The West Wing s07e13 Episode Script
The Cold
THE WEST WING Original air date: 03/12/2006 Arizona, up by four; Nevada, up by three; Virginia, up by four.
California? Up by six.
- I have seven.
- Who's that? Gallup.
- Really? - I'm reading it right off the paper.
- Oh, my God.
- Is it up? - Nope.
- Check again.
I'm hitting refresh once every 12 seconds.
Sometimes when you keep pressing the button it won't load.
She's right.
You may have to go to another page and then come back to this one.
How's it coming? I've got three women trying to tell me how to use the New York Time's website.
It's pretty straight-forward.
You need some help? I think I've got it under control.
Up four in Louisiana, tied in Arkansas.
Tied in North Carolina, South Carolina.
South Carolina?! It's up, it's up, it's up.
The New York Times national tracking poll first national sample since the accident at the San Andreo nuclear facility in Southern California, blah, blah, blah in this three-day spread, polling 1400 likely voters, Senator Vinick dropped Damn it! The screen froze! Oh, for God's sake! I've got it over here, you guys.
Yeah, yeah.
State-by-states are out.
We're tied in South Carolina, Arkansas, and California.
California? We've pulled ahead in Arizona, Nevada, Virginia.
We got the new national tracking polls The Times? It's 44-44.
We're tied We're tied? Nationally.
Holy Mother of God, we caught him! - Yes.
- We caught him! Josh?! Where's Josh? Are they messing with me? Our lead narrowed Tennessee, Louisiana, Georgia; we're neck-and-neck in the Carolinas and they pulled ahead of us in Arizona and Virginia.
The Times put it at 44-44.
California? Tied.
Nine points ahead in California a week ago.
Now we're tied.
The good news is most of the votes we lost are showing up undecided.
They are not going for Santos yet.
You have local press downstairs.
No comments on the nuclear accident in California.
Yeah.
It was a national tragedy.
You're not going to talk about it in a political context.
You're concentrating on meeting voters, talking about the issues.
Mainly tax cuts and more tax cuts.
Are you okay? Yeah, I'm fine.
The Kazakhstan situation is heating up.
You can always pivot to that if you need to I need 30 seconds to myself, okay? Tied, nationally.
Who'd have thunk it? Vinick must be weeping in his beer.
Have we talked to the Russians? They're sticking with their story: the election wasn't rigged; Tarimov is the legitimate President of Kazakhstan.
Russian troops have crossed the border to provide stability to the new government.
China says they've also gone in for stabilization purposes.
How about NATO? Everyone likes the idea of a peacekeeping force, but nobody wants to be in one.
I can't imagine why not.
The UN's not going to get involved.
China and Russia can both veto in the Security Council.
So it's just us.
Which looks like what? Russia's moving in from the northwest, China from the east.
We need to send enough troops to create a human buffer zone between the two advancing armies.
How far apart are they? About 600 miles, but not for long.
I want to see invasion plans as soon as possible.
We wouldn't think of it as an invasion, sir.
We'd call it an intervention.
Show me a plan that doesn't look like an invasion, I'll call it whatever your want.
Keep the NATO ball in the air.
I don't want anyone getting the impression we're writing them off.
I'll stay on it with State.
Have Ted Barrow put together a NATO briefing for next week.
We don't know where we're going quite yet.
Hopefully we'll know next week.
Hi.
Hi.
I have a thing of yours.
My Pyongyang book, good.
- I tore up my whole office looking for it.
- It's not that.
- Really? - Absolutely.
It's in a blue binder.
It may not be Nothing in a blue binder.
Are you sure? I mean, picking it out It's a bra.
Oh, okay.
I put it in a padded envelope, which seemed appropriate.
Really? You want it now? No! No.
Yes? It's in your office? It is.
You keep it.
Permanently? Mail it to me.
Your home address is my home address.
You don't think that's a little complicated? It is, isn't it? I'll hang on to it until we Okay.
We'll get better at this.
One can only hope.
Cancel everything here after the morning rally.
We've got to get on the ground in the battle states.
Vinick's going to have to head south trying to get his lead back in Louisiana, Arkansas, and the Carolinas.
Has he even been down South since the primaries? Nope.
While he flails around down there, we'll have all the swing states to ourselves.
Nuclear power plants in every one of those swing states.
Local news crews will be all over us.
- Free media! - Straight from heaven.
San Andreo created a lot of undecideds.
We've got to get them off the fence.
Yeah, a lot of them were Dems who didn't know you and were satisfied voting for a moderate Republican.
Well, time for them to come home to the Party.
They want to hear about deficit reduction, they want to hear you're gonna put more cops on the streets.
We need to focus on the fact that you were fighting nuclear power 15 years ago.
You're the forward-thinking candidate with a nuance vision.
The kind of vision a President needs to handle complicated international situations like this mess in Kazakhstan.
He had the vision to predict problems with nuclear power, he has the vision to find solutions for our future.
Yeah.
Who's writing? The Santos Education Plan is now the 21st Century Education Plan.
The 21st Century Health Plan.
Let's not forget energy.
The 21st Century Energy Plan.
He's about the future, Vinick's about the past.
Great.
I'll have Joey test some language, but that's the direction.
I'm coordinating with Advance.
Which state should we hit first? Well, that's easy.
California.
Yeah.
Hi.
Hi.
Drink this.
I don't want it.
I didn't ask you if you wanted it.
It looks like Hawaiian Punch, it smells disgusting, and I'm not getting sick.
Bob? We lost these people because of the nuclear accident.
Give them time to realize you didn't meltdown the thing by yourself, they'll come back on their own.
A cycle like that takes a month, which we don't have.
The base.
Governor We have had a good time always running to the center, but the party's over.
You're a Republican.
You need to start talking to the Republican conservative base.
Nail him to a cross; he can stump for votes on the Via Dolorosa.
I am the only person talking to values voters.
And you are doing a fantastic job.
They're not voting for me, and they know it.
He needs to spend more time in the southern states to make sure we don't lose them.
The undecideds are moderates.
They're not bible thumpers.
He's got to speak to their issues.
What's he going to do? Suddenly pull the Arnold Vinick Health Plan out of his tailpipe? Would that qualify as a miracle? They like the miracles.
It would look like desperation.
We need an ad blitz - negative.
That's not a bad idea.
It is, actually.
What we need to do is curb Santos' momentum - keep these folks undecided long enough for this nuclear mess to fade.
It's not going to fade.
He's going to run thousands of spots on your long-standing love affair with nuclear power.
Which is why we need something to hit back with; I'm not talking a smear campaign, just some focus on the thousands of times Santos has voted to increase spending.
It'll drive up our negatives just as much as it does his.
He'll look like a mudslinging desperate hatchet.
So what? Is that an existential question? Last week Vinick was the voice of experience.
Now suddenly, Santos is a wise, pressing visionary and the Senator looks like A foolish old man? I'm sorry, sir.
I just No, go ahead.
I love it.
We're assuming it can't get worse.
Let me tell you something: it can.
We go negative, they're going to trot out every bad call I ever made.
They're going to plaster them all over the air waves.
- Yeah.
- It's going to come back and bite us in the ass.
Yeah.
I'm agreeing with you.
You are? All right.
We need to stay the course.
The Senator speaks to the center, we pep around a little more on health care and education; Sullivan speaks locally to the right flank.
He's going to talk about health care too? No.
He's going to be doing what he's been doing - family values, apple pie.
So you're sticking with the 50-state strategy? No.
We can't win 50 states anymore.
I'm aware of that.
Thank you.
It's still the best strategy we have.
We'll do a swing through the South, shore up our numbers there.
But he's not appending his message this late in the campaign.
You've got Pensey and Carrolton.
If I start going after the base now I'll look like an idiot.
The Governor's going after the base.
You've just got to make nice with Pensey and Carrolton.
