W. Page #12

tell me this before, huh?

Mr. President,

I wanna go back to Iraq.

Look, let me make this clear...

...since I've had some experience

dealing with these matters.

My son has got the toughest position

in the world.

He's the one

who gets the intelligence briefings.

And as Americans...

...it's our duty

to fully support his efforts...

...to bring freedom and democracy

to the Middle East.

And as a father...

...l'll be damned

if I'll listen to people...

...who are always trying

to tear the boy down.

And you know what?

They built him a set of metal legs...

...made him faster

than what he used to be.

They make them that good

these days.

You and I are gonna run together, son,

soon as you get back on your feet.

I give you my promise, all right?

Okay?

Got him a shirt. Maybe you can

give it to him when he wakes up.

I'd like...

...to stand up for you, sir.

No, you don't, sergeant.

No, I'm the one standing up for you.

Laura and I are looking forward

to seeing you next trip.

- All right, now?

- That's right.

All right, you hang in there.

Thank you.

Thank you.

David, good to see you.

- Mr. President.

- So, what do you got for us?

You used to love pecan pie,

Mr. President.

I've given up sweets

since the start of the war, Rummy.

My personal sacrifice

to show support for our troops.

The best pie I've ever tasted,

Mr. President.

So, what you're telling me, David,

comes down to nothing on nothing?

Frankly, we missed it...

...because Saddam pretended

that he had the weapons.

It doesn't make sense.

Why would he risk his life and

government by not coming clean?

Because I think...

...he didn't want his people to know

he didn't have the weapons.

Part of his Superman image.

Afraid they'd cut his throat

if they found out the truth.

You're saying this guy

was running a full house off a pair?

Come on, that's just nuts.

He really thought you were bluffing.

Right up to the end.

Me, bluff?

How could the CIA, all our

intel people, completely muff this?

I told Mr. Tenet from the beginning...

...that things weren't panning out

the way we thought they existed.

And your National Security advisers...

...should've got into this, gotten

the details and vetted them for you.

Believe me, Dr. Kay...

...when I say we were getting

thousands of reports...

...and not just from you or the CIA.

I don't see... I don't know that

putting the blame on some...

Mr. President, I think we're being

overly negative in a situation...

...where, indeed,

we lack the metrics...

...to judge the overall success

of the global war on terror.

My office sent to you

spy satellite photos...

...that showed that WMDs

could be hidden in caves...

...that you never responded to.

We analyzed those photos,

Mr. Vice President...

...and they are actually trenches,

watering holes for cattle.

Not caves.

That's not what my people told me.

Vice, you grew up in Wyoming.

You should damn well know cattle.

I mean, there you go.

You fool me once, shame on you.

Now, fool me twice...

...and you can't get fooled again.

I'm sorry, Mr. President.

We thought he had WMDs.

But we were all wrong about him.

And I include myself.

Our system...

...the integrity of it...

...has broken down completely.

And I have never traded access

for integrity.

And I am obligated to resign.

That was some sh*t sandwich

he served for lunch.

Working on it. We can

find someone who can deliver.

- I don't buy it. He had those weapons.

- No doubt.

But now we shift the ground.

Keep the focus

on freedom and democracy.

Rumsfeld is on another planet.

Sometimes I wonder.

I think he's lost it.

- What about Iran?

- Oh, yeah.

Bigtime uranium-enrichment

program going on.

- We're on it.

- Stay on it.

There's something there.

I can feel it.

Kansas State and Ohio State,

a pair of top- 10 teams squared off...

... in the Fiesta Bowl.

That was for the championship.

Krenzel, your MVP,

four touchdowns passing.

Funny thing...

...Poppy once said.

I didn't appreciate it.

What was that, Geo?

Something about:

"Sometimes it's better to stay

out of the barrel."

These lines here...

...seem like they just

dug in overnight.

You're as handsome as ever, Geo.

Only makes you look

more distinguished.

Your favorite play is coming to town.

Why don't we get tickets?

Cats.

The Broadway company

is going to be here.

You wanna go?

Cats?

That's something I'd stay up late for.

Definitely.

I thought so.

You know, I don't get it.

All this psychobabble in the media.

I mean, all I wanted to do

is make this a better and safer world...

...for everyone.

There's good and there's evil.

And you and I and the rest of the

people in America know the difference.

That good ultimately wins out.

But you have to fight for it.

You have to fight for it.

People have no idea

how hard it is on us.

The sacrifices you've made.

Laura, I knew when I married you

what you were made of.

That same bolt of lightning

hit both of us.

For better or worse.

Mostly better.

Since the start of the war, though...

...I barely have time

to run my three miles anymore.

My knees hurt.

I'm just off my pace.

It's been hard on me, Laura.

On top of everything else.

Well...

...someday the war will be over.

And we can have our lives back.

I'll get those tickets for next week.

- Poppy, what are you doing here?

- I used to sit in this chair.

Opposite Baker.

Got him to help pull your ass

out of the fire in Florida in 2000.

Don't forget that.

Come on. Let's go.

A little mano a mano.

- Bet you I can still whip your ass.

- What?

Got to admit, I scared you back then.

Still scare you, don't I?

I got a lot on my mind.

I don't need this, Poppy. Not now.

Why you being so ornery?

Because you disappoint me, Junior.

Deeply disappoint me.

After all these years. Still?

- You're still with that?

- No, no, no.

Not the girls or summer jobs anymore.

I dug myself out of the depths of hell

to stand on my own two feet...

...make something of myself.

And I did it on my own.

Think you did.

Yeah, well, you also wrecked it.

Wrecked. Wrecked what?

You've ruined it for us.

- What are you talking about?

- The Bush name.

Get out of my office.

Two hundred years of work. For Jeb.

Get out.

With this fiasco.

Get out of my life.

And that's what it is.

A goddamn fiasco.

Get out!

George. George.

Are you all right?

Oh, Jesus.

Jesus, George.

There's been tough weeks in Iraq.

But our central commitment

of the mission...

...is the transfer of sovereignty

back to the Iraqi people.

Now, we've set a deadline

for this to take place...

...three months from now.

June 30, 2004.

It's important that

we meet that deadline, all right?

The only way we can win...

...is to leave before the job is done.

Yeah.

I'll now take questions.

- Mr. President.

- Sir.

- Sir, sir.

- Question, sir.

Yeah.

Miss China?

Mr. President,

I know this is a tough question...

...but my viewers

would really like to know.

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