Previously on The West Wing:
The RNC has a team of lawyers
who wanna file for a re-count.
- No.
- If this happens...
...and you don't challenge it,
you'll regret it for the rest of your life.
Gonna get the mail.
We'll need a few minutes
to shut down the street.
To walk to the mailbox?
To have a hot dog,
everyone had to be issued ID pins.
Get the president-elect on the phone.
I wanna congratulate him.
Arnie Vinick made this
a better campaign...
... and he's made this
a better country for all of us.
Santos! Santos! Santos!
We have the cold front
moving into the Midwest.
It's expected to drop a foot of snow
in downtown Des Moines...
... and at least inches
in outlying areas.
We got reports in the last hour
of flurries in Washaw County...
Gentlemen, good morning.
Good to see you again.
How you been?
- Good morning.
- Good morning, sir.
This is Senator Vinick's office.
No one can take your call
at the moment.
Senator, what are you doing here?
My office, isn't it?
At least for another month.
- Where's Sheila?
- Had a breakfast meeting.
- Job interview.
- With who?
- Royce.
- Majority leader wants her, huh?
Everybody wants her.
Seems like every message I take now
is a job offer for Sheila.
I wanna call every state-party chairman,
starting with Iowa and New Hampshire.
Thank them for what they did.
Should I pack and ship these,
or do you...?
- Did you hear me?
- Yeah. State-party chairmen. Sure.
- Today.
- I'll go get a list.
I wanna call every member
of my fundraising committee.
Send letters to the big contributors.
Oh, and I should call
every Republican governor.
Give me that set of cards
you were keeping on everybody...
...in every state we were in.
Again, I don't want to start making
announcements about cabinet posts...
...until we have first made a decision
about the vice-presidency...
...which you all know
is very important.
I thank you all.
- Thank you.
- Very busy day today. Thank you.
I wanted to thank you again
for all your hard work...
...and let you know if there's
ever anything I can do for you...
...I'll be on the next plane out of here.
Okay. Thanks, Al.
- Who's next?
- Hey.
To what do we owe the honor?
I need to make some calls.
- Senator Vinick's office.
- We could use help with the boxes.
- So Royce, huh?
- Maybe.
Is he gonna run for president?
He knows he has no chance.
But I told him to keep buzz going,
it'll help fundraising.
He wants you to run
the majority leader's office?
Dr. Wexler says they can move
your physical to today, but...
- Good. I wanna get that done.
- But you gotta get there now.
Annie, get the "thank you" letters done,
and I'll sign them when I get back.
I want minutes with every Republican
senator before they kick me out.
Not too many of them around
with the Senate out of session.
I'll go to their home states if I have to.
I gotta thank them, let them know...
Hey, tell Bob I wanna
go over the exit polls with him later.
Who's gonna tell him?
- What?
- That the campaign is over.
Adam, I am not trying to tell you
or the Times how to cover a story.
What I am saying is that if you report
that he's picked a vice president...
...you will make the best paper
in America very, very wrong.
Yes, senator, the president-elect will
certainly take that into consideration.
- This is Linda.
- I have an aunt named Linda.
That's great. Do you have
any friends named Linda?
- No.
- Well, you do now.
And this is Kevin.
Linda and Kevin are gonna be with you
most of the time.
Now, because a lot of people
know who your dad is...
- Everyone knows who my dad is.
- I guess you're right.
Some of them might try to talk to him
or get a message to him through you.
- You think that's a good idea?
- No?
That's right, Peter.
We need talk V.P.
If anyone tries to do that, you should
tell Linda or Kevin about it right away.
And they'll give the message
to my dad?
Well, it's not quite that simple.
Our lawyers now have a legal theory...
...your electoral delegates can vote for
whomever they want for vice president.
- Theory?
- No precedent. Theory's best we can do.
Supported by four former Democratic
and Republican attorneys general.
And they'll say so publicly?
They'll take out a full-page ad
in the New York Times.
By which I mean they'll sign
a full-page ad if we pay for it.
As will a handful of former
solicitors general from both parties.
So I can pick whoever I want
and the Electoral College will elect him?
- Republicans might challenge it in court.
- But we'll win?
- Might take a while.
- You done here?
- We're just...
- It's scary in there.
The kids seem okay with it.
How would you feel
if you were years old...
...and people with g*ns were telling you
they're gonna take over your life?
- Sorry. This is my fault.
- Nothing to do with you.
What you are talking about can wait.