You want me to shape this? We've got time before your 11:00.
Let's get into it now.
Unless you want to talk about it alone, in which case you could discuss it over lunch.
Our base in Ayaguf has 9,000 marines on the ground.
We're proposing sending in an additional They'll require support units? Certainly.
How many? Another 40,000.
We'd come up from the south, creating a zone of neutrality separating the Russian-controlled northwest and the Chinese-controlled east.
The mountains here on the northern edge of Lake Balkash create a natural barrier.
Our hope is that the Chinese won't push past them.
It'll take weeks to prep an intervention this size.
Eight, probably.
We don't have that kind of time.
We'll start an early deployment of 12,000 troops.
The rest will follow as ready.
Coming from where? We'd pull the first armored division from Vispaden.
And we get them there how? Send them through the Trans-low hub to gather munitions and equipment then deploy on C-17s.
Or we could airlift them straight from Vispaden on C-130s.
If you want the armored division to bring their tanks we're going to have to go with the C-17s.
What will they wear? I think green and brown are still the favorites.
What kind of outerwear? I haven't seen any type of prototype recently We're talking about sending 150,000 Americans to the 50th Parallel in November.
It starts snowing in Astana in August, and doesn't stop until June.
As opposed to the Russians who do this a lot.
Americans haven't fought a war in the cold in quite some time.
I would like to know what kind of coats you plan to put on our troops.
We'll look into it, sir.
Do that and come back.
CentCom's suggesting a no-fly in Kazakhstan - symbolic buffer between the two armies until we can get rapid deployment under way.
Yeah.
We're not talking about a drive-by, either.
If we go in, we could be there for years.
I need to talk to the candidates.
Rally in San Diego as soon as we arrive, visits to two of the shelters holding evacuees from San Andreo.
Is he talking about the accident? Nothing about the accident, nothing about nuclear power; he's just sharing some ideas about health care and education with a couple of cooling towers in the background.
You've got a lot of new friends suddenly.
Who? Governor Watley, Governor Stockwell, Secretary of Energy, Treasury Secretary, Senator Pallor How many times did I call Stockwell and Pallor? A lot.
That was before we were coattails.
Well, better late than never.
Put them on the schedule.
Why are you looking at me like that? Bono called.
Bono?! - Really?! - Yeah.
He's in New York this weekend.
He wants to have dinner with the Congressman.
Do it! - We're not in New York this week.
- Change the schedule! Bono wants to meet him? Does he want to perform at a rally? We didn't get into specifics.
He doesn't have to sing.
He could just talk about debt relief.
- Oh, my God! Did you talk to him? - I talked to a guy named Phil.
Okay, invite him to San Diego.
Phil? Not Phil.
Press avail on the tarmac in San Diego.
You need to be available all day for phone interviews.
Yep.
I'm getting a lot of questions on what Santos thinks about Kazakhstan.
Tell them Congressman Santos applauds the President's efforts and is glad the U.
S.
can share its wisdom with emerging democracies.
Then call the White House and find out what the hell's going on.
If Bono comes? You'll meet him.
Uh, Donna? I want to, um I'm sorry.
About this morning it was inappropriate.
Don't worry about it.
Totally inappropriate; I feel terrible.
Don't.
Seriously.
Seriously, it's bound to happen sometime.
I'm gonna call the White House, talk about Kazakhstan.
I want an evacuation report from FEMA before the San Andreo budget call.
Get C.
J.
's comments on this and get Hollings at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
He's coming in this afternoon.
- I still want to talk to him now.
- Did you look at the sketches? - I'll get to them.
- How about now? A nuclear disaster and a war abroad - I thought they could wait.
They've been sitting there for days.
It makes it look like I don't pick up after you.
I don't know what to think of these.
A simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down.
You think they look like me? More or less.
Then they'll do.
What does "more or less" mean? Decent likeness, commanding, thoughtful; there's no cane, which is a choice.
You think it's a bad choice? I don't know, did you make it or did he make it? He did.
Then it doesn't matter.
I'm not going to be standing beside the thing with a running commentary.
You think it's a problem? Do you? Often as not, I don't even use it.
Yes.
But you exist in the Zeightgeist with a cane.
I have an idea.
What? Let's call Hollings at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Yes, sir.
Josh on two.
Hey, sailor.
Am I calling you or are you calling me? I think I'm calling you.
How's it feel? Oh, this must be what your first smack high feels like.
Here's hoping it's not followed by a huge crash and years of rehabilitation.
Nothing could kill my mood right now, but that was a good try.
Thanks.
We need a briefer to give us a more detailed idea about what's up in Kazakhstan.
Can you send somebody? Funny you should mention it - how about the President? Below his pay grade, but we'd love to see him.
He'd like to meet with the Candidates at the White House tonight.
Are you kidding? For the first time in the history of this race we're not trailing; we're tied.
We pull ahead if we play this thing right.
Taking the guy off the campaign trail so he can have some drinks in the Oval Office is I know and I'm sorry.
And if I had a choice We're about to go to California.
We may win Vinick's home state.
- He is not - Would I be asking if it wasn't important? Diplomatic foray into an entrenched conflict; yes, you have my word: should Santos win he will continue the President's efforts to negotiate a peaceable solution.
Okay, let's do it this way: Vinick's coming.
I'm sure you don't want the entire White House Press Corps covering Vinick in the Oval with the President without Santos.
I like you less and less.
Will's going to coordinate the talking points with your press people, the President will brief the candidates.
See you tonight.
The President wants to see both candidates at the White House.
About what? Security briefing.
San Andreo? Wouldn't say.
Why not? Buy some time to sort out the schedule.
Still stuck? You're asking me to boost his public appearances while limiting press access, send him groveling for votes to states he's never had to campaign in before when all he wants to do is go to California.
Yeah, I'm still stuck.
We're not going to California.
I keep telling him that.
What do you think about a media buy? In California? You know how expensive that is? We're hemorrhaging votes there.
I need the bulk of our money for a media blitz on November 5th; you could blow the entire budget buying ads in California.
Call Stan.
See what he thinks it will cost.
How much time does he have? Two or three days see how it goes.
That's great.
A Republican stumping in Georgia? I'm so glad we've got Ray Sullivan planning the schedule.
It's not his plan; it's mine.
Oh? Yes.
I am happy to change tact in light of current developments, but I would be more comfortable if strategy meetings took place with you, me and the Senator - not you and Ray Sullivan.
Sullivan's just blowing off steam.
Nobody blames you for what's happening; not me, not the Senator.
I don't care if I'm being blamed; I care if I'm being shoved out.
You're not.
- Hi.
- Hi.
And you're here.
Yes.
- Should I come back? - No.
This was the point.
I've asked for guys from both campaigns to come in so we can get everyone on the same page with Kazakhstan.
You two should work that out? I'll put together a backgrounder and he can adapt that into whatever - Talking points.
- Yeah.
Something they can share with the press.
Which won't be the whole story, but better than vamping.
- Sure.
- Great.
- What? - What? Is something weird happening? Nope.
I feel like I'm the heroine in the movie who doesn't know there's a guy behind the refrigerator with an axe.
Maybe it's the weather.
People feel that way when it's damp.
Thank you, both.
We're really bad at this.
Really bad.
You know, in a minute, Dave Matthews is going to come up on this stage Lou's working with Joey Lucas on the whole, "Voice for a New Generation" thing.
She's going to catch up with us in California.
She knows we've got to detour to the White House tonight, right? Yeah.
Lou told Annabeth to send Leo tonight to pave the way.
That's good.
See if we can get Helen there too.
Hey, you've got to get on a plane.
Liaise with White House Communications on the Kazakhstan thing.
Lou told me.
I'm on my way.
I just wanted to tell you a rumor I heard from a guy at the Sacramento B.
