Episode Summary:
As the White prepares for Vic and Ellie’s wedding, Bartlet has to contend with a potentially catastrophic foreign situation. Meanwhille, the Santos campaign has a major staff shake-up as Election Day approaches.
Script:
THE WEST WING 7x09 - "THE WEDDING" WRITTEN BY JOSH SINGER DIRECTED BY MAX MAYER Transcribed by Soundman for www.twiztv.com. Send feedback to [email protected]. TEASER FADE IN: INT. - WEDDING HALL - WHITE HOUSE - NIGHT Rehearsal is going on for Ellie's wedding. Bartlet is practicing his walking Ellie down the aisle. They walk arm in arm and Bartlet is humming to the wedding music that is playing. ELLIE Dad, you're not really going to sing along. BARTLET I thought I had a solo. ELLIE Or tell jokes. BARTLET None? ELLIE After the ceremony, short ones, preferably not during the toast. BARTLET I have to give a toast? ELLIE Dad. They have come to the front where Vic is standing. Shirley, the social secretary is standing to the side, giving orders. SHIRLEY Turn to face the bride. Now you lift the veil. Bartlet makes a motion as though he were lifting an imaginary veil from Ellie's face. SHIRLEY Give her a kiss. He gives her a kiss on the cheek. SHIRLEY Walk over here. She guides him to his seat. Abbey is sitting next to it. SHIRLEY And sit. BARTLET Kind of far from the action, isn't it? ABBEY You're not performing the ceremony. BARTLET I wasn't asked to. C.J. walks up and sits down behind Bartlet and Abbey. C.J. Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt. ABBEY No, that's quite all right. He was about to go into his Spencer Tracy routine. C.J. There's been an escalation in Kazakhstan. We picked up three Russian military convoys headed for the border. BARTLET [to Abbey] I'm going to need to step out. He stands and walks over to where Ellie, Vic, and the priest are standing. BARTLET Uh, my apologies, everyone. I'm afraid I'll have to meet you at dinner. Don't slip away, young lady. He kisses her on the cheek. BARTLET We need to practice our dance. Father. CUT TO: INT. - OUTER OVAL OFFICE - NIGHT Bartlet and C.J. walk into the office. Kate and Debbie are already there. DEBBIE I told them you were busy. BARTLET Yeah. DEBBIE I hear there's a rehearsal dinner tonight. Swanky event, President of the United States is supposed to show. He's got 15 minutes. They walk in to the Oval Office. BARTLET So now the Russians are invading. KATE We just got off the phone with State. The Russians say they're sending in advisors at the Kazakh President's request. BARTLET Advisors with AK-47s and riot gear? KATE Pretty much. C.J. President Tarimov's got to be nervous with the Chinese camped out at the border and his own people ready to storm the palace gate. BARTLET Not nervous enough to reschedule elections. The Chinese seeing what we're seeing? C.J. The Chinese won't enter the country unprovoked, but if those convoys cross the border... BARTLET Debbie! Debbie comes in, carrying a stopwatch. DEBBIE 38 seconds. Nice work, Commander. BARTLET I'm going to need the Russian Ambassador, the Chinese Ambassador, and my wife; probably not in that order. SMASH CUT TO: MAIN TITLES. END TEASER. * * * ACT ONE FADE IN: INT. - OVAL OFFICE - NIGHT 8:30 PM Bartlet is on the phone with the Russian Ambassador. C.J. and Kate are listening in. BARTLET Yes, Mr. Ambassador, but if we can focus on... Yes, Yuri. Yes, it should be a lovely affair, but... but, listen, if those convoys enter Kazakhstan... He looks at C.J. and she shrugs her shoulders. BARTLET No, I'm not sure who's doing the flower arrangements. C.J. cuts in. C.J. Mr. President, I hate to interrupt but we've got Secretary Hutchinson on the other line. BARTLET Thank you, C.J. Yuri, you'll communicate my concerns to President Chigorin? ... Yes, we'll speak later. ... Thank you. They hang up. BARTLET Flower arrangements. KATE He's stalling. BARTLET Where are the convoys? C.J. 30 miles from the border. KATE Pakistan just issued a statement warning that Chinese interference in Central Asia will not be tolerated. C.J. You want the Chinese Ambassador? BARTLET Get him on the phone. Debbie goes back into her office to make the call. CUT TO: INT. - HALLWAY - HOTEL - NIGHT SANTOS-McGARRY CAMPAIGN THE WESTIN, PHILADELPHIA, PA The elevator doors open and Donna gets out. She walks to a door that has a piece of paper that says "PRESS ROOM" taped on it. She walks in. DONNA Hey, I just wanted to give you guys a heads-up. Governor Baker has decided to join us at tomorrow morning's rally. We've added a half hour to the event. MALE REPORTER What about the wedding? DONNA We'll be wheels-up at noon. The Congressman should have plenty of time to get to the White House. FEMALE REPORTER Have you seen the new Zogby polls? DONNA I have. FEMALE REPORTER Six weeks to go, you're still seven points down. Are you guys concerned? DONNA We drew record crowds in Jersey today, we got a four-point bump in the debate, the economists said a Santos Presidency might be the best thing to happen to race relations in this country since the Civil Rights Act. I'd say we're gaining ground. FEMALE REPORTER You haven't been... You haven't been within five points of Vinick in a month. DONNA We're a little more focused