What we're talking about
is keeping your children alive.
Your hand healed
faster than I expected.
Maybe that's because I went from
a thousand handshakes a day to none.
I'll have your blood-cholesterol levels
in a few days.
If they're anything like last year,
you got nothing to worry about.
Did you get much exercise
on the campaign trail?
None.
Lot of stress.
I hear that keeps you young.
If I had your stress levels...
...you'd have been called on to deliver
an eloquent eulogy for me years ago.
- So?
- So you're fine.
- Fine?
- You're in great shape.
- For a man my age?
- For a man half your age.
You're kind of a medical miracle,
actually, huh?
President Bartlet and the first lady...
... are on their way to Brussels today
for the president's last G meeting...
... where the crisis in Kazakhstan...
Do you have the list
for assistant secretary of defense?
There are assistant secretaries of
defense. Stay focused on the big stuff.
All right, let me take another look
at the file for State.
Kansas City Star wants me to confirm
or deny Keenitz for Agriculture.
- How did that leak?
- Once the FBI starts background checks...
...neighbors figure it out.
- Leak other names.
It might pull press heat
off the V.P. Selection.
I've decided on a V.P.
Do we have Nancy McNally's
financial-disclosure statement?
- Who is your choice for vice president?
- Baker.
You should announce that right away.
And publicly ask Democratic electors
to vote for Baker...
...when Electoral College meets.
- Only way we get Baker.
If you wait and submit Baker
for confirmation...
...Republicans won't let you have him.
They won't confirm a strong V.P. Who
could win the presidency in eight years.
Handing this off to the Electoral College
just doesn't feel right.
The American people will not stand...
...for people they've never heard of
electing a V.P.
People don't care. They don't vote V.P.
They vote the top of the ticket.
If he has to take over
the presidency...
...then people should know
how he got there.
If he goes through
a congressional confirmation...
...hearings of the House,
the Senate, the works...
...the country will know everything
about him before he takes office.
If you're gonna submit a name
to Congress, it can't be Baker.
Got a lot of offers to sit on boards.
All the pharmaceuticals want you,
all the airlines.
As your lawyer, I have to advise you
to avoid the bankrupt ones...
...unless you love
giving depositions all day.
- I don't wanna sit on boards.
- Letters to governors.
- Great.
- You don't have to do anything...
...as a member of a board of directors.
Show up a few times a year.
Hundred thousand in salary
and more in stock options.
You sit on half-a-dozen boards,
you're making...
Wouldn't look good.
Who cares what it looks like?
No offense, Arnie, but nobody
notices what former senators do.
What else you got?
Lot of university offers.
You can write your own ticket.
Full-time faculty, guest lecturer,
whatever you wanna teach...
- Where?
- NYU, Princeton, Penn...
University of Pennsylvania?
Yeah. UVA, Duke, Emory, Florida State,
Ohio Wesleyan, and William and Mary.
All right, let's do guest lecturer at Penn,
Florida State and Ohio Wesleyan.
- All three?
- I can write my own ticket, or not?
They'll go along with it.
- But why do you wanna spend...?
- What offers do we have in California?
You don't wanna be
the official greeter at a vineyard, do you?
Twenty-one and a half.
Obviously that violates Houston's
zoning laws, but we can get a waiver.
This fence is essential to securing...
...the perimeter of your property.
- Twenty-one feet high?
Well, that's because the homes
next door are so close to yours.
What's this?
The guardhouse
we'll build on the sidewalk.
Everyone:
Friends, delivery men, etcetera...
...will have to pass through
to get into your house.
Does it have to be so big?
It's smaller than we usually build.
- Trying to blend into the neighborhood.
- Really? Who else has a guardhouse?
The plans might be able
to be reined in a bit...
...depending on how often
the first family is gonna use the house.
Use it? We're going to be living in it.
We've decided to let the kids
finish their school year in Houston...
...and then bring them
to the White House in June.
So the first lady and the children...
...will be living there full-time until June?
- Pretty much.
Could you excuse me a minute?
- Is there a problem?
- He's gotta let the director know.
- Gonna put a lot of strain on the PPD.
- PPD?
Presidential Protective Division.
Permanent split in the family's
gonna stretch us thin.
- Not a permanent split.
- I understand.
But we're really not set up
for the president and the first lady...
...to be apart more than a couple weeks:
International trips, that sort of thing.
Got the exit polls for him.
Great. Now he can really obsess
over why he lost.