You feel bad for the guys at the B, don't you? I don't.
- It lacks dignity.
- They're wondering.
You heard a rumor? At first I thought it was allergies because apparently Vinick has a mold sensitivity and the carpet on the plane isn't all that Now you're wondering.
I'm sorry.
They think he has a cold.
- Vinick? - Yes.
Oh, my Lord! A cold?! - A fax from last - He has a cold?! The gods were listening to me, and they love me! Why is there hugging? Vinick has a cold.
Oh, that's precious.
I want to send him some Vick's vapo-rub and a German nurse.
Look, I have White House schedulers on the phone, and they seem to think that Leo has to be at the White House tonight, too.
No, seriously.
Give me that.
Hi, this is Josh Lyman.
Who is this? Hi, Roberta.
Mr.
McGarry can't make it to the White House tonight.
He's campaigning for high government office.
Nah, I'm sure it was a mistake.
Thank you.
Thanks.
Sorry.
No worries.
Bureaucratic snafu.
- So, are they writing about this wonderful cold? - They will be.
Are they writing about the fact that the Senator's health can't stand up to the rigors of the campaign, never mind the challenges of the Oval Office.
They won't be impressed; he hasn't been in a close race in thirty years.
The beginning of the end, right here.
Josh Lyman.
Mr.
Lyman, please hold for the President.
Hey, kid.
How you doing? Fine, sir.
How are you? Good, good.
Do me a favor: bring Leo with you to the White House tonight, would you? - Sir - You should tag along and say hello.
It'd be great to see you.
Thanks, Josh.
What? We're going to the White House tonight - Leo, the Congressman everyone.
We're going to need little packs of Kleenex in all the Senator's pockets.
Cough drops, cough drops.
And cough drops - something industrial strength; none of that herbal business.
Pray to whoever you pray to that he doesn't lose his voice.
We should try to give him a day.
A day off? He's running a 101 fever.
He needs to rest.
Not 21 days out, he doesn't.
You want 21 days of the Walking Wound? He takes a day off and we affirm every concern the voters have: he's a dinosaur Not up to the job.
Dead on his feet.
Gentlemen! Is the Senator here? He's doing a Q & A outside.
He'll be right in.
Annie, tell Jake I want the Senator's wake-up call pushed to 7 am tomorrow, not 6.
Okay.
These are for you.
Which event are we killing so he can sleep in? It's an hour.
We're not talking about it anymore.
Hodder from the RNC would like a few minutes with the Senator without staff.
The only time they request meetings without the staff is when the meeting is about the staff.
Should I pack my pencils and coffee mugs now? Stop it.
Annie, call Hodder's office.
Tell them 4 o'clock.
Okay.
Hey, Will.
Hey, look at you: back in the building.
Congratulations on your forward surge.
Can you believe it? We're all walking ten feet off the ground.
You gonna go visit your old desk? Oh, not a lot of nostalgia there, really.
I've got the talking points on the Kazakhstan negotiations, but Vinick's press guy is running a little late so we should give it a minute.
Sure.
You want a soda? I'm fine.
I'm going to have a ginger ale.
Good.
Good.
Can I ask you a question? Sure.
It's going to sound a little wacky.
Go for it.
If something had happened with us, when we were working, romantically, would that have been inappropriate? Wow, uh - I'm flattered, - Oh, no, no, no.
but I'm actually seeing someone in a very nonpublic and poorly defined way.
No, not you.
I was talking about someone like you with your job in relation to me.
You're talking about Josh? - You're seeing someone? - You're seeing Josh? No.
Then who? I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.
Yours is Josh; you're not cryptic.
And yours is Classified.
Nothing happened with me and Josh, at all.
I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have brought this up.
We should drop it.
Good idea.
It's not inappropriate.
Seeing someone, that is.
It's a little weird, maybe.
But you'll figure it out.
Did they start? Who? Hodder.
They're not here yet but I really don't think you need to be here.
The Chairman asked me to sit in.
Ah, here he is.
What's she doing here? Good to see you, Sheila.
Mr.
Chairman.
You remember Jane Braun.
Sure.
How are you? Bruno Gianelli, Jane Braun from the RNC, and Chairman Hodder you know.
Mr.
Chairman.
How you doing? Ray, thanks for joining us.
The Senator's on a call.
He'll be here any minute.
World upside down, huh? It'll right itself in a day or two.
How's he feeling? - Rumor has it he has a little bit of a - He's fine.
Oh, good.
I hear you're going to spend a couple days below the Mason-Dixon Line.
That'll help.
I think it will.
Message-wise? Message-wise, we're holding center.
Are you sure that's your strongest play? We need to win back the undecideds, right now.
Moderates.
I can see how you'd come to that conclusion, but I'm not sure it's about changing minds anymore.
It's kind of late for that.
Three weeks is enough time.
You can't count on it.
What you can count on is getting out the vote.
And the foot soldiers of the Republican base will do that for you if the candidate starts speaking their language.
Here we go.
It's time to start talking about values and family.
By which you mean what? Gay marriage? I think the list of family values is longer than just "The One" but, since you mention it We play the gay marriage card, Santos will have to respond.
Conservative voters will flock to Vinick.
The Senator doesn't think that marriage is a federal issue.
The Senator should rethink it.
Is that what you plan on telling him? Guys, you're up against the wall.
You had some maverick ideas early on and they played beautifully.
But now it's time to run a safe, sober campaign that speaks to the concerns of the Republican base.
And what exactly do you think that looks like? We don't need to get into it.
I'm interested.
You make it clear to the base that Vinick is their candidate.
They can count on him.
You didn't pull these policies out of a hat.
They're Senator Vinick's positions.
I wouldn't broadcast that.
Meaning what? He's sending the message that he got bad advice early on.
He was listening to strategists who steered him off course I think we've got the idea.
- It's something you should think about.
- Sure.
Don't be flip about this.
There are down-ticket races to consider.
We could lose the House and the Senate.
Now Arnie's alienated a lot of our people Excuse me.
The Senator's ready now.
Great.
Right this way.
Excuse me.
Good to see you.
Pleasure.
You still think they're not trying to replace me? Oh, they're definitely trying to replace you - with her, apparently.
Hey, stranger.
Hi.
Did Will get you up to speed? Yes.
I'm just hanging here until the Congressman and everyone gets in.
- It's so good to see you.
- You too.
- You must be having a good day.
- Amazing.
How's Josh? What do you mean? Which part tripped you up? - Oh, you're you're just - Asking how he is.
Oh, sorry.
He's, um he's fine.
Happy we're doing so well.
What's going on? Nothing.
Is something is a Josh thing going on? No.
No, no, no, no.
Something happened.
Nothing.
Oh, come on.
You've got a useless poker face.
I spend my whole day talking about election monitors in Central Asia.
Throw me a bone.
It's nothing.
We just we had an odd moment today.
Just another in a long series of odd moments meant to be ignored.
You should focus on your election monitors.
That was a complete and utter failure.
That's too bad.
It is.
Would you come with me, please? Evening.
Senator.
Wow.
I don't like how that looks.
Yeah.
Make yourselves comfortable.
The President will be right with you.
Thank you.
Not too comfortable.
Excuse me? Hmm? Did you? What? Nothing.
If there's anything I can get you, please let me know.
Vinick just came through.
I think they put him in the Mural Room.
A little too close to the Oval for my taste.
The President will be with you in just a few minutes.
Thanks, Carol.
Can I get anybody anything to drink? Oh, we're fine.
Thank you.
Good.
Mr.
McGarry, could you come with me, please? I have no idea.
Why are we sitting out here while the Democratic VP candidate is being ushered into the Oval Office? They wanted to show me.
I thought it was my job to keep them away from the Congressman.
You are a brave soldier, Bram.
I'm touched.
I really am.
Anytime, sir.
