02x11 - A Criminal, a Whore, an Idiot and a Liar
Posted: 01/20/13 12:50
If that letter from President Grant was forged, there will be joint congressional hearings and letters of impeachment.
Good-bye, Edison.
Previously on "Scandal"...
Which one of you forged his signature?
I did.
It's a federal crime. It's treason.
I have a sworn affidavit saying that your husband has failed to so much as open his eyes.
(Cell phone rings) Hello?
Hi.
(Voice breaks) Hi.
(Projector and camera shutter clicking)
Oh, hi.
"Oh. Hi"?
(Keys jangle)
Hello, Edison.
Olivia.
What?
What's going on? With us.
(Files rustling) Nothing.
Nothing's going on with us?
Edison.
This serious boyfriend that you had, the one that you broke up with...
Look, I have a lot to do tomorrow, and I haven't had much sleep and I'm not in the mood to...
This serious boyfriend... Was it Fitzgerald Grant?
(Chuckles)
You're asking me if I was in a relationship with the President?
Yes.
He's married.
Yes.
He's the President.
Yes.
Is this a joke? Are you kidding?
I'm waiting for you to answer the question.
You're mad because I wouldn't let you into the President's hospital room?
Not mad. Concerned. Wary. Suspicious.
Don't be. - Because the President's not your boyfriend?
You really want to stop asking me that.
I've been racking my brain trying to find a reason why you'd be stupid enough to willingly attempt to defraud the American people, and the only reason I can come up with for why you'd be in so deep is because you were his mistress.
Five... that's sexist and insulting.
You'd never suggest Scooter Libby was screwing d*ck Cheney.
Four... the lengths you're going to try to twist this into a conspiracy are cause for concern.
You should speak to someone about that.
Three... the President is awake and talking, and the suggestion that he isn't is partisan political crap that I thought you had enough integrity to rise above.
Two... in the past three minutes, you've called me a criminal, a whore, an idiot, and a liar, so this is pretty much the last time we'll be speaking, so one...who I am or am not screwing, what am or am not doing, is no longer any of your damn business.
You forget how well I know you.
You this angry? You have something to hide.
I have been summoned to a meeting at the white house tomorrow with acting President Langston about the letter of reinstatement, which she says is a forgery.
(Scoffs)
And she's going to tell that to the entire cabinet first thing in the morning.
So if there's something that you want to tell me, do it now, when I still have time to help you.
(Beep)
Cyrus, we have a problem.
(Projector and camera shutter clicking)
Increasing our m*llitary presence in Asia costs money, Governor.
Which is why we'd have to shift our defense spend...
Can't just run to daddy and ask for the dough on this one.
(Laughter)
(Lowered voice) Use the att*ck line. att*ck line.
Go to my web site. Look at my spending plans.
Do the math.
Oh, no.
Now he's giving the voters homework.
Fiscal budget, we can afford to make this common reallocation.
I'm sorry, Governor. We have to move on.
I deserve a chance to respond.
You think you deserve everything, don't you, Governor?
(Laughter) No... (Chuckles)
No. If we could get back to medicare.
Look. Look. Governor Reston...
I can't.
Tell me when it's over.
You need 270 electoral college votes to win, right?
And you've got 188 locked up from the deep red states.
So you need a pickup of 82 votes, most likely from a combination of Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina.
So, basically, you can't afford to lose more than one of them.
And if I do?
You're toast.
Did the debate move the needle at all?
Not in your favor. I'm sorry, Governor.
Numbers don't lie.
(Projector and camera shutter clicks)
As the individual helping finance this little enterprise, I'd like to start feeling like I'm getting my money's worth.
We've still got a month left.
Plenty of time to turn things around.
That's just whistlin' past the graveyard.
We need to do something.
You have a suggestion?
Stack the deck.
I found a computer nerd of my own, says he can rig the election for Grant, easy as pie.
Very funny.
Am I laughing?
(Lowered voice) Okay. You saying "rig the election" on a campaign plane is like joking that you have a b*mb in the security line at the airport.
You don't do it unless you want to end up having your body cavities searched by big men with g*ns.
Whoa. Just trying to help.
We got a problem. I am a solution man.
Your solution is a felony.
Well, then, you're the fix-it gal.
Quit bitchin' and start pitchin'.
(Clears throat) Those numbers are fatal.
(Clears throat) What this campaign needs is a big pointy boot to kick it square in the ass.
I was thinking... (Sighs)
Maybe it's time we brought in help.
He's not gonna like it.
He will learn to like it.
We talking about Jerry?
Fitz's father? That's... that's brilliant.
I wondered why he wasn't on the trail.
I figured maybe his health wasn't good.
(Cyrus) Oh, it's good.
The good senator Fitzgerald Thomas Grant II's gonna bury us all.
Fitz has been very clear about his father.
He'll never agree to it.
That was then.
This is 10 points down.
(Projector and camera shutter clicking)
No! You know better! You know!
We are losing! We are lost!
I can win this on my own!
You have political capital! You need to start spending it!
(Lowered voice) I need to point out voices carry.
(Sighs) You might want to either lower the volume or continue this conversation in a room.
You talk to him. He actually listens to you.
(Beep, door opens and slams)
(Panting)
Fitz... Mm?
We're all concerned that the campaign needs a spark.
Your father could be it.
And I really don't want to discuss my father right now.
(Exhales) Mm.
Your father...
Is a national treasure.
Self-made man, two terms as...
Governor, 4-time senator. I know.
The image of him passing on the torch to his son...
That will ignite the base. The press loves him.
Everyone loves him.
I don't want him here.
He can help.
You need help right now.
You really think we're at that place?
We're at that place.
If I say yes, will you stop talking about the campaign for the next 20 minutes?
Why?
Hmm...
(Gasps)
The b*llet tore through your frontal lobe.
We managed the swelling, and with any luck, the effects you see will be minimal.
Effects such as?
Dizziness, fatigue, irritability.
The symptoms we commonly associate with concussions.
And if they're not?
Our frontal lobes control executive function.
So sometimes in patients we've seen an inability to make decisions, a shorter attention span.
We've had patients who haven't been able to write, patients who suffer from aphasia.
Aphasia?
Speech impairment?
Either you can't speak at all, or if you can, it's hard to find your words.
We'll also be on the lookout for changes in personality.
It all depends on the patient.
That's why I want to get a neurology team in here pronto and see where we are.
So when can I get back to work?
Assuming there's no permanent damage, three weeks.
(Sighs)
Walking across a room will feel like a marathon.
(Knock on door) Am I interrupting?
Thank you, doctor.
(Woman speaking indistinctly over P.A.)
(Door closes) What is it?
I'm afraid we have a Sally Langston problem.
(Projector and camera shutter clicking)
The letter of reinstatement submitted on behalf of President Grant was entirely premature.
Regrettably, he is not in any sort of condition to resume the powers and responsibilities of this office at this time.
Understanding, as always, that our first and only duty is to the American people, I have prepared a document for your signatures declaring that we are left no choice but to challenge President Grant's fitness...(Door opens)
To again assume...
Morning, everyone.
Sorry I'm late.
Are we sure this was a good idea?
He's just gonna show his face, shake a few hands, hear ten minutes of the briefing, and go back to bed, and Sally disappears forever into that political black hole called the vice presidency.
He's looking great!
Guy's a medical miracle.
Madame vice President, how are you today?
(Laughs)
(Laughs)
That was small of me. I need to work on that. (Chuckles)
I need a fresh shirt.
Ask Izzie to send one down for me.
Why don't you we get you up to bed?
I have to get down to the sit room.
Fitz, you did it. You're back.
You're President. You have nothing to prove.
Until Sally Langston puts a letter on my desk accepting my reinstatement, I have everything to prove.
Have I thanked you for that, by the way?
For forging my signature and forcing me out of the hospital before my stitches had healed to save you from jail and keep my job?
Thank you.
(Sighs)
I can't show any weakness.
This is not a show of weakness.
You were sh*t. You've made a miraculous recovery.
