THE WEST WING
5x10 - “THE STORMY PRESENT”
TELEPLAY BY JOHN SACRET YOUNG
STORY BY JOHN SACRET YOUNG & JOSH SINGER
DIRECTED BY ALEX GRAVES
Transcribed by Walking, Talking, And Yelling At Clouds
(kegofglory.blogspot.com)
TEASER
THE STORMY PRESENT
We see the hand of an unseen person writing with a fountain pen on a sheet of paper. We read the word “AMERICA.”
CROSSFADE TO: INT. - RESIDENCE BATHROOM – NIGHT
MONDAY – 6:00 PM
We see PRESIDENT BARTLET in front of the mirror in the bathroom. As he starts to button his cuffs, the telephone rings. He answers it.
BARTLET
Yeah? … Please, tell President Lassiter I’ll call him back, I’m late as it is … I know he called before. Yeah.
He hangs up.
CROSSFADE TO: a closeup as the writing on the paper continues. The stationery is labeled “OWEN LASSITER.” We can read the following:
“AMERICA, A COUNTRY FOUNDED BY REFUGEES, POPULATED BY IMMIGRANTS, MADE STRONG BY THE SWEAT OF THE TIRED, THE POOR UNTIL IT BECAME AMERICA.
“AN IDEA, A FLAME, A CITY ON A HILL, A VISION FOR ALL WHO BELIEVE IN LIBERTY. AN EXPERIMENT”
CUT TO: a closeup of the pen writing “OF ISLAM.”
CROSSFADE TO: INT. - RESIDENCE – NIGHT
We see CHARLIE in the residence talking to PRESIDENT BARTLET, offscreen.
CHARLIE
Excuse me, Mr. President, sir, you forgot Kevin Barkofsky.
BARTLET
I’m sure I did.
CHARLIE
He’s been waiting in the Roosevelt Room.
BARTLET
Who is he?
CHARLIE
One of the candidates to paint your official Presidential portrait.
BARTLET
It’s a put-up job, Charlie, a conspiracy.
BARTLET walks out into the room where CHARLIE waits.
BARTLET
Official Presidential portraits aren’t official at all, it’s Abbey who wants it. Send Mr. Barkofsky on his way.
CHARLIE
Every President has one, sir.
BARTLET
I’m not sitting for any portrait, unless of course you dig up Gilbert Stuart, or who did Lincoln?
CHARLIE’S cell phone rings.
CHARLIE
I have no idea.
BARTLET
Why, when you think of Lincoln you think of the photographs, how he aged.
CHARLIE answers his phone.
BARTLET
Particularly that last one, when the plate broke. Fifty-six, and he looked ancient.
CHARLIE
It’s Leo.
CROSSFADE TO: The hand holding the fountain pen writing on the stationery. We can see part of what is written:
“TO RETURN TO THE AGE FROM WHICH OUR FOREFATHERS FLED. FUNDAMENTALISM IS”
CROSSFADE TO: INT. - OUTER OVAL OFFICE – NIGHT
Through the windows we see BARTLET and LEO walking on the Portico.
BARTLET
I’m late.
LEO
General Alexander is waiting in the Oval.
BARTLET
I should have brought my tie.
LEO
We’ve got a situation.
The camera pushes in to: INT. - OVAL OFFICE – NIGHT
The two enter the Oval Office to meet a waiting GENERAL ALEXANDER.
BARTLET
Of course we do. General, you have a tie?
ALEXANDER
Mr. President, several hours ago protesters began gathering in Riyadh, calling for free speech, press, and popular elections.
CROSSFADE TO: The writing on the paper, over which we hear ALEXANDER’S briefing continue. We read the words “NEED FOR AN AMERICAN EMPIRE.”
ALEXANDER (voiceover)
It’s in the streets. Already maybe a thousand – midnight over there and it’s still growing.
CROSSFADE TO: INT. - OVAL OFFICE – NIGHT
BARTLET
Who’s leading the protests?
ALEXANDER
We don’t know. State’s calling the embassy waking everyone up. One thing’s clear, Mr. President, in Riyadh – this has never happened before.
BARTLET
Leo?
LEO
Free speech is good. A free-for-all for a quarter of the world’s oil reserves laced with rabid anti-American sentiment …
BARTLET
Yeah.
CROSSFADE TO: The hands of the unseen writer. He finishes his note, then pulls open a drawer and we see an envelope addressed “JED BARTLET, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, THE WHITE HOUSE.” The drawer closes.
SMASH CUT TO: MAIN TITLES.
END TEASER.
***
ACT ONE
FADE IN: INT. - SITUATION ROOM
MONDAY – 6:45 PM
PRESIDENT BARTLET walks through the doors, as the military staffers in the meeting rise.
STAFFER
Ten hut.
BARTLET
Gentlemen.
LEO AND OTHERS
Sir.
BARTLET
Please.
Everyone sits.
BARTLET
Did you reach Secretary Berryhill?
UNDERSECRETARY BARROW
Sir, he’s in Tokyo, he’d like to fly to Jordan to monitor the situation.
BARTLET
Good. General?
ALEXANDER
The number in the streets seems now to be several thousand, primarily students and young clerics, Mr. President, and they seem to be using anti-American rhetoric yet demanding democratic reforms.
LEO
Are they armed?
BARROW
CNN’s reporting they’re not.
BARTLET
George, do we have any real intelligence on these people?
CIA DIRECTOR ROLLIE
Mr. President, our intel in Riyadh is only slightly better than in the rest of the Middle East.
LEO
Which is to say lousy.
BARROW
Sir, the good news is at the moment, the Saudis are very concerned with their image in the West. If the demonstrations remain nonviolent -
BARTLET
We have some time before they start breaking legs?
LEO
I think public beheadings are more their style.
BARROW
It will give us a chance to establish contact with the leaders of the protest. If they are democratic -
SECRETARY HUTCHINSON
Sir, I don’t need to remind you that any sort of chaos on the Arabian Peninsula could destabilize the entire Middle East, throw the global economy into crisis.
ROLLIE
And if this is a trojan horse or fundamentalist coup -
LEO
We better start buying hybrids.
HUTCHINSON
And gas masks. Mr. President, the devil you know -
BARTLET
Is one I’m pretty tired of dancing with. Get me better intelligence. Leo?
PRESIDENT BARTLET stands.
BARTLET
Let’s get the ambassador in here first thing. Thanks, everybody.
ALL
Thank you, Mr. President.
CUT TO: INT. - WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING ROOM
CJ is giving a briefing to reporters. We see her on monitors as the camera sweeps across the room.
CJ
You want the latest on Riyadh, so do I. We can watch CNN together.