- You gotta talk to him about money.
- You're his oldest friend.
- If you can't get through to him, I can't.
- He's refusing to join boards.
He just wants to do guest lecturing...
...at universities in Pennsylvania,
Ohio and Florida.
He's gonna be bored to death...
...and he won't be able to afford
the Republican lifestyle he deserves.
My apology, sir.
The director would like...
...to redo the security plan
for your home...
...including sealing the street
with guardhouses at each end.
Sealing the street?
Only residents to drive on the street.
All visitors to any house on the street
have to pass through the guardhouses.
We'll check social security and birthdays,
same as the White House.
Our neighbors become
prisoners in their homes?
- They'll be on the...
- Safest street in Houston.
Excuse us.
- You okay?
- No.
- They're just trying to do their job...
- This is not gonna work.
We should all move to the White House
with you in January.
We better start looking
for schools for the kids, huh?
Yeah.
Hey, Bob, you got the exit polls?
Right here. Pretty simple.
We lost Nevada by , votes
because of the nuclear accident.
- What page is Nevada?
- Right here.
You're not set for life, you know.
Jim tell you I don't wanna
waste time on boards?
I think he mentioned
something about that, yeah.
My Senate pension will be plenty.
I'll pick up pocket change
on the lecture circuit.
- Where's the demographic breakdown?
- Take a job with a D.C. law firm.
I won't do lobbying.
It wouldn't look good.
- You wouldn't have to do any lobbying.
- Wouldn't look good?
Lecturing in Pennsylvania,
Ohio and Florida?
Are you thinking about running again?
Flip , votes in Nevada,
and I win.
Senator, you can't be
seriously thinking about...
Doctor says I'm in great shape.
Tell me who the front-runner...
...for the Republican nomination
is gonna be, huh?
One of the seven dwarfs
that I just b*at?
Those guys have "loser"
written all over them.
Ray Sullivan's a front-runner already.
Everybody said he did a great job...
...with the V.P. Campaign.
- I created Ray Sullivan.
Where would he be
if I didn't put him on the ticket?
- He won't run if I run.
- You wanna bet on that?
Everyone in the Republican Party
knows I had this locked...
...until the nuclear accident.
That would k*ll any Republican candidate.
The party can't blame me for that.
We would have had
an Electoral College landslide if...
Look. Look. Look at these exit polls.
Nuclear power was the number one issue
all over the West.
That's not gonna happen next time.
Everything will be back to normal.
Nuclear won't even show up
in the next presidential exit polls.
I know what you're thinking.
Go on, say it.
You think I'm too old.
Don't worry about that. I feel great.
I'm telling you, is the new .
The confirmation would be a breeze
for Connor or Rosenthal for Treasury.
Connor would be a more
popular choice within the party.
Obviously, Rosenthal's
more respected on Wall Street.
No, I think Rosenthal would be
more effective selling my tax plan.
Well, he has no administrative skills.
Treasury is a huge department.
Jurisdiction over the IRS,
Bureau of Engraving, the Mint.
Let's go with Rosenthal,
and get him a deputy secretary...
...who's got a lot
of executive experience.
Well, good.
So we've got Treasury, Defense
and attorney general.
If you make a choice on State,
we'll announce the big four...
...the same time we announce the V.P.
And show progress with the transition.
Nancy McNally's great, but I think
she'd be a better U.N. Ambassador.
Well, how about Noah for State?
- Schmidt?
- No. I want a fresh take on Kazakhstan...
...someone who was never part
of the team that got us in there.
- Leaves Reynolds.
- I had a good meeting with Reynolds...
...but I didn't get anything from him
that I didn't already know.
- No one has more experience.
- I like him, but...
- Wanna take another look at his file?
- No, let's move on.
- We'll come back to State.
- Okay.
Well, we've got a couple
of great candidates for Commerce.
Yes, sir.
General Corley will give you
the Kazakhstan update...
...as soon as you get off the plane.
I'll get them on the line now.
I need Stanley at State
and Henry at Trade...
...for a conference call
with the president.
- When?
- Right now.
- What's up?
- Here's where we are so far.
We've got someone ready to go
for every one of those job titles.
People should be ready
to move out by Inauguration Day.
- I'll let them know.
- Things aren't moving so fast with State.
President-elect doesn't want any empty
desks at State with the crisis still hot...
...so he'd like all the undersecretaries
to plan to stay in place for a while.
