By Lauren S
The night before the election is finally here, and most of Santos's key players choose to let off some steam by pairing off for some quality bedroom time, and I don't mean sleeping. This includes Josh and Donna, who finally consummate things, and although it's a bit awkward at first, they recover nicely to recreate the situation a few hours later. Josh needs some way to let off some steam other than either insulting his staff in a thank-you speech or yelling at everyone about the numbers not lining up, so it works out pretty well that Donna has learned what can bring his blood pressure down. As the polls close on the East Coast, Otto is writing speech number #572 to make sure he's covered every possible outcome, and so far, all of the results seem to be extremely close but leaning in Santos's favor. Meanwhile, Vinick's staff is also incredibly tense, but so far all we know is that Bruno got some pre-election nooky: maybe that's why the general mood of their office has a less jolly undertone than that of Team Santos. C.J. is receiving job offers and is avoiding any talk or thought of them, though Charlie is following her around and hounding her about scheduling interviews. Once he cautiously suggests that he'd like to continue to work for her outside the White House, she agrees to start looking at what has come in. And Will and Kate have their first real misunderstanding as a couple when he finds out that she had the gall to vote for Vinick. Unfortunately, the moment no one wanted to arrive is also here: Annabeth goes to wake Leo so that he can see the election results as they come in. There's presumably no answer at his door and so she's let in by the Secret Service. We don't see Leo; there's only Annabeth's voice screaming for the Secret Service to help and call 911.
Previously: some guys were running for President, and the race was close, or something. It might have something to do with some sort of nuclear accident. Oh, and did you hear that Josh and Donna kissed?
Lou's at a bar, asking for their best scotch. When the bartender sets down one glass, she clarifies that she'll need seven -- and the bottle. It's 11 PM CST, seven hours until the polls open. There's changing time zones all over this hour, and I'll tell you now that I'll just stick to the local times they tell me, since I cannot seem to figure out universally what time it is. I do think they're going in order. Ronna, Lester, Edie, Otto, Josh, and Donna are all there with Lou. Everyone looks genuinely relaxed, hanging out and having beers and joking about what city they might be in. Josh announces, "We have to accept that this is all coming to and end tomorrow." Edie adds dramatically, "And a single tear slips slowly down your cheek." Or, Lou offers, they can get hammered. "Everybody needs to relax," she orders as she pours good scotch. "Except you," she says to Josh. "Bartender needs your credit card."
As Josh gets up, Lou asks what everyone's post-campaign plans are. Edie wants more of a meal than just Cheetos and a Diet Sprite. (I don't know, that sounds pretty good right now, actually.) Ronna wants a pedicure. Otto chimes in that he wants a job as a White House speechwriter, and everyone immediately hollers at him that he's jinxing things. I'd make a rude crack, except that I'm the one who wore the same t-shirt during all six game of the NCAA tournament, including the one fateful game where I started out in something else, UCLA went down by almost 20, and at halftime I changed, horrified at myself, and the team had one of the most amazing comebacks in tournament history. Yes, yes, they did finally lose the last game. Details...but I digress. Donna wants more than two hours of sleep, and everyone goes back to the inside-joke stories about the time Lester tried to catch a bat in a hotel hallway in Portland. Josh comes back, aghast at the $175 price tag on the bottle, and lets Lou know she should get a pitcher of beer time. "'time'?" she asks.
Josh gets back to actual business, saying that Santos needs some information: he asks who's going to stay sober long enough to get it from Bram later. Everyone cartoonishly looks elsewhere, and Josh volunteers Edie. Lester then takes his leave for a night without "midnight rallies, airplane seats, and tracking polls." He downs his drink and leaves, to everyone's disappointment. Josh calls a 6 AM meeting, and after a pause Edie totally not-nonchalantly says she's going, too. She walks up to Lester, who's doing a cute little slow walk/dance and clearly waiting for her. Why isn't anyone doing a walk/dance at an elevator for me? Sigh.... Oh, okay, back to the recap. Josh asks, "Really?" Donna looks coyly over her glass and concurs, "Apparently." Lou snorts and drinks, and Otto asks if she should "be drinking like that." "Like what? You're twenty-three with a shocking lack of facial hair. Do you really want to tell a grown woman how to drink?" Otto looks down and actually seems completely chastised. Also? Otto, you know better than to make a comment like that to Lou, don't you? However, it's his gain as Lou announces bedtime and stands up, grabs the bottle, and walks off. Josh adds, "It's okay; you can take the bottle if you want." Otto downs his glass and follows Lou right out the door. Josh just asks, "How did I miss that?" Ronna, getting to leave herself, tells him, "You might have had an easier year of it if you'd come on board." She greets a woman at the bar with quite a kiss. Josh is once again the last to know: "Wow, Cindy? Did you that?" Donna asks, "About Ronna and Cindy?" "Any of them," Josh replies. Donna just replies, "Yes." "Which one?" he asks. "All of them," she says. Josh just softly says, "Wow." Donna is smiling, looking beautiful and doing an amazing come-hither with just her eyes. I need to ask for some lessons -- I might be getting some more elevator dances for myself. Josh asks her if she ever "came on board." She says no, and so he clarifies his question as if she couldn't understand his real meaning -- I think it's fair to assume this must be because he's tired, since she's already outsmarted him about all of the secret goings-on of the campaign.