Reporters call out to be recognized.
KATIE
Any update on former President Lassiter’s condition?
CJ
President Lassiter is recovering nicely from the operation, and if I took as many trips abroad as he does, I’d have to get my hip replaced as well. Now let me see if I can answer the rest of your questions before you ask them, so I can get dressed. Yes, the President will be attending the annual gala at Ford’s Theatre tonight, yes, it’s the theatre where Lincoln was shot, yes, we’re expecting the President’s Lincolnalia to be in rare form, and yes, the bad jokes can start now, and that means I can’t call on, hmmm, see, I told you we were done.
The reporters laugh and thank CJ as she leaves the podium. A reporter, RANDAL FIERSTIN, rushes up behind her. They talk as they walk out of the briefing room.
FIERSTIN
CJ – a source in the Pentagon says the military is funding mind control experiments?
CJ
Mind control? Who are you?
FIERSTIN
Randal Fierstin, Backslash magazine.
CJ (chuckling)
Backslash magazine? Oh, come on. Who let you in here?
FIERSTIN
I have a source. Two, in fact.
CJ
Randal, I meant bad jokes about Ford’s Theatre.
FIERSTIN
So the White House has no comment.
CJ
The White House in this dimension? (to herself) Backslash magazine ...
She walks out into the hallway where she nearly collides with TOBY, who is finishing tying his bow tie. They begin walking together.
CJ
You’re dressed and ready to go.
TOBY
This is true.
CJ
I’m not.
TOBY
Also true.
CJ
Is there a reason you’re following me?
TOBY
Do I need a reason?
CJ
You’re avoiding the President.
TOBY
Yeah.
CJ
I don’t have to go, do I?
TOBY
Into the valley of death rode the six hundred.
CJ
That’s helpful. What do you know about mind control experiments at the Pentagon?
TOBY
MK Ultra.
JOSH enters through a doorway.
CJ
Excuse me?
TOBY
In the 50s, it was the CIA mind control research program started in response to the Chinese attempt on US prisoners.
CJ
Like, the, uh -
CJ and TOBY
The Manchurian Candidate.
JOSH
Like what’s gonna happen to us tonight.
CJ
You’re ready, too.
JOSH starts to leave the room.
JOSH
It’s a far, far better thing I do.
CJ
Maybe things’ll be different this year.
JOSH and TOBY
Noooooo.
CJ
But it’s long gone, yes? Mind control?
The three are now in the hallway. DONNA walks up behind them. TOBY walks away.
DONNA
Worked on Freddy Briggs when I was sixteen, look what happened to him.
JOSH
Freddy Briggs?
DONNA
He was my first - was he my first?
JOSH
Sixteen?
DONNA, JOSH and CJ continue down the hallway.
CJ
Is there a reason why I’m the only one who’s not dressed?
DONNA
Was your dress stolen?
CJ
No.
DONNA
Well, a copy of the Bill of Rights was stolen.
CJ
There are copies of the Bill of Rights lying around?
DONNA
George Washington sent copies to each of the thirteen original colonies, North Carolina’s got snatched at the end of the Civil War by one of Sherman’s men.
JOSH
Scintillating.
The three have arrived at DONNA’S desk.
DONNA
The soldier was from Connecticut.
CJ
Josh is from Connecticut.
DONNA
Oh, that’s right.
JOSH
Go, Whalers. Not a ton to get excited about in the Nutmeg State.
DONNA (reading from a folder)
The FBI seized the document, both states are claiming ownership and the case has landed in federal courts.
DONNA hands the folder to JOSH.
CJ
Didn’t North Carolina steal the Whalers?
DONNA
Guys, people are going crazy, the President’s appearing in Raleigh next week, they’re already handing out flyers.
JOSH
Okay. Who’s on at the AG’s office?
DONNA
That would be Freddy Briggs.
JOSH
No.
DONNA
No, but I had you.
JOSH
Sixteen.
CJ heads into her office, grabbing a dress on a hanger off the door. She closes the blinds, and is distracted by the report on the TV as she starts to take off her clothes. The camera moves to reveal TOBY sitting on the sofa, who is also watching the TV and reacts to something said on the report.
TOBY
Yeah, no kidding.
CJ (startled)
Toby!
TOBY
Yeah?
CJ
Was there something you wanted?
TOBY
World peace?
CJ
Toby, I’m not protecting you, go hide from the President somewhere else.
She ushers TOBY out.
CJ
Out!
She closes the door.
CUT TO: INT. - LEO’S OFFICE – NIGHT
We start with a closeup of a TV screen showing news coverage of the Saudi Arabian protests. PRESIDENT BARTLET walks into the office.
BARTLET
Waiting for your date?
LEO
She’s late, go figure.
BARTLET
You start dating younger women, I hear you’re old enough to be her father.
LEO
Al Jazeera’s reporting ten thousand in the streets and protests now in Jeddah, Buraydah, Rafha.
BARTLET
Was State able to find out anything?
LEO
They’re still digging, Berryhill’s en route to Jordan and the King’s brother is on his way down from New York.
BARTLET
Bitar? I guess we’re not the only ones who think this is a thing.
LEO
Yeah.
BARTLET
I’ll see you at the theatre.
We pull back out of LEO’S office to see ANGELA BLAKE crossing to the hallway.
ANGELA
Josh? Josh.
JOSH appears in the hallway.
JOSH
Hey.
JOSH pulls ANGELA away from LEO’s office. They continue out towards the foyer.
JOSH
You might not want to be … have you been to Ford’s Theatre?
ANGELA
It’s my first time, actually.
JOSH
Oh, well, you gotta talk to the President about Lincoln. About the Civil War, sit with him – it’s educational.
TOBY leans out of a doorway.
TOBY
What are you doing? You’re sitting ducks out there, he’s on his way.
CJ sweeps in, wearing her dress.
JOSH
Maybe if we don’t ask, we don’t mention it -
CJ
Yeah, if you don’t miss the easy ones.
JOSH
I missed a question? I didn’t miss a question.
TOBY
It wasn’t me.
CJ
We had to go downstairs into the basement with him and open the damn museum.
ANGELA
What are you talking about?
JOSH
Nothing. It’s nothing. You gotta sit with him.
DONNA joins the rest.
DONNA
I’m not sitting with him, I drew the short straw last year.
TOBY
He’s gonna start in with Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, and then carry on straight through to the letter Lincoln wrote to the woman who lost all her sons – who didn’t really lose all her sons.
CJ
You have Carl Sandburg’s number?
TOBY
Carl Sandburg is dead.
DONNA
Sure, Carl, take the easy way out.
