CJYou got the energy quarterly?
I got it right here, thank you.
CJ
I'd like it back.
How about you get your own copy?
CJ
We're not ready to assess domestic nuclear storage facilities, sir. The team hasn't evaluated all the options and I haven't presented you with complete information.
You don't think this is a good start?
CJ
I think it's you doing my job for me. You're looking at this based on DOD's call. Their perspective is valid, but it's only one perspective, and until we've gathered all the others, if you need something to read, I recommend the new Benjamin Franklin bio. It's a real page turner. [Grabs papers and begins to exit] Thank you, Mr. President.
Hmm... Sorry I missed it. She still nervous?
[woken by his staff, in his cabin on Air Force One] I thought you were gonna let me rest.
C.J.
I'm so sorry, sir. State just got a heads-up from the IAEA that they're gonna report tomorrow that the South Korean government has admitted to conducting an experiment to enrich uranium. [as C.J. is talking, Bartlet is looking down at his legs and his arm, in some realization] South Korea is not releasing any details. We need you to get on the phone and get the President to come clean. We can't ask China to help stop North Korean nuclear experiments if the South is doing it too. [she picks up a phone] Get us a secure line with the South Korean President.
C.J.
Sir?
[moments later, the President is taken on a stretcher to another part of the plane]
SGSurgeon General Griffith
Progressive paralysis, he had trouble with his hands, now it's both legs and his right arm...
[sarcastically] So much for being staff-dependent in China.
SGSurgeon General Griffith
Fairbanks is closer, but Anchorage is better--
I've got better doctors up here than I do down there.
C.J.
Mr. President, we can't take the chance--
Let's not pretend we didn't know this was gonna happen.
C.J.
No, Mr. President, I didn't know...
I mean, we always knew it was gonna happen someday. I'm ready for it, you better be too.
C.J.
Mr. President, we can't land in China--
[sternly] This plane is going to China. That's a direct order from your Commander-in-Chief.
CJ
[about the President's valentine date] You're taking her to the opera?
Verdi's Othello, romantic eh?
CJ
Isn't that the one where the guy kills his wife?
It's in Italian, I'm hoping she won't notice.
[about Greg Brock, the recipient of a leak of classified information] So, you guys spend some time together?
C.J.
Brock? We can pull a conversation.
C.J.
Which guy would that be?
C.J.
I don't play favorites.
I'm thinking you play favorites. Given the number of times his name appears on your call sheet. And also given the fact that six reporters in the White House Press Corps say you play favorites. It used to be Danny Concannon, now it's Greg Brock. So, it's a crush or an affair or a mutually acknowledged, but unrequited... What are we talking about here?
C.J.
Oliver, I have a whole lot to do.
It got personal with Danny, right? And if he's the new Danny...
C.J.
We're not doing this.
You talked to him every day. He drops by more than a guy with a phone in his pocket needs to drop by. And he published code word classified information on the front page of his newspaper. So, this does not fall under the category of things to which I do not need an answer.
C.J.
...You think the leak came from me... I'm the suspect.
Can you tell me about the nature of your relationship with Greg Brock?
We're getting some movement from Congress on education.
C.J.
We'll get you a summary but probably class size reduction, a little infrastructure money, some version of performance incentives for teachers.
That's right out of the Santos plan.
C.J.
Well, he probably doesn't have the votes for it.
He definitely doesn't have the votes.
C.J.
But if he's [Haffley] expressing an interest...
He's expressing an interest because the Vinick camp told him to.
Education may be the only thing the public knows about Matt Santos other than his hair color. We would be thrilled if you kept the hands off.
You think we can bring it up in a debate after Jed Bartlet's already moved on it? We'll look like idiots.
C.J.
Okay, everybody, let's take a breath.
Haffley is extending an olive branch. I'm sure the President is just being polite. He knows he can't get an education bill passed in his last six months.
C.J.
The guy's got a 66% approval rating. We're not rolling up the rugs.
A new Democratic administration will pass a much more powerful bill.
C.J.
You people are nine points down. It's better than 20 points down, but it's not what I'd call a win.
The only reason the Speaker is opening the door at all is because he thinks it may wound your campaign. You think he's going to walk in here a year from now and offer it to the bright-eyed new President?
No, actually, he's screwing you, and for the moment, we're comfortable with that.
He's screwing the party and using this administration to do it.
C.J.
The President did not take an oath of party, he took an oath of office.
[Josh chuckles in disbelief.]
C.J.
[to Toby] Good evening. You would not believe the day I had. I'd tell you about it if I could talk about it, but a bunch of stuff happened today that I can't talk about, so I guess I should stop talking about it. [hands a folder to Margaret] But the truth is, I'm so strung out and wired on caffeine that I can't even tell what room I'm in.
C.J.
Let's open that bottle of champagne you gave me for my birthday. Maybe the alcohol will balance out the caffeine.
C.J.
[gets out the bottle of champagne and two glasses] Let's have a toast. One final toast before I leave the White House for my perp walk in leg irons. Here, you open it.
C.J.
Fine, I'll open it. But just, uh, listen to what I have to say. Leo's in trouble.
C.J.
You do?
C.J.
What?
[C.J. looks up with concern on her face]
You saw the wires. They counted the number of questions I was asked this morning because I didn't answer one of them.
CJ
You thought we were going to get good coverage this week?
47, by the way; a career high.
CJ
You have to let the press punch themselves out.
You're talking to the punching bag. My job is to look like I'm not completely ignorant. Counsel won't even brief me on the details of Toby's firing.
CJ
I asked them not to.
Don't you want me to have a shred of credibility in the briefing room?
CJ
Your ignorance is your credibility. That's why I put you in this job. And your constituents aren't in that room, they're in distressed urban areas. You brief at 4:00.
0 for 47. I'm the Jamaican Bobsledding Team!
The West Wing · 913 quotes
