This week, we get a hearty stew of politics, international intrigue, and Congressional hearings into the leak. Margaret spends the day testifying at the Congressional hearings, where we learn that she may have sometimes listened in on C.J.'s calls, but we don't actually learn what she might have heard. Santos, campaigning on education issues, gets pulled into a local school board debate about intelligent design. He ends up turning a difficult situation around and causes problems for Vinick, who is much less comfortable discussing religious issues than Santos is. However, things aren't all golden for the campaign, because Leo has also received a subpoena in the leak investigation, and nobody is looking forward to having the Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate testifying in what could turn into a criminal matter. On top of all of this, the Palestinian Chairman is assassinated by a suicide bomber. Jed is concerned that the peace deal will fall apart, and he pushes hard to get a suitable contingent of world leaders to attend the funeral. Charles Frost, the Vinick campaign's former security briefer, keeps trying to contact C.J., and then he shows up at the White House to give a warning that the assassination is just the first step in some international plan to destabilize the Middle East, or throw the oil industry into turmoil, or something. Everyone thinks he's crazy until the second assassination he predicted occurs. At the end of a very long day, C.J. seems resigned to having her life turned upside down by accusations that she leaked top-secret information. And then Toby comes to her and tells her that he did it. Well, duh.
A disembodied voice welcomes us to the hearings of the Congressional committee investigating the shuttle leak. It is now 82 days until Election Day (in other words, sometime between August 13 and 19). We see several members of the Congressional committee sitting on one side of a long table. The witness is sitting with her back to the camera. As she stands to be sworn in, it's pretty clear that the witness is Margaret. I mean, are there currently any other women with wavy red hair on the show? Margaret takes the oath and continues to stand there with her right hand raised as the disembodied voice tells Senator Dresden to proceed with the questioning. As Dresden starts to speak to her, Margaret slowly realizes that it's probably okay to sit down. Hey, Dresden is played by Mitch Pileggi, a.k.a. Skinner on The X Files, a.k.a. Uncle Richard on Tarzan. Dresden addresses Margaret as "Ms. Hooper." A mystery of the ages, revealed!
Dresden starts in with some high-speed questioning of Margaret: her position, her responsibility for dealing with all incoming calls to C.J., her familiarity with the White House phone logs and archive system. NiCole Robinson is just awesome in this scene -- nervous, but hyper-alert and paying close attention to every detail. Dresden hands Margaret a couple of files as he describes the committee's document subpoenas to the White House. Again, Margaret looks a bit overwhelmed, uncertain as to whether she's supposed to try to read all of these documents while he's speaking to her. He abruptly asks her if she wants a glass of water. She declines, but he orders someone to get her some water anyway. And now, for every second of Margaret's testimony, I will be waiting for that glass of water to tip over, ruining all of the documents on the table. Dresden asks Margaret if she's aware of the New York Times article that was published on July 14. There are some more background questions. We learn that Brock appeared on C.J.'s phone log between two and fourteen times a week in the six months before the leak. I really hope we eventually learn what those calls were about. Dresden starts asking about specific phone calls. Margaret carefully looks at the documents he hands her before answering any of his questions. And then Dresden asks Margaret if it's the case that she can listen in to any calls she patches through to C.J., whether in her office or on her Blackberry. After a long pause, Margaret tells him that this is true. He clarifies that this means that she could listen in on all of C.J.'s calls. As Margaret confirms this, there are all kinds of weird thumping synthesizer chords on the soundtrack. It suddenly feels like the hearings are taking place in a submarine. Dresden asks, "Did you ever monitor any phone conversations between Ms. Cregg and Mr. Brock?" Pause. Pause. Pause. Thump. Thump. Thump. And just as Margaret is about to answer...credits! Dulé Hill is in the house.
Speaking of the credits, they've added this new shot to the credits of balloons falling at a political convention. It drives me crazy, because the rest of the credits have the gorgeous depth of film while that one shot looks like glossy video footage run through a black and white film filter. It's all hard and shiny, and I don't like it.
Outdoors, at a Santos/McGarry rally. It's not only 82 days until Election Day, it's also a Friday. The rally is allegedly taking place at the University of Pennsylvania. I say "allegedly," because while the subtitle claims we are at Penn, the banner over the stage welcomes Santos to "Calverson College." Santos is giving a speech about high-tech jobs and competitiveness. Of course, not a single person in the audience can really hear him, because they are constantly hooting and hollering. Leo and a couple of other people are sitting on the stage behind Santos. In the wings, Josh and Lou are chatting about creationism and intelligent design and the fact that the constitutional requirement of the separation of church and state prohibits either one from being taught in public schools. Apparently, the State Board of Education is holding hearings on teaching intelligent design, so Josh expects local reporters to ask questions on the topic. Annabeth is standing nearby, taking a call on her cell. I really hope Lou and Annabeth have a scene together sometime this season, just the two of them. I see enormous humor potential between these two characters. Annabeth hangs up the phone and tells Josh and Lou that Vinick is headed to Atlanta, and that he is still focused on immigration issues. (I thought Sheila told George that Vinick couldn't possibly come to Atlanta, since he had no need to campaign in Georgia? Oh well, I guess she lied.) Ned comes by with recent press clippings about the current Santos/McGarry campaign tour, in which the two candidates are making appearances together. We get a quick shot of Leo checking his watch as Santos continues speechifying.
