimes I pass out.
Okay, let's see what we've got.
White House invitees, this looks right.
A copy for you and you and me.
Oh, sorry.
There's a second page.
Here you go.
Oh, hang on.
One more.
And another one.
Yeah, that's it.
Okay.
This has got to be 1000 names! Shall we start with the A's? The Russians should be putting pressure on Issetov to resume the talks with the Chinese.
Tarimov.
What? Issetov is dead, we want them putting pressure on Tarimov.
Fine, yes.
They don't want to.
What do they think at the embassy? They'd like us to get the Russians to talk to Tarimov.
Seems to be the consensus.
The Russians don't want to talk to Tarimov.
The Russian Foreign Minister told me Tarimov's doing a fine job.
It's a big, fat lie.
Oh, dear, I should have told him that.
All right, you two put a call in to Camp David, let the President where we are.
I'll see what we can do with China.
Margaret! What are you going to say? I'm going to urge them to remain calm.
You got a better idea? Newton and Allina Hackett, Chairman of Senate Armed Forces.
Fine.
Newton and Allina Hackett are a yes.
Owen Hellman, Majority Whip.
My father doesn't even like him.
Yes, but with the energy bill on the rocks, it's not really the time to point that out.
Owen Hellman is a yes.
Andrew Edward.
What's he doing in the H's? Oh, right.
His Royal Highness, Duke of York.
Do you want to get some air? Hey, at least he's not bringing the queen.
Oh, maybe he is bringing the queen.
It's going to be a few minutes before we've got Beijing.
I should probably make some headway with Ellie and Vic.
Josh Lyman's here.
Really, Josh? Aren't you supposed to be running around the country with some politician? I brought you some doughnuts.
I sense a favor on my horizon.
Can we sit? Quickly.
I'm on my way to Ellie Bartlet, who I blew off hours ago.
What are the chances I get the President at a Santos appearance tomorrow in California? I know its short notice.
You think? - If I wasn't desperate - Secret Service needs a week to advance a trip like that.
Our detail has already cleared the zone.
He's in Camp David.
He's got a South American delegation.
He's tearing his hair out over a trade agreement.
You want him to hop a red eye to California? You hear about this kid, Ronnie Burke, got shot by a cop? It's a perfect storm.
You knew some people were going to have a tough time with the notion of a Latino President.
If it wasn't Ronnie Burke, it'd be something else.
Yeah, well, Ronnie Burke seems to be it.
I'll take it to the President, see what he thinks.
Bless you.
Yeah, yeah.
Get out of here.
Hey, have you talked to Toby? No.
I meant to call him but I guess I didn't.
- Did you? - No.
I mean, I would, but I can't.
- Nobody can while the investigation's still going.
- Right.
I just want to make sure he's in one piece.
Yeah, I don't know.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Max Zelikovsky.
He is the Chairman of the AFL-CIO, helping us out on a very testy negotiation with the steel workers.
Fine.
Great.
No! No, no! This wedding is not the solution to every political problem the White House has.
That's not its purpose.
We have a list of 742 people.
We are not inviting the Zelikovskys.
They are a bridge too far.
Honey, Carol Zelikovsky was my mother's college roommate.
I've known her my whole life.
Uh, but the good news is: that's it.
Now, it's all about your lists.
That's nice, right? Ellie Bartlet guests, page one.
Oh that's the whole thing.
Great.
Couple of little questions, looks like.
Uh, Arianna Grey? She's my maid of honor.
She's flying in from London for the wedding.
Right.
Well, looks like there was a problem with her security clearance.
Apparently, the last time she was in the country, her visa was flagged by the DEA, which suggests somebody had something they shouldn't have had in their suitcase.
You've got other friends, right? Two more questions and he's out.
I've heard that before.
No, he can't mess around on this one if we're going to make it to California today.
He hasn't exactly cleared that, yet.
Any word on the President? Josh asked.
The White House is looking in to it.
Speech for the church tomorrow.
Why do I have three? One where he denounces the cop, one where he doesn't denounce the cop, and one where he loves everybody.
My head hurts.
The audience at the church is going to want to hear him denounce the cop.
On general principle? For shooting at children, I think is the part they have their knickers in a twist about.
The kid had a weapon.
And a stolen car.
I'm just telling you what I think they'll want to hear.
He can't denounce the cop.
We don't even know what happened yet.
He could prejudice the whole investigation.
Well, the Latino community is not going to like it if he jumps all over the cop, not to mention the law and order vote.
They're definitely looking for us to support the cop.
- And without the law and order vote we lose? - All white people.
Okay.
So the two speeches where we take sides go in the garbage.
We are a community divided.
Uh, you don't want to say that.
It's two communities, not one.
Different identities, different issues.
Maybe it's a "we must face our differences" thing.
That's just another way of saying Blacks hate Latinos, Latinos hate Blacks.
Which is kind of true, but shouldn't be said.
It's not true.
Yeah, it's a little true.
Perhaps some of the folks are a little riled about the coming in and taking of the jobs.
Well, who do you know that wanted an avocado-picking job? Do you know how hot it is out there? Yeah.
We had about enough of picking with the cotton.
How'd it go, sir? A lot like it did the last 80 times.
We making any progress? Edie and Lester are fighting about avocados.
Aside from that, not much.
You know, there's a psalm that I think would be appropriate.
It will speak to the moment more than any platitudes that we can string together.
I want to make sure we get some time tomorrow before that rally in Sacramento to speak to the governor.
A psalm? Yeah.
You can not go out there and give them a prayer.
This is not bad luck, or bad timing; this is a country with huge racial challenges that's looking to you for guidance.
They don't want you to close your eyes and pray: they want you to open your eyes and lead.
You want to show me what you've come up with? I look forward to seeing a draft.
You going to ask him now about the dead kid's house? Thank you, sir.
You can keep that.
Yeah? It's me.
Let me in the door.
Sorry.
Thank you.
You going to invite me in? Something to drink? Sure.
I had some coffee, but I seem to no longer have any coffee.
I'm fine.
We can go to the corner.
There's a coffee shop.
Oh right.
That won't work.
What if someone saw? I don't need any coffee.
Kind of a stupid move anyway, you coming here.
Some reporter could have followed you.
They didn't.
They're pretty sly.
I checked.
You checked? That's great.
So, how are you? Indicted.
You? I meant to call, but it's been insane.
