The American President Page #9

We're gonna continue this conversation

tomorrow. I'm late for the fund-raiser.

And, Douglas,

I'll put in a good word for you.

- You're incredibly late.

- Excuse me.

I just got off the phone with

the federal mediator in St. Louis.

Management just walked.

The baggage handlers, pilots...

and flight attendants are

gettin' set to walk in 48 hours.

I studied under a Nobel Prize-winning

economist. Know what he taught me?

Never have an airline strike

at Christmas?

- I'm going to St. Louis.

- Leave straight from the fund-raiser.

- Thanks, A.J.

- Good luck, Mr. President.

Liberty's moving.

- Mr. President, can we have a moment?

- He's incredibly late.

Hop in. We'll talk in the car.

- What is it?

- We have a small problem.

It could've been small.

Now it's a nightmare.

- I see it as an opportunity.

- If we'd caught it.

- We caught it.

- 5:
45 doesn't do me any good.

- 5:
45, network news is in make-up.

- You have 12 people working for you.

Guys, do I have to be here

for this meeting?

Sorry, sir.

It's on the evening news.

- It's buried as the third story.

- It's got a bullet.

Sydney was at a protest rally.

They burned a flag.

- Today?

- About 13 years ago.

At the Department of Commerce.

Anti-apartheid.

Let me see if I got this.

The third story on the news tonight...

was that someone I didn't know

13 years ago, when I wasn't president...

participated in a demonstration

where no laws were being broken...

in protest of something that

so many people were against...

it doesn't exist anymore?

Just out of curiosity,

what was the fourth story?

Right. I think it's important

when we deal with it--

- Don't deal with it.

- Excuse me?

They're trying to get us to swing at

a pitch in the dirt. It'll go away.

- I'm not sure that's the wisest course.

- Ah, hell!

See? It's already distracting you.

Let us put together--

You reminded me I'm supposed

to have dinner with Sydney.

It's terrific, Beth.

I love it.

I can't believe

I'm loaning you clothes.

I thought you owned

every piece of clothing there was.

Work clothes. I always have dinner

at the White House wearing a suit.

- I thought a dress would be nice.

- Go ahead, try it on.

I brought earrings too.

- Hi. What are you doing?

- Just trying on dresses.

I feel terrible, but I'm going

to have to cancel our date tonight.

Another woman?

I've gotta go to St. Louis

to avert a massive airline strike.

If I had a nickel for

every time I heard that one.

Thanks for understanding,

and I'll call you later this evening.

I hate doing that.

She was tryin' on dresses.

I tell any girl I'm going out with

that all plans are soft...

until she receives confirmation

from me 30 minutes beforehand.

- And they find this romantic?

- I say it with a great deal of charm.

Look! There it is!

Carmen's House of Flowers.

- We gotta stop.

- What?

- I gotta get her some flowers.

- Here?

That's what men do

when they break a date.

I know no men who do that.

Coop, I'm gonna hop out

at the flower shop.

- You're gonna hop out, sir?

- No, he's not. No hopping, sir.

- I'll get the flowers.

- Then it's not personal.

Let the agents do a security sweep.

We don't know who's in there.

You think there's a florist

planning an assassination...

on the off-chance

I might be stopping by?

It's possible.

You're not hearing me.

Listen to what I'm saying.

- It was at the basketball game.

- Excuse me.

No, at the game.

Kiki wasn't even there.

- Excuse me.

- Hold on.

I will be right with you.

I don't know if you're the one

that I talked to on the phone.

Virginia, Dogwood, President.

Does any of this ring a bell?

Same girl. She remembered me.

I'm glad to see that

the president has a girlfriend.

Never mind

that she's the hired gun...

of an ultra-liberal

political action committee.

Never mind that the president

takes the Fifth...

any time a reporter has the temerity

to ask him a question about a woman...

in a position

to exert enormous influence...

over a huge range of issues.

Never mind that this woman's idea of how

to unwind at the end of a tough day...

is to get together with her ACLU pals

and to set American flags on fire.

No reaction from the White House.

Because it doesn't need to be

dignified with a response.

There's no up side.

I'm leaving it alone.

What do Lewis and Robin think?

Brutus and Cassius? They want me to get

into a character debate and mix it up.

Lewis and Robin are very smart.

-Sydney says you guys are really stupid.

-I didn't say that.

- She's questioning your loyalty.

- I question it all the time.

Wait a minute.

Here comes my favorite part.

My name is Bob Rumson,

and I'm running for president.

Glad he cleared that up, because they

were about to buy some Amway products.

His numbers are climbing.

- His numbers have nowhere to go but up.

- What about yours?

We'll be in the 60s

once I get the votes for the crime bill.

- What are you doin' this weekend?

- I got some work. Why?

Negotiations are going well.

Looks like the nation's

gonna keep on flying.

Lucy's spending Saturday night

at a friend's house.

What'd you have in mind?

Ever been to Camp David?

Sure. I used to go there all the time,

but then they changed chefs and l--

It's sass, right?

You're sassing me.

Yes.

I'm gonna have somebody

pick you up on Saturday morning.

Okay. Bye.

- Good God.

- What?

I'm looking at your college transcripts.

This isn't human.

Nobody gets this many A's.

You were like a Stepford student.

Are you still reading

that ridiculous biography?

No, I finished Andrew Shepherd:

Road to the White House.

Now I'm on to

Shepherd:
The Early Years.

Seven trillion dollar

communications system at my disposal...

and I can't find out

if the Packers won.

Oh, Andy.

C-minus in women's studies?

That course wasn't about

what I thought it was gonna be about.

President Shepherd

was in Maryland this week...

for his routine physical exam.

Doctors at Bethesda Naval Hospital

pronounced him in excellent health.

Who cares!

Just give us the scores!

While the president

spent the day at Camp David...

GOP presidential hopeful

Robert Rumson...

continued his attacks on

President Shepherd's character.

During the Saturday news program,

Capital Review With Kenneth Michaels...

Senator Rumson suggested that G.D.C.

political director, Sydney Ellen Wade...

whose close personal relationship

with the president...

has been causing the White House

headaches over the past two months...

may have traded sexual favors...

for key votes in

the Virginia State Legislature...

while lobbying for

the Virginia Teachers Association.

Wait a minute, Senator.

That's a heck of an accusation to make.

Let me be very clear about this.

I am not making an accusation.

I am saying, when you hear one thing,

you dismiss it.

You hear two, you dismiss it,

but when several--

several well-respected members...

and former members of

the Virginia State Legislature--

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