How's the President doing?
He's fighting a cold.
Think it's about time for me to talk to a few of my former colleagues in the House?
Mmm, not yet sir, no.
I served on energy with Haffley.
I appreciate that.
I sang in the Congressional Quartet with the majority whip. I've gotten drunk on fact-finding with most of the guys...
[interrupting] With all due respect sir, we can't send mixed signals.
You saw their deal two days ago and turned them down. If you're waiting for Haffley to call, you've misjudged your man. You can't treat the Speaker like...
[interrupting again] The President will decide the terms.
No, he won't! Like it or not, we have a Republican Congress. They get to write the budget. The President only gets to edit it a bit. You want to blame someone, call James Madison.
Thanks for the history lesson, sir. I'll be sure to pass it on to the President.
[pause] You know what they call a leader with no followers? Just a guy taking a walk.
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