No one is expecting you to spend five hours in a m*llitary briefing.
Sally Langston is dancing around the fire.
She's not gonna stop until my head's on a stick.
They need to see me, not her, being commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
I need a clean shirt.
And that's the difference between Governor Reston and me.
My plan provides for $2 trillion in discretionary spending.
Just say "spending cuts."
"Discretionary" confuses people.
$2 trillion in spending cuts, which will save Americans money and stimulate growth.
Ah, to hell with spending cuts! I want my taxes lowered!
(People murmuring) We titans of industry built this nation.
We deserve to get a little relief in these difficult economic times.
Everybody seems to forget that the rich need help, too.
Boy, that sounded better in my head than it did out loud, didn't it?
(Laughter)
Jerry! (Laughing)
(Laughing)
We are so glad that you came.
Anything for you. Oh.
Mwah!
(Laughs)
Good to see you, Jer.
Hello, Fitzgerald.
Dad.
Everybody, why don't we take a break?
No, no, no. Keep working. I'm just furniture.
(People murmuring)
Hello.
(Man) - Good to see you, Jerry.
Hi.
Where was I?
(Olivia) Uh, save Americans money, stimulate growth.
Save Americans money and stimulate growth while reducing the national debt by $5 trillion over the next 10 years from a deficit that right now increases by an average of $3.68 billion a d...
Wait, wait, this isn't a funeral, son.
Perk up! You got the looks. Add the charm. (Chuckles)
As I was saying...
(Jerry) - Okay, go on.
$5 trillion from a deficit that right now increases by an average of $3.68 billion a day.
A day.
When I am President, I would...
Uh, no, no, no. Nobody wants to hear all that math.
Here. Let me show you how it's done.
Up, up, up!
(People murmuring)
Pleasure. (Sighs)
All right, sweetheart. Feed it to me.
A lot of people think this election is about the economy. - Mm-hmm.
Tell us what differentiates your economic plan from Governor Reston's.
A mother is standing on the sidewalk, choking.
She's, uh, swallowed a penny accidentally, and it's lodged in her throat.
A man in a suit comes by, gives her the heimlich, and out pops the penny.
Well, the... the woman says...
(Mouths words)
"Gosh darn, I can't thank you enough."
And the guy in the suit said...
(Chuckles) "Oh... Oh, no, I'm not a doctor.
I'm from the I.R.S. and he snatched the penny and he ran off.
That's what's gonna happen if this guy wins the election.
Next question.
(Laughter and applause)
(People laughing hysterically)
(Jerry) No! No! That's not the best part.
I come back from Nevada after watching them test a hydrogen b*mb, and I see these bruises on my chest.
So I go to an oncologist, and I say, "look at these bruises!
"I think I've been exposed to radiation.
What should I do?"
And he looks at me and he looks at my bruises, and he says, "Nevada?"
And I go, "yeah."
He goes, "Jerry, that's from leaning too hard against the craps table."
(Laughter)
No, Verna was there. She remembers.
Well, I was more of a poker girl.
(Jerry) - Ah!
I bet she was.
(Laughter)
So when do you hit Florida?
Thursday. You think you can join us, Jer?
Hey...
(Fitz) - No.
You stump in Oregon. I'll handle Florida myself.
(Laughs) Son...
Oh, no. You need me in Florida.
No, I don't.
These young boys today.
They think they invented politics.
(Chuckling) We definitely want you in Florida.
Did I say I want him in Florida?
(Mouths words) Look, I realize you don't think I know anything, but I've done more in the past 20 years than you'll do in an entire lifetime.
You'll want me in Florida.
Unless you want to lose. Do you want to lose, son?
(Scoffs)
(Swallows and sighs)
We'd be glad to have you.
So can I ask about your campaign strategy?
No.
Honey. Why didn't you dig enough dirt on Reston? (Liquid pouring)
We've had a clean campaign so far.
Fitz wants to keep it that way. I think it's admirable.
Well, I think it's weak. You want to win the presidency, you have to att*ck, be strong. Finish off your competition!
You know this from experience?
Fitz.
No, dad's giving me advice. I'm just wondering if it's from his vast experience running for President.
Oh, yeah, you never ran, did you?
'Cause men who get caught sleeping with prostitutes don't get to be leader of the free world.
Right?
Who wants coffee?
What was her name? Charity? No, it was Hope.
Hard to forget that name.
You really kept hope alive, didn't you, dad?
Fitz.
No, Hope is alive.
Mom's dead, though.
(Mellie) - Enough.
(Fitz sighs)
(Sets down glass)
Jerry, I'm so sorry.
It's fine.
We have all had a long day. Hmm?
And I think I'm gonna turn in.
Mwah! (Kisses) Mm.
Mm. Mm.
(Chuckles and kisses)
(Lowered voice) We'll talk about this in the morning.
(Elevator bell dings)
(Sighs and mutters)
(Indistinct conversations)
(Clears throat)
You didn't wait for me.
It's late. We can talk in the morning.
Or we can go to your room, talk there.
Or...
Not talk.
(Sighs)
Fitz, you're drunk.
And you're sad.
You should get to bed.
(Slurring) - I'm trying to get to bed.
Stop it.
Come on. Really, no. No.
You want to talk, we can talk.
We can get a cup of coffee, you can sober up, but... mnh-mnh. Mnh.
(Stammering) No... Come on.
(Elevator bell dings) Stop it.
Fitzgerald.
(Head thuds) Oh...
(Sighs)
Um...
I'm sorry. I'm...
Sorry.
(Sighs)
Mellie...
I wanted to apologize for Fitz.
That's not like him, but he has had too much to drink.
And he has always had problems with his father, and I just...
He respects you. He needs you.
We both do, and...
I just don't want what happened here tonight...
I'm so sorry. I am.
I know how you must feel, and I am so sorry.
It's okay.
Really. I'm fine.
You don't have to apologize to me.
I don't know what he'd do without you.
I don't know what I would do without you. (Chuckles)
(Breathes deeply)
(Projector and camera shutter clicking)
The trouble with precision air strikes is they're not precise.
There's too much collateral damage.
Again, I think we should have a S.E.A.L. team go in and either capture or k*ll...
Kinyazi.
The east Sudan leader.
Send in a S.E.A.L. team to capture or k*ll Kinyazi.
Yes, exactly.
Thank you all.
Mr. President. Mr. President.
(Projector and camera shutter clicking)
There's no such thing as a clean campaign! (Sighs)
It's an oxymoron!
From now on, you're...
There's still time to call Hollis.
It's the only way that you're gonna win this!
We don't have to put up with this.
(Shouting continues)
So we rig an election instead, Cyrus?
I'm just saying it's an option.
I'm kidding.
(Door opens)
My son and I have had a talk.
We're gonna need oppo on Reston. Everything...
S.A.T. scores, parking tickets.
If he didn't put the seat down once, we want to hear about it.
Sir, with all due respect...
As I said before, we've been running a clean campaign since the primary.
Well, now I'm telling you to get me some dirt that we can pin on Reston.
Sir, we don't work for you.
We work for the Governor.
(Scoffs)
Do we bring pillows to a Kn*fe fight, son? - No, sir.
Do we wanna run a real campaign?
Yes, sir.
There you go.
Do what he says.
(Projector and camera shutter clicking)
Harrison Wright, Abby Whelan.
The pleasure's all mine. Hi.
Hi. Listen, we gotta make this quick.
I got a meeting with the parole officer in half an hour.
(Breathes deeply)
(Door opens) Oh, God.
Oh.
I think he's coming over here.
(Murmuring)
I'm Huck.
I brought you all here to dig up some dirt on the Reston campaign...
Disgruntled ex-girlfriends, old coworkers...
Whatever we can find. The dirtier, the better.
(Projector and camera shutter clicking)
So this is politics, huh?
(Olivia) - What about Mrs. Reston's accounts?
(Huck) Clean.
(Abby) So have you known the restons a long time?
(Harrison) Talk to me. What haven't they uncovered?
