By Deborah
Props to JohnConstantine. He knows why.
Previously on The West Wing: C.J. goofed up horribly at a press briefing; Josh found out that Bruno might in fact, on occasion, be smarter than he; POTUS didn't think they could afford to worry about when the subpoenas will be handed down.
We're in front of the Federal District Courthouse on Pennsylvania Avenue. A man named Mr. Rollins (Hey, It's That Guy! It's Clare's dad! No, it's Kirsten's dad! It's Nicholas Pryor, veteran of both television and film) is besieged by reporters asking him to comment on when or if subpoenas will be issued. He can't, of course. We take it that he is the Special Prosecutor.
Inside the courthouse, Rollins runs into Oliver Babish, who pounces on him from behind a pillar. Babish, without so much as a how-do-you-do, says, "We've shown nothing but good faith." Rollins mildly says, "Mr. Babish." Babish reasserts his point and calls him "Clem." Rollins wants to know whether Babish would like to speak privately. Babish wants to know why he's reading that subpoenas are being handed out. Oh, come on -- it's not as if he thought they wouldn't be; he's been warning the staff about it for months. I find it really annoying and disingenous when lawyers ride each other about these kinds of things, when their opponent is doing precisely what they would if they were in the same position. Babish claims that Rollins's office is "leaking like a rowboat"; Rollins wonders whether Babish has a complaint. Babish says he just filed one with the U.S. District Court, but that's not what he wants to discuss with Babish. Rollins contends that it can't be the jurors who are leaking information; they don't even know why they've been called in. Babish is surprised to learn that Rollins could impanel a Grand Jury without telling them what it's about.
Rollins and Babish have entered Rollins's office now. Rollins says, "Voir dire was entirely fair; if anything, [it] favoured the subjects. What you've been reading is the work of a few over-zealous and irresponsible members of the conservative press in minor media outlets...." With a great deal of drama, Babish throws a paper down in front of Rollins and announces, "It's The Wall Street Journal!" Babish argues that they've been totally cooperative, that they're willing to hand over anything a subpoena could cover, and that his staff has been working around the clock. Well, Donna has, anyway, as we shall see. Rollins wants to know what Babish's staff is doing if they feel certain documents are protected by executive privilege. Good question. Babish says that POTUS is thinking of waiving executive privilege. Rollins wonders whether he's also waiving attorney-client privilege, spousal privilege, and doctor-patient privilege. Babish: "Clem, they have shown nothing but good faith." Clem's firm: "I can't give out extra credit for that."
Rollins leaves his office and tells the gaggle of people (lawyers? aides?) outside his office, "Let's rumble." Well, actually, he just says, "Let's go." They enter the Grand Jury room, which is lit like the Situation Room usually is -- that is to say, as if those present will be conducting a séance rather than Crucial Government Business. I find that most Crucial Government Business goes on in rooms that are fluorescently and frighteningly overlit. But admittedly, that isn't as nice to look at on TV. He introduces himself to a group of people seated at a very long and elegant conference table as Clement Rollins, the Special Prosecutor appointed by the U.S. Attorney General. He explains that with their permission and on their behalf, he would like to issue the first round of subpoenas, compelling both testimony and production of documents by those named. He begins reading the list: "Josiah Bartlet, Abigail Ann Bartlet, Elizabeth Bartlet Weston, Eleanor Emily Bartlet, Zoey Patricia Bartlet, Leo Thomas McGarry, Joshua Lyman, Claudia Jean Cregg, Samuel Norman Seaborn, Toby Zachary Ziegler...." The light streaming through the paper allows you to see there are an awful lot of names on the list. And credits. Okay, wait. I have a lot of name issues. "Eleanor Emily"? Emily is just about my favourite name in the whole world but "Eleanor Emily" is pretty awkward. And, um, Leo's parents just named him "Leo" and not "Leonard"? ["Or the totally cool and sadly uncommon 'Leopold'?" -- Wing Chun] I know, it's possible, but it seems less likely. And apparently word has not gotten to Rollins's office that Sam had his middle name officially changed to "On Schedule." "Toby Zachary"? Not "Tobias"? Or "Zachariah"? I think "Tobias Zachariah Ziegler" doesn't sound half bad. I'm mildly disappointed that Josh doesn't have a middle name.
And for those keeping track, Stockard Channing isn't in the credits for this ep, so I guess we won't see her until week at the earliest.
It's Monday. Josh peeks into a storage room looking for Donna, who's messing around with a lot of file boxes. He asks her what's going on. Her hair's up in a kind of messy ponytail. Naturally, despite having worked all night in a windowless storage room, she looks better than most of us do after hours of effort. She starts babbling about what's in the different boxes. He asks, "Were you here all night?" She blithely asks, "Is it daytime?" He says it's 7:30. She says that usually when she stays up all night, she's able to pass a nineteenth-century English Literature midterm, and wonders whether she'll be asked to write such a test. He says she won't. She launches into another breathless comment about the contents of the boxes, one of which contains.... Josh interjects, "Can I ask you something?" She quickly says, "I had a plan." She has a piece of paper listing the number of each box and its contents. Josh wants to know where the piece of paper is. She grabs a box off a shelf and gives him a vaguely dirty look. Josh realizes it's in one of the boxes. I vaguely consider the value of getting into having Donna be dumb enough to file/misplace the paper in one of the boxes, but I decide to just let it pass. I just wish, as the assistant with the largest role and the most face time on the show, she wasn't so often painted as ditzy. She says, "I had a plan." She pauses, and moves a box around: "I grew up on a farm." Josh: "You grew up in a condo." She insists she grew up near a farm: "I was cute, and I was peppy, and I always did well on my nineteenth-century English Literature midterm, 'til you came along and sucked me into your life of white-collar crime!" If I recall correctly, she begged and tricked her way into working for Josh, but I understand her annoyance with the current situation. Josh starts to object, and Donna says, "White-collar crime boy!" Josh doesn't really know how to reply to this. She asks, "You know what they do to a girl like me on that cell block? I've seen those movies." Josh: "Yeah, me too." Donna: "I'll bet you have." Josh: "Look..." Donna: "Sell my farm-girl ass for a carton of Luckys." Josh, gently: "Seriously, you need to sleep for a while." She has another little outburst to the effect that she can't sleep until she finds which box the master list is in. Josh says he'll be in his office. Donna replies, "Your office is down a corridor, about two hundred feet from here. Try not to commit any felonies on the way." Josh promises to do his best.
