The West Wing · 913 quotes[Bartlet stands alone in the Oval Office, in the middle of a raging storm. The back door suddenly flies open]
God damn it...Mrs. Landingham!
[Mrs. Landingham suddenly walks through the main door of the Oval Office]
I really wish you wouldn't shout, Mr. President.
[Bartlet stares at her for a few seconds]
The door keeps blowing open.
You could have used the intercom to call me, you know.
I know, but I didn't want to-
You didn't want to, or you didn't know how?
It's not that I don't know how. It's just that I haven't learned yet.
[Pause. Mrs. Landingham smiles at him]
I have MS, and I didn't tell anybody.
Yeah. So, you're having a little bit of a day.
You're going to make jokes?
God doesn't make cars crash and you know it. Stop using me as an excuse.
The Party's not going to want me to run.
The Party'll come back. You'll get them back.
I've got a secret for you, Mrs. Landingham, I've never been the most popular man in the Democratic Party.
I've got a secret for you, Mr. President. Your father was a prick who could never get over the fact that he wasn't as smart as his brothers. Are you in a tough spot? Yes. Do I feel sorry for you? I do not. Because there are people way worse off than you.
Give me numbers.
I don't know numbers. You give them to me.
How about a child born this minute has one in five chances of being born into poverty?
How many Americans don't have health insurance?
44 million.
What's the number one cause of death for black men under 35?
Homicide.
How many Americans are behind bars?
Three million.
How many Americans are drug addicts?
Five million.
And one in five kids in poverty?
That's thirteen million American children. 3.5 million kids go to schools that are literally falling apart. We need 127 billion in school construction, and we need it today!
To say nothing of 53 people trapped in an embassy.
Yes.
You know, if you don't want to run again, I respect that. [stands up] But if you don't run 'cause you think it's gonna be too hard or you think you're gonna lose - well, God, Jed, I don't even want to know you.