We're at the Marriot tonight.
Take-out phone lists are in the packet, but the restaurant in the hotel should be open when we get back.
I want a room with a view.
Last time we were here I was over the dumpster.
You're on the second floor.
No view, is what he's saying.
You know, I was going to go over to the hotel and look out every window, but somehow I didn't get to it.
You like "Dawn of a New America"? Not really.
How about "A New Plan for a New America"? "New America" sounds a little colonial, doesn't it? How do you feel about stumping in a pilgrim hat? I love it.
"A Brave and Bold Visionary" ought to work.
This is me talking about myself? It's language Joey and Lou have poll-tested.
We're trying to work it into the stump.
Let me see.
We're just looking to capitalize on our country's new vision of you, sir - post-nuclear debacle.
"Brave and Bold"? - As opposed to Vinick, who's - "Big and Bad.
" - I don't think we need it.
- It polled well.
You can't poll people three days after a crisis.
They're speaking from a place of anxiety and confusion.
They're answers are going to be all over the map.
You want to just stay the course? We have their attention now.
They're finally listening.
We stick with it, maybe they'll get the sense that we've been on the right track all along.
"Santos: Right From the Start.
" We want that on every bumper sticker, every press release everything.
That was some impressive teamwork there.
It was, wasn't it? I'm a little teary.
I'm going to have a doctor come by in the morning and make sure it's not strep or something.
It's nothing.
I'm fine.
It's allergies.
Until the "allergies" clear up, I think a cough suppressant might make the day go a little faster.
You want to talk about what happened in your meeting with Hodder? I don't.
You want to talk about why we're admiring the China while McGarry's in there with the President? We're setting up a no-fly zone over Kazakhstan.
Step one of a two-month ramp up with probably a five-year commitment on the ground.
NATO's waving us into the fray with absolutely no intention of following.
It figures.
Did you evacuate the embassy? Not yet.
So, it's rapid deployment of what, 10,000? The dream scenario is we put them in the middle of the buffer zone which scares everyone enough to drive the Russians and the Chinese back on their own soil.
Otherwise, we follow with another 100,000.
Have you thought about air strikes? Hit a few military targets? I'm willing to threaten air strikes, but I don't want to tear up the Kazakh countryside just to make a point.
So you send in 100,000 men, push the lines back.
Then you're security guard until they get a new government up and running.
It's a reasonable move.
You put a massive force on the ground for deterrent purposes, you nip the conflict in the bud.
I'd be surprised if either China or Russia actually wanted a real battle.
Maybe.
That, or we're stuck between two You don't know until you're in it.
You think I should be sending another negotiating team? Armies are already on the ground.
Nobody's going to agree to a cease-fire until they know you're serious about getting involved.
Yeah.
This is what they'll remember About your presidency? Got us into a big mess, then left it to someone else to clean up.
Oh, come on.
They'll remember eight years of strong leadership, growth a Commander in Chief they could trust.
You know what'll probably happen? It goes badly, I get the blame.
It goes well, the next guy gets the credit.
Sounds about right.
The President's ready for you.
Sorry for the wait.
Gentlemen.
Everything okay? Yeah.
The initial incursion would be small: Does the embassy require that much defense? Not really.
Hopefully, Tarimov takes it as an indication of our commitment and resumes negotiations.
If he doesn't? Two rapid deployment divisions are dropped in within 24 hours.
The rest of the ground troops follow over the next eight weeks.
Who are we dealing with at the Kremlin? Chigorin's been unwilling to engage, as you might expect.
The foreign minister is communicating, but we get the sense he's been pushed out of the decision-making process.
Thank you all.
One of you will inherit this pinata.
I just thought you should know what's on the table.
I was under the impression that diplomatic options hadn't been exhausted.
That's what we've been saying.
I wish it were true.
What about an international force.
We've asked, but NATO's participation would be nominal at best.
So we're placing ourselves on an oil field between two nuclear powers, alone.
Yes.
I don't see our presence as doing anything more than exacerbating the conflict.
Once we're involved, India will have to diplomatically alligned with the Russians.
Pakistan will support China.
South Korea will feel pressured to engage on our side.
I'm not sure what our side is.
Gentlemen, let's talk about what we're talking about.
You're worried that I'm going to announce I'm deploying 150,000 American soldiers three weeks before the election and suddenly your race is about my war.
You can speak candidly.
It does change the nature of the election.
But more importantly, a new President would have an easier time brokering a diplomatic solution.
If I thought we could wait until after election, I would wait.
What's this going to cost? It depends on how long we stay.
It doesn't matter.
The first 100 days in office are the most productive of the whole term and there's no way we can extricate ourselves from from something like this in three months.
It's not about the money.
You're blowing any political capital we might have by forcing us to fight a war.
Do we have an estimate? First twelve months: 70 billion.
I can say goodbye to my tax cut.
Your education plan is certainly off the table.
What's a victory in this? The retreat of Chinese and Russian military forces across their own borders, and a stable, neutral, and democratic government in Kazakhstan.
Wait, no.
That's here's where you lose me.
Everyone back to their corner, I understand.
A stable democratic regime in a former Soviet central Asian republic, that could take two, three generations.
I mean, if that's your definition of success, I'm not sure I see a clear exit strategy.
It's a realistic concern.
Is there an exit strategy? General Schultz will tell you there is.
He'd tell you we stabilize Astana, hold new elections in ten months, and pull out in 18.
But I'm not sure I'd buy that anymore than you do.
What's your exit strategy? I don't have one.
I suggest you both start giving it some thought.
I appreciate your concerns, but I am not in a position to hold off our involvement.
These armies are marching toward each other and someone must stand in the middle.
Unfortunately, it has to be us.
Thank you for coming in.
Good luck to you both.
What'd the President want? Lozenge? We have to talk about the Chairman.
Yeah.
He's a weasel and I don't like that woman, but they're right.
A little campaign shake up might create enough of a diversion to get us past San Andreo.
Bruno's worked hard for us.
He's not the reason we're in the toilet.
I think firing him will just get us a whole lot of nothing, but if you want to do it, do it.
I'm not talking about Bruno.
Bruno doesn't have the visibility to be a viable scapegoat.
I'm the public face of your campaign staff.
You want this to work, it's got to be me.
That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
No really, from a smart woman, that's an incredibly stupid idea.
You need someone to blame for the fact that we didn't campaign to the base.
You need to apologize for that misstep and spend the next three weeks singing their song.
- I'm not doing it.
- Don't interrupt me.
I can still be on the phone with you 24/7.
Hire Jane Braun.
And once we get a 51% strategy in place, Bob and Bruno can execute it.
We're not losing.
We're just in a real horse race now.
I'll hop myself up on Sudafed tomorrow.
Santos will be back in the dust by Friday.
Jane is rainmaker at the RNC.
She is the darling of the evangelical right.
They will respond to her.
She'll whip them up into a door-knocking, pavement-pounding frenzy.
You're really talking about this? I made a promise to put you in office, and that's what we're going to do.
So, that's it? Tomorrow morning I get a letter of resignation? It's already in your briefcase.
You just have about ten minutes of grip-and-grin here.
When you get home, call Jane.
Would you like your overcoat? What? Would you like your overcoat, sir? It's pretty cold.
No.
We dealt with the relevant information.
Oh, my God.
You got her phone number, didn't you? I'm not at liberty to share that information.
Oh, you're plummeting in my estimation right now.
How'd it go? Fine.
What'd they talk about? You, actually.
In the Oval, all three of them.
Bram's dating some girl in the Santos' Undies.
I'm not dating her.
That's impressive, really.
It brings honor to the family.
If Bono comes, we are locking him in the Secret Service room.
Okay.
Order me a Perrier.
I'm turning in.
Oh, she forgot her key.
Donna! I'll take it to her.
I've got it.
