The American President Page #5

Good evening. The president would like

you to join him in the residence.

- May I show you the way?

- Of course.

Sydney! Come on in.

You look beautiful.

Thanks. I have no idea

what I'm doing here.

I promise you, there's no hidden agenda.

This is my wife Esther.

Oh, sure.

It's nice to see you.

Sydney, Andrew Shepherd.

We spoke on the phone.

Yes, sir.

I remember.

Excuse me one minute.

The president told me

how you two met, Sydney.

- I think it's priceless.

- I don't know what happened.

One minute, I was calling him

a mockery of an environmental leader.

- The next minute, I had a date.

- Men like being insulted by women.

It makes them feel loved.

Don't ask me why.

Mr. President, would you allow me

to introduce to you...

Sydney Ellen Wade

of the commonwealth of Virginia?

Sydney, this is

President Rene-Jean D'Astier...

and his wife

Monique Danielle D'Astier of France.

A great pleasure to meet you.

- It's an honor to meet you both.

- I'm so pleased to meet you.

Mr. President, I'm sorry to interrupt.

The receiving line is in place.

Sydney, I think our table's ready.

When we get to the bottom of the stairs,

you'll be escorted to--

- They took me through it.

- Oh, good.

Do you do this often, sir?

This is actually

only our second state dinner.

The first one was

for the emperor of Japan.

He died shortly after, so we stopped

having them for a while, just in case.

I meant, do you go out on--

Do you often--

Do I date a lot?

No. How about you?

Me? Well, lately I seem to be going

on a lot of first dates.

- Then you're experienced at this.

- Oh, yeah. You can ask me anything.

- Well, how are we doing so far?

- It's hard to say at this point.

So far, it's just your typical

first-date stuff.

Damn. And I wanted to be different

from the other guys.

Ladies and gentlemen,

the president of the United States...

- Oh, by the way, nice shoes.

- accompanied by...

the president of France

and Madame D'Astier.

Mr. President, the president

and Mrs. D'Astier look bored.

They're not talking

to anybody.

They're hammered.

- Esther, do you speak French?

- Latin.

- I thought you spoke French.

- No, Latin.

Great, next time Julius Caesar

comes to town, you're our gal.

Sydney, I don't suppose--

That's my date.

Really?

Sydney, you didn't dissolve

our trade agreements, did you?

No, I just said we're sitting

in this beautiful room...

Iistening to the music

of this wonderful orchestra...

and I wondered why

nobody was dancing.

And I informed Miss Wade

that in my country...

a guest at the palace

of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette...

would soon find their head

in a guillotine...

if they made the impertinent

gesture of dancing...

without so much as a by-your-leave

from the king and the queen.

I'll bet no one accused Louis

of being soft on crime.

- There's a lesson there, Mr. President.

- More beheadings at the White House.

Bob Rumson would embrace it.

Yes, I'm sure he would.

I have a better idea.

Would you like to dance?

Yeah, I guess.

I mean, yes, sir, I'd love to.

I don't know how you do it.

It's Arthur Murray, six lessons.

That's not what I mean.

Two hundred pairs of eyes are focused

on you right now with two questions--

Who's this girl? And why is

the president dancing with her?

Well, first of all, the 200 pairs

of eyes are not focused on me.

They're focused on you.

And the answers are--

Sydney Ellen Wade, because she said yes.

Does this setup work for you?

- Good morning, Mrs. Chapil.

- Good morning, Mr. President.

Mr. Rothschild and Miss McCall

are in the office, sir.

They need to speak with you

before scheduling.

Fine. Janie, can you get me

the number of a local florist?

I'll take care of it, sir.

I want to do it myself.

I just need the number.

I don't understand.

I want the phone number

of a florist.

You just want the phone number?

Yeah.

I don't understand.

Is there a problem--

I want to send some flowers.

I want to do it myself.

I don't want to issue an executive

order. I just want a phone number.

I'll get it for you

right away, sir.

- Good morning.

- Mr. President, we need five minutes.

I'll be with you in two minutes.

I just need to make a call.

Thank you, Janie.

Who are we calling, sir?

I'm calling the organization of

the it's none of your damn business.

- I'll be with you in a second.

- Yes, sir.

Yeah, hi. Good morning.

How do I get an outside line?

That was simple.

- Janie.

- Yes?

What's the president doing?

I'm sorry. I'm really

not at liberty to say.

Yes, hi. Good morning.

Is this Carmen's House of Flowers?

Good. I'd like to order

some flowers, please.

Well, tell me, what is

the state flower of Virginia?

Does this have something

to do with Sydney Wade?

I'm really not

at liberty to say.

Well, is there anybody there

who might know?

No, I'm not trying

to be difficult.

Hang on, please.

Janie, what is

the state flower of Virginia?

Mrs. Chapil,

state flower of Virginia?

- The dogwood.

- The dogwood, sir.

Thank you.

It's the dogwood.

Really?

Hold on, please.

Janie, the dogwood is a tree.

It's not a flower.

Actually, it's a tree and a flower.

- Are you sure?

- Yes. What's going on?

Sir, it's a tree and a flower.

It's a tree and a flower.

I'd like a dozen, please.

Really? No dogwoods?

How about roses?

Simple. Classic.

Two dozen?

Janie, I'm the president's

senior domestic policy advisor.

It's important I have

a full understanding--

Janie, do you know where

my credit cards are?

They're in storage in Wisconsin

with your personal items.

Right. Perhaps it would be

better if you bill me.

I'm sure it'll be all right

with your boss.

Well, I don't know

if you recognize my voice...

but this is the president.

Of the United States.

Leo. You wanted to see me?

So there I was thinking,

maybe I should give Sydney a call.

She doesn't know many people.

Then I picked up the Times.

Leo, it was crazy.

He called me at home.

- What's going on?

- Nothing.

It was innocent. His cousin

got the flu at the last minute.

- Did you sleep with him?

- Leo.

- Did you sleep with him?

- That's none of your business.

- Yeah, it is, Sydney.

- How is my personal life--

Because when it's the president,

it's not personal.

I hired your reputation.

I hired a pit bull, not a prom queen.

- That's unfair.

- It's incredibly unfair!

But you've spent

a lot of time over the years...

telling me the trouble

with the environmental lobby...

is that we don't understand

that politics is perception.

This is a bad time

to develop ignorance.

- You're making too much of this.

- Am l?

This is your time. You're

sitting at the grown-ups' table.

You have a chance

to get everything you want--

run a national campaign,

be a major player inside the party.

But this relationship

had better go all the way...

because with the leader

of the free world, there's no halfway.

Politics is perception.

If this doesn't work out, the time it'll

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