- He's having trouble picking a secretary?
- He's staring at the short list.
Nancy McNally?
I have no idea.
I'm just the messenger.
- She's on the short list.
- Good.
Helen Santos is here. And Stanley is
having his teeth whitened now...
...so they're trying to find someone
at Trade to do the call.
Okay. My once-proud team.
I'll just duck out this way.
Problems with the first-lady-elect?
- Just not her favorite person today.
- Come on.
It's nothing, really.
I'll just slip out of your way.
- Hello, Mrs. Santos, I'm C.J. Cregg.
- I know. We get CNN in Texas.
- Do me a favor.
- Anything.
- Please call me Helen.
- Okay.
- How we doing?
- Everyone's ready...
...but now the president's
on another call.
The first lady
would've shown you around...
...but she's on her way to Brussels.
They've asked me
to make you feel at home.
In this place?
Well, you'll see the residence
does have some homey touches.
- Like?
- You could get bunk beds for the kids.
- I got to find a school for them first.
- Jim Kane can help you with that.
- The secretary of education?
- Yeah.
Mr. Chairman, I'll definitely let you know
about the V.P. Before the press knows.
Drudge Report says it's Baker.
- How does Drudge do it?
- Is it Baker?
I am not going to reconsider.
I want Eric Baker for vice president.
Now, with the Democrats in the House,
Baker will have no problem there.
How many Republican votes
will we need in Senate?
Five, at least.
More if anyone decides to filibuster.
Won't try that on V.P. Confirmation.
- They could.
- Not if you talk to the leader...
...give him the feeling he's being
consulted, let him suggest names.
No. He'll try to jam me
into taking someone I don't want.
If we can't count on enough
Republican votes in the Senate...
...then I recommend that you ask
the Electoral College to vote on Baker.
- Don't want to.
- You might have to.
Baker's name is starting to leak,
so if you're not gonna consult Senate...
...we need to make the announcement.
- Gotta pressure the Republicans...
...to confirm Baker.
- How?
I wanna see Arnold Vinick.
You really think he's in the mood
to help you with this?
I wanna see Arnold Vinick.
Right says we lost because
you weren't conservative enough...
...not the nuclear thing.
Exactly. That's why I have to run again,
to prove that isn't true.
I wasn't just running
for the presidency.
- I was fighting for the soul of my party.
- You won that.
Ray Sullivan, the most popular guy
in the party, is a Vinick Republican.
You created a national candidate.
He is your legacy.
Pro-lifers like him,
moderates love him.
Your blessing can guarantee him
the nomination.
You can be the kingmaker.
But not the king?
I just got a call from Barry Goodwin.
- Yeah?
- Matt Santos wants to see you.
- About what?
- Sounds like a post-election handshake...
...a nice bipartisan photo op.
- Smart move by Santos.
- I'm not gonna be a prop...
...in some phony unity picture.
You don't go,
they'll leak that you turned him down.
- Santos will look bipartisan...
- And I look like a sore loser.
The personal staff is waiting
in the East Room.
Most of them have been here
a long time. They know their stuff.
I need a nanny-type and someone
to help clean the kids' bedrooms.
I think they can manage that.
- This is Curtis Schaefer.
- Nice to meet you.
My pleasure, Mrs. Santos.
- He is the chief usher.
- Chief usher?
Means he's the man in charge.
If it's all right, I thought we'd begin
with a quick introduction...
...then split off into individual meetings
with the executive chef.
The pastry chef, your children might have
desserts he'll wanna know about.
The head florist
would like a few minutes...
...just to get an impression of your
and the president-elect's preferences.
The president-elect
doesn't have a preference.
- For the Oval Office?
- He'll never notice flowers.
- Whatever you like is fine.
- I understand.
No need to meet with the butlers
and maids...
...but if you could spend a few minutes
with the president-elect's valet.
- He needs to finalize his...
- I'm sorry.
Could you excuse us for one minute,
please?
Thanks.
Hey, this is too much.
We don't need all these people.
Okay,
which ones do you want to fire?
President-elect's office, please hold.
President-elect's office, please hold.
President-elect's office, please hold.
Mr. Goodwin will be right with you.
He's finishing a call.
If you'd like to take a seat.
President-elect's office, please hold.
President-elect's office, please hold.
President-elect's office, please hold.
- This was a terrible idea.
- You had no choice.
- I'm standing here waiting like a...
- Sit.
Just keep talking to me
as though I'm too busy to sit.
