Previously: there was a crisis in Kazakhstan, Will and Kate went on a date, and there was a near-meltdown at a nuclear plant in California. Plus, there were years of unresolved sexual tension between Josh and Donna. (There isn't enough HTML in the world for me to link to every example of that).
It's 5:00 AM, and a bunch of Santos staffers are madly scurrying around a darkened room. Ronna is reading off a bunch of poll results: "Arizona, up by four. Nevada, up by three. Virginia, up by four." I'm not sure if that's how far the Santos campaign has moved since the last polls, or whether they mean to imply that Santos is ahead by that many points in the latest polls. Annabeth asks for the California results, and Ronna tells her that they're up by six. I think Annabeth just asked to be a smart-ass, because she tells Ronna that her poll results show Santos up by seven in California. Donna asks where that number came from, and Annabeth tells her that it's a Gallup poll. This gets everyone very excited.
Otto is sitting at a computer, and Ronna asks him if "it" is up. I don't think that's the kind of thing a lady asks in mixed company. The "it" in question is a web page, because Ronna, Annabeth, and Donna immediately start telling him to hit refresh, or to leave the page and then return to it to force it to reload. It's twenty-one days until the election, according to the subtitle. Soon, all three women are hovering over Otto's shoulder, peering at the monitor. If Peter Paul Rubens were alive today, he would paint this picture: Otto and the Three Graces. Bram asks Otto how things are going, and Otto responds, "I've got three women trying to tell me how to use the New York Times website." Because everyone knows only boys use the internet. Bram offers to help Otto if he's having trouble figuring out the web. Poor Otto. By the way, Bram is in his undershirt. Have men been taking his shirts away from him again?
Otto shoos everyone away, and they go back to reviewing polling results. Everyone is pretty stunned to hear that they are tied with Vinick in Arkansas, North Carolina, and South Carolina. And then Otto tells them all that an article about the Times tracking poll is finally up on the website. Otto's reading the article aloud, and just as he gets to the part with actual results, his computer crashes. Ronna, Otto, Bram, and Donna pretty much freak out, and then Annabeth sweetly tells them that she has the results on her computer. They all gather around her and silently read as some great jazz starts to play. (In fact, thanks to the observant forum posters, I can tell you that it is "Bang, Bang," most likely a recording by Dizzy Gillespie on the album Talkin' Verve. You can go listen to a sample if you want.) As they read, they each pretty simultaneously develop looks of utter happiness. That was a lovely moment of acting from all five of them.
Donna and Bram are now running down the hotel corridor, knocking on every door to wake people up so they can share the news. Bram, in his enthusiasm, starts knocking on the elevator door, causing Donna to break out into giggles. The music from the scene continues. Donna knocks on a door, and we hear Josh's groggy voice from the other side. As soon as he opens the door, she bursts into the room. He's wearing boxer shorts and a shirt unbuttoned halfway down his chest. She just starts throwing state-by-state poll results at him, and he slowly walks toward her. And then she tells him that in the Times poll, the two campaigns are tied, 44 to 44. Josh takes a second to soak it all in, and screams, "Holy mother of God, we caught him! We caught him!" And then he grabs Donna's face in his hands and plants a big one right on her lips. They break away from the kiss, look at each other, and then dive right back in. The camera spins around them and I get a little light-headed and it's all very sexy, and then I realize that Josh just woke up. Morning breath. Ugh.
“ Josh if the poll results are true, and when Josh confirms that they are, they grab each other in a tremendous hug. And then they start making out. ”
We cut to a shot from the outside of Josh's hotel room, where the door is slowly swinging shut as Josh and Donna suck face. Santos, trailed by a bunch of staffers, comes barreling down the hall calling out Josh's name. The door hasn't finished closing yet, so Santos bursts right in. Fortunately, Josh and Donna weren't deafened by lust -- they had time to break their clinch before the entire campaign walked in on them. Santos asks Josh if the poll results are true, and when Josh confirms that they are, they grab each other in a tremendous hug. And then they start making out. Or maybe not. Instead, everybody starts hugging. I notice that Bram (still in his undershirt) goes right for Josh. And there's the tiniest shot of Leo in the scrum. Credits.
It's later that morning at the Vinick campaign. Bruno is reading out the same poll results to Sheila and Vinick. The reaction is a little less joyful. I notice that Sheila lies to Vinick and tells him that they are tied in California. Bruno tries to spin the news, pointing out that the voters Vinick lost aren't switching to Santos -- they've just moved to being temporarily undecided. Vinick walks out of his bedroom into a very crowded office setup. I assume it's a large hotel suite, with the offices set up in the living room. Bruno and Sheila are giving Vinick the message for the day and telling him not to speak about the nuclear accident when Vinick lets loose with a tremendous sneeze. Sheila seems concerned, but Vinick tells her he's fine. She trails after him as he walks down the hall, suggesting ways that he could bring up the situation in Kazakhstan if he needs to get reporters off the nuclear accident. A bit abruptly, he tells her that he needs thirty seconds to himself. She falls behind as he storms off.
Office of O. C.J. and much of the national security team are gathered. They're gossiping about the poll results when the President enters. As they stand, they get right to business, telling Jed that the Russians claim the election wasn't rigged, and that the pro-Russian candidate won fair and square. Both sides are claiming to have sent their troops in to "stabilize" the country. Furthermore, NATO member nations are fully behind the idea of a peacekeeping force without actually being willing to commit troops. And the U.N. is out, because both China and Russia would veto any action in the Security Council. Secretary of Defense Hutchinson tells Jed that the only plan they see is to plant a large American force squarely between the Russians and the Chinese "to create a human buffer zone between the two advancing armies." The two armies are currently about six hundred miles from each other, but they are closing the distance pretty quickly. Jed tells Hutchinson, "I want to see invasion plans as soon as possible." Hutchinson tells him that they prefer the term "intervention." Jed tells him, "Show me a plan that doesn't look like an invasion, I'll call it whatever you want."