JOSH murmurs something as PRESIDENT BARTLET arrives.
BARTLET
I’m not going to ask this year, don’t worry -
Everyone greets him with “Good evening, Mr. President.” They all start moving through the foyer toward the exit.
BARTLET
I’m not going to ask – what was the line of dialogue that made the audience laugh that John Wilkes Booth used as cover, to enter the Presidential box? I’m not going to ask about the broken lock to the box, the snapping shinbone, “sic semper tyrannis,” Major Rathbone, and Clara Harris, or the exact time Lincoln drew his final breath.
JOSH
I know that one, it’s 7:21:55.
BARTLET
And the final heartbeat?
JOSH stands dumbstruck.
TOBY
He … had to open his mouth.
BARTLET
Every year, Josh. Always the first wrong. Angela! Why don’t you ride with me.
ANGELA takes BARTLET’s arm and they lead the rest down the hallway. CJ slaps JOSH on the head with her handbag.
JOSH
Ow!
CUT TO: INT. - HALLWAY – NIGHT
LEO rushes out of a doorway looking at his watch. As he puts on a scarf he meets his daughter, MALLORY.
MALLORY
Hi, Dad. Sorry.
LEO
It’s not nice to keep a gentleman waiting.
MALLORY
I know.
LEO
Wow, I hardly recognize you.
MALLORY
Oh, and why is that, do you suppose?
LEO
Yeah, well, that’s why we’re here, so you can tell me everything that’s going on.
MALLORY
Okay.
They start walking down the hallway.
MALLORY
Did I mention I’m taking that job in Tanzania?
LEO
Yeah, let’s go.
LEO and MALLORY meet several Secret Service agents going the opposite way. One speaks into his wrist microphone.
AGENT
The President’s dead.
LEO and MALLORY stop, stunned.
LEO
What’s going on?
MALLORY
What’s happening, Dad?
PRESIDENT BARTLET appears around the corner of the hallway.
LEO
Sir?
BARTLET
President Lassiter is dead.
FADE TO: INT. - WHITE HOUSE HALLWAY – DAY
TUESDAY – 10:00 AM
JOSH and TOBY are walking down a hallway.
JOSH
Republican.
TOBY
Right-wing Republican.
JOSH
Conservative.
TOBY
Attila-the-Hun conservative.
JOSH
Lunatic wife.
TOBY
Lunatic! Lady Macbeth of a wife.
JOSH
Didn’t Lassiter vote against the Emancipation Proclamation?
TOBY
I’m not writing the eulogy.
JOSH
You’re riding shotgun on Air Force One -
TOBY
I am not.
CJ joins the two outside LEO’S office.
CJ
I thought it was a hip operation.
TOBY
All good things must come to pass.
They enter LEO’S office as the camera follows them inside.
LEO (voiceover)
Angela Blake, Lt. Colonel Castorp.
ANGELA (voiceover)
It’s a pleasure, Colonel.
LEO
Colonel?
CASTORP
I have the file here, sir.
He hands a file folder to LEO.
JOSH
The file?
LEO
The dead Presidents’ file. Oh, this is Lt. Colonel Castorp, from the Military District of Washington. Upon a President’s death, his unit coordinates travel of dignitaries and handles protocol in concert with the wishes of the family.
TOBY
You keep a file on all the Presidents?
CASTORP
Yes, sir.
JOSH
You got one on Walken?
LEO
Thanks, Colonel.
CASTORP gathers his things and exits.
LEO
President Lassiter’s funeral will be held at the Lassiter Library in Costa Mesa.
JOSH
The one with the fake Oval.
LEO
And the President’s giving one of the eulogies.
TOBY looks away.
LEO
I’m staying to monitor the situation in Riyadh. I need CJ here to brief - Toby, I don’t want to hear about it, you’re on Air Force One writing the eulogy. Josh? You’ll help the Lt. Colonel coordinate with Mrs. Lassiter.
JOSH
Leo, I got lawyers from Connecticut and North Carolina coming down -
LEO
What?
JOSH
A Union soldier stole a copy of the Bill of Rights at the end of the Civil War -
LEO
We’ve got a dead President and a time bomb in Riyadh and you’re arbitrating the Civil War?
ANGELA
I did hear they’re threatening to rally in Raleigh.
LEO
Yeah. Introduce Donna to Lt. Colonel Castorp. Class dismissed.
JOSH, TOBY, and ANGELA leave the office.
CJ
Leo, I got a question yesterday – tell me we’re not conducting mind control research at the Pentagon.
LEO
We’re not conducting mind control research at the Pentagon.
CJ
You’re not doing it on me right now?
LEO
Well, there might be something at DARPA.
CJ
DARPA? The guys at DOD who research flying cars and X-ray vision?
LEO
Also the guys who invented GPS, stealth technology and the Internet.
CJ
Well, that’s money well spent, but if the public finds out we’re spending taxpayer dollars on mind control -
LEO
Give the DOD a call.
CUT TO: INT. - WHITE HOUSE HALLWAY – DAY
JOSH and DONNA walk through a doorway.
DONNA
To babysit the First Widow?
JOSH
Beehive hair, dewlaps, hysterical phone calls all hours of the day and night, and Lt. Colonel Castorp, you’re gonna love it.
DONNA
Why can’t you do it?
JOSH
I’m gonna be watching a re-enactment of Gettysburg in the Roosevelt Room.
DONNA
Since when do you care about the Bill of Rights? The Civil War is -
JOSH
Whaler pride.
DONNA
You sold me down the river.
JOSH (as he enters his office)
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
CUT TO: INT. - OVAL OFFICE – DAY
PRINCE BITAR and LEO are sitting in chairs.
BITAR
I love New York. At dawn the light on the water towers and the tops of the buildings … funny thing, these water wells, hundreds of feet above the ground -
PRESIDENT BARTLET enters.
BARTLET
Hell of a long way to toss a canteen. (LEO and BITAR stand) Prince Bitar.
BITAR and BARTLET shake hands. BARTLET gestures to the chair.
BARTLET
Please.
They all sit.
LEO
The Prince was giving me a virtual tour of New York.
BITAR
Mr. President, I come with greetings from the royal family, who again wish to convey their pleasure at the way our countries have weathered recent storms in keeping with our long-term friendship.
BARTLET
And Leo here thought you were coming to talk about the protests.
BITAR
Protests? Hardly. A few errant schoolboys.
LEO
A few thousand schoolboys and a couple thousand clerics.
BITAR
It’s of no concern.
BARTLET
Your country’s crying out for reform.
BITAR
These things must be done at the proper pace.
BARTLET
Well, you’ve got more than ten thousand people who seem to think you’re not moving fast enough.