on the state polls. FEMALE REPORTER I've got a senior Democrat on record saying it's time to shake things up. DONNA He should look at a map, do the electoral math. This race is tighter than you think. She leaves. CUT TO: INT. - WAR ROOM - NIGHT Santos, Leo, Josh, and Lou are looking at a US map on a dry erase board. Some states are colored Red, some Blue. SANTOS Do we really want to go dark in Arizona? LOU We picked up two points there last week. JOSH We're still trailing by seven. SANTOS We can't pull the money from anywhere else? JOSH Vinick's challenging us across the board. With California in his pocket we have to sweep Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida. That means putting every available dollar into those four states. LEO We've cut all we can out of the places we're actually competitive. SANTOS Okay. We move the ad money from Arizona into Houston and Miami. Josh starts making some notes on the board. LEO We done with the bloodletting? JOSH We go dark in Washington, Maine, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona. These 12 are still in play. SANTOS I'll try to catch my kids before they go to sleep. JOSH Good night, sir. LOU Good night. Josh and Lou leave. SANTOS Leo. You guys have to narrow down the board like this eight years ago? LEO Sure. Six weeks out, only so much in the war chest, you've got to manage your resources. SANTOS It feels like we're closing a lot of doors. LEO Good strategy always does. CUT TO: INT. - OVAL OFFICE - NIGHT Bartlet is on the phone with the Chinese Ambassador. C.J. is listening in. BARTLET Yes, of course, Mr. Ambassador, but... We've been over this: it's three convoys, they're not invading. ... Yes, but as I've said... if the Chinese Army enters the country... Kate comes in. BARTLET Yes, I'll convey your thoughts. ... Yes. You too, Yahlin. Thank you. They hang up. BARTLET How long before the convoys reach Kazakhstan? KATE Actually, they've stopped a few miles from the border. BARTLET Are they refueling or pitching tents? KATE Hard to know. BARTLET I'm going to go with tents. I want a full briefing in the morning. He puts his jacket on and starts gathering his stuff. C.J. Yes, sir. BARTLET If those convoys start moving again... C.J. Right. BARTLET Good night. BOTH Good night. He leaves. KATE Do you want me to follow up with Berryhill? C.J. No, I got it. They walk out into C.J.'s office. KATE Alright if I... C.J. Yeah. No, wait a minute. The Chinese Ambassador's coming to the wedding. KATE Okay. C.J. I can't remember who he's sitting with. KATE Hopefully not the Russians. State eyeballed the seating chart, right? C.J. One of Berryhill's deputies, a couple of weeks ago. KATE Maybe I should take a look. C.J. Yeah. CUT TO: INT. - HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT Josh, Lou, and Bram are standing at a table. BRAM Philadelphia fundraising totals, and the changes to tomorrow's schedule. JOSH Thanks. BRAM If you could sign off on those before you leave for DC. JOSH Yeah. LOU Five states dark. A lot of contested Congressional races, a lot of guys are going to have trouble getting Democrats to the polls if we jump ship. JOSH Yeah, we're not going to be very popular. LOU You want the new tracking numbers before we go public? JOSH Sure. Donna walks in. She is on the phone. DONNA Right, and we'll want local press from south Jersey and the Philly suburbs. ... Great, thanks Edie. JOSH Did you get the photo op with the Governor? DONNA Santos, Baker, and a cheese-steak. JOSH Make it a hoagie. DONNA Advance said he should get a cheese-steak. JOSH Trust me, make it a hoagie. DONNA The press is a little antsy. JOSH Yeah, tell them national polls are meaningless. DONNA The staff's a little antsy, too. JOSH Yeah. DONNA You guys have been behind closed doors since we got to Philly. JOSH Killer game of Boggle. DONNA Since we got to Philly. JOSH Donna... DONNA There's a rumor we're pulling out of Arizona. JOSH Okay, I need you to kill that rumor. DONNA Is it because we're moving money into Illinois? LOU Josh. Joshua, we just picked up five points in Illinois. JOSH What? LOU Illinois tracking poll. JOSH We're down by nine points. LOU Not anymore. They walk back into the war room. SANTOS What's going on? LOU We're only down four in Illinois. SANTOS Really? LEO We've barely spent any money there. SANTOS [into phone] All right, let me call you back. JOSH This could be a mistake. We should have Joey rerun this in the morning. LEO No, this has got to be the Trib. SANTOS The Tribune Endorsement put us within four? LOU Wow. LEO Four points, the state's in play. LOU We need a big media buy, huge. Maybe a swing through Chicago this week. SANTOS 21 electoral votes. LEO Close a door, open a roof. LOU I'm thinking a 1500 rating points buy, maybe 2000. JOSH Where the hell are we going to get the money? CUT TO: INT. - RESIDENCE - BEDROOM - NIGHT Abbey is sitting in a chair as Bartlet has walked in. ABBEY Nice of you to drop by. BARTLET I missed dinner. ABBEY Only by an hour and a half. He gives her a kiss. ABBEY Don't worry. Ellie had a wonderful time. I, on the other hand, was stuck in the corner with Vic's uncle, a botanist. You would have liked him. BARTLET I'm