Mm-hmm.
You see the debate? Kind of a rush with the prep, looked like.
Not really.
I mean, it was quick, but he was ready.
We got a four-point bump off that thing.
He kicked ass.
Good.
So, jail? Sorry.
Are you actually going or are they cutting a deal? Nope.
Actually going.
I saw the op-ed piece in the Times.
You're quite the hero with the disarmament movement.
Patron saint of the daisy chain contingent.
People calling about speaking engagements; someone from Simon & Schuster is calling about a book deal.
You going to do it? I don't know.
Maybe.
I may need the money.
People I'd rather work with can't come within a ten-block radius of me.
You'll be less radioactive in a few months.
Oh, yeah? How many months do you think? We realize this is a very disconcerting turn of events.
We'd like to encourage them to keep an open mind.
President Bartlet will be speaking to Acting President Tarimov tomorrow and also contacting President Chigorin of Moscow.
We feel confident they'll find a way to reopen negotiations for a China-Kazakhstan partnership.
Great.
We've got Beijing.
Translator's patched in.
Thanks.
Good morning, Mr.
Liu, thank you so much for speaking with us.
We realize this is a very discouraging Sir, if I could Mr.
Liu, President President Bart If I could finish my Fat lot of good this is going to do.
Sorry.
So, you were saying? - I have no idea what I was saying.
- Your kids, how they are.
They're fine.
It must be good to have more time to spend with them.
It's fantastic.
Shoot.
Sorry, I've got to take this.
Hello.
I think I just screwed up.
I can't imagine.
I think I just told the Congressman it was his responsibility to solve the race problem in America, if possible, before noon tomorrow.
That's quite a mouthful.
It kind of pissed him off.
He'll bounce.
Don't worry about it.
We'd like to leave L.
A.
early, make a stop at the kid's mother's house.
Assuming we can talk the Congressman into it, is that okay with you? Are you sure we need it? The mayor already went.
We're kind of boxed in.
We leave Denver in half an hour, we should make it to the house by early evening, West Coast time.
All right.
Call me after.
Sorry.
We landed in some racial tension in L.
A.
The cop thing? Yeah.
We had an event planned in the neighborhood.
Nice.
So the black vote, which was already not in the bag Maybe it's an opportunity.
A charismatic guy, he can turn it around.
You think? Maybe.
I spoke to C.
J.
I'm trying to get the President down to sing backup.
Good luck with that.
I think she's going to work it out.
Yeah? What'd she say? She said she was going to try and work it out.
She say she'd take it to the President, see what he thinks? Yeah.
That's exactly what she said.
That's a catchphrase for "It's never going to happen.
" I know it's last minute, but It's got nothing to do with last minute, it's got to do with he doesn't think your guy is going to win.
What the hell is that supposed to mean? It means it's unlikely he gets on a red eye.
I am constantly amazed at your ability to continue to be a bastard.
It really is something.
Thank you.
You think I need to come here to be your punching bag? I really have no idea why you needed to come here.
Yeah, well, I don't know either.
Nostalgia? It's been a pleasure.
Really.
I'll see you later.
No you won't.
You won't be coming back.
At least have the integrity to say that out loud.
Did you tell him the President would be calling? I didn't get a word in.
- But does he understand - I did not get a word in.
We can try again tomorrow.
I think we're going to make more headway with the Russians.
Excuse me.
Ellie's in tears.
I've ruined her wedding.
Someone else needs to take over.
Is Margaret not out there? You need to step in.
Sorry about Central Asia.
It's been a disaster for years.
You're not really going to fix it today.
Oh, good.
Maybe you can help Will.
Shirley stopped by, the social secretary.
You need to talk to her about the dress.
I really don't.
Apparently Ellie bought a dress all on her own, which is sweet, but it's got applique flowers on it that Shirley's worried about.
I'm sure it's lovely.
There's some concern that they may have been hand-stitched in Saipan by little slave children.
Oh, God.
A number of designers have expressed an interest in making Ellie a dress.
These are a couple of samples.
Josh called again.
Take care of it.
You're doing great.
Just make sure you get a decision about the food.
Salmon's out, and so is swordfish and tuna and brie, which Margaret seems to think is a fish as well.
She's pregnant? Excuse me? Swordfish, tuna, soft cheeses am I the only one in the room with kids? Tell her we'll find something with an empire waist.
I don't even know what that means.
In the service of your country, son.
Did we work out Meet the Press? Mancini's doing it.
White House on line 3 for you.
- Hello.
- Hi.
Margaret, you miss me already, don't you? Terribly.
C.
J.
wanted to call you herself.
No, that's okay.
I know how busy she is.
She ran it by the President.
He can't make it to California, not on this short notice.
No, I get it.
She's really sorry.
Sure.
It was all very last minute.
Tell her thanks for trying.
Of course.
We're in the kitchen.
Brenda Burke.
Everything okay? Yeah.
Congressman, this is Brenda Burke, Ronnie's mother.
Mrs.
Burke.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
Thank you.
You're sweet to come.
The mayor came today too.
A lot of people.
I'm sure this is all terribly overwhelming.
I can't even begin to imagine how you're feeling today.
Can I offer you something to eat? No, please.
Don't trouble yourself.
It's no trouble.
People keep bringing food.
You should have one of those cookies.
That's very kind of you.
They do look delicious.
You need to move the vehicles at the end of the street.
Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to wait here for a few minutes.
- Excuse me.
- There are people who need to get up the street.
We'll be removing the roadblock in about 15 minutes, sir.
Her sister is at the end of the block! Please, step back, sir.
I'm Matthew Santos.
I'm so sorry for your I know who you are.
You need to take your people out of here and get your cars off the street so her sister can get up the block and into this house.
The family needs to be here, you do not.
Sir, I just wanted to let you and your family know how very sorry I am for your loss.
You should know better.
Please, step back, sir.
All right, we're done here.
- Mrs.
Burke, I'm so sorry - Congressman, we really need to get going.
Thank you, Mrs.
Burke.
Morning, sir.
Is that the speech? Yeah, it is.
If you want to give it a look, and then we can talk about it.
No, I'm fine.
Thank you.
You know, it doesn't play that badly on TV.
What's that? That was the speech I'm not going to give.
For the church? Yeah.
So, you're just going to stand up there and sing "Oh, Heavenly Shepard"? Oh, that's an idea.
