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S2 E2

Yes, Prime Minister · Season 2, Episode 2

Hacker, Derek Burnham and others in “Official Secrets”

[Lunch with a newspaper editor]

Hacker

So I want you to retract that suppression story.

DBDerek Burnham

I don't see how I can.

Hacker

Well, of course you can! You're the editor, aren't you?

BBurnham

Yes, but an editor isn't like a general commanding an army; he's just the ringmaster of a circus. I mean I can book the acts, but I can't tell the acrobats which way to jump!

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