BITAR
We’ve announced plans for municipal elections.
BARTLET
I recall you passed a law to elect municipal councils in 1975.
LEO
It hasn’t happened yet. You’ll forgive us if we don’t hold our breath.
BITAR
Mr. President, do you really wish to see the results of popular elections in my country? The royal family is very large. There are thousands of members. At times some have been … less than progressive. But we do want change. Manageable change.
BARTLET
You’ll keep us in the loop on the situation in the capital?
BITAR
Of course. And yet if things suddenly become unruly, we -
BARTLET
I trust you’ll consult with us.
LEO
As friends do.
BITAR
As you would consult with us.
BARTLET
Thank you.
All three stand, BITAR shakes hands with BARTLET and then LEO.
BITAR
Mr. President, when these schoolboys protest, when they truly wish to denounce us, you know what they say? They call us “Americans.”
BITAR exits the Oval Office.
FADE OUT.
END ACT ONE.
* * *
ACT TWO
FADE IN: EXT. – ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE – DAY
THURSDAY – 8:00 AM
Air Force One is taxiing to park. We see the Presidential motorcade arriving. The limousines stop, the doors opening simultaneously. PRESIDENT BARTLET exits one limousine, he shakes hands and greets someone. D. “WIRE” NEWMAN exits another limousine, and he and his wife greet BARTLET. We hear TOBY on the phone as we
CUT TO: INT. - WHITE HOUSE HALLWAY – DAY
JOSH is walking through a doorway, cell phone to his ear.
TOBY (voiceover)
Why former President Newman wanted to fly with the GOP geriatric brigade …
JOSH
I tell ya, I’m gonna crank up The Battle Hymn of the Republic -
TOBY (voiceover)
Josh, shut up. You want a history lesson, I’m in Madame Tussauds -
CUT TO: EXT. - ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE – DAY
A group of older politicians are walking together, TOBY stands behind them on the phone.
TOBY
All of Lassiter’s men, there’s Robert Rosiello who I think tried to sell back Alaska when he was Secretary of the Interior, Max Pearlman, who served three to five, Earl Rankowski, he’s on oxygen, Dwight Mothman – uh, they must have exhumed him -
CUT TO: INT. - ROOSEVELT ROOM – DAY
JOSH is standing outside the Roosevelt Room looking through the windows at two people sitting inside as TOBY speaks.
TOBY (voiceover)
Bobby Bodine, Josh, the one who said, “We have enemies without, and within, and we must purge” -
CUT TO: EXT. - ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE – DAY
TOBY is walking towards Air Force One with the older politicians.
TOBY
He actually used that word - “purge them all, until we are purified.” (under his breath) Purified. – Who needs Dante, I’m on my way to Hell at 30,000 feet.
CUT TO: INT. - ROOSEVELT ROOM – DAY
JOSH enters the Roosevelt Room and greets the people inside.
JOSH
Uh, Josh Lyman.
FAIRFAX
Ralph Fairfax, from Fairfield.
JOSH
You must be MaryLou.
MERRIWETHER
Merriwether, and a pleasure, Mr. Lyman. Mr. Lyman, wouldn’t you agree that in the chaos and disarray of war, to make off with one of our state’s most prized possessions, a precious piece of our heritage, doesn’t that sound more like raping and pillaging than liberation?
FAIRFAX
We bought it legitimately.
MERRIWETHER
You stole it.
JOSH
Well, I think we’re off to a promising start.
MERRIWETHER
It is a copy of the Bill of Rights, it belongs -
FAIRFAX
To the Union. You seceded. This is why we needed General Order 100.
JOSH
General Order 100.
FAIRFAX
The declaration that all confiscated rebel property belonged to the Union.
MERRIWETHER
Which was trumped by Special Order 88.
JOSH
Special Order 88.
MERRIWETHER
Mm-hmm, issued by a Union general, all archives and other property entrusted to Carolina must be returned. Besides, the Bill of Rights made 100 unconstitutional, it violated due process.
JOSH
You know, one of my law school classmates published an article on the constitutionality of Lincoln’s general order.
MERRIWETHER
Akhil Amar?
JOSH nods.
MERRIWETHER
You went to law school at Yale?
JOSH
Well, Yale’s close to home.
FAIRFAX
You’re from Connecticut!
MERRIWETHER (simultaneously)
You’re from Connecticut?
JOSH
(pause) Go, Whalers.
CUT TO: INT. - OUTSIDE LEO’S OFFICE – DAY
A closeup of a TV screen shows MSNBC coverage of the President preparing to leave for Lassiter’s funeral, while we hear audio about the protests in Saudi Arabia. CJ comes around the corner as LEO exits his office.
CJ
The President on his way?
LEO
Yeah. Of course we had to get the forklift out for Toby.
CJ
CNN’s reporting larger crowds in the smaller cities. Where are you going?
LEO
I’m meeting Mallory at Olberdorfer’s. I was supposed to take her to Ford’s Theatre the other night, with all that was going on I kind of had to – I’ll be back in an hour.
LEO exits. CAROL appears in the hallway and hands a giant stack of papers to CJ.
CAROL
The DARPA budget.
CJ
I thought it was classified.
CAROL
Apparently not. It’s on the Internet.
CJ
Hoisted on their own petard. Any word back from the DOD?
CAROL
Not yet. There’s a man in your office.
CJ
Okay …
CAROL
I didn’t see him come, I turned around, and he was there.
CJ
A man in my office.
CAROL nods. They both look around the corner.
CJ
Is he dashing?
CAROL
Not how I’d describe him.
CJ continues into her office, where a man, DR. MAX MILKMAN, is standing behind her desk looking at her laptop.
CJ
Can I help you?
MILKMAN
There are no firewalls on here.
CJ
Excuse me?
MILKMAN
I could certainly do something with this.
CJ
Or I could call security to do something with you.
MILKMAN
Oh, sorry.
CJ moves behind her desk and closes her laptop.
MILKMAN
I’m Dr. Max Milkman, from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency -
CJ
Dr. Milkman.
MILKMAN
Yes.
CJ
The man from DARPA.
MILKMAN
Yes.
CJ
I’ve been reading about you. Operation Midnight Climax, setting up brothels, creating and testing LSD on the patrons without their knowledge of course, talk about a mind-blowing experience.
MILKMAN
Please, Ms. Cregg. That was ARPA.
CJ
ARPA?
MILKMAN
ARPA, not DARPA.
CJ
Well, I can’t tell you how comforting that is.
CUT TO: INT. - AIR FORCE ONE CONFERENCE ROOM – DAY
TOBY is sitting at the table, his laptop open in front of him. We hear the pilot making an announcement.