Okay.
- What do I have tomorrow?
- You have a haircut at .
- Okay, then what?
- That looks like it.
- For the rest of the day?
- For the rest of the year.
Okay, well, let's confirm all that...
...and make sure I have
the updated schedules today.
- Arnie, good to see you.
- Congratulations, Barry.
Listen, you ran one hell of a campaign.
We just got lucky.
Let me take your coat.
I'm sorry for the wait...
...but the president-elect
had to step out with the wife...
...to check out some schools
for the kids.
He asked me to have you wait in here.
It won't be long.
- Can I get you anything?
- I don't think so.
- Senator Robertson's on line three.
- Excuse me. I've gotta take this.
Do you think St. Albans was a little,
you know, stuffy?
A little?
- Bancroft was more down to earth.
- Yep.
What?
The idea of spending $ ,
for fifth grade.
Ridiculous.
What would public school be like
if we spent , per pupil?
In one year, we will spend more for
two kids than my entire education cost.
Hey,
I actually got a paycheck at Annapolis.
Where is the next school?
What next school? I thought
we were only doing two schools today.
I told your scheduler
we had three schools.
I can't do another school today.
I have to get back to the office.
I've got Arnold Vinick waiting for me.
The president-elect
is on the line for you.
- Hello.
- Arnie, thanks for coming in to see me.
Listen, I'm really sorry
about the scheduling mix-up.
We're looking at schools for kids,
and it's taking longer than we thought.
I understand.
Can we push our meeting back
about an hour?
Well,
my schedule's pretty busy these days.
- Let's see what our staffs can work out.
- Yeah, sure.
I really appreciate any time
that you can give me today.
And again,
I'm sorry about having to reschedule.
No problem.
Grande, nonfat chai for Jim.
- Coffee of the day.
- Tall, grande or venti?
- What size?
- Whatever's biggest.
- Name?
- Sen...
Arnie.
Venti coffee of the day for Ernie.
I wouldn't send our kids
to that school if they paid us.
I didn't see
a single kid smiling in there.
So it's Bancroft, I guess.
Maybe we should look
at some public schools too.
D.C. Public schools are the worst.
Didn't Vinick say something like D.C. Has
the lowest test scores in the country?
Well, there's gotta be some
good public schools in the district.
Hello?
Yes, we are on our way right now.
I am late for the White House decorator.
There's gotta be
at least one good public school.
Do you know any congressmen who
send their kids to D.C. Public schools?
What's this about? Afraid they're gonna
get spoiled going to a rich kids' school?
A little, yeah.
You think having one maid
pick up their socks...
...and another pick up their underwear
is not going to spoil them?
Going to a fancy private school is gonna
be the most normal thing about them.
Yeah, but...
You wanna look at a public school,
we will look at a public school, okay?
I need the schedule
for tomorrow's G meeting...
...and the joint statement
on Kazakhstan.
Trade rep wants you
to okay this memo...
...on agricultural subsidies
going to the president.
- Hi.
- Hi.
I have a : .
- With the decorator.
- Oh, right. That's in there.
Oh, thanks.
And this is the language State approved
for tomorrow's briefing.
Mrs. Santos.
- Mrs. Santos, I'm Gail Addison.
- It's nice to meet you.
As you know, we have very little
in the budget for redecorating.
- Oh, well, how much is very little?
- Two hundred thousand.
You might want to establish
a fundraising committee...
...to raise a few million and do it right.
There really is a lot to do,
especially in this room.
I've never liked the color of this rug,
but the Bartlets...
Well, it's all up to you now.
Well, it looks good to me.
Oh, but there are many ways...
...you can put your personal touch
on the White House.
Well, I will leave that up to my kids.
There are gonna be
a lot of crayon marks...
...that we'll have to remove
when we leave.
Speaking of the kids...
Here's what I've sketched
for Peter's room, a cowboy theme.
And here's what I came up with
for Miranda's room.
A place a princess would love.
That'll work. Yeah, okay.
Arnie, thanks so much for coming in.
- I'm sorry about that scheduling screwup.
- It's okay.
I'm booked every minute
of the day now.
It's worse than the campaign.
No time to think at all.
In any event,
I appreciate you rescheduling so fast.
Where are the cameras?
This isn't a photo op.
- Would you like some coffee?
- No, thanks.
Please.
I need your advice.
- My advice?
- Yeah.
- On what?
- The vice-presidency.
What about it?