Lou's aggressively walking on a treadmill in an exercise room that seems to have fairy lights gaily strung around. Interesting. No, wait -- that's some kind of reflection. No matter what, it's odd, and I'm now thinking of this as "Romantic Nighttime Workout Room." Edie comes in and offers, "Scotch, Otto, exercise? You should rehydrate." Lou was clearly trying to get away by how peeved she is at Edie's claim that the desk clerk said where Lou was. "He said he opened the gym for a lady with liquor breath and crazy eyes," Edie explains. Lou glares. Edie has found out that Vinick took a shot at Santos about foreign policy in a speech the night before, but Lou, still pissed that she's been found, concludes that there's very little they can do, since it's now Election Day. Edie informs her there are two and a half hours until the polls open. Lou keeps huffing away and starts running. Hi, New Balance product placement. There's a tagline for you: "Work out your post-sex energy with us!"
Donna steps out of the elevator holding coffees to find Otto is pacing and working on a speech. Donna looks pleased and embarrassed when she sees him. He's reciting a speech and gets her to confirm that "no one actually uses the word 'certitude.'" "Not really," Donna tells him. I am in full certitude of that statement. When Donna observes that Otto couldn't sleep either, he explains that this is his final go on the victory and concession speeches: "It was either this or, or a solitaire tournament with the advance guys." Hey, don't knock the solitaire! I've spent many a happy hour, just me and my deck of cards. Okay, so I also know I'm a dork. What of it? Donna tries Josh's door and, when it doesn't open, gives a little knock, still semi smiling. Ronna answers delightedly, and Josh, even more delightedly, announces, "No one could sleep!" in that manic, panicked, "I couldn't get them to leave!" desperate voice. Donna looks glazed. These three have the same exchange Edie and Lou just did about Vinick's slam, and Donna also points out that there's nothing to do but have their spin people work it. She moseys to Josh and murmurs, "Tell me you found my pantyhose." This is why I never wear pantyhose. Well, this and the binding and the strange sheen.
Los Angeles, 4:12 AM PST. A sexy girl is let into a room by...Bruno, who leads the way with his pot belly. I've honestly never thought one way or the other about his weight, but this sweater is just screaming, "Look at the giant meal I just ate!" I believe the girl just might be taller than he is. He's showing her the office, they flirt, and start sexily making out -- well, as sexily as Bruno really can be, which I have to say is just more gross than anything. He hears a ring and comments that he should check the fax, and Jane replies, "I already did," and walks right into their little moment. Bruno introduces the ladies and naturally doesn't know Carrie's last name. They have their own version of the conversation about Vinick's speech, and then talk about this schedule until they lapse into awkward silence; Carrie seems to be the only normal perceptive person who senses the tension and asks for the bathroom. Jane points the way, and Carrie heads out, to the sound of her slapping sandals. It's actually distracting. For a weird moment, I wondered if this was going the way of Bruno/Jane sexual tension, but thankfully it's never picked up again, so I think it's just awkward pre-election/we hate each other stress. She comments, "Cute." "Yeah." "Little young," she adds. "Yale grad," he replies. She gives him a glance, and he amends, "Almost grad." Oh, just...ew. Carrie, go for someone with better hair, at least! Bruno asks Jane if she couldn't sleep, and she confirms that and then sighs: "God, I hate the wait."