Out in the hall, Josh runs into Sam and tells him that Donna "is about two or three days away from unspooling. It's pretty fun to watch, but can you loan me some senior assistants from Communications?" They pedeconference madly. Sam: "Yeah. So, listen, there's a fire in Yellowstone Park." Josh tells him to put it out. Sam: "Technically, I'm not a professional firefighter, though there was a time when I wanted to be." Turns out it was when Sam was four. I actually find that very believable for someone like Sam. Bet his Tommy-Hilfiger-sweater-wearing, Frank-Lloyd-Wright-house- in-Sag-Harbour-visiting family talked him out of it. Josh states, "When I was four, I wanted to be a ballerina." Sam just kind of glances at him and says, "Yeah?" He gives the line an almost imperceptible extra degree of masculine emphasis. Josh: "I don't like to talk about it." You just did, dude. Five bucks says the guys who ladle out the chipped beef in the Mess know about it before noon. Anyway, Sam tells Josh that a dry lightning strike started a fire in a lodgepole forest; it's spread to 500 acres, but it's all inside a resource benefit zone. They're galloping up and down stairs and along hallways. Sam says that the Parks Superintendent -- along with Bill Horton and several deputies from the Department of the Interior -- decided to let the fire run its course. Josh is surprised to hear they're letting it burn. Sam: "It's not necessarily our policy to put these things out." Josh: "Putting out fires isn't necessarily our policy?" They've arrived in an office area. Sam confidently replies: "Fire is good for the environment in certain circumstances. Forests have a natural cycle that requires purging burns to invigorate growth." Josh: "Someone just said that to you, right?" Sam admits it. ["Really? I learned that in a high-school science class, and I did not make it to the senior-level science courses. Hasn't he heard of fireweed?" -- Wing Chun] Josh wants to know what they have to do. Apparently, POTUS needs to talk on the phone with the Governor, so he can say that he's done so. Josh says he'll take care of it. Sam: "Ballerina?" Josh: "I'd kinda like that not to get around." Sam: "Yeah, no chance of that." As they disappear from the scene, the camera focuses on the office they just passed, which is C.J.'s.
Babish is in C.J.'s office, pacing around and haranguing her. And hey, Ainsley's there, too. He's telling C.J. to emphasize that it's not like being served. She wants to know how it's not like that. Babish claims, "A subpoena is just a legal agreement to produce certain testimony and documents." C.J. asks, "Yeah, but isn't that like the way a mugger uses a gun to produce your wallet?" Babish instructs, "You say we're cooperating fully. You say subpoenas don't indicate otherwise. You say they're a commonly used legal tool to describe the scope of the inquiry!" C.J. explains that reporters don't care about the scope of the inquiry: "My trouble with your spin is that we're not going to get anywhere putting on a calm face! We need to pick a fight!" Ainsley asks why. C.J.: "Because in politics, if you're not on offense, you're on defense!" Babish points out that Rollins is not the foaming-at-the-mouth type, and that he comes off as the good guy he is. Ainsley adds that since he was appointed by Bartlet's own Attorney General, "it's going to be tough to fit him for a black hat." It doesn't sound like Bartlet followed Babish's earlier advice (in "Bad Moon Rising") to tell the AG to select "the most blood-spitting, Bartlet-hating, Republican in the bar." C.J. wants to think for a moment. C.J. asks Ainsley what Republicans think of Rollins. Ainsley: "Well, we don't all hang out at a little club." C.J. persists. Ainsley say that he's well-respected, and that he's deliberate and takes his duties seriously; he wants to get at the truth while avoiding any appearance of impropriety or partisanship. C.J. cogitates. She suddenly excuses herself and leaves. Babish wants to know where she's going. She replies, "We need a different enemy."
Josh is talking about the estate tax to Leo, in Leo's office. Leo's packing up to go out somewhere. Josh says he and Toby have a meeting in five minutes. Leo reminds him that they're supposed to be compromising, and that he may not like it, but it's a done deal. Josh acknowledges this. Leo says, "I'm saying, the two of you, when you don't like something, have a tendency to --" Josh: "Show our displeasure?" Leo: "Piss people off." Josh insists, "That's a bad rap. I'm sweet as pecan pie." Leo seems unconvinced. C.J. arrives in the doorway just as Josh says, "I hate these people, Leo. And when this thing is done, I'm gonna personally screw 'em with their pants on." They must be making pecan pie differently these days. C.J. says, "Excuse me." She greets them: "Leo. Giselle." Never mind that for her to know about the ballerina thing, someone would have had to tell her on the walk from her office to Leo's. ["I've worked in offices where gossip spread that fast." -- Wing Chun] Josh says he's out of there.
C.J. talks to Leo as he walks out; she says she just met with Oliver and Ainsley on spin, but that she hasn't got anything, because Rollins doesn't hate them. Leo: "Well, that's just because he doesn't know us." She pulls him aside to speak privately: "Leo, we need to be investigated by someone who wants to kill us just to watch us die. We need someone perceived by the American people to be irresponsible, untrustworthy, partisan, ambitious, and thirsty for the limelight. Am I crazy, or is this not a job for the U.S. House of Representatives?" Leo says they'll get around to it sooner or later. C.J.: "So let's make it sooner. Let's make it now. Rollins is driving them crazy. He's moving too slow, he won't talk to the press, they're ready to jump...I swear to God, Leo, I think we can move the show." Leo considers this. He asks if she has a briefing now. She does. He tells her, "Show me what you're starting with." She breathes and tries not to betray too much excitement, in that way you would if your dreamboat just asked you to the prom. But you can tell she's jazzed.
