Fitzwallace What do photographers say in the digital age, now that the old 'Come up and see my darkroom' line has gone the way of the dodo?
“Gaza” · Season 5
In this episode: Toby Ziegler (3), Kate Harper (3), C.J. Cregg (2), Leo McGarry (2), Will Bailey (2), Josiah Bartlet (1)
Say you're from Minnesota.
I'm from Minnesota.
No, we're pretending you're from there.
We're not actually.
And you'd like prescription drugs from Canada.
What do I have?
Not important.
It could be clouding my judgment.
You're no fun anymore.
I'm having fun.
[on the phone] Are you kidding? Do you know the term "decent interval"? Go away. [hangs up] Magley from the DNC, wants to talk about who to run for the two vacant House seats.
You're joking.
They're still picking up pieces of these guys over there, he's talking about DeSantos' poachable district.
What's he calling you for?
He thought Josh'd be upset about Donna being in the car. I guess he figured since my ex-wife was only almost blown up that I'd be only almost upset.
Leo. You wanted to see me?
Yeah, listen. With Nancy McNally out of the country, you're going to have to be our go-to... I was gonna say "guy". The problem with English: "guy" is wrong, "gal" is patronizing, and "person" sounds arch.
"Go-to-guy" is fine.
Good, 'cause you're it. Which is a lot to throw at you weeks into the job. I want you to know you have my and the President's full support.
I appreciate your confidence.
We'll need you to coordinate all the intelligence agencies, including the FBI and CIA. You may have heard: they don't play nicely together.
Well, boys will be boys.
And don't be afraid to knock heads together. We don't want petty turf wars slowing down the intel.
I'll keep on 'em.
You run into resistance, you let me know.
I hope that won't be necessary.
Another thing: the President's not crazy about the DCI. It's chemical; just rubs him the wrong way.
Okay.
This isn't gossip; it's guidance. If the CIA's got something, the Director's not always the most effective vessel for communicating it.
I'll make sure to underline anything I think is significant.
We just need you to be all over this. State, Defense. You're the White House point... person.
I won't let you down. Oh, and on that whole language score: I was in the military. I "manned" battleships, was "one of the boys," occasionally was exhorted to "drop my ...," you know, and "grab my socks." I've made my peace with the colloquial.
Okay.
Just between us girls. Thanks, Leo.
One reason some people say nothing can happen till these guys are gone is the feeling they both may be stuck in old attitudes or assumptions. There was a time when Palestinians and all Arabs wanted to drive Jews into the sea, but some would argue that time's past.
Listen to some Arab broadcasts.
Rabble-rousing to distract their street.
I'm not sure any credible Arab leader truly expects Israel's demise anymore, not even the Chairman.
Don't be so sure.
Well, there's a view that...
Don't keep saying "Some argue" and "There's a view." Can we restrict it to your view?
Okay. Palestinians are no longer fighting to destroy the Jewish state. They're fighting for a state of their own, a revolutionary struggle against an occupying force, and revolutionaries will outlast and out-die occupiers every time.
I don't know if that's more simplistic or naive.
It's tribal. It can't be solved. It's Hatfield and McCoy and there is no end.
The Mideast reminds me of that joke about the optimist and the pessimist. The pessimist says "Everything is terrible. It can't get any worse." The optimist says "Oh, yes it can."
It can get easy to forget that there's a silent majority on both sides who just want to live their lives.
Unfortunately, you spend all your time focusing on what's drowning them out: the invective and bomb blasts.
Isn't it our ultimate moral responsibility to them?
It's quicksand. An ego trip.
Sir?
Chasing that Nobel Peace Prize right down the same sinkhole.
After 50 years of strife and futility, there's no dishonor in failure. The only dishonor might be not to try.
These quotes come from Wikiquote's The West Wing pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.