Houston 6:36 AM CST. At the airport, Mr. And Mrs. Santos deplane. She's rocking a white coat and scarf -- although with white gloves, about which I'm not as sure. He's completely at a loss of what to do now that there's no staff ordering him around. She tells him that his only plans are vote and home, and that he's already delivered his last stump, with a tone of giant relief in her voice. She pats his arm. They're on a roll this morning -- shockingly, they also aren't late for anything right now.
6:50 AM CST. Josh gets out of the elevator and runs into Donna coming out of her own hotel room; he notes that she changed and looks nice. She thanks him, and it's still All Awkward, All The Time. After another try at small talk, she conspiratorially leans in and mentions that she doesn't want to be in the same clothes she had on the night before. I happened to pause the show right here for a fantastic embarrassed yet delighted smile on Donna's face. Unfortunately, while she's smiling, Josh is completely nervous and unable to react. He launches back into work talk and then goes right into "You don't have to worry; a lot of people are going to be doing the walk of shame today. Not that what we did was shameful. Or is shameful; that's not what I meant." Fortunately, their entrance into the war room mercifully cuts this conversation short. And Josh, a walk of shame is back to your car and your own home, not walking back into work in the same clothes. Not that there's anything wrong with that either, but if you're going to use the term correctly, you should know. I did a walk of shame once at a rodeo. Well -- at the fairground the morning after the rodeo. I know my walks of shame, I assure you, and just am looking out for your usage.
Josh is briefed by Teddy about surrogates, volunteers, people on standby, exit polls, etc. He winds up his briefing with "We've got it completely handled, Josh." An extra comes up and hands him a piece of paper with a little flourish like it's going to be the best damn delivered paper EVER on this show. Josh can't seem to believe that his staff would be handling this right now. "Really?" "Really," Teddy assures him. Bradley Whitford is doing smell the fart acting to display his nerves. I'll hand it to the makeup department -- well, for his sake I hope it's just the makeup department -- that he's got ginormous bags under his eyes. Lou comes up to tell him it's time to "thank the troops." He mumbles, "The wait begins..." and I think that right now he can handle very few things worse than he can handle waiting. Josh makes a noise, and Lou totally realizes that he had no idea he would have to actually thank everyone today. He gathers everyone and then gets up on a computer chair and before I can think "Wow, that seems unstable," he's started smoothly rolling around to face the opposite way before grabbing a light fixture to right himself. Unfortunately, his speech goes from how long it's been, to meeting everyone, on to how much they've learned, such as the lesson that one "doesn't give shout-outs during radio interviews, and that we don't encourage our college buddies to hurl expletives at our opponent." This turns into accusations, which then becomes Josh's being told that he already fired the person he's accusing. His whole audience is suitably uncomfortable by this time. He begins his wrap-up by calling it a special day, and then orders them to get feedback from family and friends who have voted, and the staff scatters. "Good group," Josh observes to Lou. "Yeah...um, you might want to work the phrase 'thank you' in there somewhere." Oh Lou, must you be so technical about a thank-you speech? "Thank you! Appreciate it," Josh throws out to the room. Lou manages to glance at her watch just in time to count down the last five seconds before the polls open. Josh appears to actually be hyperventilating, and we get a loving close-up of his giant, furrowed brow.
Lou is watching news coverage of Vinick voting in Santa Paula. Otto comes in and brings a Red Bull and muffin. "Breakfast." "Are we going steady?" she asks snidely. He points out, a little defensively, "You called me." She replies, "The speeches." He's done with both the win and lose version and they've been proofed, but she wants one more in case they don't sweep the Hispanic popular vote. Otto agrees, and sits and stares. "Are you waiting for a hug or something?" she asks quite meanly. He sucks his lip and looks down, nods, and heads out. Poor Otto. Is this is very first non-romantic hookup?
In Vinick's office, Jane narrates that the rest of the polls are now open. Just to be difficult and push her buttons, Bob points out Hawaii and Alaska aren't, and she smoothly replies, "The two states on which the outcome of the presidential race so often depends." On the TV, they suddenly see all of the news coverage switch from Vinick to Santos going to vote.