Toby's bustling around his office, trying to leave for the estate-tax meeting. He's fuming to everyone within earshot that he's leaving for this meeting. Bonnie and Ginger are running around bringing him files and interjecting, telling him what he needs and doesn't need, and helping him on with his coat, etc. Toby rants as he wanders all over the office gathering things: "I am leaving for this meeting. This meeting where we will compromise. Why do we compromise? Because we are ordered to. Because compromising on the estate tax prevents Republicans from going for an even bigger tax cut that would help wrest the White House from our compromising little hands...so I go to this meeting.... The estate tax, which Republicans have cleverly dubbed the 'death tax.' There is nothing that Republicans do better than naming things...so I go to this meeting, because I agree with Republicans in Congress: America is about self-sufficiency, about lifting yourself up by your bootstraps, just as long as your children's children never have to work a day in their lives. So I go to this meeting...." Ginger hands him his scarf, probably the last object he needs to get out of there and allow them some peace, and announces, "He's rolling!" Toby continues: "Oh, I go to this meeting, Ginger, and though I compromise, I draw a line in the sand, I'm there to ensure that only multimillionaires, and not billionaires, are exempt from the estate tax!" Bonnie yells Toby's name from inside his office. Toby hollers as he's on his way out the door, "Re-elect the President, Bonnie! He's on the side of millionaires and not billionaires!" Bonnie shouts that they cancelled the meeting. Toby stands in the doorway, somewhat deflated. As he asks Bonnie why, Josh comes through, wearing his coat; slipping past Toby, he says, "They cancelled the meeting." He heads for Toby's office. Josh explains they're saying that due to his daughter's wedding -- which is not until Saturday -- their as yet unnamed contact wants to head out early. Toby says they're lying. Josh knows. Toby and Josh try to figure out what's going on; Josh offers, "I think they want to take it off the table." Toby: "And do what?" Josh asks, "The White House is weak. What would you do?" Toby says, "You think they want to repeal the estate tax?" They both ride a serious bummer.
C.J.'s at her press briefing. A reporter asks whether the White House is concerned about the subpoenas; C.J. says they're not, and that they've already sent over eighty cartons of documents to Rollins, whom she refers to first as "Clem" and then "corrects" herself: "Mr. Rollins." She adds that those cartons contained documents that were not even subpoenaed, and that they intend to continue cooperating fully. A reporter asks about the necessity of the subpoenas. C.J. responds, "They're a commonly used legal tool to define the scope of the inquiry." In response to another question, she says the administration doesn't think the Congressional hearings are necessary, but that it's not for them to say. She adds, "And we take a different view than Congressional Republicans do of the Special Prosecutor's performance thus far. We believe he's running a thorough and impartial investigation, and he should be allowed to finish his work." The camera comes to rest on Leo at the back of the room, where he is watching C.J. with approval. A reporter asks about her use of the phrase "a different view," and wonders whether Congress is unhappy with Rollins. She tells him he'd have to ask Congress that. Oh, she's bringing it, all right. As we go to commercial, a reporter asks about the contents of the eighty cartons. I will think about how Allison Janney can do no wrong as I go scramble some eggs.
Tuesday. Margaret's sitting at her desk, looking vaguely uncomfortable and suspiciously unoccupied. She gets up and walks over to a filing cabinet against which Bruno is leaning, arms crossed, breathing with what appears to be impatience. She takes out a file and then says, "You still don't know my name, do you?" Bruno: "It's Gertrude." Margaret: "It's not." Bruno shrugs indifferently. Leo arrives, and Bruno says they need to talk. Leo says, "This estate-tax repeal out of committee is going to be a thing." Bruno's got another thing, but Leo's not finished. He says they think the House Republicans are going to try to repeal the estate tax. Bruno tells Leo about a game last night between the Cavaliers and the Pacers. Indiana won by five in double overtime. Leo replies, "Well, now the repeal of the estate tax seems somehow insignificant." Bruno asks whether he can play a video, but it turns out the machine is somehow broken so Bruno can't show Leo the tape. What he wanted him to see was Victor Campos sitting courtside with somebody named Buckland. Leo doesn't see what the fuss is. Bruno says, "Campos travelled from Los Angeles to Indianapolis to watch Cleveland in Indiana. They don't travel from Cleveland to Indianapolis to watch Cleveland in Indiana. I don't care if they gave Campos a jersey and let him play point guard." I bet that got big laughs from people more familiar than I with the fortunes of the Cleveland team, which I would not even recognize as a basketball team name if it weren't for the mention of the word "courtside." They could be a fencing team for all I know. It's great the way Sorkin throws me these little sports clues. Leo insists Campos loves the President and that he got him the California primary. Bruno says that Campos is dating Buckland now. Leo doesn't buy it. Bruno mentions that Campos refused a seat on the President's Community Empowerment Board, which helps to steer private investment toward inner cities. That's news to Leo: "When?" Bruno: "Shortly after..." Leo: "The game ended in double overtime! Aw, dammit!" He yells for Margaret as he walks toward her desk. Bruno mumbles to himself: "Margaret...Margaret."
Sam's in his office with some news coverage of the forest fire playing on his TV. He's on the horn with somebody when he sees Bruno and Leo barrelling toward his office. He hangs up and tells them that the fire now covers 1500 acres. Leo doesn't even acknowledge this, but tells Sam about Victor Campos and the refusal of the seat on the commission. Sam's pretty surprised. Leo asks what he thinks Campos is doing; Sam asks him to set up a meeting for him. Bruno says he wants one of his people at the meeting with Sam. Leo wants to know why. Bruno just does. Leo says Sam can do it. They bicker back and forth like two parents who disagree on whether little Timmy can have an ice cream cone an hour before dinner. Bruno wants one of his people so that he can make sure he gets the straight story. Leo says that Sam will report back. Bruno insists that one of his people will also be there and report back: "Time to distinguish between the White House and the campaign." Leo says, "Sam does this for us." Bruno actually says, "Does he do it right?" Leo: "Oftentimes." Little Tim -- I mean Sam -- is just sitting there listening to all of this with mild dismay. He pipes up, "You guys know I'm sitting right here, right?" Leo says that they're going to set up a meeting. You know they're going to send Connie. As Bruno and Leo leave, Sam calls out, "And we might want to think about putting this fire out!"