I have a legal memo that says...
...that I can ask the Electoral College
to vote for whoever I want...
You can't let people
no one has ever heard of...
...elect the vice president
of the United States.
If you're gonna have
an unelected V. P...
...at least let the elected representatives
of the people vote for him...
...and to submit the name
for congressional confirmation.
You gotta go through
an open process...
...public process that people
understand and accept.
I agree.
- You do?
- Yeah.
Do you think the Senate Republicans
will get rough?
Well, that depends on who you pick.
Is the vice-presidency something
that you would consider?
- Are you offering it?
- Would you consider it?
- If you offered it?
- If I offered it.
- To a Republican?
- To you.
Would I consider it?
And if I considered it,
you'd put me on your short list?
- Yes.
- You still gonna try to raise taxes?
- Only on incomes over a million.
- So you'd offer the vice-presidency...
...to someone who,
if anything happened to you...
...would be trying to cut those taxes
while your body was still warm?
I might.
If I considered it?
Nice try. I know your game.
Get me to say I'd consider it, then you
have your people leak it to the press.
And that gives you a couple of days
of stories about...
...how bipartisan Matt Santos is.
I mean, "He's even got a Republican...
...on his short list for vice president."
You figure that'll soften
the Republicans...
...and they'll talk about a
confirmation for Vinick.
Then you announce who you really want,
which I assume is Baker.
Then you put public pressure
on the Senate...
...to give the same
speedy confirmation...
...to Baker that they were
gonna give to Vinick.
What do you think of Baker?
I think he wins you Pennsylvania.
I think he has a lock on the presidential
nomination eight years from now.
Senate Republicans are gonna
have a little problem with that.
What are you gonna do next?
I'll do what I'm...
What I'm good at.
You're going to run again?
I hope you get your tax increase.
It'll give me something to run against.
You got a minute
to talk about Kazakhstan?
I don't get a daily intelligence report.
All I know is what I read in the papers.
A lot of what you read
is better than our intelligence.
I was impressed with what you said
about Kazakhstan during the campaign.
I always had wished
that I had said it first.
The good cop, bad cop routine
you and Bartlet worked out...
...seems to be
the only thing you can do.
- What do you mean?
- You two must've coordinated messages.
You're not reckless enough to undermine
the president on foreign policy...
...in the middle of a crisis.
You're trying to make
the Russians and the Chinese...
...believe that it's gonna be tougher
to deal with you than Bartlet.
Put pressure on them to negotiate
a settlement with Bartlet now.
Well, it could work.
I'm gonna need another cop
when Bartlet leaves office.
How about Secretary of State?
- You gonna go with Reynolds?
- Maybe. If I don't get my first choice.
- Who's that?
- That would be you.
Secretary of State?
You've got better relationships with all
the important heads of state than I do.
You know the diplomatic corps. You're
respected in every capital in the world.
You agree with me on foreign policy.
And you are the best
strategic thinker I know.
I'm not asking you if you'd consider it,
Arnie, I'm asking you to do it.
What happened to the game
of getting him to consider V. P?
He read that play.
The guy's brilliant.
- He's a Republican.
- He's who we need.
You're saying there's not a Democrat
who can handle State as well as Vinick?
Well, that's not exactly what I would
go out there and say publicly, but yeah.
Well, he's not going to accept it.
But he'll make sure the press finds out
whoever we end up with was second.
- He's not gonna leak it.
- Sure he is.
He never leaked that Bartlet
offered him that U.N. Job.
Was he serious about running again?
- Yeah.
- Then he's gonna leak this.
Maybe, but this is the risk
I've decided to take.
- Secretary of State?
- He gave me the hard sell.
- "Country needs you," the whole bit.
- What did you say?
I turned him down, on the spot.
And then he asked me to sleep on it
and give him my final answer tomorrow.
You gotta do this. It's perfect for you.
You ran a campaign
to try to unify the country.
Now it looks like Santos is trying
to put together an administration...
...that will unify the country.
The president says he needs you.
- The country needs you.
- I disagree with him about everything.
- Not everything.
- You don't disagree on foreign policy.
You think about it differently,
you use different rhetoric...
...but you agree on the objectives.
He just wants to take me
out of the campaign.
He's afraid to run against me again.
Okay, he's just using me.
He appoints a Republican so the
Republicans'll let him have Baker as V.P.
- He doesn't really want me.
- They'd horse-trade with a job like State?
No.