This switches us back to the Central Time Zone, where Bram calls Josh a genius while on the phone. Bram reports on the speech the night before, and then tells Josh that Santos is relaxed. Josh: "You're...kidding?" "No, it's kind of a weird calm." Santos and staff are going to the house and will have exit polls in two hours. As Bram prattles on about...travel, maybe, Josh tells him to hold on, and watches his TV screen. It's switched to a really hokey map of the U.S. with weather on each of the quadrants -- it looks kind of like one from a kindergarten teacher's bulletin board -- where Josh sees something and runs out. What your noble recapper did not see is that it's raining in Boston, so Josh is, once again, freaking out. Once again, however, his staff is prepared. They have volunteers with umbrellas, extra drive time radio (courtesy of Lou), etc. She takes this moment to wind Josh up even more when she says she was just in the elevator with a man who didn't know it was Election Day. Oh goodness, Josh responds by immediately calling someone named Jeremy on his cell (wasn't Bram still holding on there, by the way? Did he ever hang up? I didn't ever see him hang up) to "ride the elevator for a few hours" and remind people to vote. Even while pedeconferencing, Lou is able to hang her head and then pretend to bang it softly against a wall a couple of times. I can't tell if Josh is just too nervous, or if he's feeling useless since his team is working well and just trying to pretend he still has a hand in things. It's probably a healthy combo of both.
Otto runs up with the Hispanic-vote speech, and Josh mumbles about all sorts of outcomes while Lou breaks it down and sends Otto to write yet two more -- win electoral/lose popular and win popular/lose electoral. Josh is now pacing and chewing on his Treo as everyone else heads to their various tasks. As he stands chewing alone in the hallway, a guy gets off the elevator and Josh makes him really nervous by saying, "Hey." I was about to make a crack to the effect that Josh is many great things, but that intimidating isn't one of them. But on second thought, I'd be nervous too, the way his eyes are practically rolling back in his head right now. Poor timid Drew tells Josh that Bram put him in charge of the party that night. Josh pats him on the back and sends him on his way, but then right after Drew has actually let out a discreet sigh of relief to get past him, Josh runs back to ask to go along.
12:55 EST, White House. It's Charlie! He enters the hallway with giant stack of notebooks (and sporting an "I voted" sticker) when C.J. intercepts and tells him, "If you're heading towards my office with those, you should rethink your course." Charlie will not be deterred, merely telling her he's holding "illustrious job offers." C.J. only wants election news, but there's nothing -- no exit polls yet. Charlie gets right back on course: "Margaret's been setting up meetings with potential employers. I took it upon myself to do some research." I want Charlie as MY assistant! C.J. doesn't seem as pleased, freaking out that she does not want meetings until January. It seems, however, that November is when January meetings are scheduled for CEOs. C.J. looks like she might vomit. Charlie forges on, listing Lockheed Martin, Johnson & Johnson, SBC (I suppose this scene was filmed before they became AT&T once again). She interrupts the list to ask, "Do you really think today is the day for this?" Without missing a beat, Charlie continues: "One has offices in Prague, though you have to be fluent in Czech. Another one, a company jet. Not Air Force One, but not bad. A lot of them have great stock options, something you should look into. Suckers could be worth something someday." Charlie should clearly go into sales after this. "Not Air Force One, But Not Bad" is what I want my tagline to be if I ever start an airline. It's like that horrible old Jennifer Aniston movie where she plays the ad exec and they're pushing Gulden's Mustard, "#2...And That Ain't Bad!" I didn't just admit that I've seen that movie, did I? What movie? Where? What's going on? C.J. has been glaring fiercely and, at the advice about stock options, she slams her papers down on the desk. After a moment of fierce staring, Charlie nods and leaves. C.J. walks into the Oval Office. There, she takes a moment to look around sadly, alone in the quiet, before heading back to her office and gently closing the door.
11:55 AM CST. From the ballroom comes the sound of a guitar. Drew brags that 3,000 have been invited to the party. Helpful Josh counters, "30,000 will try to make it through the door." Drew points out Security's measures to handle that. Josh doesn't have a comeback, because he's distracted by the band, realizing that it's the Foo Fighters. He (and I) are corrected, "Foo Fighters...well it's not The Foo Fighters." This is the battle you choose to wage with Josh? Interesting choice when he looks like a madman. Josh gives Drew a withering stare, so he moves on to tell Josh the party plans. Josh muses, "I love...Foo fighters." They start playing, he yells, "These guys voted, right?" but before Drew has to handle that one -- which I suspect Josh really wanted an answer to -- he answers his ringing phone. It's Donna, who sweetly tells him she's been looking for him. Josh launches into an awkward and sincere "Yeah, I didn't know if you needed some space, or..." She interrupts him and saves him from the rest of that by telling him they have the first exit polls. He literally runs from the room, and when Drew notices, he sprints after him. I feel like there should have been cartoon dust kicked up at that point. There's a loving close-up of Dave Grohl playing with a slightly too-short haircut.