You know you slide off-key on the chorus.
You all think that there is something I can get up there and say that's going to bridge the divide? Well, there isn't.
I don't think that's true.
Well, the staff doesn't either, so maybe you should get together and talk about it.
You don't have to say the right thing, which, conveniently, doesn't exist, but you do have to say something from your heart.
I do, huh? Yeah.
Nobody wants to hear that, Helen.
They want to hear what I have to say as the representative for every Latino man, woman, and child in the 50 United States.
And let me tell you something: I'm frankly getting very tired of being responsible for every Jose Miguel Rodrigo Garcia Martinez de Lopez in America.
I'm exhausted! Nobody expects that.
Of course, they do! They want me to make sense out of all of this.
And you know what, Helen, I've got nothing.
Why the hell do they shoot a kid who is trying to surrender?! There's some guy on the scene that says the kid was trying to put his hands up in the air.
The cop couldn't have waited, like, a half a second more before he fired? And who walks around South Central with a plastic M-16?! Where did this kid think he was living, Martha's Vineyard? Nobody figured out that when you live in the ghetto, you carry around something else if you don't want to get your ass blown away? That's what I've got right now.
You think that's going to make anyone feel better? Good morning, ma'am.
We've got to go.
Nice to see you all.
I hope I didn't pull anybody out of church.
Sorry, Ted.
Where are we? At 1:30 am Eastern Standard, Keyhole satellite images picked up movement on the northwestern border of the Xinjiang Province, up here, which continued the following three hours.
Could this be something else? It's possible.
It could be training drills, but it's unlikely.
What's likely is that China is massing troops on the border of Kazakhstan.
I brought coffee.
You seem to be out.
I've given a lot of thought to the heartwarming insight you shared with me about how the President thinks Santos is a loser and I think you're full of it.
Eight packets of splenda, you couldn't rustle up a bagel? This isn't about the President doesn't think Santos can win, it's about you don't think he can win.
That's true, I don't.
Because it will kill you to see me do this and succeed.
You're not wired for such an event.
You're entire neurological infrastructure would fritz out.
You really think I brewed up some sort of Freudian fratricidal mania built around your success? You don't think I have anything other than that against the Democratic nominee for President? Name something else, please.
He's not Presidential material.
Why? Why? Because he left.
He left Congress, he left Washington to go home and do small, important work.
You had to haul him by the hair out of the family bed.
Did you never stop to wonder if that was a good choice? He stepped up when presented with the opportunity.
The man in that job shouldn't have to be presented with anything! It's for someone who grabs it and holds on to it, for someone who thinks the gods have conspired to bring him to this place, that destiny demands of him this service! If you don't have that kind of drive, that hubris, how in the hell are you going to make the kind of decisions that stump every other person in this country? How in the hell are you going to hold that kind of power in your hand?! You don't know he's not that man.
You don't know that he is.
Is he? Look me in the eye and tell me that you know, without a shadow of a doubt you know.
That's why the other guy wins.
I am listening to the music of the holy Holy Spirit Oh, what a song God is singing I will listen all day long yes, I will listen all day long I'm singing, oyaheya Oyaheya Hallelujah Thanks for joining us.
Anytime.
We tried to get the President here, couldn't make it happen.
Short notice.
Yeah.
Maybe you should do a longer speech, take some of the pressure off the Congressman.
I'm happy to do an introduction, but I think the Congressman should handle the rest of it.
Yeah.
Oh, how did yesterday go? The visit to Ronnie Burke's mother's house was a disaster.
The Congressman hates the very idea of the speech, never mind the speech itself.
I think he's planning on replacing me with a Labrador retriever.
Is that more information than you were looking for? A little bit.
We can hold the hand of the Lord and walk through the darkness! Amen! Through the pain! Yes! Through the storm! Let's give God some praise.
They're supposed to be here already.
They got stuck with the mayor, they're five minutes behind.
This is not the place to show up late.
I know.
I don't know what to tell you.
He's late.
Yes, he is.
Edie, where the hell are you? They're here.
We've got the Reverend Dr.
James Berlan Whitman.
First Lady Denise Whitman is sitting in the first chair on your right.
Choir Master Wilson Bennett.
We've been traveling the country talking about Matt Santos' vision for America, talking about the positive plan he has to move this country in the right direction, talking about an America of possibility.
I am proud to introduce to you a great leader, a fine and honorable man, Congressman Matthew Santos.
Good morning.
My prayers are with Ronnie Burke's family today.
I know yours are too.
My prayers are with Officer Rafael Martinez and his family.
They are not struggling with the loss of a child but they are struggling with a terrible truth.
My prayers are with those families and with this one.
You know, I find myself on days like this casting around for someone to blame.
I blame the kid, he stole a car.
I blame the parents, why couldn't they teach him better.
I blame the cop, did he need to fire.
I blame every one I can think of and I am filled with rage.
And then I try and find compassion.
Compassion for the people I blame, compassion for the people I do not understand, compassion.
It doesn't always work so well.
I remember as a young man listening on the radio to Dr.
King in 1968.
He asked of us compassion and we responded, not necessarily because we felt it but because he convinced us that if we could find compassion, if we could express compassion, that if we could just pretend compassion it would heal us so much more than vengeance could.
And he was right: it did but not enough.
What we've learned this week is that more compassion is required of us and an even greater effort is required of us.
And we are all, I think everyone of us, are tired.
We're tired of understanding, we're tired of waiting, we're tired of trying to figure out why our children are not safe and why our efforts to try to make them safe seem to fail.
We're tired.
But we must know that we have made some progress and blame will only destroy it.
Blame will breed more violence and we have had enough of that.
Blame will not rid our streets of crime and drugs and fear and we have had enough of that.
Blame will not strengthen our schools or our families or our workforce.
Blame will rob us of those things and we have had enough of that.
And so I ask you today to dig down deep with me and find that compassion in your hearts because it will keep us on the road.
And we will walk together and work together.
And slowly, slowly, too slowly, things will get better.
God bless you.
God bless you and God bless your children.
they have a more favorable opinion of you than they did before the debate.
CNN/USA Today polls call the debate a tie.
So does Newsweek.
She's running the hair dryer.
Yes.
Makes it hard to hear.
Yes, it does.
He's running the hair dryer.
Kind of wish you didn't know.
Sorry.
One more time.
CNN/USA Today poll calls the debate a tie.