White House. Toby and Charlie walk together. Toby's carrying a yellow pad, and Charlie is carrying a couple of fancy take-out coffee cups. Charlie tells Toby that he owes him some money. Toby starts going on about the stats of some athlete or other: "Blah blah ERA blah blah." Or at least, that's what it sounds like to me. Charlie thinks that all those stats are great, but that Toby still owes him $50. Charlie tells Toby that C.J. worked the entire night, and that they expect Margaret back from her testimony in about an hour. Toby asks Charlie when he's scheduled to testify, and Charlie tells him, "Tomorrow." Someone with more inside political knowledge than I have will have to let us know in the forums whether a committee like this would ever hold sessions on a Saturday. Toby is schedule to testify on Tuesday. Suddenly, C.J. walks up to them and asks what they're talking about. Charlie: "Baseball." Toby (simultaneously): "Nothing." C.J. tells Charlie, "Keep that coffee away from me."
Charlie and C.J. enter her office while Toby stands in the doorway. She tells Toby that she was there all night working on the Omnibus Intellectual Property Bill. She rattles off some issues at hypersonic speed, and Toby speaks for the nation when he tells her, "You're speaking very fast." She asks him if he doesn't owe Charlie money, and when he starts talking stats, she tells him to "shoo." Charlie tries to hand some coffee to C.J., but she tells him she needs "less coffee and more sleep." She asks him what's up, and makes it clear that she's not talking about his beverage choices. He tells her that Toby was served with a subpoena. She asks, "How many people around here have subpoenas?" He tells her, "Lots," and she's not pleased to hear it. Charlie: "We got trouble." C.J.: "Trouble and that starts with 'T' and that rhymes with 'P' and that stands for p...ool." No, it stands for "pause," as in the thing you should be putting between words. For the love of God, this super-high-speed delivery is cute, but it's a pain in the ass to recap. Charlie tells C.J. to go home and get some rest, and she insists that a power nap will pull her through. He offers to keep everyone away from her for half an hour so she can sleep: "No people, no calls." The word "calls" reminds C.J. that she was supposed to call Leo.
Back on the campaign trail, Santos is still giving his speech. At first, I thought it was in a new location, because the scenery behind Santos had apparently changed from manicured shrubbery in front of a stone building to a large tree, but I think it's just the angle of the shot, because the crowd is identical and Josh, Lou, and Annabeth are standing in the same location. Annabeth tells Lou that she and Leo are returning to D.C. in a couple of hours. Josh looks at the stage and tells Annabeth, "He's doing it again." We see that Leo continues to check his watch as though he's got a plane to catch. Which he does, but not for a couple of hours. Annabeth: "I'm on it." Santos continues his speech: "Blah blah education blah blah." His flunkies are clearly pleased by the reaction he's able to get from the audience. As the speech ends, it's nearly impossible to hear Santos over the cheering and screaming. Leo is first on his feet to applaud as the speech finishes, and Santos stands with him as they both wave to the crowd. Santos walks over to Josh and Lou, who give him an update on Vinick's recent activities. Josh reminds Santos that no matter how much Vinick keeps focusing on border issues, Santos needs to stay on the education message. Santos points out that he's been getting a lot of questions on intelligent design. Josh points out that that's a local issue, and that Santos should ignore it and stay on message. And then Josh gives Santos a slap on the ass and sends him off to speak to reporters. Okay, maybe it was a slap on his back, but I'm guessing that's not where Josh was aiming.
Annabeth walks up to Leo and says, "Give me your watch." Leo's startled, and she tells him that his clockwatching leads people to believe that he doesn't like Santos's speech. He tells her it's a fine speech, but that he's "been getting it five times a day." Oh, not like that, you freaks. Annabeth reminds him that he's not on the stage for his own entertainment. Leo asks whether C.J. is on the phone for him. She is, but Annabeth won't give Leo the phone until he gives her his watch. They go back and forth a bit, but then he takes off his watch and hands it to her, telling her, "You're not a tall person." She responds, "And I think you're fabulous." They're just like Tracy and Hepburn, without the adultery and self-denial.
Leo walks off with the phone and starts chatting with C.J. She asks how education week is going, and Leo parrots back part of Santos's speech. She tells him that she got a call from the Vinick campaign about their security briefer, who bent Vinick's ear for too much time talking about Kazakhstan. Leo wonders if there actually is a problem in Kazakhstan, and C.J. tells him there's nothing important. She tells him that Vinick has asked for a new briefer because "the guy wouldn't shut up." I think we're supposed to think that everything we saw in the last episode happened sometime in the last week, but if that's the case, there's some time missing. Last week's events happened right after Santos finished his reserve drill. Assuming the reserve drill started on the 99th day before Election Day and lasted until the 97th or 96th day, the four or five days we saw in the last episode should have brought us to the 90th day before Election day at the latest. Which means we're missing about eight days. It's possible that much time has gone by, but it hardly seems likely to me that the Vinick campaign would have waited so long to complain about the briefer if they thought he was a problem. In any case, C.J. wants to know if anything odd has come up in the briefings for Leo or Santos. Leo is not aware of anything. And then he tells C.J. that he was served a subpoena. A very deep tone, almost subsonic, creeps into the sound mix. C.J. picks up her phone (she had been on speaker) and points out that the press will go crazy over the Democratic Veep nominee being called in to testify, and she asks him if he's gotten a lawyer. He wonders why he should need a lawyer if he's done nothing wrong. Um, was Leo this naïve before his heart attack? Suddenly, C.J.'s cell rings, and Charlie enters the office to tell her, "I have Kate Harper." I hear there's an ointment for that. She asks him what line Kate is on, but it turns out that she's on the in-person line, as she walks in right behind Charlie without so much as an invite. (Why is Charlie filling in for Margaret? Shouldn't there be some substitute from the secretarial pool?) Kate grabs the remote for C.J.'s television and tells her that there's news of a suicide bombing. On the television, someone is reporting that Palestinian Chairman Farad has been the victim of a suicide bombing. It's not known whether Farad survived the attack. Leo starts asking where C.J. went, and she tells him to find a television, quick.