getting too old for this job. ABBEY Really? It was their relatives, who we don't particularly know, and our relatives, who we don't particularly like. They understood. The Faisons were so busy playing host they barely noticed. Although we did decide on Uncle Norman as a possible stand-in for you tomorrow. BARTLET Stand-in? ABBEY Worst-case scenario. BARTLET Uncle Norman? ABBEY He is a bit of a tippler, but he's reliably punctual when there's an open bar. You'll have time to practice the dance with Ellie before the wedding. BARTLET I'll find her tomorrow. ABBEY Sure. Well, we do have the foreign dignitaries gift reception starting with the Bermudian Ambassador at 9:00. BARTLET Okay. ABBEY And hair at 10:00, makeup at 11:30... CUT TO: INT. - HALLWAY - SANTOS HQ - NIGHT SANTOS-McGARRY NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS, 10:30 PM Josh and Lou are walking and talking. LOU Maybe we pull some money out of New York. JOSH No, we need to be at full force in New York so we can shore up Northern Jersey. LOU What about Missouri? JOSH We're starting to see some movement in the Independents in St. Louis. LOU Iowa? JOSH Yeah, but Chicago's pretty pricey. Des Moines and Cedar Rapids won't make much of a dent. LOU I was really looking forward to a hot bath. They have walked to Edie's desk. JOSH Well, conference room, five minutes. EDIE Three day schedule, point buys for the weekend, couple of calls. JOSH Yeah, anything urgent? EDIE You got ten state party chairs worried you're going to pull local advertising. JOSH Anything else? EDIE Folks in Illinois seem pretty excited. JOSH Yeah? Who called? EDIE Uh, Congressman Sloan, Gabus, Arrow, Leiter, two Senators and the Governor. JOSH What about the guy who's running the DNC field operation in Chicago? EDIE Three times in the last half hour. JOSH Get him on the phone. See if we can fit him in for breakfast tomorrow. EDIE Okay, you realize you have a breakfast every half hour between 8:00 and 1:00? JOSH The later ones must be lunches. Josh's phone rings. He answers it. JOSH Yeah? DONNA [VO] Tomorrow's photo op? JOSH Yeah. CUT TO: INT. - HOTEL ROOM - PA - CONTINUOUS Donna is sitting at a table. Josh is on speakerphone. Bram and some other workers are also at the table. DONNA The Governor's office said Baker'll be having a cheesesteak. JOSH [VO] Okay? DONNA Howard in Advance is worried about the comparative visual. CUT TO: INT. - JOSH'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS JOSH They think the hoagie's gonna look weak? CUT TO: INT. - HOTEL ROOM - PA - CONTINUOUS DONNA I believe his exact words were "pansy-assed." JOSH [VO] Howard's from Philly, right? DONNA Uh-huh. CUT TO: INT. - JOSH'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS JOSH Okay. Go with the cheesesteak. DONNA [VO] Yeah. JOSH But prep him on how to order it: no Swiss, no Munster, just sauce and whiz. CUT TO: INT. - HOTEL ROOM - PA - CONTINUOUS DONNA Whiz? JOSH [VO] Cheese whiz. Ask Howard. CUT TO: INT. - JOSH'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS JOSH [cont.] And no onions. He's got a photo op with the President at the wedding. I don't want him knocking him over with the breath. CUT TO: INT. - HOTEL ROOM - PA - CONTINUOUS DONNA Got it. Thanks guys. She picks up the receiver to talk directly to Josh as the others get up and walk away. DONNA I'm getting calls about Illinois. CUT TO: INT. - JOSH'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS JOSH Tell 'em we're excited. CUT TO: INT. - HOTEL ROOM - PA - CONTINUOUS DONNA The press is wondering who decided not to contest the state. CUT TO: INT. - JOSH'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS JOSH Tell 'em I did. Tell 'em I also made the decision not to contest Georgia, where we're down by 11, and not to contest Mississippi, where we're down by 15. Lou walks to his door. LOU You ready? JOSH Yeah. [to Donna] I've got to go. He hangs up. CUT TO: INT. - HOTEL ROOM - PA - CONTINUOUS Donna hangs up. CUT TO: INT. - RESIDENCE - BEDROOM - NIGHT Abbey and Bartlet are talking. ABBEY I think I can pencil you in between the photos and the ceremony. BARTLET Yeah. ABBEY So, rumor has it you're going to have a chat with the groom tomorrow morning. BARTLET I am. ABBEY Well, that will be lovely, I'm sure. BARTLET What, I did it with Doug. ABBEY Yeah. I don't recall that as being unqualified success. BARTLET Well, now I've had a run at it. ABBEY You do know that talking him out of marrying your daughter is not an option. BARTLET Yeah. He looks at some papers and seems distracted. BARTLET You really think it's not an option. She looks at him matter-of-factly and gets up. CUT TO: INT. - CONFERENCE ROOM - SANTOS HQ - NIGHT Josh and Lou are discussing the money for their ad buy. JOSH New Hampshire, Iowa, Wisconsin. He gets up and starts marking on the board. JOSH We pull out of the original five, we go dark in New Hampshire, we half the ad buy in Wisconsin and Iowa. LOU You're sure? He looks at the board for a few moments, contemplating. JOSH Yeah. LOU Hallelujah. Do you want me to call the media team? JOSH No. I'm meeting with a couple of congressmen from Wisconsin tomorrow. Let me break the news to them first. LOU Okay. I'm gonna