you skipped the whole paragraph.
"american can no longer afford to pretend that they live in a great society". and then nothing. you dumped the whole handguns paragraph.
that was the kick-ass section.
sir, of course i didn't mean to imply--
that's great news, sir, but.
sir, the press is gonna need an explanation.
because you dropped the whole kick-ass section, now we've got this thing hanging out there.
"americans can no longer afford to pretend that they live in a great society." then . nothing. no explanation. no context. so now it's just this thing.
yes, sir.
mr. president, i really feel we need to focus on.
i don't drink coffee.
he dumped a whole section.
see?
what they want is a 20 percent reduction in fossil fuel emissions.
we haven't really tried.
hang on, are we not--
are we not putting back the handgun restrictions?!
sir, we campaigned on this issue. now, i understand we took it out when we were in the low forties, but we can push it through now.
sir, we may never have an opportunity like this again. let's take this 63 percent out for a spin and see what it can do.
can i just say, to return to the subject for one moment, that it might be easier to fight a war on drugs if we weren't arming drug dealers.
yes, sir.
what did you tell him?
we've got jarrett.
george jarrett. he's ours. solid "yes."
i wish i could take credit. he just said, "lewis, i support the president a hundred percent ." not the bill, the president.
we're gonna win this in a walk. it's like a kissing booth at a carnival. give us a vote, get a photo-op with number 63.
we should have gone after the handguns.
we don't have time to do one thing at a time.
they make a nice couple.
we've got troubles.
who are we calling, sir?
yes, sir.
janie?
what's the president doing?
janie, i'm the president senior domestic policy advisor. it's important that i have a full understanding of--
there is no need to entertain that at this point.
we should have a consensus on how the white house is going to handle it.
general rork says around o-eight hundred.
'morning, mr. president. hi, sydney.
they're camped out at every exit.
the press.
you shoulda taken a cab, sydney.
how do we exit sydney from the building and what do we say to the press at that point?
can i state very clearly that i can't be party to anything illegal.
say what you want, but it's always the guy in my job that ends up doing eighteen months in danbury minimum security prison.
okay. good. now, the press statement.
we can't just leave it at that, sir.
but, sir.
we've got a small problem.
robin sees it as a problem. i see it as a opportunity.
we caught it.
you've got 14 people working for you. did any of them--
i'm sorry, sir. it's the evening news. it was buried as the third story--
sydney was at a protest rally where they burned a flag.
about 13 years ago.
see, i think it's important, when we deal with it, that we--
excuse me?
i'm not sure that's the wisest--
i tell any girl i'm going out with to assume that all plans are soft until she receives confirmation 30 minutes beforehand.
well, i say it with a great deal of charm.
what?
here?!
no, he's not hopping. sir, no hopping. stay in the car. i'll get the flowers.
let the agents do a security sweep. we don't know who's in there.
it's possible.
hell, i question it all the time.
mood swings? nineteen post-graduate degrees in mathematics and you explain going from a 63 to a 46 percent approval rating in 5 weeks on mood swings?
it's christmas?
i'm hearing rumors that your boss is wavering on the crime bill.
that's what i wanted to hear.
congressman, it was our understanding that we had your support.
congressman, the assault weapons are gone.
the well is drying up. the president's gotta make a move or we're gonna die fast and quiet.
and we put sydney in the new model?
a.j., it's meaningless unless we ask him about sydney.
you're supposed to be a united states congressman, for the love of christ.
but you're not gonna stay at 41. the numbers are gonna be go back up. but they're gonna go back up. george.  congressman.  congressman jarrett.  george, it's crunch time. it's personal. this is one of those moments. it's just you and the president. now that's it gonna be?
yeah. yeah. hey, george? can i tell you something? we're gonna win this thing. we're gonna get the votes and we're gonna win. and after we do, i mean that very night, i'm gonna go to sam & harry's, i'm gonna order a big steak, and i'm gonna make a list of everybody who tried to fuck us this week.
vote your conscience, you chicken- shit, lame-ass--
we lost jarrett.
karen, it's lewis. could you hunt down congressman quincy for me. i need to talk to him right way.
he thinks your numbers aren't likely to rebound.
she? you meant "it," didn't you, sir? you meant the "important legislation" deserves every opportunity.
respectfully, sir. i think we should examine the new poll for more than its value as a box score.
it's not that simple, sir. i think this poll helps bribg a murky problem into specific relief.
mr. president, two hundred and sixty- four million people don't give a damn about your life. they give a damn about their own.
mr. president, you've raised a daughter almost entirely on your own, and she's terrific. what does it say to you that in the last seven weeks, 59 percent of this country has begun to question your family values?
oh yes, he does, a.j. i'm a citizen, this is my president, and in this country it is not only permissible to question our leaders, it is our responsibility. but you already know that, mr. president, because you have a deeper love of this country than any man i've ever known, and i want to know what it says to you that in the past seven weeks 59 percent of americans have begun to question your patriotism?
they don't have a choice! rob rumson's the only one doing the talking. people want leadership. and in the absence of genuine leadership, they will listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. they want leadership, mr. president. they're so thirsty for it, they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand.
he's got the whole white house press corps asking each other how to spell "erudite."
i know. gotta rewrite the state of the union.
oh, good. i thought i was gonna be rushed.
mr. president, i thought you might want to look at this. i moved social security up front. hello, sydney.
sir.
i know sir, i'm sorry.
that's kind of you, sir, but i realize i've been a little insensitive about some personal.
just so you know i've never been one of them, mr. president.