House of Santos. 12:17 CST. Matt and Helen walk inside wearing their own "I voted" stickers, and it's as quiet as a tomb. It turns out that the kids are in school, which baffles Matt. In his best "duh" voice, he remarks, "Kind of a big day." I'm about to get on my high horse and agree when Helen quietly points out, "They'll be home by 3." I swing my leg back over and lower myself back to the ground. Matt looks all cute and shrugs and grins, "What do I do here all day?" It's very aw-shucks-golly-gee!, but has the effect of making me want to jump on him. Helen suggests sleep, but Matt laughs it off as impossible, at which point she takes my idea and starts making out with him. "Then we'll find something else to do," she tells him.
Josh walks through the door to the war room. Lou announces that she got him something, and gives a box. He asks if it's a gift, and she just says, "Whatever." "Blue markers!" he exclaims. It turns out that they're in the game in the South, and that military voters are picking Santos. Donna's the wet blanket who asks, "We're only up by six in Massachusettes? Isn't that a little low?" A chorus of "It's raining" answers her. The camera circles, giving everyone a chance to deliver delighted results, and Otto remarks, "I think we can put most of the Northeast in our pocket." Lou barks, "Hey! Cautious optimism." That's actually nicer than what I thought she could possibly yell at him. Maybe Lou's becoming a softie. Everyone wanders off, and Donna watches Josh reading the poll results. She smiles and drops her eyes to the results, remarking, "Your face is frozen in an odd way." "Unattractively?" he clarifies. "Not entirely," she says with a sidelong glance. Sidelong glances! Sex! They both start with...I might know what's coming! Josh tells her, "I think my head's gonna explode." Donna coyly suggests a "walk or something. Try to de-stress a little before the numbers come out." She slides her jaw, and looks up at him from under her hair: "Want to take a walk? Or something?" And with that, she heads out. Josh looks up and furrows, which is apparently his stock reaction to any situation -- surprise, stress...booty.
1:00 PM CST. Josh and Donna lie in bed, to each other but not touching, each looking a bit weirded out. This moment is totally brought to you by When Harry Met Sally. Josh asks if she wants some water. But Donna -- not realizing that she needs to say "Sure" so that he can go to the kitchen with a blissful smile on his face -- asks, "You have a bottle over there?" "Tap...water," he replies. Not for Donna: "No thanks. But thank you." With that, she gives him a great little smile and he then looks inordinately pleased. Oh good, he didn't need to go to the kitchen for water to do it. They both seem to relax a hair. He asks to turn on the TV and remarks, "At least I didn't bring my Blackberry to bed." That's a good thing, Josh, especially since you've been using a Treo. I only beat this like a dead horse because the Treo owners I know are very particular about their brand. You don't mix those two up. Josh: "It could be worse. Less romantic." "Got it," she says, but she's smiling. Dude, you're working for the same campaign. It's all good -- anyone can watch TV at any time. No judgment. There's a shot of Bartlet voting.
Donna then starts a new conversation, with the time-honored "This may sound silly." Josh is encouraging: "No, what?" It turns out Donna's worried about some Minnesota law. "That's certainly less romantic," he quips. Josh, just ride out the giddy and fun for now -- the talking can come on some day that isn't the biggest of your political career. But he actually isn't upset that the subject matter is work at all. I guess that must come with being Campaign Manager. She goes on, worried about the exit polls there and then brushes it off to paranoia, but Josh immediately makes a call to have it checked out and have the numbers sent over. Aw, workplace romance! That's really kind of sweet. Immediately, there's a knock at the door, and both Josh and Donna freeze and remark, "Speedy..." Josh's voice completely cracks as he calls out, "Hello?" It's Ronna, and she and Josh "hello" a couple of more times until she asks, "Do you have Donna?" Josh's quick-thinking response is a brilliant "Uh, what?" "Do you have Donna?" "Have her?" he squeaks. "Know where she is," Ronna specifies. Josh and Donna are trying to keep their giggles silent as she artfully hooks his boxers with her toe and gracefully hands them across the bed. I'm smitten with these two right now. My cold heart has melted at the Cute. Edie's walked up outside, in the meantime, and Ronna calls through the door to tell Donna that Lou needs her for MSNBC. Edie and Ronna totally realize what's going on -- it's their chance, since they didn't have a big reveal themselves the night before over scotch -- and giggle and run off as Edie drops the Minnesota numbers Josh had requested. There's lots of rustling from inside the room as they giggle and hurry away before Josh gets the door open.