I'm going up anyway.
Sir, we have Des Ops, on your order.
Des Ops, we have a go.
California? Up by six.
- I have seven.
- Who's that? Gallup.
- Really? - I'm reading it right off the paper.
- Oh, my God.
- Is it up? - Nope.
- Check again.
I'm hitting refresh once every 12 seconds.
Sometimes when you keep pressing the button it won't load.
She's right.
You may have to go to another page and then come back to this one.
How's it coming? I've got three women trying to tell me how to use the New York Time's website.
It's pretty straight-forward.
You need some help? I think I've got it under control.
Up four in Louisiana, tied in Arkansas.
Tied in North Carolina, South Carolina.
South Carolina?! It's up, it's up, it's up.
The New York Times national tracking poll first national sample since the accident at the San Andreo nuclear facility in Southern California, blah, blah, blah in this three-day spread, polling 1400 likely voters, Senator Vinick dropped Damn it! The screen froze! Oh, for God's sake! I've got it over here, you guys.
Yeah, yeah.
State-by-states are out.
We're tied in South Carolina, Arkansas, and California.
California? We've pulled ahead in Arizona, Nevada, Virginia.
We got the new national tracking polls The Times? It's 44-44.
We're tied We're tied? Nationally.
Holy Mother of God, we caught him! - Yes.
- We caught him! Josh?! Where's Josh? Are they messing with me? Our lead narrowed Tennessee, Louisiana, Georgia; we're neck-and-neck in the Carolinas and they pulled ahead of us in Arizona and Virginia.
The Times put it at 44-44.
California? Tied.
Nine points ahead in California a week ago.
Now we're tied.
The good news is most of the votes we lost are showing up undecided.
They are not going for Santos yet.
You have local press downstairs.
No comments on the nuclear accident in California.
Yeah.
It was a national tragedy.
You're not going to talk about it in a political context.
You're concentrating on meeting voters, talking about the issues.
Mainly tax cuts and more tax cuts.
Are you okay? Yeah, I'm fine.
The Kazakhstan situation is heating up.
You can always pivot to that if you need to I need 30 seconds to myself, okay? Tied, nationally.
Who'd have thunk it? Vinick must be weeping in his beer.
Have we talked to the Russians? They're sticking with their story: the election wasn't rigged; Tarimov is the legitimate President of Kazakhstan.
Russian troops have crossed the border to provide stability to the new government.
China says they've also gone in for stabilization purposes.
How about NATO? Everyone likes the idea of a peacekeeping force, but nobody wants to be in one.
I can't imagine why not.
The UN's not going to get involved.
China and Russia can both veto in the Security Council.
So it's just us.
Which looks like what? Russia's moving in from the northwest, China from the east.
We need to send enough troops to create a human buffer zone between the two advancing armies.
How far apart are they? About 600 miles, but not for long.
I want to see invasion plans as soon as possible.
We wouldn't think of it as an invasion, sir.
We'd call it an intervention.
Show me a plan that doesn't look like an invasion, I'll call it whatever your want.
Keep the NATO ball in the air.
I don't want anyone getting the impression we're writing them off.
I'll stay on it with State.
Have Ted Barrow put together a NATO briefing for next week.
We don't know where we're going quite yet.
Hopefully we'll know next week.
Hi.
Hi.
I have a thing of yours.
My Pyongyang book, good.
- I tore up my whole office looking for it.
- It's not that.
- Really? - Absolutely.
It's in a blue binder.
It may not be Nothing in a blue binder.
Are you sure? I mean, picking it out It's a bra.
Oh, okay.
I put it in a padded envelope, which seemed appropriate.
Really? You want it now? No! No.
Yes? It's in your office? It is.
You keep it.
Permanently? Mail it to me.
Your home address is my home address.
You don't think that's a little complicated? It is, isn't it? I'll hang on to it until we Okay.
We'll get better at this.
One can only hope.
Cancel everything here after the morning rally.
We've got to get on the ground in the battle states.
Vinick's going to have to head south trying to get his lead back in Louisiana, Arkansas, and the Carolinas.
Has he even been down South since the primaries? Nope.
While he flails around down there, we'll have all the swing states to ourselves.
Nuclear power plants in every one of those swing states.
Local news crews will be all over us.
- Free media! - Straight from heaven.
San Andreo created a lot of undecideds.
We've got to get them off the fence.
Yeah, a lot of them were Dems who didn't know you and were satisfied voting for a moderate Republican.
Well, time for them to come home to the Party.
They want to hear about deficit reduction, they want to hear you're gonna put more cops on the streets.
We need to focus on the fact that you were fighting nuclear power 15 years ago.
You're the forward-thinking candidate with a nuance vision.
The kind of vision a President needs to handle complicated international situations like this mess in Kazakhstan.
He had the vision to predict problems with nuclear power, he has the vision to find solutions for our future.
Yeah.
Who's writing? The Santos Education Plan is now the 21st Century Education Plan.
The 21st Century Health Plan.
Let's not forget energy.
The 21st Century Energy Plan.
He's about the future, Vinick's about the past.
Great.
I'll have Joey test some language, but that's the direction.
I'm coordinating with Advance.
Which state should we hit first? Well, that's easy.
California.
Yeah.
Hi.
Hi.
Drink this.
I don't want it.
I didn't ask you if you wanted it.
It looks like Hawaiian Punch, it smells disgusting, and I'm not getting sick.
Bob? We lost these people because of the nuclear accident.
Give them time to realize you didn't meltdown the thing by yourself, they'll come back on their own.
A cycle like that takes a month, which we don't have.
The base.
Governor We have had a good time always running to the center, but the party's over.
You're a Republican.
You need to start talking to the Republican conservative base.
Nail him to a cross; he can stump for votes on the Via Dolorosa.
I am the only person talking to values voters.
And you are doing a fantastic job.
They're not voting for me, and they know it.
He needs to spend more time in the southern states to make sure we don't lose them.
The undecideds are moderates.
They're not bible thumpers.
He's got to speak to their issues.
What's he going to do? Suddenly pull the Arnold Vinick Health Plan out of his tailpipe? Would that qualify as a miracle? They like the miracles.
It would look like desperation.
We need an ad blitz - negative.
That's not a bad idea.
It is, actually.
What we need to do is curb Santos' momentum - keep these folks undecided long enough for this nuclear mess to fade.
It's not going to fade.
He's going to run thousands of spots on your long-standing love affair with nuclear power.
Which is why we need something to hit back with; I'm not talking a smear campaign, just some focus on the thousands of times Santos has voted to increase spending.
It'll drive up our negatives just as much as it does his.
He'll look like a mudslinging desperate hatchet.
So what? Is that an existential question? Last week Vinick was the voice of experience.
Now suddenly, Santos is a wise, pressing visionary and the Senator looks like A foolish old man? I'm sorry, sir.
I just No, go ahead.
I love it.
We're assuming it can't get worse.
Let me tell you something: it can.
We go negative, they're going to trot out every bad call I ever made.
They're going to plaster them all over the air waves.
- Yeah.
- It's going to come back and bite us in the ass.
Yeah.
I'm agreeing with you.
You are? All right.
We need to stay the course.
The Senator speaks to the center, we pep around a little more on health care and education; Sullivan speaks locally to the right flank.
He's going to talk about health care too? No.
He's going to be doing what he's been doing - family values, apple pie.
So you're sticking with the 50-state strategy? No.
We can't win 50 states anymore.
I'm aware of that.
Thank you.
It's still the best strategy we have.
We'll do a swing through the South, shore up our numbers there.
But he's not appending his message this late in the campaign.
You've got Pensey and Carrolton.
If I start going after the base now I'll look like an idiot.
The Governor's going after the base.
You've just got to make nice with Pensey and Carrolton.
You want me to shape this? We've got time before your 11:00.