You really don't think I can win,
do you?
Maybe if you were years younger.
Baby boomers are turning .
There's gonna be a huge...
...over- vote in the next election.
- You're not a boomer.
Should've started lying about my age
long ago.
It's not just your age.
Stevenson got the nomination
twice in a row.
Fifty years ago,
and he lost both times.
You know, the only thing
that tempts me to do this...
...is Santos' second choice. Reynolds.
Wanna see a Secretary of State screw
up the world, give the job to Reynolds.
You can enter the history books
as maybe the last honorable senator...
...and a great secretary of state.
Or you can be the guy
who just didn't know when to quit.
The students seem
pretty happy here.
We've got a great group of kids,
and the parents are very supportive.
What's the makeup
of the student body?
Forty-one percent African-American,
percent white...
... percent Hispanic,
and percent Asian.
How many free-lunch kids?
Eight percent.
- That sounds low for the district.
- The lowest.
I'm a bit surprised there are no
metal detectors in the school.
D.C. Doesn't have any metal detectors
in the elementary schools.
That's okay.
We know what our public image is.
That's why it's an honor for us
you'd consider...
...sending your children here.
Needless to say, it would be
an incredible show of support...
...for the system if you would.
- Sorry. I shouldn't...
- Cathy, you run a great school.
- You'll be hearing from us.
- Thank you.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
What do you think?
It's perfect.
The president-elect's office, please hold.
Senator Vinick, the president-elect
is waiting. I'll let him know you're here.
President-elect's office, please hold.
Let it leak that I'm considering asking
the Electoral College to vote for Baker.
The Republicans'll start screaming,
demanding confirmation hearings.
I say, "I'm concerned congressional
confirmation will take too long.
This is too dangerous a time to
be without a V.P., even for a day."
Force Republicans to swear
to run a quick confirmation.
Then call them on it.
Get that new Democratic House to
run a quick confirmation and a vote.
Put pressure on the Senate
to act fast.
Don't give them time to come up with
phony reasons to vote against Baker.
Vinick's here.
Hey, Arnie.
You can go right in.
What's he trying to pull, Barry?
It sure as hell wasn't my idea.
And you'd be doing me a big favor
with the party if you turn it down.
- Arnie, I really appreciate you coming.
- Your strategy's not gonna work.
Which strategy?
You knew I'd turn this down.
You leak that you offered me State,
so you look like Mr. Bipartisan.
- I haven't leaked it.
- Yet.
You think offering me State will
help you get Baker past Senate.
- Everyone will know it's a phony offer.
- This isn't about Baker.
I want you as Secretary of State.
You're my first choice.
I wouldn't lift a finger
to help Baker with Republicans.
I'll get Baker confirmed.
I don't need you for that.
Secretary of State is not something
you throw at the other party...
...to show how bipartisan you are.
The job is way more important than that.
This is your representative
to the world.
I agree.
You think you can make me
Secretary of State and then ignore me...
...and run all foreign policy
out of the White House?
- No.
- Anybody good enough to appoint...
...would quit the day you try to go
around the State Department.
I don't want to go around you.
I want you to do the job.
- And when we disagree?
- I'd give you the time you need...
...to set me straight.
And then I'd expect you to go out there
and sell whatever decision I've made.
I'd have to have my own
deputy secretary.
Pick any Democrat you want.
- And the undersecretaries?
- I will consult with you on all of them.
I wouldn't do one thing that smelled
of campaigning for you.
I'd never set foot in your fundraisers...
...and you couldn't drag me
to a Democratic Party event.
Obviously.
If the undersecretary for political affairs
does one partisan thing, I'm out.
I understand.
I don't know. I don't know.
This is crazy.
I don't see how this can work.
Here's today's intelligence report
on Kazakhstan.
There's a interesting item
in there on page two.
Second paragraph.
What, the Chinese demanding
a veto on routing of the pipeline?
Yeah, they've never said that before.
Don't worry.
Chinese know they haven't a chance...
...of getting that,
but they think the Russians do.
So they demand it now before the
Russians, so we won't help either one.
So how do we move them
out of their positions...
...get them to agree to a compromise?
You can lay the groundwork
for that now.
You let both sides know
that in the endgame...
...the Russians will have to get
a share of Kazakhstan oil production...
...and the Chinese
are gonna have to have the pipeline.
You make sure they understand
you're the one setting the agenda.
You don't have to make it explicit,
just hint at it.
Put yourself in the position...