So does Newsweek.
We now have 43% of all eligible voters.
You're only seven points down.
You're a rock star, sweetheart.
You got a four-point bump.
Vinick only got a two-point bump.
What happened to the old, "We go up, he goes down"? You're both polling from undecideds.
We have to be happy with "He went up, we went up more.
" This is the schedule for the weekend, if you could take a look at it.
Yeah.
Stick it in my bag, please.
The bus is here.
We've really got to move.
Sir, do you know what average SMT time was this week? Bram clocks this.
He rounds up because he's got money on it.
That's a lie.
SMT? Santos Mean Time.
The notion that I'm the problem is convenient but completely fallacious.
Honey.
This is a national campaign.
You think I'm driving the bus? Wednesday, 12:55.
Six extra press questions after we called it.
It was a conversation.
A fascinating one.
Just look at the schedule and see if it's something you think you can commit to.
And initial.
At the bottom.
What's C.
S.
? Change shirt.
Every two hours? It's for the sweating.
There's too many women in this room.
Nothing we haven't talked about before.
Today in Denver, tomorrow in L.
A.
I thought that was last weekend.
We cancelled it for the debate, which was also a personal addition of yours to the schedule.
Four-point bump.
Lou, can I get you for a second? On the bus.
You may want to talk to Scheduling.
I'm getting a lot of press calls about a 12-year-old black kid who was killed last night by the L.
A.
police.
What do we know? No details yet, but the community's kind of reeling.
We need a statement sooner rather than later.
We're at the Page Church in L.
A.
tomorrow morning.
Might not be a bad time to be in a black church, show 'em we feel their pain.
See if we can't get some traction in the community.
Yeah, we need it.
Our debate bump did not include a bump in black voters.
Sir, this is the updated stump.
Do you want to give it one last look? Yeah.
Lou? Hang on.
I don't see why the African-American community doesn't like the idea of a Latino candidate.
A little black/brown friction in the 'hood, if you haven't noticed.
Hasn't been my experience.
Yeah, you're a Venezuelan from Princeton.
Yeah, this is fine.
I'm sorry, Lou.
Gerard in Scheduling was considering a bigger change.
I think he may be right.
Gerard is obsessive-compulsive and should be taking slow breaths out of a paper bag.
I think you may want to give him a call.
What's the cop's name? No, this is why we run late: because you take time listening to people like Gerard from Scheduling.
Donna, what's the officer's name? Rafael Martinez.
Yeah, that's what I was afraid of.
Get me Josh Lyman at HQ, Annabeth Schott on the McGarry plane, and Gerard from Scheduling.
Mr.
Bailey.
And a good morning to you.
You were here last Saturday.
As were you.
You here for lunch? We could order something soggy, served in plastic.
I'm hoping to be gone in an hour.
I just have to sit with Ellie and the fiance, sort out some wedding stuff.
I didn't realize that was part of your portfolio.
The social secretary should be doing it but Ellie doesn't know her and she already feels the whole things not so much a wedding as an act of Congress.
Tell her I saw her band's playlist for the reception.
We may need to make a few adjustments.
One too many double entendres? - It's the single entendres I worry about.
- Right.
World stage, shadow of our forefathers.
I'll get into it.
They're in the Mural Room.
Remember how we used to talk? Everything you need is in the folder.
I told you not to come in today.
That never works out.
The only new piece is we're squabbling with Fish and Wildlife on the salmon flow schedule, so she should think about sea bass or, perhaps, a trout.
Sea bass is endangered.
Whitman does a great swordfish with green peppercorns.
That'd be nice.
Let's stay with the trout.
Nobody wants trout at a wedding.
It's not festive.
It's flavorful and underappreciated.
No swordfish or tuna or brie.
You know this isn't your wedding, right? I'm asking you to take my word for it because you're a busy woman and sometimes you don't need anymore information than I give you.
I'll push the trout.
Great idea.
Look at you! Congratulations! Thank you.
It's so exciting.
Have you met Vic? C.
J.
Cregg.
It's a pleasure.
Hi.
Thank you.
I'm so sorry you're here on a weekend for this.
Please, not at all.
It's bad enough you have to coordinate with three branches of government.
Anything I can do to help.
Sit, please.
Excuse me.
We're not up to trout yet.
Kate Harper needs you.
No, she doesn't.
She doesn't know I'm here.
Imagine her delight when she learned.
One minute? Ten minutes.
Just a guess.
Surrogates on the Sunday shows.
Do they know what they're saying? They're saying that he won the debate.
Do they have talking points or are they just going to flash a big V-For-Victory? You'll have language to proof in ten minutes.
- Hey.
- Hi, Lester.
What do we know? I'm waiting on more from the L.
A.
P.
D.
but it's a 12-year-old black male named Ronnie Burke.
He's passenger side in a stolen Escalade at 11:00 at night, gets out holding a weapon which turns out to be made of plastic, though it looks pretty darn real.
The cop is Latino? Oh, yeah.
No way the guy could have known the gun was fake? Probably not, but local news has a tape of a bystander claiming the kid was putting his hands in the air to surrender when the officer fired.
Can anybody corroborate that? It doesn't matter, it's on the news.
People are going to assume it's true.
There were demonstrations at police headquarters last night.
There'll be more this morning.
What do you think? It was going to be a tough crowd, even before this happened.
The black community's wondering how we got a Latino nominee before we got an African-American nominee.
There's always been tension between the two communities and now a cop named Martinez guns down one of their kids? Two days later, we send our guy to their church to stump for votes.
If he shows up in L.
A.
and does a tap dance on the head of a pin, great.
If not You may be getting on a plane.
I had a hunch.
I should have sent you on the L.
A.
trip in the first place.
Why didn't I think of that? You can't put me on a plane every time he's going to talk to a black person.
I'm prepared to reconsider that.
I'm doing Ellie Bartlet a favor.
I'm not really here.
NSC just got a call.
There's a China/Russia/Kazakhstan thing happening.
Okay.
My office is supposed to be sending up the briefing book but it's not here yet.
Well, let's go for the nutshell.
- It's better with the book.
- Kate Tarimov just booted a Chinese government delegation out of the country.
He's The acting President of Kazakhstan.
Installed after Issetov was assassinated.
They were negotiating a China-Kazakhstan strategic partnership making plans for an oil pipeline from Kazakhstan to China.
And Issetov called it off.