GANTRY (voiceover)
Ladies and gentlemen, this is Colonel Gantry speaking. We’ve radioed ahead and it looks like clear skies the rest of the way.
CHARLIE enters the room as Gantry continues in the background.
CHARLIE
You okay?
TOBY
Do I look okay?
CHARLIE
Not so much. I think Bobby Bodine was looking for you.
CHARLIE exits.
GANTRY (voiceover)
We’ll be back with an update as soon as we’ve begun our initial descent into Los Angeles.
TOBY
Enemies without and within.
The camera pans out of the conference room and into the corridor. Reporters are taking photographs of PRESIDENT BARTLET and NEWMAN.
BARTLET
Thank you. (to NEWMAN) Come on, I’ll show you around.
NEWMAN
Looks like a new plane.
BARTLET
Reconditioned and reconfigured, I think.
NEWMAN
I don’t care much for the color.
BARTLET
You should see what we’ve done with the house.
NEWMAN
The Mauve House?
BARTLET chuckles.
NEWMAN
What, shades of puce?
CHARLIE appears, handing BARTLET a note.
NEWMAN
Wouldn’t doubt it. Listen, I got the NSC brief this morning.
BARTLET
Yeah, I wish they wouldn’t do that.
NEWMAN
Those protesters are talking about democracy, Jed.
BARTLET
Oh, we don’t know what they’re talking about, DW, not yet. The royal family has been -
NEWMAN
Their convenience, getting fat and rich off the oil we gobble up, spending their extra billions promoting radical Wahhabists.
The two exit the corridor into the conference room.
NEWMAN
Ah, that was a bad bed we made. Had to live with it in my day, but it’s time for a change. Trust the people, Jed. They’ll make rational decisions.
TOBY, unseen by the two Presidents before, speaks from the corner of the room, a bottle of whiskey in his hand.
TOBY
In the deserts of Arabia, are there any rational decisions? Excuse me, sorry, Mr. President.
BARTLET
Raiding the pantry, Toby?
TOBY
Just a prop, sir, to help me with the eulogy.
BARTLET
You know President Newman?
TOBY
Yes, sir. Voted for you a couple of times.
NEWMAN
You seem to be voting against me at the moment.
BARTLET
It’s hard to get Toby to speak his mind.
TOBY
Mr. President, it just seems to me that most Muslims on the Arabian Peninsula believe they must choose between the law of Allah and the laws of man.
NEWMAN
I see, Arabs don’t make rational decisions, only fundamentalist ones -
TOBY
Without strong guidance the popular elections could be a one-time event.
NEWMAN
Strong guidance – you think we should colonize?
TOBY
No, I think we should run away. As fast and as far away as we can.
BARTLET
I think our friends in Britain would argue it’s the best way to midwife modernity.
NEWMAN
Didn’t they do a bang-up job with the Arabian Peninsula.
CHARLIE appears in the doorway.
CHARLIE
Mr. President, President Bartlet. It’s Leo, sir. You want to -
BARTLET
I’ll take it here. (to TOBY) Would you excuse us?
TOBY (gathering his laptop, leaving with the bottle of whiskey)
Mr. President.
BARTLET (answering the phone)
Yeah?
LEO (voiceover)
Sir, there’s been a development.
The phone call continues as the scene cuts between AIR FORCE ONE and the SITUATION ROOM, where LEO, GENERAL ALEXANDER, BARROW and other military personnel are there.
LEO
Protesters have surrounded the Aramco facility in Dhahran.
BARTLET
They’re picketing the Saudi oil headquarters?
ALEXANDER
The compound includes forty homes, 200 people, including 50 Americans.
BARTLET
Are they at risk?
LEO
The protesters are refusing to let anyone in or out until their demands are met.
BARROW
Mr. President, we’ve also managed to identify a number of the leaders of the protest. They appear to be renegade members of the royal family.
NEWMAN and BARTLET exchange looks.
CUT TO: INT. - AIR FORCE ONE CABIN – DAY
TOBY is in his seat, a glass of whiskey in his hand, the bottle in his lap. CHARLIE is sitting next to him. TOBY is listening to DONNA on the phone.
DONNA (voiceover)
The honor guard will escort the casket from the library to the grounds after the buglers warm up and before they seat the President.
The phone call continues as the scene cuts between DONNA at her desk and TOBY on AIR FORCE ONE.
DONNA
The Reverend will open and close the program and Mrs. Lassiter requested that the President give the final eulogy. Mrs. Lassiter also asked if she could have five minutes with the President.
TOBY
I feel like I’m on the voyage of the damned.
DONNA
Village. It was village.
TOBY
What’s the difference. Why are we descending?
DONNA (voiceover)
What?
TOBY (shouting)
This plane, it’s going down.
DONNA
What?
CHARLIE
We’re landing to pick up President Walken.
DONNA
Charlie, has he been drinking?
CHARLIE is about to answer, but TOBY gives him a signal.
CHARLIE
I don’t think so.
CHARLIE reaches over and takes the whiskey bottle.
TOBY
You know what, Donna, we are dealing with a foreign policy dilemma of unmatched perplexities with unintended consequences lurking at every turn -
DONNA
Charlie, what’s he talking about?
TOBY
Maybe not so unlike a woman.
DONNA
Toby, focus. Mrs. Lassiter wants five minutes with the President.
TOBY begins quietly singing the theme song from M*A*S*H.
TOBY
“Suicide is painless ...”
DONNA
Charlie, is he singing?
CHARLIE
I don’t think so.
TOBY
“It brings on ... many changes.”
TOBY reaches for the whiskey glass and CHARLIE slaps his hand.
CUT TO: INT. - AIR FORCE ONE CONFERENCE ROOM – DAY
BARTLET and NEWMAN continue listening to the phone briefing from the SITUATION ROOM as the scene cuts between the two locations.
HUTCHINSON (voiceover)
Dhahran’s the nerve center, it goes down the world loses five million barrels a day not to mention 50 Americans.
BARROW
It’s a non-violent protest. Mr. President, we’ve located a political officer at the embassy, a Dan Strosser, who has a relationship with one of the princes leading the protest. He’s on leave, we’re tracking him down.
BARTLET
George, what’s your take?
ROLLIE
This prince, Arujunha, he was educated here at Harvard, but anything’s possible, he could be a real reformer or not.
HUTCHINSON (voiceover)
In the meantime, we need to prepare to evacuate the Americans from the Dhahran compound.