The Vinick Office, meanwhile, is featuring much less giggling. Everyone is shouting orders, Bruno is also worried about Minnesota numbers, and finally Bruno asks, "I shouldn't worry, right?" Bob tells him he shouldn't, and Bruno seems to switch his watch from one wrist to the other as Jane watches. Bruno notices and explains, "Superstitious. One of my Election Day good luck routines." "'One of'?" Jane asks. "You met Carrie already," Bruno deadpans. Oh my.
A shot to the news coverage of Vinick still campaigning carries back to the Santos camp. Josh is in a tizzy because they only knew that Vinick had plans for voting and breakfast. Now it turns out he's making stops across the state. Josh wants to get Santos there, but it's truly too late. Edie and Ronna point out that California is also a hair too big -- just a hair -- for Santos to go and individually reach undecided voters. "That's what Vinick's doing!" Josh screeches. They run down the whole game plan again. Josh asks about Leo, and Edie reports that he had a great affect in Akron. Ronna tries to assure him that everything is fine. Teddy enters to say, "Well, I think we already have. New exit polls are in."
3:30 CST, Santos house. Bram narrates the poll results as he gets them over the phone, and is completely excited. Helen comes downstairs and he reports the results to her; for one of the first times that I can remember, she actually looks happy. However, she then sighs, and a look crosses her face, like, "Oh my god this is really real," and she walks away. Bram seems tentative as he calls after her, "Um, you want to tell him or should I?" Helen tells Bram Santos is asleep. "Really?" "Really." Bram, thinking the candidate would like to know how his election is going, asks if they should wake him, but Helen tells him to let Matt sleep until the kids get home. Bram is so stunned that he does a little dance while gaping like a fish, wanting desperately to protest.
Bob is at the Vinick Office reporting the same results, less happily. Donna is on TV in the background, happily chatting away about Santos's success in the Dakotas. Bruno is still convinced that something about the poll numbers is not right.
Teddy reports his own projections about their electoral votes, which excite everyone. Edie comments, "Nuclear accident came in handy." Jane is on TV doing spin, and Lou and Annabeth watch with tilted heads, baffled. Lou cracks that, clearly, the Vinick campaign didn't see the exit polls. Annabeth adds, "They call it 'spin' for a reason...hey, how's that adolescent part of you feeling now?" "Happier," Lou replies. Before any elaboration, Edie asks if Lou heard the junior staffers talking about how to decorate their White House offices. Lou flies into a rage and heads off to kick some advance-team ass. She passes Josh, who's still going over the numbers,
5:01 PM EST. Will walks into the White House, where Kate gives him quite the saucy "Hey stranger." They pedeflirt down the hall. "Saw your briefing this morning -- apple cider and lame duck jokes, that all you got?" she teases him. "As opposed to you, whose day seems to include watching briefings on C-SPAN and roaming the halls to gossip about them." Oooooh, one for Josh! "I try to prevent war in east Asia, too," she adds. Details. Will mentions needing to look for a job, and she faux-casually asks, "In the Santos administration?" Both are wearing their "I voted" stickers. They realize that the exit polls are leaning Santos. Will's not sure if he wants to stay either in communications or in federal government, but when Kate mentions consulting work, he tells her, "I'm actually feeling a little bit sentimental about California." Kate repeats the word faux-casually and turns to face him as he explains, "Local political work. There's something romantic about it, really." "'Romantic'..." she muses. She's trying to play along but makes her exit, and as she goes to leave, Will asks if she's okay. Oh, Will, learn to read a woman when she suddenly exits the conversation you're having that involves you on the opposite coast. It's one of the easiest reads in the book! She just tells him, "Keep me updated on...the exit polls," and leaves.