Tarimov.
Oh, Tarimov called it off.
Yes.
Issetov's dead.
Yes.
Issetov wanted to do business with the Chinese.
Tarimov has stronger ties with the Russians.
And he killed the China oil deal and China's pissed.
Exceptionally.
Margaret?! Sorry.
I was golfing.
You golf? Mini.
Josh, it's the bus.
Morning.
Is Lester there? Yeah.
Lester, I don't think we should go.
Are you getting skittish? There are a lot of angry people on the streets.
We could push it to next week.
We pushed last week for the debate.
He's got the flu, rickets, anything.
We are not canceling.
Sir, I don't think you want to be booed by angry churchgoers.
They're not going to boo me.
How about we go to the house instead? Pay our respects to the mother; less booing.
It'll look like we're exploiting the grief of a family in mourning.
The mayor's doing it.
Yeah, well, the mayor's got a relationship with the community.
They won't notice if he exploits it.
Yeah, but if he exploits and we don't, we look callous.
It's a chance I'm willing to take.
I'm going to the church.
Lou, call Joe Farley at the mayor's office.
See if he'll help us out, keep him away from the house.
Lester is on his way to where are you now? Denver.
Sir, the foreign policy team's waiting.
Are we making any statements? All we say now is "this is a terrible situation.
The Congressman hopes he can provide some support on his visit tomorrow.
" What's he going to say tomorrow? Good question.
I was summoned.
You were.
Do me a favor and talk to Ellie about whatever problems you're having with her music.
Now? I was supposed to be in there but the Kate happened.
It's going to take a few minutes.
I thought you could do your thing.
I was working.
I was golfing.
Mini.
I've mastered the windmill shot, with the bridge.
That's a hard one.
- Hole-in-one.
- People.
Five minutes and then I'm out of there.
What? You were saying there was something we needed to talk about.
Uh, yes.
The music.
Schrodinger's cats.
It was a band I played with in grad school.
Reunion show at the White House? They do weddings and barmitzvahs all the time.
Great.
It's better than it sounds.
It would have to be.
They sent us a copy of the playlist.
We're wondering if we can pull some things.
Is there a problem? Well, is "Baby Got Back" something you're particularly attached to? I can't make a bullying phone call to the Russian Foreign Minister because the Chinese got bounced out of an oil deal.
Tarimov is acting President.
He was supposed to hold elections but he called them off.
He suspended them.
He didn't call them off.
He suspended them weeks ago and has made no move to reschedule.
They guy's a Russian puppet.
It was looking like China was getting there foot in the door so he halts negotiations and kicks the Chinese out of the country.
Kazakhstan isn't China's only oil source.
They're their most promising one.
The Kazakh people, meanwhile, are rioting in the streets because they've just been screwed out of an election.
China's looking at major instability on their border, not to mention the 300,000 ethnic Chinese living in Kazakhstan who aren't looking particularly safe, all because the Russians want the oil and are willing to fight for it.
Best-case scenario, I'm ruining your Saturday.
Worst-case scenario, two nuclear powers are positioning themselves to actively engage in an armed conflict over oil.
Ted Barrow's on his way.
Margaret? See if you can track down the Russian Foreign Minister.
First they cut taxes, then they never get around to cutting spendings, - so they run up huge deficits for our children.
- There we go.
Okay.
Nice.
What's the time code? Send a copy to Josie at CNN and ask her to please stop running that stupid line about the EPA.
Enough, already.
Ladies.
Well, welcome to Denver.
I spoke to the L.
A.
mayor's office.
I think I talked them off a visit to the dead kid's house at least until tomorrow.
You got a confirmation or they're thinking about it? - Lou? - They like me and they don't want to mess with me.
I'm prepared to call it a confirmation.
I'm sorry.
Lou? They like you? I'm very personable.
It goes a long way.
The mayor's on his way to Ronnie Burke's house.
No, he is not.
He's going there now.
His people want to know if we want to coordinate press statements.
Joe Farley.
You get them to put Joe Farley on the phone.
He is a mealy-mouthed little snot.
This is him.
He doesn't seem to want to talk to you.
Personable.
Mayor didn't have a choice.
It was a bomb in his own backyard.
It kind of backs us into a corner.
It was a good idea to go to the house even before we were in a corner.
The Congressman hates it.
The Congressman may have to get over it.
We need to cover as many bases as we can.
Okay.
Edie, call Secret Service and Advance and tell them we may need to add another stop in L.
A.
tomorrow.
What's the mom's name? Brenda Burke.
Call her.
Tell her that Congressman Santos will be visiting Page Church tomorrow morning and can he stop by on his way and pay his respects.
No, we're not going to have time in the morning.
We have to be at the church by 9:00 am.
We should scrap the afternoon in Denver, go to L.
A.
now, and be at the house by late afternoon, early evening.
All right, let's look into it.
Who's going to tell the Congressman? I'm evens.
Once, twice, three, shoot.
Damn.
Hey, I covered the music.
No offensive lyrics by Schrodinger's Cats.
I am sending the happy couple back in here.
That's not going to work.
They're cleaning the carpets in the Mural Room.
Better here than in there.
Problem in Kazakhstan.
Nuclear powers pissing off other nuclear powers.
I need you to stay with them.
Seriously? Just look at this folder, deal with whatever's on the list.
I'll take over in 20 minutes.
I'm really not your man on weddings.
Margaret laid the whole thing out.
Half hour, tops.
You ask him? I'll ask him on the bus.
Coward.
Absolutely.
I've been thinking.
This is a national story.
The church is going to be full of cameras.
If African-Americans stay home on Election Day, we're out of the game.
Are you trying to raise my anxiety level, because it's already pretty high? I think we need reinforcements.
Hey, Edie? Call Annabeth, get Leo McGarry on the plane.
We want backup at the church tomorrow.
I'm talking serious reinforcements.
N o.
We need 90% of black voters.
We've got 81%.
undecided in this race.
The black vote's never had undecideds, but they're willing to hang back and weigh their options on this one because they don't hate Vinick and they're not sure they like the whole idea of Santos.
This is not a small problem.
Get me Josh, please.
Sorry, hang on.
Uh yeah, this is pretty straightforward.
Okay.
C.
J.
's going to be back in a few minutes, she just thought we could get the ball rolling.
Everybody's dream scenario: me planning your wedding.