head out. JOSH Wait. LOU Ohh! JOSH No, this is right. We got it. As Lou walks away, Josh walks into the main room to where a TV has a news story running about Santos' bump in Illinois. MIKE DIACOVO They picked up five points in Illinois, great. But the question we need to be asking is: "Why wasn't Santos there in the first place?" If you ask me, it's a pretty big tactical error on the part of Josh Lyman. Lou comes back in. LOU You need a ride? JOSH No, I've still got to finish up some things. LOU Suit yourself. DIACOVO ... should have been watching the sampling data. Of course, this campaign is still salvageable, but he certainly can't afford to make another Illinois-sized mistake, which is why I think some people have begun to question whether Josh Lyman is the right person to take the Santo's campaign down the stretch. FADE OUT. END ACT ONE. * * * ACT TWO FADE IN: INT. - WILL'S OFFICE - DAY Will is sitting at his desk and he is watching a tape of a press briefing from earlier in which he is giving the rundown on Ellie's wedding to the White House Press Corps. WILL [on TV] Uh, they'll be walking down the aisle to "Sorge Nel Petto," the aria Gaffredo sings to his daughter in Handel's Rinaldo. The aria was picked for its beauty and its text, which translates roughly to "a certain delight surges from my breast and promises to calm my heart." Kate comes to and leans against Will's door. KATE That's lovely. WILL I made it up. Don't tell. KATE There's nothing better on? WILL I like to start the weekend with a little post-game analysis just to stay sharp. WILL [on TV] Uh, no. Ellie decided to go with the pau de soir Monique Lhuillier instead of the lace Vera Wang. KATE Aha. Will pauses the tape. WILL Is there something you need? KATE I need to take a look at the seating chart for the wedding reception. Will gets it for her. WILL Sure. KATE Pau de soir? WILL Apparently its soft yet supple. Oh, and it drapes beautifully. He brings her two large sheets of paper and she sits on his couch as she starts to look over one of them. Will comes and sits next to her. KATE Who put the British royals at the table with the German Ambassador? WILL Ah, still smarting over the World Cup Match? KATE Well, that and the devaluation of the pound. WILL Right. How about we swap in the Swedish Ambassador? KATE Mm. The Queen and the Swedish Ambassador had a thing. WILL A thing? KATE It's a while back, but still... WILL Sure. KATE Do you mind if I take this for a little while. He indicates that she can. She stands and leaves. CUT TO: EXT. - CAFE - DAY Leo walks up to the table where Josh is sitting. Josh is reading over some electoral material. LEO Hey. JOSH New Hampshire, Iowa, Wisconsin. LEO Good morning to you, too. JOSH You here to sit with Jerry? LEO And then Trautman and Alexander. You? JOSH Uh, Chicago field rep, Cooper, Steele, Golden, Walvick. I'm thinking New Hampshire, Iowa, Wisconsin. LEO Did you get some sleep? JOSH We cut New Hampshire, pull money out of Iowa and Wisconsin. LEO Really, you've got to pace yourself. JOSH I mean, New Hampshire's a no-brainer. LEO I'm serious. You should be getting at least five hours. JOSH Only four electoral votes, we're paying a premium because the ad buy is out of Boston. LEO Soon you're going to be at two hours a night and it only gets worse if we win. JOSH Leo. LEO New Hampshire? JOSH Yeah. LEO It's not worth the ad buy. JOSH Iowa and Wisconsin. LEO Iowa, sure. How much are we up in Wisconsin? JOSH Three points and the Illinois ad buy should carry into Wisconsin. LEO You consider cutbacks in Missouri? JOSH We're only down two points. I don't want to cede the state. MAN Leo! LEO Sounds right. I've got to go make nice with the fat cats. JOSH Well, pick some pockets will you. LEO Get some sleep. JOSH Yeah. The Chicago field rep, STAN MITCHELL, walks up and introduces himself to Josh as Leo is walking away. STAN MITCHELL Josh. Stan Mitchell, DNC field ops, Chicago. JOSH Stan, thanks for flying up. MITCHELL I've been telling you guys we've got a shot in Illinois. I just wish you'd called sooner. JOSH Just tell me we can get the full field operation ready by November 8th. MITCHELL To be honest, you're asking for a six-month job in six weeks. Sure, we can get it up, but its going to cost you. Josh looks as though he thought that that statement might be coming. CUT TO: INT. - MURAL ROOM - DAY Ellie, Vic, and Abbey are accepting gifts from the Bermudian Ambassador. Vic is pacing. Carol and a photographer are also there. AMBASSADOR In Bermuda, it is traditional to place a cedar sapling atop the wedding cake and then plant it at the home of the bride and groom. I bring this sapling from Warwick Pond, one of the few surviving cedar forests on the island. May it grow with your love. ELLIE Thank you very much. She stands to accept the gift. AMBASSADOR You are most welcome. He stands beside her for the photographer to take the picture. CAROL Mr. Ambassador. ABBEY It's beautiful. ELLIE Yes. ABBEY We'll keep it off the cake. ELLIE Yes. Carol ushers in the next ambassador, the French Ambassador. CAROL The French Ambassador, the honorable Julian Lefort. ELLIE Bonjour, Monsieur. Abbey walks to the side of the room and speaks