He was a rager. Crashed his car into a tree after a Christmas party.
Excellent. The only witness is a loyal, and there's no public record, so...
So dead intel. Abby?
He was a man-whore. With a temper.
How bad? - He had a bevy of pi-phis at his Beck and call.
Lots of them are still bitter about his less-than-chivalrous dating style.
But then he met Joan and mellowed out.
(Projector and camera shutter clicking) Stayed true, as far as I can tell.
When did he meet Joan?
'87.
Around the same time he quit drinking.
You know, perhaps we need more experienced and...
House-trained people on this.
Sir, these people... No more excuses.
If we don't get something on Reston, something that sticks, we may just as well pull all of our ads, pack up camp.
Fitzgerald can't pull this off on his own.
You know it and I know it.
(Projector and camera shutter clicks)
We put all the lipstick we can on this pig.
It's time to pony up and seriously consider all the options. There are no options, Hollis.
Yes, there are. I'm not saying I agree with it, but we should discuss it.
(Lowered voice) Election rigging is not an option.
(Lowered voice) I'm talking about doing a patriotic thing.
You're not serious.
I may be a son of a bitch, but Fitz is clean as a whistle.
Am I right, Cyrus?
He's the real deal.
A patriot. A believer.
How rare is that? How often does that come along?
Once in a generation, if you're lucky.
I'm just saying, this is our chance to put a man with integrity inside that big white house.
So you want to do this because Fitz is so good? Really?
Doesn't matter why I want to do it.
It matters why you'd want to.
What are we talking about?
(Normal voice) Nothing.
(Normal voice) Pull up a chair, Mellie.
Let's have a discussion.
Fitz is out on his feet. He's weak, has trouble concentrating, plain as day.
Presiding over a national security crisis...
It's damn near treason.
He's nixed the air strikes.
Ooh. He's what?
Do I bring him before congress, expose his unfitness to the American people?
No. No. You do nothing.
Just let him hang himself with his own lasso.
Mulish pridefulness about provin' himself has always been that boy's Achilles' heel goin' back to him and his daddy.
All you got to do is lay back, be set, step in once he crashes and burns.
Your dad is helping.
The numbers are giving you good news.
Although...
Although?
You're still 7 points down overall.
(Groans)
Come on!
How was this not fixed earlier? You!
You have done this before, right?
This is not your first time plugging in a microphone?
We did hire someone who knows how to do this job, right?!
Governor. That's Jason.
And he's almost done fixing the sound system.
He just needs a minute.
This is a town hall forum.
You got people spread all around the room, and I cannot hear what they are saying!
What's the point of a debate prep if I can't debate?
Everyone, good work. But let's call it a night.
(Sighs) Go home, get some sleep.
We'll start here again at 7:00 A.M.
Not you.
Those people are working their butts off for you.
Then we need better people.
Or we need a better candidate.
Screw you.
I am getting k*lled in these debates.
I lose votes in these debates. I need to be prepared.
Which is what we were doing when you started yelling at people.
I am yelling because no one is doing their job.
Your job is to make sure I win.
Good.
I was worried you thought my job is to get felt up in elevators by my drunken candidate.
I'm sorry about that. You know I'm sorry about that.
Do you even want this?
What?
Do you even want to be President?
Obviously.
Is it obvious? I'm running.
You're running like you're being chased.
You're not running like you want to cross the finish line first, and so I'm asking you, do you want it?
Or are you just wasting everyone's time and money and energy and faith and hopes and dreams?!
I want it.
Why?
Liv. - Why do you want to be the President?
Okay, Olivia. Why?!
I don't know what you want me to say!
That's your problem. You're always trying to say what you think everyone wants to hear, be what you think everyone wants you to be, and I should have caught it before.
I would have if we weren't...
(Sighs)
I know you...
Because you let me know you.
But America has no idea who you are, because you've never let them know who you are.
Nobody can tell you how to do that.
I can't fix that, because I'm not running for President.
Neither is Cyrus, neither is your father, so who are you, and why do you want to be President?
Mellie came to me. I tried to stop it, but...
(Sighs) He's Fitz.
He'll look okay on tv, but...
What? - The man is supposed to be in the hospital, and instead he's been working all day.
(Lowered voice) I don't think he'll last on his feet more than 30 seconds. You have to shut this down.
(Indistinct conversations)
(Door closes)
I hear someone is being stubborn.
Cyrus sent you.
It might not be wise to answer questions on live tv in your condition.
It might not be wise, but that's what I'm gonna do.
Mind telling me why?
What you said.
I'm stubborn.
(Exhales)
(Exhales and chuckles)
(Exhales)
You almost d*ed.
Yes.
Don't do it again.
Okay.
(Kisses)
(Sighs)
You can't do this press conference.
You're not strong enough... Not yet.
I'm doing the press conference.
Tell me why. Tell me why it's so important to you.
(Groans softly)
This is my office.
I'm the President.
They can sh**t me if they want to, but I'm not going anywhere, because the people of this country elected me to this office, and the people deserve to see me and to know that I'm in charge.
(Knock on door)
(Door opens and closes)
Well?
He's doing the press conference...
Live.
And he's going to take questions.
And it's gonna be great.
And it's gonna be great.
(Exhales)
Reston's narrative is that he was an angry young man until meeting his wife Joan, who turned him into the upstanding public servant he is today.
Turns out it wasn't love that fixed him.
It was Prozac.
Hmm.
(Projector and camera shutter clicks)
But this isn't Reston's.
We pulled it from his trash.
His doctors hide it under a bunch of fake names, but they all lead back to Samuel Montrose Reston.
Fluoxetine.
60 milligrams a day.
For the past 20 years. That's a pretty heavy habit.
My suggestion, if we choose to go forward with this, is to leak rumors of prescription drug abuse to the press before the final debate.
It will take over the news cycle and prevent Reston from being able to prepare properly.
That's a fine suggestion, honey, but that's not what we're gonna do.
We're gonna sit on it until the debate itself.
And then you're gonna work it into one of your answers and blindside Reston and send him up a creek without a paddle and demolish him in the process.
(Olivia) - Ahh.
(Jerry chuckles) - Huh?
If you need a rest or don't know the answer to a question, take a sip of water. This is a press conference.
This is a town hall-style debate...
Real Americans with real questions looking to you for real answers. Put them... at ease. This isn't about m*llitary strategy.
It's about convincing the American people that their commander-in-chief is not just back, but up to the job.
So I wait for a question about the m*llitary?
That's when you drop the b*mb.
Give them a choice between a candidate who's flown combat missions and a candidate who takes antidepressants.
Got it? Got it?
Fitz?
I got it.
Good.
Now show them who you are.
(Indistinct conversations)
(Applause)
(Camera shutters clicking)
At 5:00 this evening eastern standard time, a U.S. Navy S.E.A.L.team parachuted into east Sudan and captured its President, Nijam Kinyazi.
(Reston) The Governor's posturing, Carl.
He wants you to believe that he's trustworthy, that he's his father.
He's not his father. His father was a self-made man.
The Governor... he was made on a boarding school assembly line.
He can't relate to you.
(Camera shutter clicks)
(Reporters shouting questions)
(Under breath) Here we go.
Yes, Carol?
What were the casualties?
None on our side.
And theirs?
I don't have numbers for you yet, but I'm told there were several, all non-civilian.
(Reporters shouting questions) Yeah. Peter?
Having just survived an assassination attempt, is there any concern about P.T.S.D. or impaired brain functioning that could affect your judgment?
(Shutters clicking)
(Reporters murmuring)
Oh, boy.
(Clicking continues)
(Moderator) The next question is for Governor Grant, and it's from Jessica Moran.
Jessica.
Governor Grant...
Hi, Jessica.
As the mother of an 18-year-old boy who's about to enlist in the army, why should I trust you as our next commander-in-chief?
(Under breath) This is it.
You know, people talk about a lack of patriotism in our country.
They're wrong.
And your son is proof of that.