Situation Room. Jed and C.J. enter, and Kate gives a briefing. Farad was on his way back from speaking at a university when a car charged his motorcade and exploded, killing several students and injuring Farad. Nobody has claimed credit for the bombing, and there's no intelligence yet to indicate who is responsible, although Secretary of Defense Hutchinson thinks it's likely to have been one of a couple of groups. The other question is whether Syria or Iran was involved, since Kate claims that each country would rather the peace plan not work out, since unrest in Israel and Palestine serves as a distraction for their own populations. C.J. asks who's in charge with Farad out of the picture. It turns out that it's the Speaker of the Palestinian House of Representatives, with an election mandated within sixty days. I would make a joke about a Palestinian version of John Goodman, but I can't find anything that's not offensive. The folks at the table discuss the danger of a Palestinian civil war and the risk that would present to U.S. peacekeepers, while Kate takes a phone call. She returns and tells them that Farad has died. There's a long pause and a lot of tense looks. Hutchinson is just dying to say, "I told you so." Jed rises and tells the group, "We need to do everything in our power to help the Palestinians hold this together." And then he walks out.
In the antechamber to the Sit Room, Jed walks to the door that has been opened, stops, turns around, walks back toward the Sit Room, stops again, sits in a chair by the door for just a nanosecond, gets back up, and walks out of the room, punching the door on the way past it. I know a lot of people didn't like that scene, but I read it as indecision and uncertainty coupled with a lack of anybody he trusts to speak with. Jed has always been surrounded by, and counted on, an incredibly loyal staff. But now someone has leaked top-secret information, and the one person he trusts the most -- Leo -- is not there.
Santos and entourage (including Ned) approach a university-type building. Josh walks up and tries to hand him a draft of a statement on Farad to read to the press, but Santos already knows what he's going to say. Santos walks up to Leo and asks him what they know. Leo fills him in -- Farad's dead, the Palestinian Speaker is in charge, Jed's trying to show support for him, Israel will tighten security and close their checkpoints. Santos is concerned that Israel will try to move back into Palestinian territory. Lou points out that coverage of the funeral is going to kill campaign news for a while, but Josh thinks Farad's lack of popularity with the U.S. media will reduce coverage. Santos points out that Jed will turn the funeral into a major event in order to save the peace plan. Lou agrees, and thinks they have only two or three days until they have to shut down the campaign while the funeral coverage takes place. Ned suggests shutting down the campaign the day as a sign of respect, and Lou bites his head off (calling him "Ted" in the process). Josh shushes them, and Santos expresses a desire to call Jed and offer condolences: "I know he and Farad were close." You do? Because I'm not sure we ever knew that. Annabeth approaches to bram Santos and Leo to the waiting press, and Josh reminds Santos not to take any stray questions. As everyone leaves, Lou takes a call from HQ. Josh hangs back: "His name is Ned." Lou: "What?" Josh: "Ted. His name is actually Ned." Lou responds, "I don't like his head." But would she like him on a sled? Or in a bed? Or near a shed? No, she will not like this man named Ned. She will not like him, Fred I Said.
Santos and Leo approach the press. A couple of questions are called out, but Santos just reads a poem, which you can find here. Did Santos just have this poem memorized? Or does he carry it around in the event that he needs to make remarks on someone's untimely death? After his little poetry slam, Santos tells the reporters that his thoughts are with Chairman Farad's family, "and to all who share the dream of peace throughout the world." Someone asks if Santos will be attending the funeral, and he points out that he just learned about the death. Someone else asks a question about intelligent design. Santos shuts down the question, noting that it's not really the appropriate time to discuss it. As he and Leo walk away, the same reporter asks whether Santos believes in intelligent design. Santos pauses, steps back to the reporters, and tells them, "I believe in God, and I'd like to think He's intelligent." And then he walks away as the reporters go into an absolute frenzy. Josh and Lou are clearly not pleased. Commercials.
Josh, Lou, and Leo (and entourage) are walking across a campusy-looking area. Josh call's Santos's remark "a God gaffe." He thinks Santos basically said he believes in intelligent design, but Lou is careful to note that he didn't really say that at all. Josh calls intelligent design "creationism with a Groucho mask," but Lou notes, "It deviates enough from the Bible to say that the Earth is indeed over six thousand years old." The debate continues for a bit, but Josh eventually notes that the real problem is that Santos got pulled off-message. And Lou agrees with that. Josh wants to issue a clarifying statement. Ronna approaches to tell them that there have been a ton of phone calls to HQ, mostly from the Democratic base and mostly accusing Santos "of pandering or worse." Leo asks if anyone has the time, and both Josh and Ned ostentatiously check their watches. Annabeth calls over to Leo to remind him that they have a plane to catch. Leo tells Josh, "The woman stole my watch. You got a minute?" Josh and Leo step aside, and Leo tells Josh, "I got served. They want me to appear on Monday." Josh is dumsquizzled. Annabeth calls to Leo again, and he says he'll call Josh from the plane.