with Carol. ABBEY How many of these do we have? CAROL There were a couple of additions: the Greek Ambassador, the Latvians, the Romanian Ambassador happens to be in town. All totaled, that brings us to 71. ABBEY The hairdresser comes at 10:00. CAROL Maybe we ought to skip Romania. ABBEY Or all of Eastern Europe. CUT TO: INT. - OVAL OFFICE - DAY Bartlet is speaking with his National Security Council. BARTLET The three convoys: they're still holding at the Kazakhstan border? HUTCHINSON Yes, sir. BARTLET Their restraint is admirable. HUTCHINSON Maybe not. Our Keyhole satellites took these photographs of the Russian military base in Omsk two hours ago. BARTLET It looks like a couple of battalions. HUTCHINSON Close to 100,000 men. KATE They've got to be posturing. HUTCHINSON Sure, but 100,000 Russians to the West, 1/6 of the Chinese Army to the East... C.J. We should consider evacuating the Marine base outside Ayaguz. KATE The base is critical to our interests in Central Asia. HUTCHINSON Not to mention that both sides are going to have one less reason to restrain themselves once we pull out. C.J. Yeah, but you're talking about leaving 9,000 Marines in the middle of a wrestling match between two 800,000-pould gorillas. BARTLET How do we get our men out? KATE Airlift to the Arabian Sea. CUT TO: INT. - OUTER OVAL OFFICE - CONTINUOUS Vic is waiting for his meeting with Bartlet. He is tapping his foot and is obviously very nervous. DEBBIE Can I get you anything? VIC No, thank you. DEBBIE Water? VIC No. DEBBIE Coffee? VIC No. DEBBIE Valium? He looks at her as though he thinks she is serious. CUT TO: INT. - OVAL OFFICE - CONTINUOUS Bartlet is speaking. BARTLET How long will it take after I give the word? HUTCHINSON 72 hours, assuming our ships are in position. Debbie knocks. BARTLET Yeah. She comes in. DEBBIE Your 9 o'clock is starting to melt. BARTLET Yeah, send him in. She goes back outside to get Vic. BARTLET Move a dozen evac transports into the Arabian Sea and put them on ready alert. HUTCHINSON Yes, sir. BARTLET C.J., let's get the Kazakhstan Ambassador in here tomorrow. See if we can't convince them to reschedule elections before their country becomes a rugby field. Vic comes to the door. Bartlet sees him. BARTLET Gentlemen, my future son-in-law. The generals get up and go to shake his hand. There is several moments of introductions, well-wishing, and hand-shaking, during which Vic looks extremely uneasy. Bartlet looks as though he is fighting a smile. C.J. Tell me you didn't plan that. CUT TO: EXT. - CAFE - DAY Josh is meeting with a Congressman from Wisconsin. CONGRESSMAN If you go dark in Wisconsin... JOSH Congressman, we're just talking about trimming the ad buy. CONGRESSMAN If anything, we need more money in the state. JOSH We still have a 500-point buy in Green Bay, a 500-point buy in Milwaukee... CONGRESSMAN Vinick's got 1500 points out of Milwaukee, Green Bay, Madison; he's outspending you guys 2-to-1. JOSH I can try to have the Congressman make a few stops... CONGRESSMAN Come on. You know it's all about the media buy. Now look, I know Vinick's pressuring you everywhere and I'm thrilled you made headway in Illinois, but we've got six contested Congressional districts in Wisconsin, not to mention a very tough Senate race. Josh's phone begins to ring. CONGRESSMAN [cont.] Now, without nation ad support we could lose every one of those campaigns. Do you need to take that? JOSH I do. The Senator gets up. CONGRESSMAN You're up four in Michigan and three in Jersey; you should trim there. JOSH Thanks for coming by, Congressman. I appreciate your input. Josh shakes his hand before he walks off. Then, Josh answers his phone. JOSH Hey, how was Philly? DONNA [VO] Pretty good. CUT TO: INT. - SANTOS PLANE - CONTINUOUS Donna is walking down one of the aisles of the plane, talking to Josh. DONNA Pretty good. JOSH [VO] Did you get the photo op? DONNA No, we got it. A little problem with the cheesesteak, though. CUT TO: EXT. - CAFE - CONTINUOUS JOSH He screwed up the order. CUT TO: INT. - SANTOS PLANE - CONTINUOUS DONNA Sauce and whiz, no onions. CUT TO: EXT. - CAFE - CONTINUOUS JOSH That sounds fine. DONNA [VO] The whiz got a little drippy. JOSH How drippy? CUT TO: INT. - SANTOS PLANE - CONTINUOUS As Donna turns a corner, we Santos changing his shirt. There are very large cheese stains down the front. DONNA He probably should have order the hoagie. CUT TO: EXT. - CAFE - CONTINUOUS JOSH Who was at the photo op? As Donna answers, Josh turns and sees [men] talking. DONNA [VO] AP, Reuters, the Times, Le Monde... We figure it's probably front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Any way you'd like me to spin it? CUT TO: INT. - SANTOS PLANE - CONTINUOUS DONNA [cont.] "Acts like a man, eats like a man"? JOSH [VO] Yeah, I got to go. Donna hangs up. CUT TO: EXT. - CAFE - CONTINUOUS Josh hangs up his phone and shakes hands with Senator George Montgomery, who has walked over from the group of men who were talking. SENATOR GEORGE MONTGOMERY Josh. JOSH Senator Montgomery. MONTGOMERY Great news about Illinois. JOSH Absolutely. Nice to have it in play. MONTGOMERY Shame we didn't start there earlier. JOSH Well, we had some other