Now, as for whether you should trust me as commander-in-chief...
Say it.
(Chuckles)
What I should say is that I've served in the m*llitary, and I've flown combat missions, and the courage that I exhibited makes me fit to lead this country.
That's what I should say, because my pollsters and aides and advisors tell me that's what you want to hear.
What the hell's he doing?
But the truth is, Jessica...
Those years I spent in the Navy...
It wasn't courage I felt.
It was fear.
Fear that I'd crash.
Fear that the life that I wanted to live would end in a ball of flames a million Miles from home.
It literally made me sick.
Now does that mean that I am not fit to be commander-in-chief?
(Camera shutter clicks)
(Projector clicks)
(Camera shutters clicking)
No.
In fact, I've never felt more ready.
Weakness is our strength.
(Camera shutters clicking)
It's what makes us human.
It's where our compassion comes from. - I don't believe this.
Our humility.
All qualities that make for a great commander-in-chief.
You can't have someone protect you if they don't know what you're afraid of.
I know what you're afraid of.
I know what your son's afraid of.
Why?
Because I'm afraid of it, too.
(Applause)
(Jessica) Thank you.
Works for me.
Grant the protector.
Yeah.
Pull the file on Reston's stint as Baltimore D.A.
We're painting him as soft on crime.
Yeah.
(Applause, camera shutters clicking)
(Fitz) Good night.
You knocked it out of the park, sir.
Yeah?
Yeah.
(Laughs)
So that's how you're gonna win this thing, huh?
By taking out a hankie and crying?
She teed it up for you and you whiffed.
(Scoffs)
I know that I've won fewer elections than you.
But not because you were better than me, because you are not.
You are a petty man. You are an underhanded man.
You are a small man, and I don't want to be you, not now, not ever.
You're gonna lose this election, and it's gonna be the end of this so-called career of yours.
You're not cut out to lead.
You never were.
And I may be petty or whatever else you want to call me, but I'm a winner.
And that's something you'll never be.
(Chuckles)
(Gate clatters)
Mr. President, if I could have a word.
You're gonna need to move this stuff out of here, Sally.
Of course. I'll send someone right away.
What do you need?
I just wanted to congratulate you on kinyazi.
I didn't think a S.E.A.L. team was the way to go. I was wrong.
These things don't always break your way.
This time it did.
I always wanted to give you this.
It's a copy of my letter accepting your reinstatement.
When I questioned your readiness to serve, I was just thinking about our country, where it would leave us, how it would make us look to the world.
I wasn't rooting for you to fail or die.
The truth is, your getting sh*t was the scariest thing that ever happened to me.
I haven't slept a night during this whole time.
It is not easy being President.
Thank you, Sally.
You are welcome, Mr. President.
Got my boy sleeping with his phone under his pillow.
One call from me, this election's ours.
No. - We don't use him, we're gonna lose this thing.
Or maybe you thought that little math girlie was wrong about how everything's gonna shake out in Ohio.
I can't believe we are having this conversation.
Olivia, let's be practical.
Mm.
What do you want?
What?
What do you want out of this?
I don't know.
Verna here is gonna be supreme court justice first time there's a vacancy.
Cyrus is gonna be chief of staff.
Mellie... well, First Lady.
And what are you, Hollis?
I'm a guy everyone sitting here owes a favor to.
Olivia, you need to think about your future and decide...
What do you want?
It has to be unanimous.
Cyrus...
No, the only way we trust each other is if everybody's ass is on the line.
If it's not unanimous, we don't do it.
Then we don't do it.
(Sighs)
Governor?
Fitz, you all right?
My father had a heart att*ck and d*ed 20 minutes ago.
(Projector and camera shutter clicks)
It was a very nice funeral.
I liked what you said about your father.
It was a lie.
The story about the dog he got me for my 10th birthday, I made it up.
'Cause you can't get up at your father's funeral and tell the story about how you sat outside his office door on your 10th birthday and... listened to him bang his secretary.
(Grunts)
(Exhales)
I'm not sad.
I'm relieved.
I'm free.
(Wood clatters)
(Grunts)
And I want it, Liv.
(Axe clatters)
I want to win this election.
I'm going to win.
It's mine.
Do you think I'll make a good President?
I think you'll make a great President.
Put down the axe.
Put it down!
(Wood clatters)
Come here.
(Stifled crying)
(Sobs)
(Sobbing)
(Continues sobbing)
I'm changing my locks.
I wanted to talk to you, and I didn't want to wait in the hall.
We're done talking.
(Keys clatter)
I've been thinking about this. Everything.
And you were right.
It was sexist to suggest that you were in a relationship with the President.
I was to wrong to think that there was a conspiracy, that someone forged the President's signature.
I'm sorry.
I was wrong.
You forget that I know you too well.
And so I know when you are lying, Edison.
I love you.
I am in love with you, and I don't care what you've done, who you've loved... I don't care.
And if you will have me, I would very much like to marry you.
(Groans) You were incredible today.
I've never seen anything like it.
That press conference was flawless.
(Groans)
Struck just the right tone.
Presidential. Strong. Everything. Back to normal.
(Sighs) I was worried, I have to admit.
I was very worried. Something like this happens... a sh**ting or an accident...
You remember senator Hutchins. He was in that car accident.
Now he's quadriplegic, and his poor wife...
She has to change his diapers.
(Groans softly)
I can't even imagine.
Your life can change in an instant.
We were lucky.
You're back. You're you.
That is...
To have our life go back to the way it was...
Is a gift.
Everything's good. I'm grateful.
I'm so grateful.
And... honestly?
Your approval rating has never been higher.
You can have anything you want right now.
Anything. We should think about that.
We should take advantage of this moment politically.
But we have to be smart about it.
What do you think? What do you want?
If you could have anything...
I want a divorce.
You're telling me that even though there are 120 million people voting in this thing, all we care about is Ohio?
Our problem isn't Ohio.
Our problem is Franklin, Summit, and Defiance.
You're right. Take out those three counties, and this election is a statistical dead heat.
It could go either way.
Painting Reston as soft on crime has been a godsend.
There isn't any crime in Defiance?
I just do the math.
(Papers thud)
(Telephone ringing in distance)
I don't know how you can even consider...
It isn't my idea. Hollis...
Hollis is your guy.
Hollis is Fitz's guy.
Let's not play innocent here.
Fitz is clean. Fitz walks on water.
Fitz makes the fishes and the loaves.
And people like Hollis and me and you...
(Scoffs)
Don't roll your eyes.
You're one of us, Olivia.
We march behind him.
We sing his happy tune.
And then we pick up our hatchets, and we chop up the judases into bloody little pieces and dance around their corpses, because that is our job.
That is what we do. We take care of Fitz.
And we don't do it because we are believers, which we are.
We don't do it for the rush or the high or the power, which we are most certainly junkies for.
We do it because Fitz can't. He can't do it.
If he could do it, we wouldn't worship at his altar.
People like Fitz... They go down in history.
People like us, we create the history.
(Breath quavering)
We run this world so he can lead it.
In order to lead it, the people have to elect him, Cyrus.
The people have to find him worthy.
That's what I'm trying to tell you.
The way this world works, the people is you and me and Hollis and Mellie and Verna.
(Breathing heavily)
We're the people.
Cy...
No. It comes down to two questions, Olivia... does he deserve to be President?
And if you believe he does, do you think he can win it on his own?
If you can say "yes" to both, then we'll never discuss election rigging...
Ever again.
Do you think I'll make a good President?
He's the real deal.
Once in a generation.
You're gonna lose this election.
Do you think I'll make a good President?
Fitzgerald can't pull this off on his own.
I gotta win this election.
What do you want?
It's mine.
Think about your future.
I'm going to win...
I'm a winner.
...this election.
That's something you'll never be.
It's mine.
(Cyrus) It's a finite number of people, Mellie.
That's all I'm saying.
Cyrus, we are all working as hard as we can work.
I know. I know that.
So we tell them they just...
(Speaks indistinctly)
Yes.