Okay, anything I should know before we get started? Look, we realize there's a lot the goes along with having a wedding at the White House, but anything we could do to keep the numbers under control? Sure.
I know my father needs to invite a lot of people but I'm not crazy about the spotlight and Vic's a little agoraphobic.
It's not a phobia.
I was exaggerating.
It's the occasional shortness of breath.
It's really nothing.
Sometimes I pass out.
Okay, let's see what we've got.
White House invitees, this looks right.
A copy for you and you and me.
Oh, sorry.
There's a second page.
Here you go.
Oh, hang on.
One more.
And another one.
Yeah, that's it.
Okay.
This has got to be 1000 names! Shall we start with the A's? The Russians should be putting pressure on Issetov to resume the talks with the Chinese.
Tarimov.
What? Issetov is dead, we want them putting pressure on Tarimov.
Fine, yes.
They don't want to.
What do they think at the embassy? They'd like us to get the Russians to talk to Tarimov.
Seems to be the consensus.
The Russians don't want to talk to Tarimov.
The Russian Foreign Minister told me Tarimov's doing a fine job.
It's a big, fat lie.
Oh, dear, I should have told him that.
All right, you two put a call in to Camp David, let the President where we are.
I'll see what we can do with China.
Margaret! What are you going to say? I'm going to urge them to remain calm.
You got a better idea? Newton and Allina Hackett, Chairman of Senate Armed Forces.
Fine.
Newton and Allina Hackett are a yes.
Owen Hellman, Majority Whip.
My father doesn't even like him.
Yes, but with the energy bill on the rocks, it's not really the time to point that out.
Owen Hellman is a yes.
Andrew Edward.
What's he doing in the H's? Oh, right.
His Royal Highness, Duke of York.
Do you want to get some air? Hey, at least he's not bringing the queen.
Oh, maybe he is bringing the queen.
It's going to be a few minutes before we've got Beijing.
I should probably make some headway with Ellie and Vic.
Josh Lyman's here.
Really, Josh? Aren't you supposed to be running around the country with some politician? I brought you some doughnuts.
I sense a favor on my horizon.
Can we sit? Quickly.
I'm on my way to Ellie Bartlet, who I blew off hours ago.
What are the chances I get the President at a Santos appearance tomorrow in California? I know its short notice.
You think? - If I wasn't desperate - Secret Service needs a week to advance a trip like that.
Our detail has already cleared the zone.
He's in Camp David.
He's got a South American delegation.
He's tearing his hair out over a trade agreement.
You want him to hop a red eye to California? You hear about this kid, Ronnie Burke, got shot by a cop? It's a perfect storm.
You knew some people were going to have a tough time with the notion of a Latino President.
If it wasn't Ronnie Burke, it'd be something else.
Yeah, well, Ronnie Burke seems to be it.
I'll take it to the President, see what he thinks.
Bless you.
Yeah, yeah.
Get out of here.
Hey, have you talked to Toby? No.
I meant to call him but I guess I didn't.
- Did you? - No.
I mean, I would, but I can't.
- Nobody can while the investigation's still going.
- Right.
I just want to make sure he's in one piece.
Yeah, I don't know.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Max Zelikovsky.
He is the Chairman of the AFL-CIO, helping us out on a very testy negotiation with the steel workers.
Fine.
Great.
No! No, no! This wedding is not the solution to every political problem the White House has.
That's not its purpose.
We have a list of 742 people.
We are not inviting the Zelikovskys.
They are a bridge too far.
Honey, Carol Zelikovsky was my mother's college roommate.
I've known her my whole life.
Uh, but the good news is: that's it.
Now, it's all about your lists.
That's nice, right? Ellie Bartlet guests, page one.
Oh that's the whole thing.
Great.
Couple of little questions, looks like.
Uh, Arianna Grey? She's my maid of honor.
She's flying in from London for the wedding.
Right.
Well, looks like there was a problem with her security clearance.
Apparently, the last time she was in the country, her visa was flagged by the DEA, which suggests somebody had something they shouldn't have had in their suitcase.
You've got other friends, right? Two more questions and he's out.
I've heard that before.
No, he can't mess around on this one if we're going to make it to California today.
He hasn't exactly cleared that, yet.
Any word on the President? Josh asked.
The White House is looking in to it.
Speech for the church tomorrow.
Why do I have three? One where he denounces the cop, one where he doesn't denounce the cop, and one where he loves everybody.
My head hurts.
The audience at the church is going to want to hear him denounce the cop.
On general principle? For shooting at children, I think is the part they have their knickers in a twist about.
The kid had a weapon.
And a stolen car.
I'm just telling you what I think they'll want to hear.
He can't denounce the cop.
We don't even know what happened yet.
He could prejudice the whole investigation.
Well, the Latino community is not going to like it if he jumps all over the cop, not to mention the law and order vote.
They're definitely looking for us to support the cop.
- And without the law and order vote we lose? - All white people.
Okay.
So the two speeches where we take sides go in the garbage.
We are a community divided.
Uh, you don't want to say that.
It's two communities, not one.
Different identities, different issues.
Maybe it's a "we must face our differences" thing.
That's just another way of saying Blacks hate Latinos, Latinos hate Blacks.
Which is kind of true, but shouldn't be said.
It's not true.
Yeah, it's a little true.
Perhaps some of the folks are a little riled about the coming in and taking of the jobs.
Well, who do you know that wanted an avocado-picking job? Do you know how hot it is out there? Yeah.
We had about enough of picking with the cotton.
How'd it go, sir? A lot like it did the last 80 times.
We making any progress? Edie and Lester are fighting about avocados.
Aside from that, not much.
You know, there's a psalm that I think would be appropriate.
It will speak to the moment more than any platitudes that we can string together.
I want to make sure we get some time tomorrow before that rally in Sacramento to speak to the governor.
A psalm? Yeah.
You can not go out there and give them a prayer.
This is not bad luck, or bad timing; this is a country with huge racial challenges that's looking to you for guidance.
They don't want you to close your eyes and pray: they want you to open your eyes and lead.
You want to show me what you've come up with? I look forward to seeing a draft.
You going to ask him now about the dead kid's house? Thank you, sir.
You can keep that.
Yeah? It's me.
Let me in the door.
Sorry.
Thank you.
You going to invite me in? Something to drink? Sure.
I had some coffee, but I seem to no longer have any coffee.
I'm fine.