Let's get into it now.
Unless you want to talk about it alone, in which case you could discuss it over lunch.
Our base in Ayaguf has 9,000 marines on the ground.
We're proposing sending in an additional They'll require support units? Certainly.
How many? Another 40,000.
We'd come up from the south, creating a zone of neutrality separating the Russian-controlled northwest and the Chinese-controlled east.
The mountains here on the northern edge of Lake Balkash create a natural barrier.
Our hope is that the Chinese won't push past them.
It'll take weeks to prep an intervention this size.
Eight, probably.
We don't have that kind of time.
We'll start an early deployment of 12,000 troops.
The rest will follow as ready.
Coming from where? We'd pull the first armored division from Vispaden.
And we get them there how? Send them through the Trans-low hub to gather munitions and equipment then deploy on C-17s.
Or we could airlift them straight from Vispaden on C-130s.
If you want the armored division to bring their tanks we're going to have to go with the C-17s.
What will they wear? I think green and brown are still the favorites.
What kind of outerwear? I haven't seen any type of prototype recently We're talking about sending 150,000 Americans to the 50th Parallel in November.
It starts snowing in Astana in August, and doesn't stop until June.
As opposed to the Russians who do this a lot.
Americans haven't fought a war in the cold in quite some time.
I would like to know what kind of coats you plan to put on our troops.
We'll look into it, sir.
Do that and come back.
CentCom's suggesting a no-fly in Kazakhstan - symbolic buffer between the two armies until we can get rapid deployment under way.
Yeah.
We're not talking about a drive-by, either.
If we go in, we could be there for years.
I need to talk to the candidates.
Rally in San Diego as soon as we arrive, visits to two of the shelters holding evacuees from San Andreo.
Is he talking about the accident? Nothing about the accident, nothing about nuclear power; he's just sharing some ideas about health care and education with a couple of cooling towers in the background.
You've got a lot of new friends suddenly.
Who? Governor Watley, Governor Stockwell, Secretary of Energy, Treasury Secretary, Senator Pallor How many times did I call Stockwell and Pallor? A lot.
That was before we were coattails.
Well, better late than never.
Put them on the schedule.
Why are you looking at me like that? Bono called.
Bono?! - Really?! - Yeah.
He's in New York this weekend.
He wants to have dinner with the Congressman.
Do it! - We're not in New York this week.
- Change the schedule! Bono wants to meet him? Does he want to perform at a rally? We didn't get into specifics.
He doesn't have to sing.
He could just talk about debt relief.
- Oh, my God! Did you talk to him? - I talked to a guy named Phil.
Okay, invite him to San Diego.
Phil? Not Phil.
Press avail on the tarmac in San Diego.
You need to be available all day for phone interviews.
Yep.
I'm getting a lot of questions on what Santos thinks about Kazakhstan.
Tell them Congressman Santos applauds the President's efforts and is glad the U.
S.
can share its wisdom with emerging democracies.
Then call the White House and find out what the hell's going on.
If Bono comes? You'll meet him.
Uh, Donna? I want to, um I'm sorry.
About this morning it was inappropriate.
Don't worry about it.
Totally inappropriate; I feel terrible.
Don't.
Seriously.
Seriously, it's bound to happen sometime.
I'm gonna call the White House, talk about Kazakhstan.
I want an evacuation report from FEMA before the San Andreo budget call.
Get C.
J.
's comments on this and get Hollings at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
He's coming in this afternoon.
- I still want to talk to him now.
- Did you look at the sketches? - I'll get to them.
- How about now? A nuclear disaster and a war abroad - I thought they could wait.
They've been sitting there for days.
It makes it look like I don't pick up after you.
I don't know what to think of these.
A simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down.
You think they look like me? More or less.
Then they'll do.
What does "more or less" mean? Decent likeness, commanding, thoughtful; there's no cane, which is a choice.
You think it's a bad choice? I don't know, did you make it or did he make it? He did.
Then it doesn't matter.
I'm not going to be standing beside the thing with a running commentary.
You think it's a problem? Do you? Often as not, I don't even use it.
Yes.
But you exist in the Zeightgeist with a cane.
I have an idea.
What? Let's call Hollings at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Yes, sir.
Josh on two.
Hey, sailor.
Am I calling you or are you calling me? I think I'm calling you.
How's it feel? Oh, this must be what your first smack high feels like.
Here's hoping it's not followed by a huge crash and years of rehabilitation.
Nothing could kill my mood right now, but that was a good try.
Thanks.
We need a briefer to give us a more detailed idea about what's up in Kazakhstan.
Can you send somebody? Funny you should mention it - how about the President? Below his pay grade, but we'd love to see him.
He'd like to meet with the Candidates at the White House tonight.
Are you kidding? For the first time in the history of this race we're not trailing; we're tied.
We pull ahead if we play this thing right.
Taking the guy off the campaign trail so he can have some drinks in the Oval Office is I know and I'm sorry.
And if I had a choice We're about to go to California.
We may win Vinick's home state.
- He is not - Would I be asking if it wasn't important? Diplomatic foray into an entrenched conflict; yes, you have my word: should Santos win he will continue the President's efforts to negotiate a peaceable solution.
Okay, let's do it this way: Vinick's coming.
I'm sure you don't want the entire White House Press Corps covering Vinick in the Oval with the President without Santos.
I like you less and less.
Will's going to coordinate the talking points with your press people, the President will brief the candidates.
See you tonight.
The President wants to see both candidates at the White House.
About what? Security briefing.
San Andreo? Wouldn't say.
Why not? Buy some time to sort out the schedule.
Still stuck? You're asking me to boost his public appearances while limiting press access, send him groveling for votes to states he's never had to campaign in before when all he wants to do is go to California.
Yeah, I'm still stuck.
We're not going to California.
I keep telling him that.
What do you think about a media buy? In California? You know how expensive that is? We're hemorrhaging votes there.
I need the bulk of our money for a media blitz on November 5th; you could blow the entire budget buying ads in California.
Call Stan.
See what he thinks it will cost.
How much time does he have? Two or three days see how it goes.
That's great.
A Republican stumping in Georgia? I'm so glad we've got Ray Sullivan planning the schedule.
It's not his plan; it's mine.
Oh? Yes.
I am happy to change tact in light of current developments, but I would be more comfortable if strategy meetings took place with you, me and the Senator - not you and Ray Sullivan.
Sullivan's just blowing off steam.
Nobody blames you for what's happening; not me, not the Senator.
I don't care if I'm being blamed; I care if I'm being shoved out.
You're not.
- Hi.
- Hi.
And you're here.
Yes.
- Should I come back? - No.
This was the point.
I've asked for guys from both campaigns to come in so we can get everyone on the same page with Kazakhstan.
You two should work that out? I'll put together a backgrounder and he can adapt that into whatever - Talking points.
- Yeah.
Something they can share with the press.
Which won't be the whole story, but better than vamping.
- Sure.
- Great.
- What? - What? Is something weird happening? Nope.
I feel like I'm the heroine in the movie who doesn't know there's a guy behind the refrigerator with an axe.
Maybe it's the weather.
People feel that way when it's damp.
Thank you, both.
We're really bad at this.
Really bad.
You know, in a minute, Dave Matthews is going to come up on this stage Lou's working with Joey Lucas on the whole, "Voice for a New Generation" thing.
She's going to catch up with us in California.
She knows we've got to detour to the White House tonight, right? Yeah.
Lou told Annabeth to send Leo tonight to pave the way.
That's good.
See if we can get Helen there too.
Hey, you've got to get on a plane.
Liaise with White House Communications on the Kazakhstan thing.
Lou told me.
I'm on my way.
I just wanted to tell you a rumor I heard from a guy at the Sacramento B.
You feel bad for the guys at the B, don't you? I don't.
- It lacks dignity.
- They're wondering.