Yes?
So you're...
In.
(Beep)
(Clears throat)
It's a go.
Good-bye, Edison.
Previously on "Scandal"...
Which one of you forged his signature?
I did.
It's a federal crime. It's treason.
I have a sworn affidavit saying that your husband has failed to so much as open his eyes.
(Cell phone rings) Hello?
Hi.
(Voice breaks) Hi.
(Projector and camera shutter clicking)
Oh, hi.
"Oh. Hi"?
(Keys jangle)
Hello, Edison.
Olivia.
What?
What's going on? With us.
(Files rustling) Nothing.
Nothing's going on with us?
Edison.
This serious boyfriend that you had, the one that you broke up with...
Look, I have a lot to do tomorrow, and I haven't had much sleep and I'm not in the mood to...
This serious boyfriend... Was it Fitzgerald Grant?
(Chuckles)
You're asking me if I was in a relationship with the President?
Yes.
He's married.
Yes.
He's the President.
Yes.
Is this a joke? Are you kidding?
I'm waiting for you to answer the question.
You're mad because I wouldn't let you into the President's hospital room?
Not mad. Concerned. Wary. Suspicious.
Don't be. - Because the President's not your boyfriend?
You really want to stop asking me that.
I've been racking my brain trying to find a reason why you'd be stupid enough to willingly attempt to defraud the American people, and the only reason I can come up with for why you'd be in so deep is because you were his mistress.
Five... that's sexist and insulting.
You'd never suggest Scooter Libby was screwing d*ck Cheney.
Four... the lengths you're going to try to twist this into a conspiracy are cause for concern.
You should speak to someone about that.
Three... the President is awake and talking, and the suggestion that he isn't is partisan political crap that I thought you had enough integrity to rise above.
Two... in the past three minutes, you've called me a criminal, a whore, an idiot, and a liar, so this is pretty much the last time we'll be speaking, so one...who I am or am not screwing, what am or am not doing, is no longer any of your damn business.
You forget how well I know you.
You this angry? You have something to hide.
I have been summoned to a meeting at the white house tomorrow with acting President Langston about the letter of reinstatement, which she says is a forgery.
(Scoffs)
And she's going to tell that to the entire cabinet first thing in the morning.
So if there's something that you want to tell me, do it now, when I still have time to help you.
(Beep)
Cyrus, we have a problem.
(Projector and camera shutter clicking)
Increasing our m*llitary presence in Asia costs money, Governor.
Which is why we'd have to shift our defense spend...
Can't just run to daddy and ask for the dough on this one.
(Laughter)
(Lowered voice) Use the att*ck line. att*ck line.
Go to my web site. Look at my spending plans.
Do the math.
Oh, no.
Now he's giving the voters homework.
Fiscal budget, we can afford to make this common reallocation.
I'm sorry, Governor. We have to move on.
I deserve a chance to respond.
You think you deserve everything, don't you, Governor?
(Laughter) No... (Chuckles)
No. If we could get back to medicare.
Look. Look. Governor Reston...
I can't.
Tell me when it's over.
You need 270 electoral college votes to win, right?
And you've got 188 locked up from the deep red states.
So you need a pickup of 82 votes, most likely from a combination of Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina.
So, basically, you can't afford to lose more than one of them.
And if I do?
You're toast.
Did the debate move the needle at all?
Not in your favor. I'm sorry, Governor.
Numbers don't lie.
(Projector and camera shutter clicks)
As the individual helping finance this little enterprise, I'd like to start feeling like I'm getting my money's worth.
We've still got a month left.
Plenty of time to turn things around.
That's just whistlin' past the graveyard.
We need to do something.
You have a suggestion?
Stack the deck.
I found a computer nerd of my own, says he can rig the election for Grant, easy as pie.
Very funny.
Am I laughing?
(Lowered voice) Okay. You saying "rig the election" on a campaign plane is like joking that you have a b*mb in the security line at the airport.
You don't do it unless you want to end up having your body cavities searched by big men with g*ns.
Whoa. Just trying to help.
We got a problem. I am a solution man.
Your solution is a felony.
Well, then, you're the fix-it gal.
Quit bitchin' and start pitchin'.
(Clears throat) Those numbers are fatal.
(Clears throat) What this campaign needs is a big pointy boot to kick it square in the ass.
I was thinking... (Sighs)
Maybe it's time we brought in help.
He's not gonna like it.
He will learn to like it.
We talking about Jerry?
Fitz's father? That's... that's brilliant.
I wondered why he wasn't on the trail.
I figured maybe his health wasn't good.
(Cyrus) Oh, it's good.
The good senator Fitzgerald Thomas Grant II's gonna bury us all.
Fitz has been very clear about his father.
He'll never agree to it.
That was then.
This is 10 points down.
(Projector and camera shutter clicking)
No! You know better! You know!
We are losing! We are lost!
I can win this on my own!
You have political capital! You need to start spending it!
(Lowered voice) I need to point out voices carry.
(Sighs) You might want to either lower the volume or continue this conversation in a room.
You talk to him. He actually listens to you.
(Beep, door opens and slams)
(Panting)
Fitz... Mm?
We're all concerned that the campaign needs a spark.
Your father could be it.
And I really don't want to discuss my father right now.
(Exhales) Mm.
Your father...
Is a national treasure.
Self-made man, two terms as...
Governor, 4-time senator. I know.
The image of him passing on the torch to his son...
That will ignite the base. The press loves him.
Everyone loves him.
I don't want him here.
He can help.
You need help right now.
You really think we're at that place?
We're at that place.
If I say yes, will you stop talking about the campaign for the next 20 minutes?
Why?
Hmm...
(Gasps)
The b*llet tore through your frontal lobe.
We managed the swelling, and with any luck, the effects you see will be minimal.
Effects such as?
Dizziness, fatigue, irritability.
The symptoms we commonly associate with concussions.
And if they're not?
Our frontal lobes control executive function.
So sometimes in patients we've seen an inability to make decisions, a shorter attention span.
We've had patients who haven't been able to write, patients who suffer from aphasia.
Aphasia?
Speech impairment?
Either you can't speak at all, or if you can, it's hard to find your words.
We'll also be on the lookout for changes in personality.
It all depends on the patient.
That's why I want to get a neurology team in here pronto and see where we are.
So when can I get back to work?
Assuming there's no permanent damage, three weeks.
(Sighs)
Walking across a room will feel like a marathon.
(Knock on door) Am I interrupting?
Thank you, doctor.
(Woman speaking indistinctly over P.A.)
(Door closes) What is it?
I'm afraid we have a Sally Langston problem.
(Projector and camera shutter clicking)
The letter of reinstatement submitted on behalf of President Grant was entirely premature.
Regrettably, he is not in any sort of condition to resume the powers and responsibilities of this office at this time.
Understanding, as always, that our first and only duty is to the American people, I have prepared a document for your signatures declaring that we are left no choice but to challenge President Grant's fitness...(Door opens)
To again assume...
Morning, everyone.
Sorry I'm late.
Are we sure this was a good idea?
He's just gonna show his face, shake a few hands, hear ten minutes of the briefing, and go back to bed, and Sally disappears forever into that political black hole called the vice presidency.
He's looking great!
Guy's a medical miracle.
Madame vice President, how are you today?
(Laughs)
(Laughs)
That was small of me. I need to work on that. (Chuckles)
I need a fresh shirt.
Ask Izzie to send one down for me.
Why don't you we get you up to bed?
I have to get down to the sit room.
Fitz, you did it. You're back.
You're President. You have nothing to prove.
Until Sally Langston puts a letter on my desk accepting my reinstatement, I have everything to prove.
Have I thanked you for that, by the way?
For forging my signature and forcing me out of the hospital before my stitches had healed to save you from jail and keep my job?
Thank you.
(Sighs)
I can't show any weakness.
This is not a show of weakness.
You were sh*t. You've made a miraculous recovery.
No one is expecting you to spend five hours in a m*llitary briefing.