We can go to the corner.
There's a coffee shop.
Oh right.
That won't work.
What if someone saw? I don't need any coffee.
Kind of a stupid move anyway, you coming here.
Some reporter could have followed you.
They didn't.
They're pretty sly.
I checked.
You checked? That's great.
So, how are you? Indicted.
You? I meant to call, but it's been insane.
Mm-hmm.
You see the debate? Kind of a rush with the prep, looked like.
Not really.
I mean, it was quick, but he was ready.
We got a four-point bump off that thing.
He kicked ass.
Good.
So, jail? Sorry.
Are you actually going or are they cutting a deal? Nope.
Actually going.
I saw the op-ed piece in the Times.
You're quite the hero with the disarmament movement.
Patron saint of the daisy chain contingent.
People calling about speaking engagements; someone from Simon & Schuster is calling about a book deal.
You going to do it? I don't know.
Maybe.
I may need the money.
People I'd rather work with can't come within a ten-block radius of me.
You'll be less radioactive in a few months.
Oh, yeah? How many months do you think? We realize this is a very disconcerting turn of events.
We'd like to encourage them to keep an open mind.
President Bartlet will be speaking to Acting President Tarimov tomorrow and also contacting President Chigorin of Moscow.
We feel confident they'll find a way to reopen negotiations for a China-Kazakhstan partnership.
Great.
We've got Beijing.
Translator's patched in.
Thanks.
Good morning, Mr.
Liu, thank you so much for speaking with us.
We realize this is a very discouraging Sir, if I could Mr.
Liu, President President Bart If I could finish my Fat lot of good this is going to do.
Sorry.
So, you were saying? - I have no idea what I was saying.
- Your kids, how they are.
They're fine.
It must be good to have more time to spend with them.
It's fantastic.
Shoot.
Sorry, I've got to take this.
Hello.
I think I just screwed up.
I can't imagine.
I think I just told the Congressman it was his responsibility to solve the race problem in America, if possible, before noon tomorrow.
That's quite a mouthful.
It kind of pissed him off.
He'll bounce.
Don't worry about it.
We'd like to leave L.
A.
early, make a stop at the kid's mother's house.
Assuming we can talk the Congressman into it, is that okay with you? Are you sure we need it? The mayor already went.
We're kind of boxed in.
We leave Denver in half an hour, we should make it to the house by early evening, West Coast time.
All right.
Call me after.
Sorry.
We landed in some racial tension in L.
A.
The cop thing? Yeah.
We had an event planned in the neighborhood.
Nice.
So the black vote, which was already not in the bag Maybe it's an opportunity.
A charismatic guy, he can turn it around.
You think? Maybe.
I spoke to C.
J.
I'm trying to get the President down to sing backup.
Good luck with that.
I think she's going to work it out.
Yeah? What'd she say? She said she was going to try and work it out.
She say she'd take it to the President, see what he thinks? Yeah.
That's exactly what she said.
That's a catchphrase for "It's never going to happen.
" I know it's last minute, but It's got nothing to do with last minute, it's got to do with he doesn't think your guy is going to win.
What the hell is that supposed to mean? It means it's unlikely he gets on a red eye.
I am constantly amazed at your ability to continue to be a bastard.
It really is something.
Thank you.
You think I need to come here to be your punching bag? I really have no idea why you needed to come here.
Yeah, well, I don't know either.
Nostalgia? It's been a pleasure.
Really.
I'll see you later.
No you won't.
You won't be coming back.
At least have the integrity to say that out loud.
Did you tell him the President would be calling? I didn't get a word in.
- But does he understand - I did not get a word in.
We can try again tomorrow.
I think we're going to make more headway with the Russians.
Excuse me.
Ellie's in tears.
I've ruined her wedding.
Someone else needs to take over.
Is Margaret not out there? You need to step in.
Sorry about Central Asia.
It's been a disaster for years.
You're not really going to fix it today.
Oh, good.
Maybe you can help Will.
Shirley stopped by, the social secretary.
You need to talk to her about the dress.
I really don't.
Apparently Ellie bought a dress all on her own, which is sweet, but it's got applique flowers on it that Shirley's worried about.
I'm sure it's lovely.
There's some concern that they may have been hand-stitched in Saipan by little slave children.
Oh, God.
A number of designers have expressed an interest in making Ellie a dress.
These are a couple of samples.
Josh called again.
Take care of it.
You're doing great.
Just make sure you get a decision about the food.
Salmon's out, and so is swordfish and tuna and brie, which Margaret seems to think is a fish as well.
She's pregnant? Excuse me? Swordfish, tuna, soft cheeses am I the only one in the room with kids? Tell her we'll find something with an empire waist.
I don't even know what that means.
In the service of your country, son.
Did we work out Meet the Press? Mancini's doing it.
White House on line 3 for you.
- Hello.
- Hi.
Margaret, you miss me already, don't you? Terribly.
C.
J.
wanted to call you herself.
No, that's okay.
I know how busy she is.
She ran it by the President.
He can't make it to California, not on this short notice.
No, I get it.
She's really sorry.
Sure.
It was all very last minute.
Tell her thanks for trying.
Of course.
We're in the kitchen.
Brenda Burke.
Everything okay? Yeah.
Congressman, this is Brenda Burke, Ronnie's mother.
Mrs.
Burke.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
Thank you.
You're sweet to come.
The mayor came today too.
A lot of people.
I'm sure this is all terribly overwhelming.
I can't even begin to imagine how you're feeling today.
Can I offer you something to eat? No, please.
Don't trouble yourself.
It's no trouble.
People keep bringing food.
You should have one of those cookies.
That's very kind of you.
They do look delicious.
You need to move the vehicles at the end of the street.
Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to wait here for a few minutes.
- Excuse me.
- There are people who need to get up the street.
We'll be removing the roadblock in about 15 minutes, sir.
Her sister is at the end of the block! Please, step back, sir.
I'm Matthew Santos.
I'm so sorry for your I know who you are.
You need to take your people out of here and get your cars off the street so her sister can get up the block and into this house.
The family needs to be here, you do not.
Sir, I just wanted to let you and your family know how very sorry I am for your loss.
You should know better.
Please, step back, sir.
All right, we're done here.
- Mrs.
Burke, I'm so sorry - Congressman, we really need to get going.
Thank you, Mrs.
Burke.
Morning, sir.