Ainsley looks for Donna in the storage room. She calls out Donna's name as she glances with interest at a pile of documents. Donna, up on a ladder, commands, "Don't touch that stack over there." Ainsley said she heard that Donna needs help. Donna starts blathering about what the stacks represent. Ainsley asks, although you can barely make out the question with Donna talking over her, "Do you feel like being fixed up with a hot guy?" Hey, does Wing like cereal? ["Actually, lately I'm wondering whether I might have developed some lactose intolerance and...I mean, YES I DO!" -- Wing Chun] Donna of course does that abrupt-stop, what-did-you-say thing. Ainsley burbles: "His name is Cliff Calley, we went to law school together, and he broke up with his girlfriend." Great. A lawyer on the rebound, and if he's a friend of Ainsley's, the chances are good that he's a Republican. Instead of asking the obvious and most important question -- which is, "What's wrong with him that you don't want him for yourself?" (to which the answer is, "I'm busy with Sam") -- Donna wants to know where he works. Ainsley doesn't answer, which of course tells you he's a Republican (either that, or he's a guy who sells fake Rolexes on the street), but tells Donna he's "cute as hell." Donna asks again, and Ainsley says he works on the Hill: "House Ways and Means." Donna wonders whether he works in the Minority Counsel's office. Ainsley keeps shilly-shallying about telling Donna where he works, and finally confesses that he works for the Majority Counsel's office. Donna realizes with dismay that he's a Republican. Ainsley: "We are the majority. By a very small margin." Donna points out that Josh is in a twelve-round fight with Ways and Means. Ainsley starts to back off while Donna rants, "Josh, who picked me out of nowhere, who works days and nights and is under more pressure than ever and hates these people." Don't look now, darling, but you're working days and nights, too. Donna asks whether Cliff's funny. Ainsley says he is. Donna says he can phone her, but remains noncommittal. She orders Ainsley not to touch a particular stack.
C.J. runs into Ainsley as Ainsley's heading out of the storage room. She tells Ainsley she wants to put her on Capitol Beat tonight. They pedeconference. C.J. wants Ainsley to say that Clem Rollins is running a thorough, fair, and impartial investigation, and that he's a man of great integrity. Won't people just chalk that up to Ainsley's Republican sympathies? Ainsley volunteers, "'We're willing to cooperate with the Special Prosecutor....'" C.J. corrects that to, "'We're eager to cooperate...'" She admonishes Ainsley not to oversell it just before she dashes off in a different direction.
As C.J. rounds the corner, she runs into Bruno, who says he needs to bring Victor Campos out here: "Whaddya got?" As they pedeconference all over the place, C.J., without a moment's hesitation, offers, "They're going to introduce racial profiling. Fifteen-minute op in the Rose Garden." Bruno gripes, "Campos has forty-eight pictures in the Rose Garden." C.J. suggests, "Senate hearings on trade agreements between the U.S. and Brazil. Campos can discuss his objections to the President's position." Bruno doesn't want to remind people of any objections Campos may have to Bartlet's positions. C.J.'s not sure what else to offer, when she thinks of the "unveiling of the HELP initiative." This initiative is the Hispanic Education Longevity Program, designed to lower the dropout rate for Latino high school students. She's about to go into the briefing room; by way of thanks or parting salutation or perhaps just general sexist jackassedness, Bruno says, gesturing up and down, "Man, you have got a killer body. You know that?" C.J. says, "In fact, I do." Certainly, one can't quibble with that. Yet my foot, it bounces restlessly: go there? Don't go there? Mashing my eyes into the butts of my palms, I decide it's not worth it. But boy, am I getting tired of the way certain remarks are made and handled on this show. Let me just say this: occasionally it would be nice, not to mention realistic, to convey the idea that not every woman welcomes gratuitous sexual remarks in the workplace, that some of us see them as harassment, not cute attempts at flirtation. I'm just saying. ["Deborah, don't forget -- this isn't HBO. C.J. could just reply 'Fuck off' as you know Allison Janney would without a moment's hesitation, and with perfect diction and a withering look." -- Wing Chun] C.J. enters the briefing room and announces that Victor Campos has been added to the guest list for the unveiling of the Hispanic Education Longevity Program. A reporter asks whether the White House is filing any complaints over the leaks coming from the Special Prosecutor's office. C.J.: "None that I'm aware of. I can tell you that Oliver Babish and Mr. Rollins have had several productive conversations about that." She's asked, "Do they speak often?" C.J. casually says, "Well, they're old friends."
Shrug and Connie are meeting with Toby in the Roosevelt Room, about the estate tax. Connie asks about the compromise offered. Shrug explains that if the estate is worth less than a million dollars, you're exempt. The Republicans wanted it to be five million; they settled on two and a half million. Connie throws up her hands and says, "Seems reasonable." Toby insists that it wasn't even within driving distance of "reasonable." Shrug argues that these people have paid taxes on this money already in the form of income tax, property tax, and capital gains. He asks, "They gotta pay --" Toby: "Don't say it." Shrug: "A death tax?" Toby counters, "Ninety-eight percent of estates pay no taxes at all. We're talking about people who are loaded!" Shrug looks irritated: "You think just because people can afford a tax, it should be levied?" Toby replies, "I think if we're going to spend millions of dollars on tax breaks, we should consider spending it on people who don't have millions of dollars." That's my Toby-wan. Shrug opines that a million dollars isn't what it used to be, which is true, but then, what is? Toby mutters, "And they don't make good yachts anymore." Josh arrives to tell them that the estate-tax meeting's not going to be rescheduled: "Legislative Affairs has it from three rural House Democrats that Ways and Means is trolling for votes." Toby: "On a complete repeal?" Looks that way. Toby tosses his red rubber ball in the air. Everyone thinks. Toby says, "Screw it. We went from a million to two-five, what if we throw in another...?" Josh says no. Toby is suggesting that they expand the compromise. Hey, he caved unusually fast. Josh insists that they're not going to reschedule the meeting; Toby wants to know how he knows. Connie says, "Because it's not about the estate tax. They want what they want and they can get what they want now, right?" Josh reiterates that the meeting won't be rescheduled. Josh asks Shrug what he thinks. Josh perhaps learned from Bruno last week that not everyone who's not a senior staff member of the current administration is an idiot. Toby's not yet on board with that: "I can tell you what he thinks. He thinks we roll with it. He thinks the President can't be against tax cuts in an election year. He thinks since our key districts have farms that are going to be inherited, that we have to.... He thinks we roll...with it." There's a pause, and finally Shrug says, "I think...he should take out the A-bomb. I think he's gotta do something he's never done even once before. 'You think I'm weak? How about I shove Article 1, Section 7 up your ass?' Screw the compromise. I think he's got to veto." Everyone quietly takes this in; Toby thoughtfully fidgets with his ball. Josh wearily says, "I knew I should have majored in Dance instead of Law. Rudolf Nureyev never had these sort of problems." No, no. Actually: "Toby, I just...don't know on how many fronts we can fight a war. You want to find out?" Toby does indeed. They leave, and pass an etching of the Capitol building in the hall, on which the camera comes to rest. And it's time for more commercials.