Sally Langston is dancing around the fire.
She's not gonna stop until my head's on a stick.
They need to see me, not her, being commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
I need a clean shirt.
And that's the difference between Governor Reston and me.
My plan provides for $2 trillion in discretionary spending.
Just say "spending cuts."
"Discretionary" confuses people.
$2 trillion in spending cuts, which will save Americans money and stimulate growth.
Ah, to hell with spending cuts! I want my taxes lowered!
(People murmuring) We titans of industry built this nation.
We deserve to get a little relief in these difficult economic times.
Everybody seems to forget that the rich need help, too.
Boy, that sounded better in my head than it did out loud, didn't it?
(Laughter)
Jerry! (Laughing)
(Laughing)
We are so glad that you came.
Anything for you. Oh.
Mwah!
(Laughs)
Good to see you, Jer.
Hello, Fitzgerald.
Dad.
Everybody, why don't we take a break?
No, no, no. Keep working. I'm just furniture.
(People murmuring)
Hello.
(Man) - Good to see you, Jerry.
Hi.
Where was I?
(Olivia) Uh, save Americans money, stimulate growth.
Save Americans money and stimulate growth while reducing the national debt by $5 trillion over the next 10 years from a deficit that right now increases by an average of $3.68 billion a d...
Wait, wait, this isn't a funeral, son.
Perk up! You got the looks. Add the charm. (Chuckles)
As I was saying...
(Jerry) - Okay, go on.
$5 trillion from a deficit that right now increases by an average of $3.68 billion a day.
A day.
When I am President, I would...
Uh, no, no, no. Nobody wants to hear all that math.
Here. Let me show you how it's done.
Up, up, up!
(People murmuring)
Pleasure. (Sighs)
All right, sweetheart. Feed it to me.
A lot of people think this election is about the economy. - Mm-hmm.
Tell us what differentiates your economic plan from Governor Reston's.
A mother is standing on the sidewalk, choking.
She's, uh, swallowed a penny accidentally, and it's lodged in her throat.
A man in a suit comes by, gives her the heimlich, and out pops the penny.
Well, the... the woman says...
(Mouths words)
"Gosh darn, I can't thank you enough."
And the guy in the suit said...
(Chuckles) "Oh... Oh, no, I'm not a doctor.
I'm from the I.R.S. and he snatched the penny and he ran off.
That's what's gonna happen if this guy wins the election.
Next question.
(Laughter and applause)
(People laughing hysterically)
(Jerry) No! No! That's not the best part.
I come back from Nevada after watching them test a hydrogen b*mb, and I see these bruises on my chest.
So I go to an oncologist, and I say, "look at these bruises!
"I think I've been exposed to radiation.
What should I do?"
And he looks at me and he looks at my bruises, and he says, "Nevada?"
And I go, "yeah."
He goes, "Jerry, that's from leaning too hard against the craps table."
(Laughter)
No, Verna was there. She remembers.
Well, I was more of a poker girl.
(Jerry) - Ah!
I bet she was.
(Laughter)
So when do you hit Florida?
Thursday. You think you can join us, Jer?
Hey...
(Fitz) - No.
You stump in Oregon. I'll handle Florida myself.
(Laughs) Son...
Oh, no. You need me in Florida.
No, I don't.
These young boys today.
They think they invented politics.
(Chuckling) We definitely want you in Florida.
Did I say I want him in Florida?
(Mouths words) Look, I realize you don't think I know anything, but I've done more in the past 20 years than you'll do in an entire lifetime.
You'll want me in Florida.
Unless you want to lose. Do you want to lose, son?
(Scoffs)
(Swallows and sighs)
We'd be glad to have you.
So can I ask about your campaign strategy?
No.
Honey. Why didn't you dig enough dirt on Reston? (Liquid pouring)
We've had a clean campaign so far.
Fitz wants to keep it that way. I think it's admirable.
Well, I think it's weak. You want to win the presidency, you have to att*ck, be strong. Finish off your competition!
You know this from experience?
Fitz.
No, dad's giving me advice. I'm just wondering if it's from his vast experience running for President.
Oh, yeah, you never ran, did you?
'Cause men who get caught sleeping with prostitutes don't get to be leader of the free world.
Right?
Who wants coffee?
What was her name? Charity? No, it was Hope.
Hard to forget that name.
You really kept hope alive, didn't you, dad?
Fitz.
No, Hope is alive.
Mom's dead, though.
(Mellie) - Enough.
(Fitz sighs)
(Sets down glass)
Jerry, I'm so sorry.
It's fine.
We have all had a long day. Hmm?
And I think I'm gonna turn in.
Mwah! (Kisses) Mm.
Mm. Mm.
(Chuckles and kisses)
(Lowered voice) We'll talk about this in the morning.
(Elevator bell dings)
(Sighs and mutters)
(Indistinct conversations)
(Clears throat)
You didn't wait for me.
It's late. We can talk in the morning.
Or we can go to your room, talk there.
Or...
Not talk.
(Sighs)
Fitz, you're drunk.
And you're sad.
You should get to bed.
(Slurring) - I'm trying to get to bed.
Stop it.
Come on. Really, no. No.
You want to talk, we can talk.
We can get a cup of coffee, you can sober up, but... mnh-mnh. Mnh.
(Stammering) No... Come on.
(Elevator bell dings) Stop it.
Fitzgerald.
(Head thuds) Oh...
(Sighs)
Um...
I'm sorry. I'm...
Sorry.
(Sighs)
Mellie...
I wanted to apologize for Fitz.
That's not like him, but he has had too much to drink.
And he has always had problems with his father, and I just...
He respects you. He needs you.
We both do, and...
I just don't want what happened here tonight...
I'm so sorry. I am.
I know how you must feel, and I am so sorry.
It's okay.
Really. I'm fine.
You don't have to apologize to me.
I don't know what he'd do without you.
I don't know what I would do without you. (Chuckles)
(Breathes deeply)
(Projector and camera shutter clicking)
The trouble with precision air strikes is they're not precise.
There's too much collateral damage.
Again, I think we should have a S.E.A.L. team go in and either capture or k*ll...
Kinyazi.
The east Sudan leader.
Send in a S.E.A.L. team to capture or k*ll Kinyazi.
Yes, exactly.
Thank you all.
Mr. President. Mr. President.
(Projector and camera shutter clicking)
There's no such thing as a clean campaign! (Sighs)
It's an oxymoron!
From now on, you're...
There's still time to call Hollis.
It's the only way that you're gonna win this!
We don't have to put up with this.
(Shouting continues)
So we rig an election instead, Cyrus?
I'm just saying it's an option.
I'm kidding.
(Door opens)
My son and I have had a talk.
We're gonna need oppo on Reston. Everything...
S.A.T. scores, parking tickets.
If he didn't put the seat down once, we want to hear about it.
Sir, with all due respect...
As I said before, we've been running a clean campaign since the primary.
Well, now I'm telling you to get me some dirt that we can pin on Reston.
Sir, we don't work for you.
We work for the Governor.
(Scoffs)
Do we bring pillows to a Kn*fe fight, son? - No, sir.
Do we wanna run a real campaign?
Yes, sir.
There you go.
Do what he says.
(Projector and camera shutter clicking)
Harrison Wright, Abby Whelan.
The pleasure's all mine. Hi.
Hi. Listen, we gotta make this quick.
I got a meeting with the parole officer in half an hour.
(Breathes deeply)
(Door opens) Oh, God.
Oh.
I think he's coming over here.
(Murmuring)
I'm Huck.
I brought you all here to dig up some dirt on the Reston campaign...
Disgruntled ex-girlfriends, old coworkers...
Whatever we can find. The dirtier, the better.
(Projector and camera shutter clicking)
So this is politics, huh?
(Olivia) - What about Mrs. Reston's accounts?
(Huck) Clean.
(Abby) So have you known the restons a long time?
(Harrison) Talk to me. What haven't they uncovered?
He was a rager. Crashed his car into a tree after a Christmas party.