C.J. and Kate walk through the West Wing. They're discussing Jed's upcoming call with the Israeli Prime Minister. Charlie walks by and says "Vinick" to C.J., upon which C.J. tells Kate that the Vinick campaign called to complain about the CIA analyst assigned to brief Vinick. C.J. can't remember the analyst's name, and can only remember that he was blathering on about one of the 'Stans. And then Kate's beeper goes off and she has to leave. I bet that was Bram.
C.J. walks into her office, where both Toby and Charlie ambush her. Toby asks how she's doing, and she notes that she's on her "last drop of adrenaline." Charlie tells C.J., "That guy called again." C.J.: "Margaret often gives me a name." Toby's surprised to hear that Margaret is not back yet. And again, why is Charlie filling in for Margaret? In any case, Charlie tells C.J. that the guy's name is Charles Frost. C.J. has no idea who he is. Toby and C.J. chat about Santos's God gaffe. Toby tells C.J., "Hey, I got subpoenaed." But he says it in the same way he would tell her, "Hey, I got a great deal on this suit." He asks if she's heard anything yet, and she tells him, "Nope. Last one to get a subpoena's a rotten egg." Toby reminds her that it really means she's the focus of the investigation. He asks whether she has a lawyer, and tells her to get one. C.J.: "I don't need a lawyer if I haven't done anything wrong." Charlie sticks his head in and tells C.J. that Jed is on the phone with the PM.
Office of O. C.J. enters as Jed is wrapping up the phone call. She asks how it went, and he tells her, "He's nervous." She asks if the PM will attend the funeral; it turns out he was unwilling to say. There's some discussion of the situation on the ground -- Palestinians are protesting, accusing Israel of being behind the assassination, Israel has closed its border crossings, and the real challenge of the moment will be keeping the Palestinian Speaker alive and not screwing up his chances to win the election in sixty days. Kate enters with an update on the bomber: he was a twenty-three-year-old medical student who played on "the jihad mosque soccer team." Unlike a former recapper, I have absolutely no basis for evaluating any of the representations of Palestine or Islam on this show. (But if they start shooting scenes in gay bars, I'll let you know if they get it right.) He was apparently not linked to any extremist group, but was very fervent in the exercise of his religious beliefs, and appears to have acted on his own. And then Kate tells Jed that satellites have picked up Israeli tank movements. Jed pauses, and then decisively tells the assembled group that they need to get as many world leaders as possible at the funeral to demonstrate that the international community fully supports the peace plan. Kate notes that the Palestinians are demanding that the funeral be held at the Dome of the Rock, which is in Israeli-controlled Jerusalem. C.J. points out that it will be difficult to guarantee Jed's safety, and Kate chimes in, "Only world leaders with a death wish would go to this funeral." Jed: "Fine, then we'll send Congress." And then Toby tells Jed that he should go: it will demonstrate respect for Farad and a commitment to the peace process. Jed didn't really need Toby's affirmation, because he is already determined to attend the funeral. Debbie enters, and Jed tells her to get the leaders of Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon on the phone. All at once? I'm imagining some call-waiting hijinks, with split screen shots of Jed on the phone with various leaders. It could be hi-larious. Jed dismisses everyone, but calls out to Kate: "Commander? We're going to hold this peace together."
The Santos motorcade pulls up at another campaign event. As Santos exits, there's plenty of cheering, with some booing mixed in. Some of the bystanders are holding anti-intelligent design signs. Which is not to say the protesters believe in stupid design -- I think they're anti-design in general. (Except, of course, for the affordable design you can get at Target -- nobody's against that.) There is no fucking way these protesters were mobilized this quickly. It's just not possible. ["Hey, don't discount the power of all those pinkos over at Move On." -- Wing Chun] Ned tells Jed that "the Governor" is waiting inside for Santos. Don't get too excited -- we won't be seeing Governor Bundy tonight. Josh tells Ned to make sure there are no reporters in the "parent-teacher roundtable." Josh also tells Lou that, after the roundtable, he wants to put out a statement clarifying Santos's earlier comment. Josh thinks they need to distance themselves from any religious issue, but Lou disagrees: "He's not going to use Medicaid for communion wafers." No, you'd use food stamps for those. She continues, "He said he believes in God, as did Abe Lincoln and George Washington." Lou think that since "the Republicans have nominated a pro-choice and by all accounts anti-God candidate for the first time in history, [the Democrats] have a chance to reach into their base and win back religious voters." I think that many religious voters are already voting for Democrats. The group she actually means (i.e., the religious right wing) is never going to vote for a Democrat -- but they might decide that voting for the Republican isn't really worth it either. Santos catches up with them, and Josh tells him to stay on message: "Someone asks you a question on intelligent design, and you...?" Santos: "Answer it?" Josh says "no," Lou says "yes." But she's smiling when she says it, so I think she's just trying to yank Josh's chain. Josh tells Santos that groups like the ACLU are already demanding a clarifying statement. Lou tells Santos, "Don't let anyone bait you into using any types of..." Josh: "Words." They give him some examples of the types of words he should not use: "evolution," "Genesis," "monkey trial," "creationism," "school," "prayer," "church," "state." Santos: "Amen."