You heard a rumor? At first I thought it was allergies because apparently Vinick has a mold sensitivity and the carpet on the plane isn't all that Now you're wondering.
I'm sorry.
They think he has a cold.
- Vinick? - Yes.
Oh, my Lord! A cold?! - A fax from last - He has a cold?! The gods were listening to me, and they love me! Why is there hugging? Vinick has a cold.
Oh, that's precious.
I want to send him some Vick's vapo-rub and a German nurse.
Look, I have White House schedulers on the phone, and they seem to think that Leo has to be at the White House tonight, too.
No, seriously.
Give me that.
Hi, this is Josh Lyman.
Who is this? Hi, Roberta.
Mr.
McGarry can't make it to the White House tonight.
He's campaigning for high government office.
Nah, I'm sure it was a mistake.
Thank you.
Thanks.
Sorry.
No worries.
Bureaucratic snafu.
- So, are they writing about this wonderful cold? - They will be.
Are they writing about the fact that the Senator's health can't stand up to the rigors of the campaign, never mind the challenges of the Oval Office.
They won't be impressed; he hasn't been in a close race in thirty years.
The beginning of the end, right here.
Josh Lyman.
Mr.
Lyman, please hold for the President.
Hey, kid.
How you doing? Fine, sir.
How are you? Good, good.
Do me a favor: bring Leo with you to the White House tonight, would you? - Sir - You should tag along and say hello.
It'd be great to see you.
Thanks, Josh.
What? We're going to the White House tonight - Leo, the Congressman everyone.
We're going to need little packs of Kleenex in all the Senator's pockets.
Cough drops, cough drops.
And cough drops - something industrial strength; none of that herbal business.
Pray to whoever you pray to that he doesn't lose his voice.
We should try to give him a day.
A day off? He's running a 101 fever.
He needs to rest.
Not 21 days out, he doesn't.
You want 21 days of the Walking Wound? He takes a day off and we affirm every concern the voters have: he's a dinosaur Not up to the job.
Dead on his feet.
Gentlemen! Is the Senator here? He's doing a Q & A outside.
He'll be right in.
Annie, tell Jake I want the Senator's wake-up call pushed to 7 am tomorrow, not 6.
Okay.
These are for you.
Which event are we killing so he can sleep in? It's an hour.
We're not talking about it anymore.
Hodder from the RNC would like a few minutes with the Senator without staff.
The only time they request meetings without the staff is when the meeting is about the staff.
Should I pack my pencils and coffee mugs now? Stop it.
Annie, call Hodder's office.
Tell them 4 o'clock.
Okay.
Hey, Will.
Hey, look at you: back in the building.
Congratulations on your forward surge.
Can you believe it? We're all walking ten feet off the ground.
You gonna go visit your old desk? Oh, not a lot of nostalgia there, really.
I've got the talking points on the Kazakhstan negotiations, but Vinick's press guy is running a little late so we should give it a minute.
Sure.
You want a soda? I'm fine.
I'm going to have a ginger ale.
Good.
Good.
Can I ask you a question? Sure.
It's going to sound a little wacky.
Go for it.
If something had happened with us, when we were working, romantically, would that have been inappropriate? Wow, uh - I'm flattered, - Oh, no, no, no.
but I'm actually seeing someone in a very nonpublic and poorly defined way.
No, not you.
I was talking about someone like you with your job in relation to me.
You're talking about Josh? - You're seeing someone? - You're seeing Josh? No.
Then who? I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.
Yours is Josh; you're not cryptic.
And yours is Classified.
Nothing happened with me and Josh, at all.
I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have brought this up.
We should drop it.
Good idea.
It's not inappropriate.
Seeing someone, that is.
It's a little weird, maybe.
But you'll figure it out.
Did they start? Who? Hodder.
They're not here yet but I really don't think you need to be here.
The Chairman asked me to sit in.
Ah, here he is.
What's she doing here? Good to see you, Sheila.
Mr.
Chairman.
You remember Jane Braun.
Sure.
How are you? Bruno Gianelli, Jane Braun from the RNC, and Chairman Hodder you know.
Mr.
Chairman.
How you doing? Ray, thanks for joining us.
The Senator's on a call.
He'll be here any minute.
World upside down, huh? It'll right itself in a day or two.
How's he feeling? - Rumor has it he has a little bit of a - He's fine.
Oh, good.
I hear you're going to spend a couple days below the Mason-Dixon Line.
That'll help.
I think it will.
Message-wise? Message-wise, we're holding center.
Are you sure that's your strongest play? We need to win back the undecideds, right now.
Moderates.
I can see how you'd come to that conclusion, but I'm not sure it's about changing minds anymore.
It's kind of late for that.
Three weeks is enough time.
You can't count on it.
What you can count on is getting out the vote.
And the foot soldiers of the Republican base will do that for you if the candidate starts speaking their language.
Here we go.
It's time to start talking about values and family.
By which you mean what? Gay marriage? I think the list of family values is longer than just "The One" but, since you mention it We play the gay marriage card, Santos will have to respond.
Conservative voters will flock to Vinick.
The Senator doesn't think that marriage is a federal issue.
The Senator should rethink it.
Is that what you plan on telling him? Guys, you're up against the wall.
You had some maverick ideas early on and they played beautifully.
But now it's time to run a safe, sober campaign that speaks to the concerns of the Republican base.
And what exactly do you think that looks like? We don't need to get into it.
I'm interested.
You make it clear to the base that Vinick is their candidate.
They can count on him.
You didn't pull these policies out of a hat.
They're Senator Vinick's positions.
I wouldn't broadcast that.
Meaning what? He's sending the message that he got bad advice early on.
He was listening to strategists who steered him off course I think we've got the idea.
- It's something you should think about.
- Sure.
Don't be flip about this.
There are down-ticket races to consider.
We could lose the House and the Senate.
Now Arnie's alienated a lot of our people Excuse me.
The Senator's ready now.
Great.
Right this way.
Excuse me.
Good to see you.
Pleasure.
You still think they're not trying to replace me? Oh, they're definitely trying to replace you - with her, apparently.
Hey, stranger.
Hi.
Did Will get you up to speed? Yes.
I'm just hanging here until the Congressman and everyone gets in.
- It's so good to see you.
- You too.
- You must be having a good day.
- Amazing.
How's Josh? What do you mean? Which part tripped you up? - Oh, you're you're just - Asking how he is.
Oh, sorry.
He's, um he's fine.
Happy we're doing so well.
What's going on? Nothing.
Is something is a Josh thing going on? No.
No, no, no, no.
Something happened.
Nothing.
Oh, come on.
You've got a useless poker face.
I spend my whole day talking about election monitors in Central Asia.
Throw me a bone.
It's nothing.
We just we had an odd moment today.
Just another in a long series of odd moments meant to be ignored.
You should focus on your election monitors.
That was a complete and utter failure.
That's too bad.
It is.
Would you come with me, please? Evening.
Senator.
Wow.
I don't like how that looks.
Yeah.
Make yourselves comfortable.
The President will be right with you.
Thank you.
Not too comfortable.
Excuse me? Hmm? Did you? What? Nothing.
If there's anything I can get you, please let me know.
Vinick just came through.
I think they put him in the Mural Room.
A little too close to the Oval for my taste.
The President will be with you in just a few minutes.
Thanks, Carol.
Can I get anybody anything to drink? Oh, we're fine.
Thank you.
Good.
Mr.
McGarry, could you come with me, please? I have no idea.
Why are we sitting out here while the Democratic VP candidate is being ushered into the Oval Office? They wanted to show me.
I thought it was my job to keep them away from the Congressman.
You are a brave soldier, Bram.
I'm touched.
I really am.
Anytime, sir.
We're at the Marriot tonight.
Take-out phone lists are in the packet, but the restaurant in the hotel should be open when we get back.