Annabeth and Ronna are looking at a blog that calls Santos "the first Latino President." Lou's pissed, but Josh is atomic about how dangerous it is to post the raw exit poll data, etc...there's a lot of angry pacing and slamming down of papers until even Lou is defending the guy. Josh has a point -- that they don't want West Coast voters not voting since they think Santos has it in the bag already. Lou replies that the undecideds aren't the ones reading these blogs about exit polls, but Josh thinks maybe the networks would report it as news. However, Lou's got the better point: "Do you really think people are going to look at...Bernard's Blogland and mistake what they see for news?" Josh is doing the horrible attempted save of a losing argument by answering yes. "How big do you think the readership of Bernard's Blogland is?" Lou asks him. But she's done it now. Josh has an actual meltdown in front of the whiteboard about voter turnout while Donna's on a call in the background. Lou finally screams Josh's name and gets him to shut up his frantic yelling. Everyone watches the crazy man leave. He slams onto the roof and just pants there for a bit. Donna follows him out (and my only thought is, what if the door locks behind you?!) (It doesn't, just to put your mind at ease so that you can focus on the meltdown.) Josh is breathing through his gaping mouth. He asks Donna why she's there, and she answers, "I've been appointed." "To what?" he asks, surprised. "To make sure your head's not actually going to explode," she tells him. She actually took my line right there. He explains that the numbers aren't adding up, but she quietly and calmly tells him that they never do. Her rational and calming manner is finally helping him out, and all I can think about is how soon this type of scene could play out again as he has a meltdown for a completely different reason, and now I'm sad. She tells him that all he's been working for is there, and that it has to just be: "There's nothing left to do, Josh." He's making his smelly face, and sighs again.
The Santos Key Players are now congregated in the hallway at 5:55 CST. Lou is giving Otto yet more speeches, and he finally, exasperated, lists them out: "We need one if he wins, one if he loses. One if he loses the Latino vote. One if he wins the electoral vote but loses the popular vote. One if he loses the electoral vote but wins the popular vote. And one if he loses his home state." Lou: "Right." Otto: "What if two of these things happen simultaneously?" Oh, Otto, stop right now. You know the answer to that is just more work and less Lou sex for you. "I mean, what if he loses his home state and the Latino vote and still wins?" "That too, then," Lou agrees. Josh enters, and tells Otto also to write a speech for if it's too close to call. That's the Josh Lyman catchphrase at this point. Poor Otto actually leans back and begins thumping his head against the wall. Still want that job as a White House speechwriter, Otto? Josh tells them all to head back into the war room as the East Coast polls close.
Will's in his office, Kate spying on him through the window. She comes in and shuts the door, and mentions how she walked away, and his response is just "Yeah, it got weird all of sudden." Guys, let this be a lesson to you. Go back to what I said about mentioning a cross-country move and rethink your words time. You'll thank me, I promise. Will asks if it was California and she says no, and suddenly they're talking over each other as he says that if she were to stay in DC he could -- at this point she's saying she could never ask him to -- stay. He tells her, "You spend the night at my house more often than not." "Which makes me..." she prompts. "A really good date?" Okay, Will, you just won me back. Though she smiled, Kate still seems upset -- she's pacing, and Will's just standing with his hands in his pockets. "I'm not like you," Kate begins. "I don't live and die with the Democratic Party. I want to see the president through this crisis, whoever he is." "You keep saying that," Will replies and repeats, "'The president, whoever he is...'" Kate defends herself, "Yeah, well, the NSC's a non-partisan..." The light clicks on above Will's head. "Did you vote for Vinick?" She's speechless, and he's shocked. "You voted for Arnold Vinick?" Unfortunately for Kate, Will looks genuinely flabbergasted.
Jane and Bob talk quietly about how Bruno won't stop looking at the numbers, so she sends him to go speak to Bruno, who launches into how some numbers could be off. Bob can't seem to interrupt. Eventually, he jumps in and, in an act that seems to begin to accept an unfavorable outcome, points out that they are losing in North Dakota, "a state which has gone Republican for the last forty years." Bruno responds with more numbers, and Bob asks him what he'll do after this campaign. Bruno's a robot, and just responds manically with more numbers. He's got the glasses/Grandmother look rocking again. "You've done a hell of a job here." Bob tells him sincerely. "The nuclear thing -- there's no way you could have anticipated that." With that, we hear the overconfident voice of Paul Moyer, real-world local Los Angeles newscaster/fake world national newscaster coming from the TV. Six more states now closed which means actual results will start coming in. Jane is actually literally clutching her pearls (okay, so they're not pearls, but she's clutching her necklace and I can't resist use of the phrase) as we have a touching close-up of Paul assuring the nation that he'll get them all the info they need to know.