BARROW
Gentlemen, this looks and feels like the beginning of a real democratic movement. Over the next few hours, as we learn more about -
HUTCHINSON
Sir, this is Iran in ‘79, not ‘97. Even if this Arujunah has noble motives, the not-so-silent majority is not going to vote for a more perfect union. We could be a few hours away from civil war.
BARTLET
George, if their troops, if the national guard is mobilizing, how long do we have?
ROLLIE (voiceover)
A couple hours, maybe less.
BARTLET
Okay. Ted, you and Berryhill have an hour to track down this Strasser guy. Miles, I want you to stay in constant contact with the security forces at the compound. And General? Fuel up the Chinooks and the Peleliu. We hear any noise out of Dhahran -
ALEXANDER
Yes, sir.
LEO
Do you want to let Bitar know we’re holding him accountable for the safety of our -
BARTLET
You send that message, they’re definitely going to start knocking heads. Tell him we’re confident in the monarchy’s ability to broker a peaceful solution. (pause) One hour, gentlemen. We’re gonna have to make a call.
LEO and HUTCHINSON react.
BARTLET (to NEWMAN)
There ought to be a warning sign when you hitch up to be the leader of the free world.
NEWMAN nods wryly.
FADE OUT.
END ACT TWO.
* * *
ACT THREE
FADE IN: INT. - ROOSEVELT ROOM – DAY
THURSDAY – 12:45 PM
JOSH is sitting alone. ANGELA enters, standing in a doorway.
ANGELA
What happened in here?
JOSH
I’m not biased, just ‘cause I’m from Connecticut.
ANGELA
Uh-huh.
JOSH
I can understand why North Carolina thinks it’s entitled to the Bill of Rights.
ANGELA
Uh-huh.
JOSH
Okay. Fine. I’m biased, they denounced the Constitution, they denounced the Bill of Rights, they seceded from the Union -
ANGELA
You want to go back 140 years? Why not 200? North Carolina’s the reason we have a Bill of Rights in the first place. Your midnight-riding New England patriots were ready to dump the bill into the Long Island Sound.
JOSH
Where are you from?
ANGELA
Asheville.
JOSH
North Carolina?
ANGELA
We said no rights amendments, no ballgame, we refuse to ratify the Constitution without it.
JOSH
Well, for such champions of the bill you certainly placed a lot of importance on those rights in the 1800s, especially the parts about life, liberty, property -
ANGELA
You’re gonna lecture me on equal rights?
JOSH
How does a state that fought for slavery have the gall to claim ownership in a document that -
ANGELA
First, Josh – the war wasn’t just about slavery, it was about industry. Second, that’s exactly why North Carolina needs an original copy on display in Raleigh, to remind them, and third, Connecticut has the highest per-capita income in the country.
FAIRFAX and MERRIWETHER enter the room behind JOSH.
ANGELA
They want the damn piece of paper so badly why don’t they just offer to compensate North Carolina?
FAIRFAX
Oh, we’d be willing to pay.
CUT TO: INT. - AIR FORCE ONE CORRIDOR – DAY
WALKEN
Come on, Bess.
We see GLENALLEN WALKEN’S dog, Bess, enter the aircraft on a leash, followed by WALKEN himself.
BARTLET
Glen, good to see you.
WALKEN
Mr. President, it’s good to see you. Just like a fraternity reunion. Where’s the keg? Or maybe better break out the bingo instead.
Bess barks.
WALKEN
Shut up, Bess! Come on.
CUT TO: INT. - AIR FORCE ONE OFFICE – DAY
We see a TV screen with coverage of the protests on Saudi Arabia. NEWMAN is watching it as WALKEN and BARTLET enter.
BARTLET
Come in. You know President Newman?
WALKEN
Mr. President, we’ve met before.
NEWMAN
Oh, yes. So, what are you up to these days, Glen? Vouchers? School prayer?
WALKEN
Actually, it’s more like dog walking, and of course my spin class.
NEWMAN
I’m surprised you’re not looking for another place to bomb.
WALKEN
I like to make an impression.
NEWMAN
Well, you certainly did that. But why should I complain – I’m sure it helped precipitate the current situation.
BARTLET
Maybe I should have taken a longer vacation.
NEWMAN
And let him wage war with the rest of the Arab world?
WALKEN
To think I heard you were one of my biggest fans.
BARTLET
The old formulas don’t work, DW, we need to make new choices. Glen, the protesters are surrounding the Aramco compound in Dhahran.
NEWMAN
What do you think, Glen? Should we invade?
WALKEN
We need wholesale change in the region, this is an opportunity. We’re the only superpower left, why wouldn’t we go into Riyadh?
NEWMAN
The more of the world we inhabit, the better it is for the human race.
WALKEN
Buck stops here.
NEWMAN
Ah, yes, the almighty dollar. In my four years we spent $200 billion on foreign oil. And a hundred billion protecting the leaders of the countries that supplied it. How many lunches did I have, playing footsie with some Saudi prince, promising to sell them AWACS and Bradleys and all in the name of stability. But I paid a premium.
BARTLET
These people hate us.
NEWMAN
Of course they hate us. Because we support their oppressors, because we are their oppressors.
BARTLET
Glen, I’m not sure we have the stomach for empire.
WALKEN
I’m not looking for empire, I’m not looking to colonize. If this protest is a call for democracy, I think we should create a provisional secular government, oversee the transition, and get out as fast as we can.
NEWMAN
Leaving them with a weak state and a hated Vichy government. You really want to make a difference, Jed, then support this Arujunah, from the sidelines. You start saddling up camels in every country in the Middle East, then you better be prepared to spend the next 50 years sifting through sand. Because this isn’t a quick run on the beach, Jed. This is the new world order.
There is a knock at the door. CHARLIE leans into the doorway.
CHARLIE
Mr. President? We’re ready for takeoff.
BARTLET
Thank you.
CUT TO: INT. - CJ’S OFFICE – DAY
As we see coverage of the Saudi protests on her TV screens, CJ is looking through the DARPA budget and talking to DR. MILKMAN.
CJ
It seems you’re happy enough to publicize your work on micro-nano cameras, gecko fingertip adhesion, something delightfully nicknamed Smellovision -
MILKMAN
There is the brain-machine interface program, it measures the processes in the brain in hopes of detecting deceptive intent -
CJ
So not mind control, mind reading.
MILKMAN
It’s all part of a new counterterrorism initiative, and the heart of our strategy is bio-surveillance, we’re mining existing health databases to determine -
CJ
You’re looking at medical records?
MILKMAN
It’s totally anonymous.
CJ
You’ll have Social Security numbers, addresses, personal data.
MILKMAN
Just for the human ID program.
CJ
Human ID?
MILKMAN
Human identification at a distance, where we use a variety of biometric technologies to focus on body parts, face identification, human kinematics -
CJ
Kinematics?