Wednesday. C.J.'s walking outside when a couple of characters (aides? politicians?) I don't think we've seen before call out to her. One's wearing a bowtie, the other a polka dot tie. Bowtie says that he had a meeting at OEOB, and that they were going to come see her. He tells her there's some concern on the Hill, about how soft the press has been about Rollins for the last couple of days. Polka Dot Tie says, "Particularly with regard to his relationship to the White House." C.J. feigns concern. Bowtie says that Democrats are worried that Republicans will use it as an excuse to start their own hearings earlier than expected. Polka Dot Tie suggests that the White House try to appear less eager to cooperate and tone done the trumpeting of Rollins's integrity. C.J. pretends to take their advice. Bowtie advises her to downplay Rollins's friendship with Babish. They bid her a good night and walk away. C.J. looks satisfied as she watches them leave.
C.J. encounters Sam as she returns to the White House. She asks how the call with the Governor went; apparently, not that well: "He's demanding we put the fire out." Sam says that POTUS tried to calm him down, but that they kept getting accused of espousing "fringe environmental policies." C.J. asks, "Are we?" Sam says it's not clear, but for the moment, her line is that the President and the Governor had a productive conversation, and he's monitoring the situation with the Secretary of the Interior. Ainsley comes up from behind, saying, "Excuse me." To Sam: "You need a haircut." Well, that is definitely a shout-out to a whole bunch of us, and I'm going to take it as a personal shout-out, because I first complained about his hair in the recap for "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part I." The irony here, of course, is that his hair looks just fine in this episode. Sorkin's just toying with us. Sam asks, "Shouldn't you be someplace keeping me out of jail?" She breezes past him, saying she's taking a break.
Ainsley walks up to C.J. -- who's in her office now -- and asks, "You wanted to see me?" C.J. closes the door. She tells Ainsley, "Babish and Rollins wrote a paper together for the Yale Law Review." (Or possibly, the Yale law review, since there's no actual publication called the Yale Law Review, but I'm rendering it the way the closed captioning did.) Ainsley suggests she should "get it out there." C.J. points out that she can't just copy and distribute his papers. C.J. wants Ainsley to hook up with one of her friends from the press room who works for a conservative paper. Ainsley: "You really think we have a secret handshake, don't you?" C.J.: "Do you?" Ainsley: "Yes." C.J. instructs, "Get alone with this guy, go off the record, say you can't believe how the President could be claiming to waive executive privilege yet still reserve the right to withhold certain documents." Ainsley duly recites this. C.J. asks her to do it quietly, and kind of shake her head while she's saying it. Ainsley repeats the sentence in this manner, shaking her head throughout; C.J. tells her to only shake her head at the beginning. Ainsley tries again, and C.J. starts to interrupt with more instruction; Ainsley abruptly says that she's got it. C.J. thanks her and Ainsley leaves.
POTUS is working at his desk. It's about time we saw him. I'm never as happy with the episodes that feature a low quotient of POTUSian energy. POTUS checks his jacket pockets and his desk drawer for something. He calls Charlie. Charlie appears. "Are we out of pens?" Charlie reaches over Jed's desk and takes a pen out of his desk set -- you know, those things made of marble or whatever with fancy pens in holders. He offers it to Jed. Jed objects, "That's a good pen. I need an everyday pen." Charlie says he's got pens. Jed complains, "You've got crappy pens with plastic tops. I need a solid pen that feels good in my hand but it's not so formal I feel like a dandy!" That's the POTUS I know and love. Charlie, the spectre of the Thanksgiving carving set expeditions still in his mind, says "I'm making some trips to pen stores, aren't I, Mr. President?" Hey, Charlie, maybe you'll end up with the pen that John Hancock used to sign the Declaration of Independence. You never know what other Bartlet family heirlooms there could be. POTUS continues, sighing, "I used to have the perfect pens. Every day, right here in my pocket. I loved those pens: balanced, great action, the paper soaked up the ink. What the hell happened to those pens? Do they not make them anymore? I kept that company in business!" He struggles with a substandard pen. I can certainly relate. I am extremely fussy about pens; I think most people are, but perhaps writers tend to be even more so. I go through phases of loving different ones, but my phases usually last a long time. And you need different pens for different purposes. I loathe all thin-barrelled, thin-line, scritchy-scratchy pens. I am currently in love with thick-line gel pens, among others. ["The fine-tip Uni-Ball Vision, in black, has had me in its thrall for over a year now. I used to like the Pilot Hi-Tecpoint V7, but it must be the fine tip and not the extra-fine." -- Wing Chun] Also, writing with a pencil sucks except in certain circumstances and with certain pencils. Mechanical pencils are good. I am wary of people who will promiscuously write with any old piece of junk that comes to hand. Yes, I have writing implement issues. Don't even get me started on paper. Anyway. Charlie asks when Jed thinks he might start interviewing candidates to replace Mrs. Landingham. Jed mutters that he just hasn't gotten around to it. Charlie suggests that they could bring in a headhunter to help; Jed dismisses all of Charlie's efforts with his excuses about being busy. Jed hands Charlie a file and asks, "Is there a rush on this?" Charlie replies, "You need a secretary, sir."
Jed gets up and walks out on to the portico with Charlie following him. Jed claims that he has five secretaries, not to mention the Secretaries of State, Defense, Treasury, and Education. ["Man, it would rule if Jed called up the Secretary of Defense and made him go get Jed a good pen." -- Wing Chun] Charlie persists: "Sir, things are getting missed. It's nobody fault, and everyone's been trying to cover, but things are getting missed." Jed insists that things have been fine. He tells Charlie he's going to have dinner, and that he'll be back in the office afterward. He asks whether Charlie's going to get some dinner; Charlie says he will, down at the mess. Jed walks off toward the Residence, I suppose; Charlie calls out, "Mr. President?" Jed stops and turns: "Yeah?" Charlie says, "She put the pen in your pocket. Every morning. She slipped it in there." Jed doesn't say anything; he just walks away.
