The American President Page #2

Christ, Leo! That woman doesn't know

anything about the environmental lobby!

She's a closer, Susan.

She gets the job done.

- What if I lose this?

- Then move this up here.

David Sasser from the Times wants to

know what you think is a great society.

-What did you tell him?

-That I can't speak for the president...

but for my money, Bermuda.

- Perfect.

- Your cousin Judith has the flu...

and won't be able

to join you Thursday night.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Remind me to call her later today.

- Yes, sir.

- You gonna go stag?

- Is that a problem?

- No, we've never gone wrong...

parading you around

as the lonely widower.

I can't believe I said that. That was

an incredibly thoughtless remark.

I would never dream of insulting you

with the memory of your wife.

That's okay. Forget it.

What time is it?

It's 3:
30, sir.

I'm gonna go up

and say hi to Lucy.

You have the attorney general at 4:00

and the trade rep at 4:30.

- And you promised N.P.R. five minutes.

- Mr. President?

Robin, don't worry about it.

Don't stop. It sounds great.

What is it?

Scales.

Well, you're playing with gusto.

- Are my lips swollen?

- Are they supposed to be?

- Yeah.

- Well, you're doin' just fine.

- What ya got behind your back?

- I have a little surprise for you.

- Is it a dirt bike?

- No.

Is it a really old seventh grade

textbook of yours...

that you're gonna make me discuss

at dinner and drive me crazy--

I'm not comfortable with the "really

old" part, but everything else was true.

Understanding the Constitution.

Your social studies teacher said your

class will be studying the Constitution.

You talked to Mr. Linder?

Yes. It's called

a parent-teacher conference.

Mr. Linder and I were

the key players in the discussion.

So why don't you like

social studies?

I like it fine, Dad.

All your other teachers say

you're happy, enthusiastic.

Mr. Linder says you never participate

unless he calls on you...

and even then

it's a one-word answer.

I don't know, Dad.

I guess I'm just not--

I don't know.

Luce, take a look at this book.

This is exciting stuff.

It's about who we are and what we want.

Read what it says

on the first page.

"Property of Gilmore Junior High."

The next page, Luce.

"We the people of the United States,

in order to form a more perfect union--"

See what I mean? It grabs you right

off the bat. This is a page-turner.

- I can't wait.

- Well, good because...

this subject may come up at dinner.

Do you see it as your job

to torture me?

No, just one of the perks.

See you tonight, honey.

The C-STAD hardware's

been in place for a month.

We have 22 instructors from the Army

waiting to train the lsraelis.

- How soon can you deploy them?

- We can airlift them in the morning.

They'll have C-STAD operational

in 20 days.

Any security concerns?

If anybody wanted to hit it,

they'd have hit it by now.

Okay, let's move on it.

Thank you, gentlemen.

- Thank you, Mr. President.

- Good night, John.

- Thank you.

- Good night, sir.

- Good seeing you.

- You too. Good night.

Have a good evening, Mrs. Chapil.

Janie, I'll see you tomorrow morning.

- You will, Mr. President.

- Good night, Janie, Mrs. Chapil.

- Mr. President, sir.

- Thank you.

- Leo Solomon brought in a hired gun.

- It's about time.

She's a lawyer from Virginia.

Her name is Sydney Ellen Wade.

I know her pretty well. She's had a lot

of success getting congressmen elected.

Maybe we should try to steal her.

Ten percent, A.J. Don't let them leave

the room till they're clear about that.

If you've got a free second,

maybe you could stop in and say hello.

- It might smooth the way.

- Mention it to Janie tomorrow.

- Good deal.

- And let's focus on the crime bill.

I don't want to just win this one.

I want to win by a couple of touchdowns.

We will, Mr. President.

Robin said something to me today, and

I know she wouldn't have said it if--

I mean, she wasn't saying it

to me, I realize.

Forget it.

I'll see you in the morning.

- Good night, Mr. President.

- A.J.?

- Yes, sir?

- When we're out of the office...

and alone,

you can call me Andy.

- I beg your pardon?

- You were the best man at my wedding.

- Call me Andy.

- Whatever you say, Mr. President.

- Good night, sir.

- Good night, A.J.

- Hi, I'm Sydney Ellen Wade.

- He just needs your driver's license.

- I'm from Virginia.

- He doesn't care.

- I have a meeting with Mr. Maclnerney.

- He doesn't need to know.

Forgive me. This is my first time

at the White House.

I'm trying to savor

the "Capra-esque" quality.

He doesn't know

what "Capra-esque" means.

Yeah, I do. Frank Capra,

great American director.

It's a Wonderful Life,

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Sydney Ellen Wade of Virginia,

knock 'em dead.

Thanks.

...government subsidizes private schools

is when we give up on public education.

The proposal only scratches the surface,

but it's the least we can do.

We'll let Harold take a look at this.

We'll revisit it next week.

Say hello to Linda, and

have a good Thanksgiving holiday.

Thank you, Mr. President.

- So how are we doing?

- You're four minutes ahead of schedule.

Ahead? Gee, that's unprecedented.

I don't know what to do with myself.

- Mr. Maclnerney asked me to tell you--

- Oh, right, the G.D.C. meeting.

Rest assured, your concerns

are not falling on deaf ears.

The environmental lobby has known

no greater ally than President Shepherd.

Hardly an impressive

distinction, A.J.

Sydney, we should leave Mr. Maclnerney

alone now. He's given us--

Mr. Maclnerney doesn't

want us to leave him alone...

because Mr. Maclnerney has not yet done

what he needs to do today.

Sir, Ms. Wade's been thrown into the

deep end of the pool on her first day.

She hasn't even had a chance to read

the report of the Quebec Conference.

You're right.

I haven't read it.

Yesterday, I'd have told you

the Quebec Conference...

was made up of six

professional hockey teams.

But what I do know is that it's time

for the president to run for reelection.

Leon Kodak is as good as it gets

when it comes to electoral strategy...

and I'm sure he's told the president

exactly what I'd tell him.

Nail down Michigan and California where

they burn plenty of fossil fuels...

but if I'd read these 800 pages,

I would have discovered...

that burning fossil fuels is what's

mostly responsible for global warming...

and that the recommended 20% reduction

is a necessary first step...

toward arresting the greenhouse effect

which this administration has ignored.

- It's time for us--

- The White House chief of staff...

will not let us leave here

until he's broken the bad news.

I'm afraid Sydney's right, although

not about Michigan and California.

The president has asked me to tell you

that his proposed energy bill...

calls for a ten percent reduction.

The president is willing to go it alone

on this, but he's asking for--

and frankly, he's expecting--

the full support of the G.D.C.

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