I want a room with a view.
Last time we were here I was over the dumpster.
You're on the second floor.
No view, is what he's saying.
You know, I was going to go over to the hotel and look out every window, but somehow I didn't get to it.
You like "Dawn of a New America"? Not really.
How about "A New Plan for a New America"? "New America" sounds a little colonial, doesn't it? How do you feel about stumping in a pilgrim hat? I love it.
"A Brave and Bold Visionary" ought to work.
This is me talking about myself? It's language Joey and Lou have poll-tested.
We're trying to work it into the stump.
Let me see.
We're just looking to capitalize on our country's new vision of you, sir - post-nuclear debacle.
"Brave and Bold"? - As opposed to Vinick, who's - "Big and Bad.
" - I don't think we need it.
- It polled well.
You can't poll people three days after a crisis.
They're speaking from a place of anxiety and confusion.
They're answers are going to be all over the map.
You want to just stay the course? We have their attention now.
They're finally listening.
We stick with it, maybe they'll get the sense that we've been on the right track all along.
"Santos: Right From the Start.
" We want that on every bumper sticker, every press release everything.
That was some impressive teamwork there.
It was, wasn't it? I'm a little teary.
I'm going to have a doctor come by in the morning and make sure it's not strep or something.
It's nothing.
I'm fine.
It's allergies.
Until the "allergies" clear up, I think a cough suppressant might make the day go a little faster.
You want to talk about what happened in your meeting with Hodder? I don't.
You want to talk about why we're admiring the China while McGarry's in there with the President? We're setting up a no-fly zone over Kazakhstan.
Step one of a two-month ramp up with probably a five-year commitment on the ground.
NATO's waving us into the fray with absolutely no intention of following.
It figures.
Did you evacuate the embassy? Not yet.
So, it's rapid deployment of what, 10,000? The dream scenario is we put them in the middle of the buffer zone which scares everyone enough to drive the Russians and the Chinese back on their own soil.
Otherwise, we follow with another 100,000.
Have you thought about air strikes? Hit a few military targets? I'm willing to threaten air strikes, but I don't want to tear up the Kazakh countryside just to make a point.
So you send in 100,000 men, push the lines back.
Then you're security guard until they get a new government up and running.
It's a reasonable move.
You put a massive force on the ground for deterrent purposes, you nip the conflict in the bud.
I'd be surprised if either China or Russia actually wanted a real battle.
Maybe.
That, or we're stuck between two You don't know until you're in it.
You think I should be sending another negotiating team? Armies are already on the ground.
Nobody's going to agree to a cease-fire until they know you're serious about getting involved.
Yeah.
This is what they'll remember About your presidency? Got us into a big mess, then left it to someone else to clean up.
Oh, come on.
They'll remember eight years of strong leadership, growth a Commander in Chief they could trust.
You know what'll probably happen? It goes badly, I get the blame.
It goes well, the next guy gets the credit.
Sounds about right.
The President's ready for you.
Sorry for the wait.
Gentlemen.
Everything okay? Yeah.
The initial incursion would be small: Does the embassy require that much defense? Not really.
Hopefully, Tarimov takes it as an indication of our commitment and resumes negotiations.
If he doesn't? Two rapid deployment divisions are dropped in within 24 hours.
The rest of the ground troops follow over the next eight weeks.
Who are we dealing with at the Kremlin? Chigorin's been unwilling to engage, as you might expect.
The foreign minister is communicating, but we get the sense he's been pushed out of the decision-making process.
Thank you all.
One of you will inherit this pinata.
I just thought you should know what's on the table.
I was under the impression that diplomatic options hadn't been exhausted.
That's what we've been saying.
I wish it were true.
What about an international force.
We've asked, but NATO's participation would be nominal at best.
So we're placing ourselves on an oil field between two nuclear powers, alone.
Yes.
I don't see our presence as doing anything more than exacerbating the conflict.
Once we're involved, India will have to diplomatically alligned with the Russians.
Pakistan will support China.
South Korea will feel pressured to engage on our side.
I'm not sure what our side is.
Gentlemen, let's talk about what we're talking about.
You're worried that I'm going to announce I'm deploying 150,000 American soldiers three weeks before the election and suddenly your race is about my war.
You can speak candidly.
It does change the nature of the election.
But more importantly, a new President would have an easier time brokering a diplomatic solution.
If I thought we could wait until after election, I would wait.
What's this going to cost? It depends on how long we stay.
It doesn't matter.
The first 100 days in office are the most productive of the whole term and there's no way we can extricate ourselves from from something like this in three months.
It's not about the money.
You're blowing any political capital we might have by forcing us to fight a war.
Do we have an estimate? First twelve months: 70 billion.
I can say goodbye to my tax cut.
Your education plan is certainly off the table.
What's a victory in this? The retreat of Chinese and Russian military forces across their own borders, and a stable, neutral, and democratic government in Kazakhstan.
Wait, no.
That's here's where you lose me.
Everyone back to their corner, I understand.
A stable democratic regime in a former Soviet central Asian republic, that could take two, three generations.
I mean, if that's your definition of success, I'm not sure I see a clear exit strategy.
It's a realistic concern.
Is there an exit strategy? General Schultz will tell you there is.
He'd tell you we stabilize Astana, hold new elections in ten months, and pull out in 18.
But I'm not sure I'd buy that anymore than you do.
What's your exit strategy? I don't have one.
I suggest you both start giving it some thought.
I appreciate your concerns, but I am not in a position to hold off our involvement.
These armies are marching toward each other and someone must stand in the middle.
Unfortunately, it has to be us.
Thank you for coming in.
Good luck to you both.
What'd the President want? Lozenge? We have to talk about the Chairman.
Yeah.
He's a weasel and I don't like that woman, but they're right.
A little campaign shake up might create enough of a diversion to get us past San Andreo.
Bruno's worked hard for us.
He's not the reason we're in the toilet.
I think firing him will just get us a whole lot of nothing, but if you want to do it, do it.
I'm not talking about Bruno.
Bruno doesn't have the visibility to be a viable scapegoat.
I'm the public face of your campaign staff.
You want this to work, it's got to be me.
That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
No really, from a smart woman, that's an incredibly stupid idea.
You need someone to blame for the fact that we didn't campaign to the base.
You need to apologize for that misstep and spend the next three weeks singing their song.
- I'm not doing it.
- Don't interrupt me.
I can still be on the phone with you 24/7.
Hire Jane Braun.
And once we get a 51% strategy in place, Bob and Bruno can execute it.
We're not losing.
We're just in a real horse race now.
I'll hop myself up on Sudafed tomorrow.
Santos will be back in the dust by Friday.
Jane is rainmaker at the RNC.
She is the darling of the evangelical right.
They will respond to her.
She'll whip them up into a door-knocking, pavement-pounding frenzy.
You're really talking about this? I made a promise to put you in office, and that's what we're going to do.
So, that's it? Tomorrow morning I get a letter of resignation? It's already in your briefcase.
You just have about ten minutes of grip-and-grin here.
When you get home, call Jane.
Would you like your overcoat? What? Would you like your overcoat, sir? It's pretty cold.
No.
We dealt with the relevant information.
Oh, my God.
You got her phone number, didn't you? I'm not at liberty to share that information.
Oh, you're plummeting in my estimation right now.
How'd it go? Fine.
What'd they talk about? You, actually.
In the Oval, all three of them.
Bram's dating some girl in the Santos' Undies.
I'm not dating her.
That's impressive, really.
It brings honor to the family.
If Bono comes, we are locking him in the Secret Service room.
Okay.
Order me a Perrier.
I'm turning in.
Oh, she forgot her key.
Donna! I'll take it to her.
I've got it.
I'm going up anyway.
Sir, we have Des Ops, on your order.
Des Ops, we have a go.