The West Wing quotes

You got a minute to talk about Kazakhstan?

Vinick

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.

Vinick

The good cop, bad cop routine you and Bartlet had worked out seems to be the only thing you can do.

What do you mean?

Vinick

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. [pause] How about Secretary of State?

Vinick

You gonna go with Reynolds?

Maybe. If I don't get my first choice.

Vinick

Who's that?

That would be you.

Vinick

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.

As you know, we have very little in the budget for redecorating.

Helen

Oh? How much is very little?

$200,000. You might want to establish a fund raising committee to raise a few million dollars and do it right. There really is a lot to do, especially in this room. I've never really liked the color of this rug but the Bartlets ... Well. It's up to you now.

Danny

[to CJ] We keep shoving this conversation downstream. At some point you have to choose to have a relationship. We're not 25 any more. At our age you can't date a little and screw a little and wait around to see if you get sentimental at Christmas. You have to decide if you're gonna make another person a part of your life. A partner.

CJ

[to Toby] You don't need a pardon, You need a frying pan to the side of your head.

Danny

[to CJ] I want you to do what you want to do. Take the job at the White House. I just want you to talk to me about it. I want us to talk about what it will mean and how we'll make it work. I want us to talk like we're gonna figure it out together. I want us to talk...because I like the sound of your voice. I just want to talk.

C.J.

I missed the window. That's what's going on here. I... missed the window to figure out... how to do this.

Danny

How to...?

C.J.

Share my life with another person, how to be a partner or whatever condescending way you put it this afternoon.

Danny

Oh, I wasn't trying...

C.J.

I don't know how to do it. Maybe at one point I did, maybe I never did, but it's over now. It's too late. This and skiing. It's too late, it's not going to happen.

Danny

C.J...

C.J.

You said yourself, it's not an accident that this hasn't come together. This is who I am. I'm good at my job, Danny, I'm good at working, I'm not good at this.

Danny

You're right, you suck at it. You're going to need a tremendous amount of training. [pause] We're going to get good at new things.

C.J.

You don't know that.

Danny

I do.

C.J.

Don't make it sound like it's nothing.

Danny

You didn't miss it.

C.J.

What if I did?

Danny

You didn't miss it.

C.J.

What if we can't...

Danny

We'll figure it out. All of it. You can be scared. That's okay. But you're not going to walk away from me because you're scared. I'm not that scary.

C.J.

You make it sound like I'm trying to avoid you.

Danny

I didn't say that.

C.J.

I don't make booty calls.

Danny

You don't make any calls, kind of how it works out.

C.J.

What?

Danny

You're elusive, part of the draw.

Toby

[about the prospect of C.J. joining the Santos administration] Well, you'd be a get, too. Are you gonna do it?

C.J.

Mmm... Probably, I... I don't know, it's, um, complicated.

Toby

Why?

C.J.

[pause] Danny Concannon.

Toby

Yeah, I heard something about that.

C.J.

We've been spending time together, which is perfectly nice, but he's getting way ahead of himself. I mean, I'm not ready to shape my life around a guy I've been with for a month, that doesn't make sense.

Toby

You didn't pick him up in a bar last Thursday, you've been close for eight years.

C.J.

That doesn't mean it magically falls into place once we take the leap. What? I'm not resisting.

Toby

You're not?

C.J.

I'm not one of those women who can't handle a good thing when it's standing in front of them.

Good morning Mr. President.

Bartlet

Morning.

How are you feeling this morning?

Bartlet

Unemployed.

A lot of that going around the building.

Josh

[looking at a note C.J. has given him] W.W.L.D?

CJ

"What would Leo do?"

Bartlet

How's your speech?

It's got some good sections, but no "Ask not what your country can do for you..."

Bartlet

Yeah, Kennedy kind of screwed us with that one, didn't he?

Hey, you work there?

CJ

Pardon?

I said, do you work up there? In the White House.

CJ

No. I don't.

Oh, sorry.

CJ

No problem.

Must be something, huh?

CJ

Yeah. Yeah, it must be something.

Abbey

Jed, what are you thinking about?

Tomorrow.