Sam is eating and working at his desk. Connie comes in and sits down. You can see what looks like a website up on Sam's monitor behind him. Just once, I think it would be great if the set people had a shot of MBTV on someone's monitor. I know, I know: highly unlikely. But I think it would be really cool. ["White House employees are too busy to read recaps at work, I'm sure. On the other hand, they're too busy to watch TV, too, so I guess it's possible that, say, Donna might keep tabs on Ally McBeal on the site." -- Wing Chun] After an exchange of "how are you doing" on both their parts, Sam continues eating and working. Connie says, "So, the thing about me? Is I'm a brilliant political mind." Sam's all, "Yeah?" He continues munching. She states, "Ph.D. in Political Economy from Oxford. That's not an easy get." Sam acknowledges that, but seems generally uninterested. She carries on: "Bruno and Doug know I can handle the tough meeting; that's why they're sending me with you to meet Victor Campos. I have an exceptional mind." Sam: "But...?" Connie: "I don't know who Victor Campos is." Sam seems to think that's par for the course. She replies, "Look, pal, I went to Oxford, okay? Which is in England." Sam: "Hey, you weren't kidding about that exceptional mind." Watch it, dude: you think Kirkwood's in Oregon. "England's in Europe, right?" She's not amused. It's Sam's turn to play Exposition Fairy: Campos is the head of the American Federal Service Employees, Local 1262. Connie is confused; the head of a local rates a meeting with a senior staffer? Sam explains that "a Democrat can't get elected to anything in California without him. He can pick up the phone and have 5,000 people at your rally in an hour. He's got a state-of-the-art voter mobilizing operation in place: a massive room with computer banks tracking voter registration. With his endorsement comes 350,000 calls, callbacks, mailings, and emails." Connie inquires, "Is there anything in particular I should do at this meeting?" Walking out, Sam tells her, "Don't get in my way." So you know, of course, that she will. This is all too reminiscent of Sam and Ainsley for me. If Sorkin wants Sam to have a relationship, just pick one of these women already and let's stop playing Pin the Tail on the Girlfriend. Laurie, Mallory, Ainsley, Connie: I don't care, as long as we don't have to see this adversarial thing played out over and over again, only to go nowhere.
Donna gets out of a cab in front of a nice-looking restaurant, probably in a hotel. She stops at the door to fuss with her hair -- which is up in a ponytail -- in the reflection. A man (Mark Feuerstein) comes out and calls for a taxi, just as Donna's drives away. He sighs. He notices Donna at the door, and after watching her for a moment, he asks if she's Donna Moss. He walks up and introduces himself as Cliff Calley. She says she's really sorry for being late. He says it's all right. He's cute enough, I suppose; not my type, though. She asks whether he was waiting long; he admits he waited an hour and half. I so would never do that for someone I had never met. Actually, there's hardly anyone in the world I would do that for. She starts trying to explain about the boxes, but then says, "It doesn't matter...you were leaving." He claims he just came out to stretch his legs. Donna: "You shouted for a cab." Cliff: "I like to test them." Well, he can certainly be adorable. She assures him, "I usually look a lot better than this. I mean, I can look good." She doesn't exactly look dreadful. He says he doesn't have any trouble believing that: "But listen, it sounds like maybe you're having some problems with boxes, and I know how that can be. So if you'd rather do this..." Donna quickly asks him to buy her a drink. He accepts, equally quickly. They go back into the restaurant.
Another press briefing. A reporter asks C.J. whether the Special Prosecutor can compel Bartlet's staff to disclose conversations they've had with him about his MS. C.J. explains that executive privilege protects all conversations that are necessary for POTUS to do his job, but reminds them that he's waiving that privilege. She tries to take another question, but the first reporter apologizes, butts in, and says she needs to clear something up: "How can Bartlet be claiming to waive executive privilege, yet still reserve the right to withhold certain documents? Isn't he just trying to protect himself?" Ah, this must be Ainsley's little playmate. C.J. replies, "Actually, he's trying to protect the Office of the Presidency. Information pertaining to national security, for instance." The reporter tells her to stop being coy. C.J., charmingly: "I was born this way." The reporter perseveres: "You don't think Clement Rollins will be angry, and with good reason, if the White House leaves out certain documents?" C.J. tells them, "I think if you want to know what Clement Rollins thinks, you should read some of his writings on the subject. He was a University of Chicago Law School professor, and I'm not sure, you can check me on this, but I think he was editor of the Yale Law Review." All reporters dutifully scribble. Surely by now at least a couple of them are getting suspicious of C.J.'s blasé demeanor about the investigation and the types of information and leads she keeps offering. She calls a full lid and leaves. Out in the hall, she balls up a piece of paper and sinks it in a wastebasket that actually seems far enough away that her shot is impressive. Then Carol arrives. Hey, it's Carol! First time we've seen her this season. She looks like she's lost a fair bit of weight, not that I thought she needed to in the first place. Carol tells her that the Governor of Wyoming's been on TV. C.J. asks, "Is he mad at us?" Carol: "He's pretty irate." C.J.: "'Good' irate?" No, apparently just the regular kind. C.J. tells her to circulate a memo to anyone who's going to see a microphone, that "the National Fire Plan is based on recommendations from five federal agencies. It clearly states that eighty years of fire suppression hasn't worked. For centuries, wildfires have been a natural part of the evolution of forest ecosystems." Carol: "When something catches on fire it's no longer our policy to put it out?" C.J.: "That's the kind of thing they shouldn't say. Put that in the memo with a circle and a line through it."
C.J. goes into her office to find Babish waiting there for her. He opens: "Thank God for Lexis-Nexis, huh?" C.J.: "I'll say." He wonders how long it will take them to find the paper he and Rollins wrote. C.J.: "About an hour. They'll make their deadlines." He sighs heavily and says, "I was going to say, you took a beating the last few months. And I was wondering if you were trying to get back in the game with one swing?" C.J., with a mixture of annoyance and indifference: "Is that what you were wondering?" He says yeah. She asks, "Anything else?" He says, "No," and leaves. She gives him a minor stink-eye as he goes.
Josh and Toby meet with Leo in his office about the estate-tax issue. Josh says that they spent the last few hours with the Minority Whip and some deputies; and that they have 218 votes for a repeal without breaking a sweat. Toby adds that it's 290 to override. Leo asks where they're getting the votes. Josh says, "The Republicans are calling an 'all hands'; we're assuming they get the full 226, plus Fayette, Genesee, and Trent. California --" Toby: "A state I've begged you to let secede from the Union..." Josh: "The entire California delegation wants a compromise; if they don't get one, they vote to repeal." Toby points out that they'd lose another thirteen votes from rural districts, maybe three of which would switch back if it was close. "But they'd get killed November, and I wouldn't ask them to do it." Leo says, "That's 283; where are the other seven votes against us?" Toby says the seven votes are from inside the Black Caucus. Leo wants them to see Mark Richardson first thing in the morning; they've already set it up. Leo says that when they're done, they'll make their recommendation to POTUS, and "he'll make his decision to fight or live to fight, and that'll be that." Josh and Toby get up to leave; as they do, Josh asks, "These are members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Can you think of any reason why they'd oppose the estate tax?" Leo: "Sure." Josh: "Why?" Leo: "The first generation of black millionaires is about to die." Margaret comes in to let Leo know that POTUS is back.