Is that the speech? Yeah, it is.
If you want to give it a look, and then we can talk about it.
No, I'm fine.
Thank you.
You know, it doesn't play that badly on TV.
What's that? That was the speech I'm not going to give.
For the church? Yeah.
So, you're just going to stand up there and sing "Oh, Heavenly Shepard"? Oh, that's an idea.
You know you slide off-key on the chorus.
You all think that there is something I can get up there and say that's going to bridge the divide? Well, there isn't.
I don't think that's true.
Well, the staff doesn't either, so maybe you should get together and talk about it.
You don't have to say the right thing, which, conveniently, doesn't exist, but you do have to say something from your heart.
I do, huh? Yeah.
Nobody wants to hear that, Helen.
They want to hear what I have to say as the representative for every Latino man, woman, and child in the 50 United States.
And let me tell you something: I'm frankly getting very tired of being responsible for every Jose Miguel Rodrigo Garcia Martinez de Lopez in America.
I'm exhausted! Nobody expects that.
Of course, they do! They want me to make sense out of all of this.
And you know what, Helen, I've got nothing.
Why the hell do they shoot a kid who is trying to surrender?! There's some guy on the scene that says the kid was trying to put his hands up in the air.
The cop couldn't have waited, like, a half a second more before he fired? And who walks around South Central with a plastic M-16?! Where did this kid think he was living, Martha's Vineyard? Nobody figured out that when you live in the ghetto, you carry around something else if you don't want to get your ass blown away? That's what I've got right now.
You think that's going to make anyone feel better? Good morning, ma'am.
We've got to go.
Nice to see you all.
I hope I didn't pull anybody out of church.
Sorry, Ted.
Where are we? At 1:30 am Eastern Standard, Keyhole satellite images picked up movement on the northwestern border of the Xinjiang Province, up here, which continued the following three hours.
Could this be something else? It's possible.
It could be training drills, but it's unlikely.
What's likely is that China is massing troops on the border of Kazakhstan.
I brought coffee.
You seem to be out.
I've given a lot of thought to the heartwarming insight you shared with me about how the President thinks Santos is a loser and I think you're full of it.
Eight packets of splenda, you couldn't rustle up a bagel? This isn't about the President doesn't think Santos can win, it's about you don't think he can win.
That's true, I don't.
Because it will kill you to see me do this and succeed.
You're not wired for such an event.
You're entire neurological infrastructure would fritz out.
You really think I brewed up some sort of Freudian fratricidal mania built around your success? You don't think I have anything other than that against the Democratic nominee for President? Name something else, please.
He's not Presidential material.
Why? Why? Because he left.
He left Congress, he left Washington to go home and do small, important work.
You had to haul him by the hair out of the family bed.
Did you never stop to wonder if that was a good choice? He stepped up when presented with the opportunity.
The man in that job shouldn't have to be presented with anything! It's for someone who grabs it and holds on to it, for someone who thinks the gods have conspired to bring him to this place, that destiny demands of him this service! If you don't have that kind of drive, that hubris, how in the hell are you going to make the kind of decisions that stump every other person in this country? How in the hell are you going to hold that kind of power in your hand?! You don't know he's not that man.
You don't know that he is.
Is he? Look me in the eye and tell me that you know, without a shadow of a doubt you know.
That's why the other guy wins.
I am listening to the music of the holy Holy Spirit Oh, what a song God is singing I will listen all day long yes, I will listen all day long I'm singing, oyaheya Oyaheya Hallelujah Thanks for joining us.
Anytime.
We tried to get the President here, couldn't make it happen.
Short notice.
Yeah.
Maybe you should do a longer speech, take some of the pressure off the Congressman.
I'm happy to do an introduction, but I think the Congressman should handle the rest of it.
Yeah.
Oh, how did yesterday go? The visit to Ronnie Burke's mother's house was a disaster.
The Congressman hates the very idea of the speech, never mind the speech itself.
I think he's planning on replacing me with a Labrador retriever.
Is that more information than you were looking for? A little bit.
We can hold the hand of the Lord and walk through the darkness! Amen! Through the pain! Yes! Through the storm! Let's give God some praise.
They're supposed to be here already.
They got stuck with the mayor, they're five minutes behind.
This is not the place to show up late.
I know.
I don't know what to tell you.
He's late.
Yes, he is.
Edie, where the hell are you? They're here.
We've got the Reverend Dr.
James Berlan Whitman.
First Lady Denise Whitman is sitting in the first chair on your right.
Choir Master Wilson Bennett.
We've been traveling the country talking about Matt Santos' vision for America, talking about the positive plan he has to move this country in the right direction, talking about an America of possibility.
I am proud to introduce to you a great leader, a fine and honorable man, Congressman Matthew Santos.
Good morning.
My prayers are with Ronnie Burke's family today.
I know yours are too.
My prayers are with Officer Rafael Martinez and his family.
They are not struggling with the loss of a child but they are struggling with a terrible truth.
My prayers are with those families and with this one.
You know, I find myself on days like this casting around for someone to blame.
I blame the kid, he stole a car.
I blame the parents, why couldn't they teach him better.
I blame the cop, did he need to fire.
I blame every one I can think of and I am filled with rage.
And then I try and find compassion.
Compassion for the people I blame, compassion for the people I do not understand, compassion.
It doesn't always work so well.
I remember as a young man listening on the radio to Dr.
King in 1968.
He asked of us compassion and we responded, not necessarily because we felt it but because he convinced us that if we could find compassion, if we could express compassion, that if we could just pretend compassion it would heal us so much more than vengeance could.
And he was right: it did but not enough.
What we've learned this week is that more compassion is required of us and an even greater effort is required of us.
And we are all, I think everyone of us, are tired.
We're tired of understanding, we're tired of waiting, we're tired of trying to figure out why our children are not safe and why our efforts to try to make them safe seem to fail.
We're tired.
But we must know that we have made some progress and blame will only destroy it.
Blame will breed more violence and we have had enough of that.
Blame will not rid our streets of crime and drugs and fear and we have had enough of that.
Blame will not strengthen our schools or our families or our workforce.
Blame will rob us of those things and we have had enough of that.
And so I ask you today to dig down deep with me and find that compassion in your hearts because it will keep us on the road.
And we will walk together and work together.
And slowly, slowly, too slowly, things will get better.
God bless you.
God bless you and God bless your children.