Pulling back from Paul, Team Santos is watching the same coverage. Lou asks about congressional races, which makes Annabeth look at her watch and announce that "Leo's gonna sleep through the whole damn thing. I've gotta go get him up." Oh god. This is going to be horrible. As they look at her, amazed, she adds, "What can I say? Nerves of steel. Just gotta get him cleaned up for the party. He's been threatening to wear his robe." (She puts a delightful little sneer on "robe.") Ronna comments, "Oh! Nothing says victory like threadbare flannel." Lou is rubbing her eyes and looking exhausted, and Josh is worrying his hair. A cheer rises at some results, but then Paul brings us the breaking news that West Virginia is unexpectedly going to Vinick.
Santos is watching the same thing when Helen walks in. He's all groggy. I can't tell you how much more I like groggy/confused/cute Santos more than overwhelmed candidate Santos. I've got a little crush brewing. "I slept!" he exclaimed. "And lost West Virginia, apparently." "And Kentucky and Indiana," Helen adds. "I'm a loser," Santos exclaims. "Oh, 24 to nothing, baby!" She's seeming a lot more relaxed and herself now too. "But you can still rebound. I have faith." They both just seem happy and real. I guess home will do that for you. Santos's attention turns back to the TV, which my closed captions tell me is worth hearing but the actual volume of the TV doesn't play. Helen asks, "Where are you?" "Hmm?" he mumbles. "In your head, where did you go?" "Just thinking about what I'm gonna do tomorrow," he muses. She's got the answer: "We'll take the kids to school, then go out to breakfast: bacon and pancakes." My stomach just growled. Clearly I know what I'm getting for breakfast tomorrow. "Backyard needs rakin'." Santos just looks exhausted.
The omnipresent Paul Moyer broadcast is on TV in C.J.'s office as she eats a salad. Charlie walks in and asks if she wants to take the offers home, to which she delivers a hearty "No thanks." "Maybe We can take a look again tomorrow," he doggedly replies. "Maybe after Christmas," she says. "Maybe week," he counters. She's done, and sharply asks, "Why are we still talking about this?" "Honestly?" Charlie asks. Yeah. "You're a smart and savvy woman who could easily consider world domination as her career move." C.J. glares at him. "And I'd like to continue working with you, if that's a possibility," Charlie says a bit more softly, looking back to the TV. She stabs her salad and knows he's gotten her where it counts. She tells him to pack some offers up for her to take home, picks another up, and starts to peruse it.
Moyer narrates us back to Josh and his numbers. When they project Santos to win Pennsylvania, there's cheering and blue coloring. Donna approaches Josh as he rambles on about his mother and her reports on her friends' votes. He's looking puffy and unshaven and finally asks the real question that has driven him to this state: what if, with everything they did, nothing has changed in three months? Donna finishes, "And it all comes down to California." She tries to assure him that he needed to make the tough choices, but he's a dog with a bone about the numbers. He goes back through all the problems in detail. I'm officially uninterested in Josh's freakouts anymore. "We don't have this wrapped up," he asserts. Way to go with the power of positive thinking, Josh. Remind me to book you for some quality motivational speaking.
Paul narrates to Vinick's office that it's going to be close, and Bruno watches with very pursed lips as Paul concludes, "It's going to be a very long night for Matt Santos and Arnold Vinick."
In the motorcade, Bram tells Santos he won South Carolina. Santos looks serious, but not terrified. He actually seems more Presidential than he ever has.
Annabeth's voice carries over as she tells the Secret Service agent, "I'm betting he's gonna want to be up for this. Mind letting me in?" And we're now at the moment I wished we never had to see on this show. Annabeth looks absolutely adorable with her hair all wavy and gives a bright smile as he opens the door. She goes in merrily calling, "Leo! Helloooo! ...Leo!" By now she sounds just a hair more annoyed but also tentative. Leo's nowhere to be found, and so she looks at the bathroom door, which we can't see past, and heads in, calling his name. Then there's a very different yell: "Leo! Somebody help me! Call 911!" The Secret Service agents begin to rush in, yelling that he's down and needs an ambulance.
I've got horrible goosebumps that come back every time I've watch this scene. Bring the Kleenex Sunday.