places we had to be. MONTGOMERY At 21 electoral votes, I'd have thought it'd be a little higher on the priority list. JOSH We're only up by six in New York. Any state we're losing by ten doesn't get a lot of attention. MONTGOMERY So long as we start investing there now. JOSH There's no doubt. MONTGOMERY Listen, I heard there's a rumor you're pulling money out of Iowa. JOSH We're thinking about pulling money out of a lot of places. MONTGOMERY As goes Iowa, so goes the Midwest. I'd cut back in Philadelphia. See you at the wedding, Josh. JOSH Yes, sir. Montgomery walks away. CUT TO: INT. - WILL'S OFFICE - DAY Will is sitting at his desk when Kate walks in holding one of the seating charts up and making some marks on it. WILL You done? KATE Just about. You want to take a look? WILL Sure. She lays it down on his desk. WILL Canadian Prime Minister won't mind being stuck in the corner? KATE It's for the best: he's a little grabby. WILL Really? KATE He brings a whole new meaning to "Oh, Canada." WILL K.H. plus one? KATE That's me. The President wanted someone from the NSC to go. WILL Smooth over any international incidents. KATE Prevent, more like. WILL Sure. KATE You're not going? WILL I wasn't invited. I was concerned it might have something to do with my encounter with the happy couple last weekend, but I hear it's a small affair. She smiles. WILL Is there something on my...? KATE Do you own a tux? WILL Excuse me? KATE I mean, I was just going to go stag, but... if you're not busy later... don't have anything to do... CUT TO: INT. - MEETING ROOM - SANTOS HQ - DAY Leo is sitting at the table, dressed in his tux for the wedding. Santos comes in buttoning his sleeve and he has yet to tie his bowtie. LEO You clean up nice. SANTOS Don't start. I already got it from Helen. LEO Philadelphia cheese steak; it's a political rite of passage. SANTOS Yeah, wait till you see the pictures. LEO It's only going to endear you to the Eagles fans in Philly and South Jersey. SANTOS I had a little chat with Baker. LEO How's the governor? SANTOS He's concerned. He's concerned about the campaign: why we weren't in Illinois, why we're not spending more in Pennsylvania. LEO Monday morning quarterbacking: it's a favorite pastime in Philadelphia. SANTOS He's not the only one that's concerned. I've gotten calls. LEO Josh? Santos gives a half-hearted nod in the affirmative. LEO We're six weeks out, still seven points down; vultures are going to swarm. SANTOS I just want to make sure they're not swarming for a reason. LEO No one else I'd rather have running this campaign. Bram walks in. BRAM Congressman. You wanted to screen the new Texas ad buy? SANTOS Yeah. See you down there in ten? LEO Yeah. FADE OUT. END ACT TWO. * * * ACT THREE FADE IN: INT. - WAR ROOM - SANTOS HQ - DAY Josh is going over one of the electoral map boards. Lou comes in. LOU Josh? JOSH You think we should cut the media buy in Missouri? LOU Aren't you supposed to be at the wedding? JOSH Missouri or maybe New York. LOU To pay for Illinois? JOSH We should take a harder look at Michigan. LOU I just called the media team to pull the money out of Wisconsin. JOSH Yeah, uh, we're going to hold off on that. Edie walks in. EDIE Josh, your car's ready. JOSH I'll call you after the wedding. He walks out. CUT TO: INT. - OVAL OFFICE - DAY Bartlet and Vic are seated across from each other. Bartlet is speaking. BARTLET I know you think this is probably old-fashioned, but, frankly, it's much more humane than it used to be. Abbey's father made me take a six-hour hike with him through the woods outside Mt. Pelier in the dead of winter. At least it felt like six hours. Of course I was still a grad student then, whereas you're almost a tenured professor. Isn't that right? VIC Uh, yes. At least, the dean suggested... I mean, in the next few years... BARTLET Good, good. Because before you know it, you'll have a house and kids. Debbie knocks. BARTLET Yeah. She comes in. DEBBIE Sir, the guests are starting to arrive. BARTLET Yeah. DEBBIE You should be heading back to the Residence to change. You don't want to be late to the cocktail hour you're hosting. BARTLET Thank you, Debbie. She leaves. BARTLET Well, thanks for dropping by. They stand. VIC Sir, was there something that you wanted to discuss? BARTLET No, no. I just thought... you know, when you have a daughter, you just like to know... you really want to know whether... Ah, hell. Just tell me you decided to marry her before you got her pregnant. VIC 11 months, two weeks and three days. BARTLET Excuse me? VIC That's when I decided to marry her: a year ago, on our third date. BARTLET What was the matter with the first two? Vic looks unsure. Bartlet reaches out and they shake hands. BARTLET I'll see you at the end of the aisle. CUT TO: INT. - LOBBY - WHITE HOUSE - DAY Josh walks into the White House. He is on his cell phone. JOSH Yeah, we're going to need the new numbers from Michigan too. ... Yeah. Thanks, Otto. He hangs up. He sees Santos talking with Montgomery as C.J. and Barry Goodwin, Chairman of the DNC, walk up. BARRY GOODWIN Ah, Josh. He's just a big blowhard. JOSH C.J., Mr. Chairman. GOODWIN Former Chairman, Josh. C.J. Wishful thinking, maybe. He shakes