C.J. emerges from the Mural Room (I think) and runs into Charlie. He tells her that Margaret called -- the committee had more questions for her, so she's still testifying. Charlie offers to get C.J. some coffee, but she just wants thirty minutes for a nap. Charlie seems happy to oblige, but she stresses how much she needs some sleep: "I'm starting see weird colors, so no people, no calls." Charlie tells her that Charles Frost called again. She still doesn't know who he is. C.J. draws the blinds in the windows and tells Charlie to close the door as she settles onto the couch for a nap. Just as she gets into what I think is an incredibly uncomfortable-looking position (her head shoved face-down into a pillow and her butt stuck up in the air), there's a knock on the door and Toby enters. He asks her if she's busy, and she tells him through the pillow (but with some grump in her voice), "I'm reading." Toby starts to talk about a meeting he's going to have with Speaker Haffley on the education bill, but C.J. clearly thinks Toby can handle it on his own. And then he tells her, "And I want you to reconsider getting a lawyer." She gets up and calls for Charlie. He enters, and she tells the two of them, "Can't you see that I'm losing my mind? And if I can't sleep, I need at least ten minutes of quiet time to myself. Quiet time! My time! I'm going out to get coffee." She has thrown on her jacket and is getting her wallet out of her massively large purse. She offers to get them something. Charlie offers to get the coffee for her while she takes her nap. He asks her what she'll have. C.J.: "I want a double-shot light on the soy cinnamon chai mocha-chino, no whip, sprinkles, and another shot on top." I am really confused by that order. Chai is a blended tea drink, and a mocha-chino is presumably an espresso/chocolate drink. I'm really not sure those things go together. Of course, I come from that part of the country where there are more Dunkin' Donuts than Starbucks, so what do I know? Charlie and Toby are as confused as I am, based on the looks on their faces. C.J. stops for a second, and says, "I'll write it down."
On a plane (which I'm assuming to be a campaign jet), Annabeth asks Leo for help lifting her massive bag into the overhead. I think you shouldn't pack a bag you can't lift or carry yourself, and if you have to pack a heavy bag, you should be prepared to check the damn thing. Of course, in Annabeth's case, it's probably not that she can't lift the bag -- she's just not tall enough to reach the overhead compartment. Leo is surprised by the size of the bag, but she tells him, "I never know when I'll need an extra set of everything." Annabeth sits down and dry-swallows two pills. Leo asks if she's okay, and she tells him, "Just a little process I go through when I fly." He asks what process that is, and she responds, "I wash back two of these anti-anxiety pills with a few flutes of champagne and I'm just fine." So, they were both at the Democratic convention in California, and the time we saw them they were in Pennsylvania together -- did they not fly there on the same plane? Or did they travel by train, or pack mule? How could Leo not know this about Annabeth after three weeks of traveling together? As Annabeth knocks back a couple of glasses of champagne, Leo asks, "You realize it's a short flight?" Yeah, actually just about forty-five minutes. Annabeth doesn't answer; she just sucks down more champagne.
Office of O. Jed is reading in a chair when Debbie enters. Jed asks her whether the Speaker has returned his call. Debbie: "No sir. I think he's on to the fact that you're inviting him to a funeral where there's a 50/50 chance he'll wind up dead." Jed: "Coward." She's there to remind Jed about a reception being held that evening for new Kennedy Center board members. As she walks out, Jed tells her, "Have a seat." She does, and he asks who's playing at the reception. She names some group that will be playing Mozart. Jed asks her, "Did you know that Mozart's father believed his son to be a miracle from God?" Apparently, that's why Papa Mozart forced his son to tour Europe giving concerts -- so that people could see the miracle. And the money had nothing to do with it, I'm sure. Someone enters to tell Jed that Leo is on the phone for him. As he walks toward the phone, Debbie asks, "And how did young Wolfgang feel about being hauled around like a trained monkey?" Jed notes that it pretty much "screwed him up for life." So, just like Showbiz Moms and Dads, then? This little chat with Debbie was kind of pointless, but I think it demonstrates how desperate Jed is to be able to speak with someone he trusts. Jed gets on the phone. After just a second of small talk, Leo tells him, "Mr. President, I've been served a subpoena to appear before Congress."
Back at the hearings, Margaret is still testifying. Dresden asks her whether she was listening in on a call between C.J. and Brock on June 20. Margaret: "I don't believe I was." He asks her whether she connected the call but didn't listen in (which I hope was what she did with most calls), and she tells him, "I don't believe I connected that call." He drills her again, and she tells him, "That is my best recollection." Dresden tries to get Margaret to admit that her best recollection is that she doesn't remember, and she corrects him: "My best recollection is that I did not connect that particular call." He then asks her about a call on "the 29th" in which Leo called C.J. to discuss the shuttle article. I assume that he suddenly jumped forward to July there -- unless it turns out that Leo is secretly psychic and knew about the leak two weeks before it happened. Commercials.