Jed wanders out of the Oval Office to speak to Charlie at his desk. He's expecting a call with Bill Horton, but he left the National Fire Plan in the dining room. Charlie goes to get it. Jed looks at some papers for a moment, then turns and notices Mrs. Landingham's empty desk. He walks over to it and gently lays his hand on it. Leo comes to the door, and observes Jed for a moment before saying hello. Jed says, "The Governor of Wyoming was an inch and a half away from calling me a pyromaniac tonight." Leo responds, "That's surprising, because we really had respect for him before." Jed continues, "I'm saying, somewhere out there is a registered voter who's thinking, 'You know, I thought I really liked this Bartlet fellow, but now that I see he's in favour of fire....'" Leo offers that the governor is worried about tourism. Jed says it's the end of the season and the fire isn't anywhere near tourists: "Letting this fire burn is good for the environment. You know how I know?" Leo asks how. Jed: "'Cause smart people told me. Please, God, Leo, let them be right." ["Come on now. I am stupid. If I knew about fireweed, POTUS definitely did." -- Wing Chun] Leo asks whether Jed wants him in on the call with Horton; he does. Leo says he'll be in his office. Jed is still leaning on Mrs. Landingham's desk. He goes around behind it and carefully sits in her chair. He opens a couple of drawers and finds a blue box with the Presidential seal on top. Gingerly, he opens the box; of course, it's full of pens, the ones he likes. There's some writing on them; it says, "Illegitimi non carborundum." Actually, I can't read what it says. (As if Bartlet would have anything to do with pseudo-Latin.) He takes out one pen and holds it thoughtfully. Sad music plays. He tucks the pen in his breast pocket (to his heart), and replaces the box. He remains seated at the desk, contemplating the nearly unbearable task of replacing Mrs. Landingham.
Victor: ¡Mi gente ganan más que el mínimo sueldo!
Sam: ¡Te subió al podio en la maldita convención!
Victor: ¡Porque necesitaban una cara morena!
Sam: ¡Estas equivocado!
Victor: No lo estoy.
Here's the rough translation I've been able to piece together using online translation software (I haven't studied Spanish):
Victor: My people get more than minimum pay.
Sam: It got you to the podium in the damn convention.
Victor: Because you/they needed a brown face!
Sam: You're wrong.
Victor: No, I'm not.
I think I've given you the correct gist, here. I'm sure someone will tell me all about it in the forums if I haven't. Sam continues en inglés: "The lowest Latino unemployment in history, more small business loans for Hispanic entrepreneurs, and biggest drop in Latino poverty in two decades!" Campos is blunt: "That's what I got in the last election. What do I get in this one?" Sam seems slightly stunned and asks, "What happened to loyalty?" Victor: "You can't deposit it in a savings account." Well, that's one view, I guess. Victor asks what he gets. Sam wants to know what he wants. Victor says, "The high-school dropout rate among Hispanics is higher than it is for African-Americans." Sam responds that they're doubling the funding to the National High School initiative. "What else?" Victor: "Children who came to the United States after welfare reform --" "There's going to be a major push on the Hispanic Children's Health Act," says Sam. Victor wants to know what a "major push" is; Sam promises that POTUS will mention it in the State of the Union and asks, "What else?" Victor starts, "Complete amnesty..." but before he can say any more, Sam says, "No way." Victor persists: "Complete amnesty for all undocumented immigrants from the Americas: Mexico, Chile, El Salvador...The Legal Amnesty Fairness Act is in the Senate right now!" Sam explains, "We can't back a bill that treats Hispanic immigrants any differently than --" "Sam..." Victor interrupts. Sam: "There's no way we can do it." Connie interjects, "Sure, we can." Well, at least she doesn't have Ainsley's tapeworm. Sam doesn't look right at her, but asks, "I'm sorry?" Connie says they can do it. Sam: "We really can't." Connie: "We really can." Sam asks Victor to excuse them, takes Connie out into the hall, and spanks her. Oh, you must know by now when I'm yanking your chain.
Out in the hall, Connie whispers, "Hi." Sam asks, "When I said, 'Stay out of my way,' did you think I meant --" Connie argues, "It's a bold stroke that'll cost you some independents, but --" "Just so he can expand his union membership?" counters Sam. Connie points out that it will also expand the Democratic Party: if millions of illegal immigrants could come out of hiding, there are millions of potential voters who are going to vote for Bartlet. "Three million voters in California, that's 13% of the vote, 19% in Arizona. You know as well as I do that the Republican Party is going to try to outflank us on this. You know it's the right thing to take to the President, so why are you giving him a hard time?" But wouldn't it be a while before all these people would be eligible to vote? How's that going to help them during the election? Sam complains that Victor's giving Sam a hard time. Connie says Victor's doing his job: "Recognize you're weaker than you were three years ago, have a little humility, suck it up, and give him what he wants, which is going to help you in the long run anyway!" Sam thinks about it and calls Victor to the door. He asks Victor, "If I take this to the President, what do we get?" Victor replies, "California and its 435 delegates." Sam says, "I shouldn't have blown up at you before." Victor assures him, "Nobody'll know." Sam: "Yeah?" Victor nods slightly, and walks away with a half a smile, saying, "Loyalty." Sorry, I can't get behind this complete amnesty for Hispanics only. I'm not sure I'm all that impressed with Connie's exceptional political mind. It should be interesting to see the fallout from this.