Excellent. The only witness is a loyal, and there's no public record, so...
So dead intel. Abby?
He was a man-whore. With a temper.
How bad? - He had a bevy of pi-phis at his Beck and call.
Lots of them are still bitter about his less-than-chivalrous dating style.
But then he met Joan and mellowed out.
(Projector and camera shutter clicking) Stayed true, as far as I can tell.
When did he meet Joan?
'87.
Around the same time he quit drinking.
You know, perhaps we need more experienced and...
House-trained people on this.
Sir, these people... No more excuses.
If we don't get something on Reston, something that sticks, we may just as well pull all of our ads, pack up camp.
Fitzgerald can't pull this off on his own.
You know it and I know it.
(Projector and camera shutter clicks)
We put all the lipstick we can on this pig.
It's time to pony up and seriously consider all the options. There are no options, Hollis.
Yes, there are. I'm not saying I agree with it, but we should discuss it.
(Lowered voice) Election rigging is not an option.
(Lowered voice) I'm talking about doing a patriotic thing.
You're not serious.
I may be a son of a bitch, but Fitz is clean as a whistle.
Am I right, Cyrus?
He's the real deal.
A patriot. A believer.
How rare is that? How often does that come along?
Once in a generation, if you're lucky.
I'm just saying, this is our chance to put a man with integrity inside that big white house.
So you want to do this because Fitz is so good? Really?
Doesn't matter why I want to do it.
It matters why you'd want to.
What are we talking about?
(Normal voice) Nothing.
(Normal voice) Pull up a chair, Mellie.
Let's have a discussion.
Fitz is out on his feet. He's weak, has trouble concentrating, plain as day.
Presiding over a national security crisis...
It's damn near treason.
He's nixed the air strikes.
Ooh. He's what?
Do I bring him before congress, expose his unfitness to the American people?
No. No. You do nothing.
Just let him hang himself with his own lasso.
Mulish pridefulness about provin' himself has always been that boy's Achilles' heel goin' back to him and his daddy.
All you got to do is lay back, be set, step in once he crashes and burns.
Your dad is helping.
The numbers are giving you good news.
Although...
Although?
You're still 7 points down overall.
(Groans)
Come on!
How was this not fixed earlier? You!
You have done this before, right?
This is not your first time plugging in a microphone?
We did hire someone who knows how to do this job, right?!
Governor. That's Jason.
And he's almost done fixing the sound system.
He just needs a minute.
This is a town hall forum.
You got people spread all around the room, and I cannot hear what they are saying!
What's the point of a debate prep if I can't debate?
Everyone, good work. But let's call it a night.
(Sighs) Go home, get some sleep.
We'll start here again at 7:00 A.M.
Not you.
Those people are working their butts off for you.
Then we need better people.
Or we need a better candidate.
Screw you.
I am getting k*lled in these debates.
I lose votes in these debates. I need to be prepared.
Which is what we were doing when you started yelling at people.
I am yelling because no one is doing their job.
Your job is to make sure I win.
Good.
I was worried you thought my job is to get felt up in elevators by my drunken candidate.
I'm sorry about that. You know I'm sorry about that.
Do you even want this?
What?
Do you even want to be President?
Obviously.
Is it obvious? I'm running.
You're running like you're being chased.
You're not running like you want to cross the finish line first, and so I'm asking you, do you want it?
Or are you just wasting everyone's time and money and energy and faith and hopes and dreams?!
I want it.
Why?
Liv. - Why do you want to be the President?
Okay, Olivia. Why?!
I don't know what you want me to say!
That's your problem. You're always trying to say what you think everyone wants to hear, be what you think everyone wants you to be, and I should have caught it before.
I would have if we weren't...
(Sighs)
I know you...
Because you let me know you.
But America has no idea who you are, because you've never let them know who you are.
Nobody can tell you how to do that.
I can't fix that, because I'm not running for President.
Neither is Cyrus, neither is your father, so who are you, and why do you want to be President?
Mellie came to me. I tried to stop it, but...
(Sighs) He's Fitz.
He'll look okay on tv, but...
What? - The man is supposed to be in the hospital, and instead he's been working all day.
(Lowered voice) I don't think he'll last on his feet more than 30 seconds. You have to shut this down.
(Indistinct conversations)
(Door closes)
I hear someone is being stubborn.
Cyrus sent you.
It might not be wise to answer questions on live tv in your condition.
It might not be wise, but that's what I'm gonna do.
Mind telling me why?
What you said.
I'm stubborn.
(Exhales)
(Exhales and chuckles)
(Exhales)
You almost d*ed.
Yes.
Don't do it again.
Okay.
(Kisses)
(Sighs)
You can't do this press conference.
You're not strong enough... Not yet.
I'm doing the press conference.
Tell me why. Tell me why it's so important to you.
(Groans softly)
This is my office.
I'm the President.
They can sh**t me if they want to, but I'm not going anywhere, because the people of this country elected me to this office, and the people deserve to see me and to know that I'm in charge.
(Knock on door)
(Door opens and closes)
Well?
He's doing the press conference...
Live.
And he's going to take questions.
And it's gonna be great.
And it's gonna be great.
(Exhales)
Reston's narrative is that he was an angry young man until meeting his wife Joan, who turned him into the upstanding public servant he is today.
Turns out it wasn't love that fixed him.
It was Prozac.
Hmm.
(Projector and camera shutter clicks)
But this isn't Reston's.
We pulled it from his trash.
His doctors hide it under a bunch of fake names, but they all lead back to Samuel Montrose Reston.
Fluoxetine.
60 milligrams a day.
For the past 20 years. That's a pretty heavy habit.
My suggestion, if we choose to go forward with this, is to leak rumors of prescription drug abuse to the press before the final debate.
It will take over the news cycle and prevent Reston from being able to prepare properly.
That's a fine suggestion, honey, but that's not what we're gonna do.
We're gonna sit on it until the debate itself.
And then you're gonna work it into one of your answers and blindside Reston and send him up a creek without a paddle and demolish him in the process.
(Olivia) - Ahh.
(Jerry chuckles) - Huh?
If you need a rest or don't know the answer to a question, take a sip of water. This is a press conference.
This is a town hall-style debate...
Real Americans with real questions looking to you for real answers. Put them... at ease. This isn't about m*llitary strategy.
It's about convincing the American people that their commander-in-chief is not just back, but up to the job.
So I wait for a question about the m*llitary?
That's when you drop the b*mb.
Give them a choice between a candidate who's flown combat missions and a candidate who takes antidepressants.
Got it? Got it?
Fitz?
I got it.
Good.
Now show them who you are.
(Indistinct conversations)
(Applause)
(Camera shutters clicking)
At 5:00 this evening eastern standard time, a U.S. Navy S.E.A.L.team parachuted into east Sudan and captured its President, Nijam Kinyazi.
(Reston) The Governor's posturing, Carl.
He wants you to believe that he's trustworthy, that he's his father.
He's not his father. His father was a self-made man.
The Governor... he was made on a boarding school assembly line.
He can't relate to you.
(Camera shutter clicks)
(Reporters shouting questions)
(Under breath) Here we go.
Yes, Carol?
What were the casualties?
None on our side.
And theirs?
I don't have numbers for you yet, but I'm told there were several, all non-civilian.
(Reporters shouting questions) Yeah. Peter?
Having just survived an assassination attempt, is there any concern about P.T.S.D. or impaired brain functioning that could affect your judgment?
(Shutters clicking)
(Reporters murmuring)
Oh, boy.
(Clicking continues)
(Moderator) The next question is for Governor Grant, and it's from Jessica Moran.
Jessica.
Governor Grant...
Hi, Jessica.
As the mother of an 18-year-old boy who's about to enlist in the army, why should I trust you as our next commander-in-chief?
(Under breath) This is it.
You know, people talk about a lack of patriotism in our country.
They're wrong.
And your son is proof of that.
Now, as for whether you should trust me as commander-in-chief...
Say it.