MILKMAN
Oh, yeah. It’s amazing what we can tell from the human stride. Personality, intention, pathology, criminality. All from scrutinizing one’s gait.
CJ.
Yeah. I gotta go.
She gets up and walks to the door. MILKMAN watches her. CJ stops at the doorway and looks at MILKMAN scrutinizing her gait.
CUT TO: INT. - AIR FORCE ONE CABIN – DAY
TOBY is still in his seat with his laptop. PRESIDENT BARTLET brings him a cup of coffee and sits with him.
BARTLET
Hey.
TOBY
Thank you.
BARTLET (nodding towards the laptop)
How you doing?
TOBY
I’ve been … walking up and down these aisles – looking at these old men – these great, and terrible old men – and thinking: prosperous, free, and democratic Saudi Arabia, something to wish for. But the men on this plane spent the better part of the late 20th century trying to play God in other countries. And the regimes they anointed are the ones that haunt us today. Yeah, I’m not making much progress with the eulogy.
BARTLET
Did you ever meet President Lassiter?
TOBY
No.
BARTLET
He’s an arrogant bastard. Pompous, high and mighty know-it-all. He used to call me in the residence, wake me up in the middle of the night to pontificate on Teddy Roosevelt, or whatever President had a birthday that week. When we were elected, I really thought we were gonna own the place. Do it differently, better. Now I realize, the men on this plane are the only others who have been there before – and really know. I wished I’d taken more of his calls.
CHARLIE comes down the aisle.
CHARLIE
Sir? It’s Leo.
BARTLET gets up and follows CHARLIE down the aisle. The camera pans to TOBY’S laptop, showing a blank document labeled “EULOGY FOR PRESIDENT LASSITER.”
CUT TO: INT. - AIR FORCE ONE, PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE – DAY
BARTLET walks to the phone and presses a button.
BARTLET
Hey.
LEO (voiceover)
Did Walken make it on board?
BARTLET
They really broke the mold on that one. What have you got?
LEO (voiceover)
Dhahran’s quiet.
The phone call continues as the scene cuts between AIR FORCE ONE and LEO’S OFFICE.
LEO
But there’s been an outbreak of fighting in Riyadh.
BARTLET (voiceover)
How serious?
LEO
A bunch of imams throwing stones, a number of people were injured.
LEO
And they found Strosser, the guy at the embassy. Says Arujunah’s a true reformer, a believer in checks-and-balances democracy.
BARTLET
Wouldn’t lie about chopping down cherry trees.
LEO (voiceover)
That’s the gist.
BARTLET
Okay. Tell Alexander I want the Truman battle group moved into the Gulf, and set up a call with Bitar.
LEO
It – sir …
BARTLET
It’s time to tell him, Leo. Real change, or he can start looking for a new kingdom.
We see LEO’S impassive face as the call is disconnected. BARTLET sits back at his desk. We hear Colonel Gantry on the speaker.
GANTRY
This is the Captain speaking. We are beginning our descent, please return to your seats and fasten your seat belt.
FADE OUT.
3 HOURS LATER
FADE IN: EXT. - OUTSIDE THE LASSITER LIBRARY – DAY
A raised podium is set up with a Presidential lectern. Rows of seats are arranged on the ground before the podium. An American flag flies at half-staff. TOBY is sitting alone in one of the seats. His phone rings. He searches for it, finds it in his jacket on another chair, and answers it.
TOBY
Hello.
DONNA (voiceover)
Well, at least you’re not singing. How is it?
TOBY
Oh, don’t ask.
CUT TO: INT. - DONNA’S DESK – DAY
DONNA
Okay. … How is it?
TOBY (voiceover)
Sad.
CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE LASSITER LIBRARY
TOBY
It’s … (clears throat) It’s just sad.
CUT TO: EXT. - PORTICO OUTSIDE THE LASSITER LIBRARY – DAY
CHARLIE, carrying a phone, walks up to PRESIDENT BARTLET.
CHARLIE
Sir?
BARTLET
Hmm?
CHARLIE
It’s Leo.
BARTLET
Thanks. (takes phone) Yeah?
The phone call continues as the scene cuts between the PORTICO OUTSIDE THE LASSITER LIBRARY and the SITUATION ROOM.
LEO
Mr. President, I’m with Secretary Hutchinson and General Alexander. The national guard has started to fan out around the protests in Riyadh and Dhahran.
BARTLET
Where’s Bitar?
LEO (voiceover)
We haven’t been able to reach him, he’s apparently on a plane back to Riyadh.
BARTLET
General, I want you to ready a peacekeeping mission. Leo - fax, FedEx, carrier pigeon, I don’t give a damn how, but get word to the Crown Prince: any unprovoked use of force and I’m going to freeze the sale of all military arms. We’re gonna stop training his precious national guard, hell, tell him if he can use saving American lives as a pretext for force, so can I.
BARTLET hangs up and turns to see NEWMAN, who just walked up behind him. He tosses the phone back to CHARLIE, who walks away.
NEWMAN
Did you see all those books?
BARTLET
Um-mmm.
NEWMAN
Do you think Lassiter actually read Shakespeare? I would have thought he was more of a Melville fan. He called me, you know. When we all found out about your illness?
BARTLET
He must have been livid.
NEWMAN
I was livid. I wanted to call the White House, call CNN – there was Lassiter on the phone, telling me to can it.
The two Presidents begin to walk.
BARTLET
There’s a Wilson quote: “Is the present war a struggle for a just and secure peace or for a new balance of power? There must be not a balance of power, but a community of power. Not organized rivalries, but an organized common peace.” Ah, what the hell – Woodrow Wilson didn’t have all the answers.
NEWMAN
No. Neither did Lassiter, God knows. And, then again – neither did I. But, at least at the end, we were all asking the right questions.
FADE OUT.
END ACT THREE.
* * *
ACT FOUR
FADE IN: EXT. - A PERGOLA OUTSIDE THE LASSITER LIBRARY - DAY
WALKEN is sitting on a bench smoking a cigar, as Secret Service agents move about. BARTLET arrives.
BARTLET
Hey, Glen.
WALKEN
Mr. President.
WALKEN stands.
BARTLET (gesturing for him to sit)
Please.
WALKEN
Miss Libby’s looking for you.
BARTLET sits next to WALKEN.
WALKEN (referring to his cigar)
This going to bother you?
BARTLET
Not at all. World’s certainly turned upside-down since Owen Lassiter’s time.
WALKEN
True enough. Went on a trip to China with him one time, we had dinner in Beijing. We couldn’t find a bathroom. Talk about yellow peril. The two of us are out in the bushes, and Owen Lassiter’s reciting Lincoln’s second State of the Union.