C.J. wakes up from her nap, looking just a little disoriented. She opens her door, but neither Margaret nor Charlie is in the outer office. C.J. goes to open the blinds. As she does so, we can see the reflection of a man standing behind her. He simultaneously says her name, and she jumps and turns around. He introduces himself as Charles Frost, telling her that they met once before. I'm so glad they've decided to take a more relaxed approach to White House security lately. It probably makes for a much more friendly work environment. She realizes that this is the guy who's been calling her, and also that he's the guy who briefed Vinick. He's all kinds of serious and creepy as he tells her that he has extremely sensitive information about Chairman Farad's assassination. He asks for five minutes with the President, and C.J. completely contains the sarcasm in her voice as she tells him, "No problem." She looks out her door again, presumably hoping someone will come rescue her from this nutcase. Frost tells her, "The assassination of Chairman Farad is not what they've been telling you." In response to her question, he tells her that it was not the random act of a single student, but was part of a highly coordinated plot that will lead to more assassinations. C.J. asks Frost whether he raised this idea in appropriate channels, and he tells her that he has tried to, but that "no one is taking the larger threat seriously." She asks what the larger threat is, and he tells her that the assassination is linked to another assassination that will happen in the few days, and to another that will happen a few weeks later. The assassination will be of the President of Kazakhstan. The one after that will be the regional vice-president of Unocal. Frost: "I just need five minutes." C.J. is clearly trying to decide whether this guy is nuts, or if she's experiencing a post-nap hallucination.
In the hallway of the school where Santos is about to speak, Lou is trying to sell Josh on the idea of pitching Santos as a values candidate: "The buckle on the Bible belt." What a bizarre image. Josh thinks it will offend some important Democratic base voters. Ned hands a phone to Josh, telling him that Leo is on the line. Leo immediately gives Josh some advice about controlling Santos and preventing him from making more religious remarks. As the camera slowly moves back from Leo, we can see that Annabeth is passed out, slumped over, leaning against Leo's shoulder, and holding onto his hand with a two-handed death grip. Leo and Josh exchange campaign small talk, and then Leo asks if Josh has told Santos about the subpoena. Josh hasn't had the chance. Josh asks about Leo's call with Jed: "What did he say?" Leo: "What do you think?" And then Ronna brams Josh away to the parent-teacher roundtable.
In the West Wing, Toby runs into Kate in the corridor and asks for an update on the funeral. She tells him she'll let him know what's up before he briefs the press at 5:00. He also asks her if she wants to look over the remarks he's drafting for Jed to read at the reception that night. Kate sees no need to look at them if C.J. is already doing it. Because C.J. needs more things to do. And then Kate asks Toby, "What are you digging for?" I kind of like that, because it's a return to the socially awkward Kate we had glimpses of last season. He wants to know how her testimony went, and she tells him it's been postponed: "Apparently, Margaret's still up there." Toby hands Kate off to Charlie, who asks her if she got his message. The two of them walk into Margaret's office, where Charlie hops on the phone and lets C.J. know Kate is there for her.
Kate enters C.J.'s office and starts to tell her that she has the name of Vinick's briefer, but C.J. is way ahead of her, having just spent twenty minutes talking to the guy. Kate is pissed to hear that Frost went to C.J.: "I'm gonna have his ass." C.J. wants to know why someone assigned to Kate is trying to get around her to speak to C.J. Kate repeats herself: "I'm gonna have his paranoid ass." As C.J. finishes chewing Kate out, she mentions Frost's paranoid theories. Kate is familiar with his predictions of further assassinations, but tells C.J., "We have no intelligence to support that theory." Kate thinks that Frost is a good analyst, but that he's wrong as often as he's right. C.J. asks whether Frost is still briefing Vinick, and Kate tells her, "Not after what happened yesterday." So I have to assume Frost continued to brief Vinick after their little tearoom encounter last episode, and that it was just yesterday that he really got on Vinick's nerves. Kate leaves, and Charlie enters, followed by a small man holding a folded blue sheet of paper. Charlie tells C.J., "This just came over from the Counsel's office." She wants to know what it is, and he tells her the obvious -- that it's a subpoena. Ooooh, C.J. got served!
Santos is speaking about education to a classroom full of parents and teachers. Blah blah, teacher standards, blah blah. He finishes his speech and starts to take questions. The first one comes from a tenth-grade science teacher, who asks him bluntly, "Do you believe in the theory of intelligent design?" Santos tells her, "As a Catholic who attends church every Sunday, I do believe in God, and my faith tells me that there was a designer behind it all." Josh tells Lou, in a low voice, "Time for us to leave." Lou: "The school?" Josh: "The state." The question comes from an English teacher at the school, who asks Santos whether he believes in the theory of evolution. Santos tells him that he thinks it would be pretty hard to teach much of science without evolution, and that he does believe in it. He continues, "I don't think it's contradictory to believe in science and believe in God." The English teacher goes on to ask whether Santos thinks that intelligent design should be taught alongside evolution in public schools. Santos: "Absolutely not. One is based on science, and one is based on faith. Intelligent design is not a scientific theory. It's a religious belief." To which I can only say, "Amen, brother."
Here's a simple explanation: intelligent design is based on the idea that complex life forms, and in particular intelligent life forms like human beings, could not arise through purely natural mechanisms, but that the intervention of some intelligent designer was necessary to their development. Proponents of the theory like to say that they are making no claim about who that intelligent designer was -- it could be God, it could be aliens. Except, if intelligence could not arise on its own through natural means, then the intelligent designer could not have arisen through natural means -- which means the intelligent designer must, by definition, be supernatural. (If the intelligent designer could arise through natural means, that would show that an intelligent designer isn't necessary, thereby negating the entire theory of intelligent design). And if your theory requires as an absolute element some supernatural force or being, then your theory is a religious one. Q.E.D. Also religious? Astrology, numerology, and the belief that Clay Aiken is sexy.