(Chuckles)
What I should say is that I've served in the m*llitary, and I've flown combat missions, and the courage that I exhibited makes me fit to lead this country.
That's what I should say, because my pollsters and aides and advisors tell me that's what you want to hear.
What the hell's he doing?
But the truth is, Jessica...
Those years I spent in the Navy...
It wasn't courage I felt.
It was fear.
Fear that I'd crash.
Fear that the life that I wanted to live would end in a ball of flames a million Miles from home.
It literally made me sick.
Now does that mean that I am not fit to be commander-in-chief?
(Camera shutter clicks)
(Projector clicks)
(Camera shutters clicking)
No.
In fact, I've never felt more ready.
Weakness is our strength.
(Camera shutters clicking)
It's what makes us human.
It's where our compassion comes from. - I don't believe this.
Our humility.
All qualities that make for a great commander-in-chief.
You can't have someone protect you if they don't know what you're afraid of.
I know what you're afraid of.
I know what your son's afraid of.
Why?
Because I'm afraid of it, too.
(Applause)
(Jessica) Thank you.
Works for me.
Grant the protector.
Yeah.
Pull the file on Reston's stint as Baltimore D.A.
We're painting him as soft on crime.
Yeah.
(Applause, camera shutters clicking)
(Fitz) Good night.
You knocked it out of the park, sir.
Yeah?
Yeah.
(Laughs)
So that's how you're gonna win this thing, huh?
By taking out a hankie and crying?
She teed it up for you and you whiffed.
(Scoffs)
I know that I've won fewer elections than you.
But not because you were better than me, because you are not.
You are a petty man. You are an underhanded man.
You are a small man, and I don't want to be you, not now, not ever.
You're gonna lose this election, and it's gonna be the end of this so-called career of yours.
You're not cut out to lead.
You never were.
And I may be petty or whatever else you want to call me, but I'm a winner.
And that's something you'll never be.
(Chuckles)
(Gate clatters)
Mr. President, if I could have a word.
You're gonna need to move this stuff out of here, Sally.
Of course. I'll send someone right away.
What do you need?
I just wanted to congratulate you on kinyazi.
I didn't think a S.E.A.L. team was the way to go. I was wrong.
These things don't always break your way.
This time it did.
I always wanted to give you this.
It's a copy of my letter accepting your reinstatement.
When I questioned your readiness to serve, I was just thinking about our country, where it would leave us, how it would make us look to the world.
I wasn't rooting for you to fail or die.
The truth is, your getting sh*t was the scariest thing that ever happened to me.
I haven't slept a night during this whole time.
It is not easy being President.
Thank you, Sally.
You are welcome, Mr. President.
Got my boy sleeping with his phone under his pillow.
One call from me, this election's ours.
No. - We don't use him, we're gonna lose this thing.
Or maybe you thought that little math girlie was wrong about how everything's gonna shake out in Ohio.
I can't believe we are having this conversation.
Olivia, let's be practical.
Mm.
What do you want?
What?
What do you want out of this?
I don't know.
Verna here is gonna be supreme court justice first time there's a vacancy.
Cyrus is gonna be chief of staff.
Mellie... well, First Lady.
And what are you, Hollis?
I'm a guy everyone sitting here owes a favor to.
Olivia, you need to think about your future and decide...
What do you want?
It has to be unanimous.
Cyrus...
No, the only way we trust each other is if everybody's ass is on the line.
If it's not unanimous, we don't do it.
Then we don't do it.
(Sighs)
Governor?
Fitz, you all right?
My father had a heart att*ck and d*ed 20 minutes ago.
(Projector and camera shutter clicks)
It was a very nice funeral.
I liked what you said about your father.
It was a lie.
The story about the dog he got me for my 10th birthday, I made it up.
'Cause you can't get up at your father's funeral and tell the story about how you sat outside his office door on your 10th birthday and... listened to him bang his secretary.
(Grunts)
(Exhales)
I'm not sad.
I'm relieved.
I'm free.
(Wood clatters)
(Grunts)
And I want it, Liv.
(Axe clatters)
I want to win this election.
I'm going to win.
It's mine.
Do you think I'll make a good President?
I think you'll make a great President.
Put down the axe.
Put it down!
(Wood clatters)
Come here.
(Stifled crying)
(Sobs)
(Sobbing)
(Continues sobbing)
I'm changing my locks.
I wanted to talk to you, and I didn't want to wait in the hall.
We're done talking.
(Keys clatter)
I've been thinking about this. Everything.
And you were right.
It was sexist to suggest that you were in a relationship with the President.
I was to wrong to think that there was a conspiracy, that someone forged the President's signature.
I'm sorry.
I was wrong.
You forget that I know you too well.
And so I know when you are lying, Edison.
I love you.
I am in love with you, and I don't care what you've done, who you've loved... I don't care.
And if you will have me, I would very much like to marry you.
(Groans) You were incredible today.
I've never seen anything like it.
That press conference was flawless.
(Groans)
Struck just the right tone.
Presidential. Strong. Everything. Back to normal.
(Sighs) I was worried, I have to admit.
I was very worried. Something like this happens... a sh**ting or an accident...
You remember senator Hutchins. He was in that car accident.
Now he's quadriplegic, and his poor wife...
She has to change his diapers.
(Groans softly)
I can't even imagine.
Your life can change in an instant.
We were lucky.
You're back. You're you.
That is...
To have our life go back to the way it was...
Is a gift.
Everything's good. I'm grateful.
I'm so grateful.
And... honestly?
Your approval rating has never been higher.
You can have anything you want right now.
Anything. We should think about that.
We should take advantage of this moment politically.
But we have to be smart about it.
What do you think? What do you want?
If you could have anything...
I want a divorce.
You're telling me that even though there are 120 million people voting in this thing, all we care about is Ohio?
Our problem isn't Ohio.
Our problem is Franklin, Summit, and Defiance.
You're right. Take out those three counties, and this election is a statistical dead heat.
It could go either way.
Painting Reston as soft on crime has been a godsend.
There isn't any crime in Defiance?
I just do the math.
(Papers thud)
(Telephone ringing in distance)
I don't know how you can even consider...
It isn't my idea. Hollis...
Hollis is your guy.
Hollis is Fitz's guy.
Let's not play innocent here.
Fitz is clean. Fitz walks on water.
Fitz makes the fishes and the loaves.
And people like Hollis and me and you...
(Scoffs)
Don't roll your eyes.
You're one of us, Olivia.
We march behind him.
We sing his happy tune.
And then we pick up our hatchets, and we chop up the judases into bloody little pieces and dance around their corpses, because that is our job.
That is what we do. We take care of Fitz.
And we don't do it because we are believers, which we are.
We don't do it for the rush or the high or the power, which we are most certainly junkies for.
We do it because Fitz can't. He can't do it.
If he could do it, we wouldn't worship at his altar.
People like Fitz... They go down in history.
People like us, we create the history.
(Breath quavering)
We run this world so he can lead it.
In order to lead it, the people have to elect him, Cyrus.
The people have to find him worthy.
That's what I'm trying to tell you.
The way this world works, the people is you and me and Hollis and Mellie and Verna.
(Breathing heavily)
We're the people.
Cy...
No. It comes down to two questions, Olivia... does he deserve to be President?
And if you believe he does, do you think he can win it on his own?
If you can say "yes" to both, then we'll never discuss election rigging...
Ever again.
Do you think I'll make a good President?
He's the real deal.
Once in a generation.
You're gonna lose this election.
Do you think I'll make a good President?
Fitzgerald can't pull this off on his own.
I gotta win this election.
What do you want?
It's mine.
Think about your future.
I'm going to win...
I'm a winner.
...this election.
That's something you'll never be.
It's mine.
(Cyrus) It's a finite number of people, Mellie.
That's all I'm saying.
Cyrus, we are all working as hard as we can work.
I know. I know that.
So we tell them they just...
(Speaks indistinctly)
Yes.
Yes?
So you're...
In.
(Beep)
(Clears throat)
It's a go.