BARTLET
“The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present.”
WALKEN
Something like that. I lost touch with him towards the end. He started making all these strange trips to nonsense places, old battlefields … but I can’t help wondering how he’d react to the situation in Riyadh.
BARTLET
Me, too. I’ll catch up with you, Glen.
BARTLET stands and walks away.
CUT TO: INT. - OUTSIDE LEO’S OFFICE – DAY
We first see a closeup of a TV showing CNN coverage of the unrest in Saudi Arabia. CJ walks up and is joined by JOSH coming out of the Roosevelt Room.
CJ
How’s it going with Grant and Lee?
JOSH
They’re gonna hold a signing ceremony, maybe even a 21-musket salute.
CJ
You reached an agreement.
JOSH
The Union will stand.
They both look at the TV.
JOSH
Freedom, and the right to assemble for one and all.
CJ
Yeah, well, not if the man from DARPA has anything to do with it.
JOSH
Ah, DARPA.
CJ
They’re sifting through medical records.
JOSH
Just trying to protect you.
CJ
Haven’t you had enough trouble haggling over the Bill of Rights for one day?
They move into LEO’S office.
JOSH
Does the press have the story?
CJ
Huh?
JOSH
The mind control story, didn’t you say it was going to break?
CJ
Yeah.
JOSH
So, the story breaks, the public has roughly the same reaction you’re having, no more mind control, no more sifting.
CJ
No more gait scrutiny.
JOSH
Democracy in action, you gotta love it.
LEO appears around the corner, talking with ALEXANDER.
LEO
So we need to send in 30,000 troops?
ALEXANDER
Initially.
LEO
And if this were to move beyond peacekeeping?
ALEXANDER just looks at LEO.
LEO
Yeah, okay. I’ll be down in a minute. (to JOSH and CJ) Is it important?
JOSH
Mmm, no.
CJ
Not really, no.
CJ and JOSH exit as LEO sits at his desk. As he is looking through papers, MALLORY walks in the door.
MALLORY
Hi, Dad.
LEO
Mal, what are you doing here?
MALLORY
I have something to tell you, it’s why I’ve been late, I-I just didn’t want -
LEO
You all right?
MALLORY
Yeah. No, not really. (she sits) It’s hard for me, because of who you are – we are … oh, I hate this, can I just go?
LEO
I don’t think so.
MALLORY
Mom’s getting remarried.
LEO (after a slight pause)
I know that.
MALLORY
You know that?
LEO
She called me.
MALLORY
She called you. She said she didn’t.
LEO
Mal, I appreciate the concern. I’m fine.
MALLORY
See, I knew it.
LEO
Knew what?
MALLORY
I just didn’t want you to hear it – I didn’t want you to be alone when you heard.
LEO
It’s okay. I’m just sorry we haven’t had more time together.
The camera pushes in on LEO’S empty chair as he gets up and joins MALLORY.
LEO (voiceover)
I though we’d have a nice night at the theatre the other night but we got this little problem in the Middle East …
CUT TO: EXT. - OUTSIDE THE LASSITER LIBRARY – DAY
A bugler plays Taps as an honor guard stands ready. An American flag is folded. BARTLET, WALKEN, NEWMAN and Newman’s wife stand respectfully. The flag is presented to the widow, LIBBY LASSITER. The honor guard delivers the 21-gun salute.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN: INT. - LASSITER LIBRARY – NIGHT
LIBBY LASSITER and PRESIDENT BARTLET are moving through the hallway into a display area.
LIBBY
Mr. President, I want to thank you for coming.
BARTLET
Of course I came, Libby.
LIBBY
Owen would have loved the eulogy. Who wrote it? The humor so dry, and – and sad. I always thought you detested him.
BARTLET
That’s a long time ago.
LIBBY
I know he called you, just the other day, but you didn’t call him back. Several times.
She opens the door into the replica Oval Office and enters.
LIBBY
But … you never called him back.
BARTLET follows LIBBY. We see a hospital bed in the middle of the room. Books are piled on the furniture.
LIBBY
When we left the White House, I thought we’d have some time together. His job was done, but he took to traveling. To Korea, to the Philippines, to Vietnam, and to Europe – any spot where American boys had shed blood. Even the Civil War.
We see the bookshelves are filled with labeled jars containing soil.
LIBBY
He’d fill a jar, come back to this room, this oval room he’d had built. He’d come here to think. He took to eating here, and sleeping here. Even after the operation. And when they came, they found him here.
BARTLET examines the labeled jars.
BARTLET
Battlefields.
LIBBY
Yes.
She opens a drawer and takes out an envelope.
LIBBY
I wanted you to come, because he left this for you.
BARTLET takes the envelope. It is the one we saw at the beginning of the episode, addressed to Jed Bartlet.
BARTLET
Thank you.
He opens the envelope and takes out the note. As he begins reading, he exchanges a look with LIBBY.
BARTLET
“We owe it to ourselves to stand in this dirt as survivors and witnesses. We have to cure ourselves of the itch of the absolute knowledge or power or right. We have to close the distance between the push-button order and the human act. We have to touch people -”
CHARLIE enters and hands a phone to BARTLET.
CHARLIE
Sir, it’s Leo.
BARTLET (takes the phone)
Did you talk to the Crown Prince?
The phone call continues as the scene cuts between the LASSITER LIBRARY and the SITUATION ROOM.
LEO
We’re too late, sir. A protester in Riyadh fired on the national guard. There was tear gas, more gunfire -
BARTLET
A protester fired?
LEO (voiceover)
We think it was a member of the national guard dressed as a protester.
BARTLET
Are there casualties?
LEO (voiceover)
Twenty, thirty. Probably hundreds more in the aftermath.
BARTLET
Our people are safe?
LEO (voiceover)
Crowds in Dhahran have dispersed – Riyadh, Jeddah, it’s all breaking up.
BARTLET
And the leaders of the protest? Arujunah?
LEO
No.
BARTLET
(pause) Okay.
LEO (voiceover)
I guess this changes things.
BARTLET
I’m not sure it changes anything.
He hangs up. He looks at the note again. We see the final words:
“JED – GO SEE LINCOLN AND LISTEN. OWEN LASSITER.”
CUT TO: EXT. - LINCOLN MEMORIAL – NIGHT
BARTLET walks up the steps of the Memorial in front of the statue of Lincoln. He looks up at it. The camera pulls back, fading to more and more distant shots of BARTLET and Lincoln.
DISSOLVE TO: END TITLES.
FADE TO BLACK.
THE END.
* * *
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