Anyway, Santos goes on to point out that the Constitution does not allow the teaching of religion in public schools, which means that intelligent design cannot be taught in the public schools. The English teacher points out that some parents would like all points of view to be taught. Santos thinks that's a great idea, but that science classes should only teach science. And then he goes on to tell the audience that if they don't like what their school board wants to teach, they should run for the school board. Which is great, but it overlooks the fact that no matter how many crackpots get elected to the school board, they can't be allowed to teach their religious beliefs in the public schools. Despite that weak ending, Santos seems to have won over the entire crowd, and they give him a standing ovation as he leaves the podium. Josh: "I'll be damned."
As Santos leaves the classroom, reporters shout out questions. One of them asks if he believes in the separation of church and state. He points out that you can be a religious person who still supports the separation of church and state. And then, as he's walking away, one of them asks him if he thinks that Vinick "believes in intelligent design." Which is just the most moronic question ever. But Santos turns back and tells them, "I don't know. You'd have to ask him that." Not nearly as masterful as Vinick was last week, but I bet it will get the job done. As Santos and entourage trail out, Lou asks Josh, "Did what I think just happened just happen?" Josh: "Ted?" Ned: "My name is Ned." Josh asks Ned/Ted to find the nearest TV.
We immediately cut to a crappy school television showing staticky coverage of Vinick taking questions on intelligent design while Lou, Josh, and Ned watch. So, if the reception is that bad, I'm thinking this is not cable. And I can't believe any broadcast networks are airing this kind of unmediated footage -- let alone that reporters in Atlanta would hear about Santos's remarks so quickly. Or is it true that all reporters are part of the Borg Collective, and therefore know everything every other reporter knows? In any case, Vinick's answers to the questions about intelligent design are not, in substance, much different than Santos's comments -- but Vinick is obviously extremely uncomfortable discussing the subject. And I don't think that's because Vinick doesn't have beliefs, or is unable to discuss religion intelligently -- I think it's more that he's terrified of pissing off either his right wing or the moderates he needs to win the election. One reporter agrees with me, asking, "Some on the Christian right are still looking for a reason to vote for you. Can you afford to keep alienating them?" And with that, Vinick cuts off questioning. Ronna enters to tell Josh that Meet The Press wants to bump Leo in order to have Santos on to discuss his views on religion, and that they also have a call from Nightline. Commercials.
In the Oval, Jed is just getting off the phone with Speaker Haffley when C.J. enters. He tells her that Haffley's in for the funeral, and she tells him that Air Force One is almost full for the trip. They're leaving at 9:00 AM, and that Agent Butterfield will be going along to run Jed's security. Jed is pretty brusque and business-like, and then he gives her the cold shoulder as she tries to make small talk about the latest campaign news. He doesn't even look up from the papers on his desk. C.J. looks like the floor just dropped ten feet under her as she walks out of the room. She can tell when she's not wanted.
Santos HQ. Leo is alone in the conference room when Donald Anspaugh enters. Except that Leo calls him "Barry." Barry tells Leo how pleased "we" are that Leo's on the ticket. They chat a bit about Farad. Leo asks, "How do we protect ourselves from a guy dressed in dynamite?" This is clearly rhetorical, because Barry doesn't try to answer. Which is a shame, because I was hoping he was a security consultant instead of Leo's lawyer. Because I much prefer Leo's old lawyer. But there's no getting around it -- Leo has moved on to a new attorney. I'm just going to tell myself that Jordan could no longer represent Leo because it would be unethical for her to represent him after they had a torrid affair. Yeah, that's the ticket. Leo tells Barry about the subpoena, and Barry suggests claiming executive privilege. Leo knows that won't work, for two reasons. First, he was not Chief of Staff when the leak occurred. Second, Jed has already waived the privilege and ordered all White House staff to cooperate fully. And then Barry points out, at great length, exactly how bad it will be for the Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate to be required to testify in a potential criminal investigation. Leo wonders if there's any way he can protect the Santos campaign. Barry tells him, "As far as the Santos campaign is concerned, you are just a guy dressed in dynamite."
Debbie lets Toby into the Office of O. Jed is on the couch, and he asks Toby to come in. Toby clearly thinks Jed has asked him there to discuss the draft of the remarks for the reception, but Jed doesn't seem interested in that. Toby takes a seat and realizes he's not there to be Jed's speechwriter. After a pause, he asks Jed if they know anything more about the bomber. Jed tells him the stuff about the medical student that we already know. Toby: "Churchill said a fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." Jed just stares off into space and says, "I pushed him." Who, Churchill? Oh, Toby's smarter than I am -- he knows that Jed means Farad. Jed thinks that if he hadn't pushed Farad to take the deal, Farad might still be alive. Of course, his country would be occupied by Israeli troops, so.... And then Jed tells Toby that Leo has been served a subpoena to testify. Toby repeats what Barry told us in the last scene -- that it would be disastrous for the Santos campaign if Leo were to testify. Jed tells Toby, "The investigation into the leak is focused on C.J." Jed still hasn't looked Toby in the eye at all. Toby: "They've got it wrong." Jed points out that the investigators do not share that opinion. There's a long pause -- and then Debbie knocks and comes in, telling Jed that he needs to dress for the reception. Toby thanks Jed, and leaves. And while I'm still 100% convinced that Toby was the leak, scenes like that leave enough confusion that I don't think people who are looking for something more are crazy.