door, Josh and Toby are meeting with Congressman Mark Richardson, the Black Caucus representative. Richardson says that Josh thinks the Black Caucus votes as a bloc, and that they only care about the cities. Josh thinks that perhaps the Black Caucus can think of better ways to spend $28 billion than on a tax break that will benefit fewer than a thousand African-American families. Richardson points out that the African-American community doesn't think one way about anything. Go, Mark! Toby paces. Mark says that some of their members feel that if black Americans can't pass on the wealth and security they've worked so hard to build up, their efforts to achieve power, clout, and self-sufficiency as a community are undermined. Josh: "You think a few black millionaires justifies a multi-billion-dollar boondoggle?" Richardson replies, "Well, as long as there's a Congress, there are going to be multi-billion-dollar boondoggles. We'd just like to share in them a little bit, please." Can't say I blame him. Toby finally speaks: "We're bleeding here." Mark: "What?" Toby repeats, "We're bleeding here, for God's sake. You can work with us or you can be ignored by a Republican President!" Mark asks how bad it is. Toby says that Buckland's coming after them, and that he and Campos have been meeting. Mark asks, "And while you guys are defending yourselves against Special Prosecutors and Jack Buckland, what happens to the people who got you here?" Toby replies, "Who are you talking to here, Mark? We're not going to forget about failing schools in central cities. We're not going to forget about after-school care, health care for uninsured kids; we're not going to forget about drug treatment, or urban redevelopment, or community policing!" He's almost shouting by the end. Mark says, "Yeah?" Toby insists, "You gotta not forget that we're bleeding!" Mark says, "The black caucus doesn't vote as one mind. I can't promise anything." Josh explains, "The veto's an awfully big risk to take if you can't promise anything." Mark responds: "Then the veto's an awfully big risk to take."
In the hallway outside the Roosevelt Room, Leo and POTUS are pedeconferencing along with Horton. Leo asks whether the fire's abated yet; it has in fact spread to 6500 acres. It's starting to close in on the boundary. Horton says it's not too late for Jed to reverse his decision, but he doesn't think Jed should, because heavy rains are expected that will quell the fire. They're in the Oval Office now. Leo says, "And if it doesn't, we put it out, and the President looks like an idiot for waiting this long." Gesturing to Horton, Jed asks, "Yeah, but we're going to make sure he looks like an idiot, too, right?" Leo confirms this. Jed tells Horton that Wyoming is just going to have to have some faith that the Department of the Interior knows its job. He thanks Horton, who takes his leave.
Jed notices Josh at the door; he's got Toby and Shrug in tow. Jed says, "Ballerina?" Josh falters, "Yeah, I...I didn't...know...what it was at the time. I liked the word...." Jed says, with a tone of warning, "We'll go with that for now." Toby says they're there to recommend that POTUS threaten to veto any repeal of the estate tax. Jed's surprised; Leo asks what happened with Richardson. Josh explains Richardson couldn't make any promises. Toby says, "Let's make the threat." Jed asks whether Shrug likes it; Shrug smartly says, "Yes, sir!" POTUS asks, "I thought 'you don't oppose a tax cut in an election year.'" Shrug makes a distinction between opposing and vetoing a tax cut: "Your first veto ever. That's...shooting the moon." Jed agrees. Shrug, much like Connie, likes the "bold gesture": I think you gotta get out the stamp." Josh says: "You sign it. You don't do it with a stamp." Shrug: "I thought it was a stamp." Jed says, "Actually, you stamp it, then you sign it." Toby: "Who gives a damn, sir? This is a tax cut that benefits only 4500 families." Jed responds, "It doesn't matter if most voters don't benefit. They all believe that someday they will. That's the problem with the American dream. It makes everyone concerned for the day they're going to be rich. The governors of Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and Utah, along with the Senate Majority Leader and Speaker of the House, are calling me a 'fringe' environmentalist, 'cause I'm listening to the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, along with the U.S. Forest Service, the Chief Ranger, and the Parks Superintendent." As he speaks, he's rummaging through his desk drawers until he finds a square wooden box, which he places on his desk. "They say letting the fire burn is good for the environment. And I'm betting on a weather report, of all things. It's just one of those times." He opens the box, takes out an inkpad with the Presidential Seal on it and a rubber stamp, and lays them on the desk. He takes his Mrs. Landingham pen out of his pocket, regards it for a moment, and places it on the desk with the other items. As the scene ends, the music switches abruptly from melodramatic to just dramatic, accompanied by something akin to the sound of a rubber stamp hitting a hard surface.
We're in the Communications area; C.J., carrying a beer bottle, looks for a bottle opener. She asks Babish whether he has one. He doesn't. She mentions that she knows some men carry those pocket knives that have corkscrews in them. Babish is not one of these men. I, however, happen to be married to such a man. The things Frink carries around with him; I mean, completely above and beyond the normal things your typical Be-Prepared type carries. Teensy screwdriver for eyeglass screws? Check. Planisphere? Check. Paratool? Check. Circular slide rule? Check? Pull-out chart of the Periodic Table? Slide calipers? Tone generator? Duct tape? Check, check, check, and check. ["What the hell is a tone generator? I mean, okay, duh, it generates tones, but to what end?" -- Wing Chun] One of his high-school friends, when asked what he would take to a desert island, thought for a moment and answered, "Frink!" As C.J. rummages in desk drawers, Babish harangues her: "You screwed around with an independent legal proceeding, and you used one of my deputies to do it." C.J. retorts, "I worked the press." They are both looking up at a monitor on the wall. Babish continues: "You know, there was an irony in that Clem Rollins was the right man for the job." C.J. asks, "You think I care less [sic] about irony?" Babish: "You think just because the White House feels more comfortable when they're in an ugly political fight, that means we're gonna win it?" C.J. appeals to all and sundry for a bottle opener. I think girlfriend is kicking so much ass lately she can probably just tear the cap off with her teeth. Although, I suppose that could leave her unpleasantly snaggle-toothed.
The focus switches to Donna and Josh, who are hustling in; Donna asks Josh which Committee had jurisdiction for the hearings. I guess she's still in the process of figuring it out, at least twenty-four hours later. Donna wonders if it's Judiciary, but Josh explains, "You'd think so, but Thomas's committee wanted it, so the Majority Leader --" "Thomas's committee?" Donna interrupts. Josh: "House Government Reform and Oversight." Donna looks about as cheerless as you'd expect. People are all hustling in around them: Leo chats to C.J.; Sam comes in yelling for someone to turn up the volume. Everyone watches the monitor, where some suit is at a podium saying, "People deserve answers now, and not at the snail's pace of Jed Bartlet's hand-picked prosecutor. I am announcing that the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee will be gavelled to session to conduct immediate hearings into the possible use of taxpayer resources to defraud the public...." C.J. seems to have found a bottle opener. Before taking a sip of her beer, she quietly says, "Come and get us." Everyone stares at the monitor. The suit drones on, "It is time to put an end to this White House's abuse of power. It is time for this White House to answer to the American people." It is also, apparently, Miller time.