Santos HQ. Annabeth is waiting for Leo as he leaves his meeting with Barry. She starts walking him toward the elevator, filling him in on his schedule for the Sunday talk shows. Which she indicates are the day. When did it turn from Friday to Saturday? She looks quite perky, and he asks her if she ever gets tired. She tells him, "No," neglecting to point out how tired she was when she was doped up on drugs and booze. He asks her how it is that she's so perky, and she tells him it's because she loves her job, which is the kind of job she never expected to have. They enter the elevator, and Leo asks her what time it is. She grins and hands him back his watch. She keeps sneaking little sidelong glances at him. They discuss their plans. He's headed back to his hotel, she's headed home for a nice hot bath. And then he asks her if she feels like having dinner. It's clear to me that this is purely a friendly invitation to a colleague. She admits that she will have to eat, and he suggests that they get a quick bite. She smiles and says, "Thanks, but no." And then her chin quivers, and she turns to him with a fairly serious look on her face (serious for Annabeth, in any case), and says, "I just think it's better, while we're spending so much time together, that we try and keep our distance whenever possible." Leo: "'Keep our distance'?" Annabeth: "'Cause of the tension." The elevator doors open, and she walks out. Leo: "What tension?" Kristin Chenoweth was just lovely in that scene.
The Santos limo pulls up...somewhere. It's quite dark outside. Lou is telling Santos that this is the last education stop of the day, and that she'll go in first and let him know when they're ready for him. Josh and Santos are left sitting alone to each other in the back seat of the limo. Santos asks Josh if he wants to talk. Josh looks over at him a couple of times and asks, "How you doing?" Hee. It's like prom night for these two. They make some small talk about campaign events. And then Josh tells Santos, "Leo got subpoenaed." Santos is clearly not thrilled. He asks when Leo appears, and just as Josh tells him it'll be Monday, Lou tells Santos that they're ready for him inside. And then Santos appears to exit the limo in the direction that will require him to crawl across Josh's lap. I'm just sayin'.
C.J. enters the Sit Room, where she tells Kate and some skinny bald guy that Jed will be leaving for the funeral in the morning. SBG asks whether the Israeli PM will attend. C.J. tells him that the PM has decided that his presence might provoke an unpleasant reaction. And then Kate clues C.J. in to some additional deployment of U.S. peacekeeping troops. As they're talking, C.J. notices something Kazakhstan-related on another monitor. She asks what's going on, and SBG tells her that the president of Kazakhstan was just assassinated. C.J. clearly hasn't forgotten her little visit from Mr. Frost, because she starts yelling out orders, asking for the U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan and telling Kate to get the regional office of Unocal on the phone immediately.
Jed is addressing the attendees at the reception for new members of the Kennedy Center Board. He tells them that before he gets to the official proceedings, he has some words to say about Farad. Jed tells the assembled guests that Farad was his friend, and that the three of them (Jed, Farad, and Zahavy) took a chance on peace. He wonders how to respond to the kind of senseless violence that killed Farad: "I know that Chairman Farad would want us to take a moment to remember those innocent victims who perished with him." Jed's voice is breaking. He takes out a piece of paper, and begins reading the names of the seven university students, Palestinian and Israeli, who also died in the attack.
We cut away to Santos in a darkened classroom. There are adults sitting on one side of the room, and a student music ensemble on the other side of the room. Santos makes some remarks on the Framers' intentions in instituting the separation of church and state: "It was a bold experiment then, as it is now. It wasn't meant to make us comfortable. It was meant to make us free."
And...it's a musical montage. We cut back and forth between the professional musicians playing at the White House and the students playing at the Santos campaign event. The music is gorgeous. The White House scenes are softly lit with a yellow glow, while the campaign event takes place in a bluer light, but with the soft flickering of flashbulbs. And as the music continues, we see Margaret walking down the corridor toward her office.
Margaret enters her office. We can see that C.J. is in her office with the television on. Kate walks through Margaret's office and into C.J.'s. She has nothing new to report, and they haven't been able to locate Frost. But Kate is sure he'll turn up. In a body bag, I'm guessing. C.J. tells Kate that she should go home, and Kate points out that C.J.'s looking pretty beat herself. C.J. tells her she plans on leaving soon. Kate leaves, and Toby enters. C.J. tells him, "You would not believe the day I've had. I'd tell you about it, if I could talk about it, but a bunch of stuff happened that I can't talk about. So I guess I should...stop talking about it." During this little speech, C.J. walks out to Margaret's desk with a folder and notes that Margaret has returned.
Once C.J.'s back in the office, Toby closes the office door. He says her name, but she keeps talking: "Let's open that bottle of champagne you gave me for my birthday. Maybe the alcohol will balance out the caffeine." Toby keeps trying to interrupt her, but she's not having it: "Let's have a toast, one final toast, before I leave the White House for my perp walk in leg irons." While she's been talking, she's closed the other door and retrieved a bottle of champagne and two glasses from the closet. She tries to hand him the bottle and tells him to open it, but he tries to speak again, so she walks away and says, "Fine, I'll open it. But just listen to what I have to say. Leo's in trouble." Toby knows. As C.J. fiddles with the cork on the bottle, Toby walks over and sits down to her. He tells her, "I got a lawyer." She says, "What?" Toby repeats himself. She sighs, and there is a long pause. And he turns to her and says, "I did it." She looks at him, and that subsonic rumbling fills up the soundtrack. Credits.