hands with Goodwin and kisses C.J. on the cheek. GOODWIN Oh, no. Those of us on the sidelines can see what a great job he's doing. JOSH I appreciate that, sir. GOODWIN Now, if we can just get this one to run for something. Good to see you, Josh. JOSH You too, sir. GOODWIN Keep up the good work. JOSH I appreciate it. They shake hands and Goodwin walks off. C.J. Barry Goodwin running the party; those were the days, huh? JOSH Yeah. C.J. You guys must be excited. JOSH Hmm? C.J. Illinois. JOSH Yeah. Hopefully we can afford it. They start walking. C.J. Pinching pennies? JOSH Pretty much. C.J. You're up a bit in Washington. Can you take some money out of Seattle? JOSH We're pulling out of Washington. C.J. Wow! Things that tight? JOSH Welcome to my world. C.J.'s beeper goes off. She pulls out her purse and looks at the beeper. JOSH Is that Kazakhstan? C.J. Probably; you want to trade? She pulls out a bingo card. C.J. Here. Take your mind off things. JOSH Dignitary Bingo? C.J. I've already got four across. Find the Mexican President and you're home. As C.J. walks off, Josh looks and sees Santos and Leo talking with Montgomery and Goodwin. CUT TO: INT. - BASEMENT HALLWAY - WHITE HOUSE - DAY C.J. is coming down a set of stairs when she sees Kate coming from the other direction. C.J. You look nice. KATE Nothing says "International Crisis" like a pair of black stilettos. C.J. You know what's going on? KATE I just got paged. C.J. Yeah. You really look nice. KATE Ok, now I'm starting to think you're hitting on me. C.J. No, I'm serious. The makeup, the hair... KATE I'm trying to impress. C.J. Who's the guy? KATE What makes you think there's a guy? C.J. The necklace, the neckline, the earrings, the back... KATE Okay, okay. I have a date. C.J. Really? KATE I think you'd call it a date. I kind of invited Will to the wedding. C.J. looks stunned. KATE Dark hair, glasses, just got a big promotion? C.J. Will Bailey? KATE Yeah, we were talking and... C.J. You asked Will on a date? KATE Technically I just invited him to the wedding. C.J. Will Bailey?! KATE Yeah, I'm gonna... They walk into the Situation Room. C.J. What have we got Miles, other than the sensation that we've all suddenly landed in a British drawing room farce. HUTCHINSON There's been an incident in Kazakhstan. The protestors at Alma Ata turned violent and Tarimov sent in riot police. KATE Any casualties? HUTCHINSON Our people on the ground are saying it could be up to 200, many of them ethnic Chinese. C.J. The Russian convoys... HUTCHINSON ...have crossed the border. We expect the Chinese to start mobilizing any minute. CUT TO: INT. - LOBBY - WHITE HOUSE - DAY Bartlet and Debbie are walking and talking. Debbie is talking about her Dignitary Bingo card. DEBBIE Minority Leader, Postmaster General... is that the Swiss Ambassador over there? BARTLET Is this a test? She shows him the card. DEBBIE Dignitary Bingo, ten bucks a sheet; are you in? BARTLET Aren't you supposed to be hurrying me someplace? DEBBIE Photo op with Congressman Santos and then bridal party photo at 4:00. BARTLET So I've got half an hour? DEBBIE Maybe. Is that the Swiss Ambassador or not? BARTLET How much you got riding on this? DEBBIE 50 bucks. BARTLET It's the Duke of Edinburgh. DEBBIE Ah, Duke of Edinburgh. She writes something down on her card as Bartlet breaks off for the photo op with Santos. BARTLET Congressman. They shake hands. SANTOS Mr. President. BARTLET Leo. Welcome. He and Leo shake hands. BARTLET I hear they like you in Illinois. SANTOS Apparently I'm growing on them. BARTLET Well, after your performance in those debates, I'm not surprised. LEO Wasn't he something? SANTOS You think that's impressive, you ought to see me do cheese steak. LEO Senator Montgomery wanted a word. SANTOS That's my cue. BARTLET Find me later. We'll talk about Cabinet travel and ways we can be helpful in the home stretch. SANTOS Thank you, sir. BARTLET Good luck. Santos walks off. BARTLET Things are looking up, bub. LEO We're making some headway. BARTLET Mm-hmm. You know if you win this damn thing, you're stuck working here another four years. LEO I like to think of the Vice Presidency as more of an emeritus position. BARTLET Sure. LEO How's everything on this end? BARTLET Well, Russia and China are doing there little Sharks-and-Jets routine in Central Asia and Abbey's got an understudy for me. LEO Seriously? BARTLET Yeah. Uncle Norman's on call. LEO Ouch. BARTLET I've been getting some calls about Josh. LEO Yeah. BARTLET Triplehorn, Nayak, Stackhouse, Montgomery. LEO We're losing six weeks out, people get antsy. BARTLET Sure. It's always like that around this time. LEO Absolutely. Who'd they want to replace me? BARTLET Okay, so maybe not always. Debbie walks up. DEBBIE Okay, enough gossiping, ladies. LEO Debbie, you look lovely as always. DEBBIE You've got 20 minutes. I assume you'll want to say hello to the Duke of Edinburgh. LEO That's not the Duke of Edinburgh. BARTLET Catch you later. He walks over to where Abbey is waiting for him. BARTLET Hey. I thought the wedding photos weren't until 4:00. ABBEY We got a little ahead of the game so I thought you might want to get in that dance. BARTLET Have I mentioned this "Mother-of-the-bride" thing agrees with you. ABBEY When Liz got married, you said I didn't look old enough to be the mother of the bride. BARTLET You didn't. ABBEY I do now? BARTLET I didn't say that. ABBEY What did you say? BARTLET Is there anyway out of this for me? ABBEY Probably not. C.J. walks up. C.J. Mr. President. The Chinese troops have started moving into Kazakhstan. We've got a translator in the Oval, we're getting the Premier on the line now. ABBEY It's okay. We'll do the photos after. He walks towards the door to the Oval. ABBEY Jed. The service starts at 5:00. BARTLET Yeah. He goes in and Abbey walks away. CUT TO: INT. - HALLWAY - WHITE HOUSE - DAY Josh is sitting on the stairs. Donna walks up to him carrying a plate of food. DONNA Fried wonton? JOSH Hey. She sits next to him. DONNA Really, they're pretty good. JOSH Yeah? DONNA They're out of champagne, though. The First Lady just gave me 20 bucks and told me to pick up a bottle of Cold Duck. Josh doesn't say anything. DONNA Josh. JOSH I'm sorry. Have you seen Leo? DONNA I'm bored. I'm an attractive woman waiting to be entertained. JOSH He was just with the President. I'm sure he's still... DONNA I just saw him headed toward the East Room. Josh gets up to walk away. DONNA He was with the Congressman and Barry Goodwin and Senator Montgomery. It looked pretty intense. [pause] Illinois? [pause] I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Josh walks away. CUT TO: INT. - EAST ROOM - DAY Santos, Leo, Montgomery and Goodwin are talking. MONTGOMERY Leo, I'm all for allegiance, but loyalty for loyalty's sake is ridiculous. LEO Sure... MONTGOMERY Josh got it wrong in Illinois. LEO Well, sure, with the benefit of hindsight. MONTGOMERY 21 electoral votes. LEO I didn't see you calling for a major effort in Illinois. SANTOS Barry? GOODWIN Look, I have never seen an electoral map as inside-out as this one. And as for Illinois, we were ten points down. Chicago's one of the most expensive media markets in the country. Now, spending money there would have meant sacrificing Iowa, maybe Missouri, and possibly slimming our ad-buy in Wisconsin, but... SANTOS It's cost us. GOODWIN Yes, it has. Polls move money as much as money moves polls. If you had been in Illinois you'd have gotten this bump sooner, possibly seen a boost in fundraising, and maybe you wouldn't be pulling out of so many states now. MONTGOMERY Josh Lyman's done a terrific job, but Congressman, I'm not sure he can see you through to the finish line. SANTOS Who can? GOODWIN Only one guy I'd want running a campaign this tough and that's the guy standing next to you. Leo smiles as if they are joking. Santos looks at him and Leo realizes they are not joking. The smile fades from his face. FADE OUT. END ACT THREE. * * * ACT FOUR FADE IN: INT. - RESIDENCE - DAY 5:05 PM Abbey and Ellie are waiting. ABBEY You should sit down. ELLIE It'll wrinkle. [pause] You know, we considered going to Las Vegas. ABBEY Sounds pretty good about now, huh? There is a knock at the door. ELLIE Come in. Will comes in. WILL Uh, hi. ABBEY Hello. WILL C.J. asked me to tell you that they started circulating additional refreshments downstairs, in case you were worried. ABBEY Any idea when the President might be joining us? WILL I'm afraid not. There is an awkward silence between Ellie and Will. WILL Well, I should, uh... get back. Congratulations. He leaves and closes the door. ELLIE Why is Will Bailey wearing a tux? CUT TO: INT. - OVAL OFFICE - DAY Bartlet is at his desk, on the phone. There is a translator sitting beside Bartlet's desk, and he is on the phone as well. Kate, C.J., Hutchinson and some generals are also in the room. Debbie is standing behind Bartlet holding a marker and a pad of sticky notes. TRANSLATOR Mr. President, we can not pull back. Debbie writes something on a piece of paper and sticks the paper on the desk in front of Bartlet. It says "5:06." BARTLET Lian, this doesn't make any sense. The Russians supply you with the oil they take out of Kazakhstan. We hear the Premier talking and the translator begins to speak. TRANSLATOR At a premium, some of which goes to the owners of the pipelines; American companies, I believe. BARTLET We're not supporting the Russians. TRANSLATOR Yet you're condoning their attempt to annex half of Central Asia. BARTLET Lian, I'm not condoning anything. I am trying to stop two nuclear powers from going to war over oil! TRANSLATOR Oil? Mr. President, this is not about oil. It is about the brutal suppression of a Democratic movement; a movement that includes many ethnic Chinese - our brothers and sisters. You, of all people, should understand our concern. CUT TO: INT. - EAST ROOM - DAY Several people are milling about. Santos, Leo, Montgomery and Goodwin are talking. MONTGOMERY Look, you've only got one more hour of campaigning left anyway. GOODWIN He's right. Once you finish the Vice Presidential debates, you're almost done. LEO Tell that to my schedulers. MONTGOMERY Due respect, you're not exactly a force on the campaign trail. GOODWIN Josh is going to have to move his war room to the Congressman's plane in the next few weeks anyway. You guys start campaigning together, you can work out of there. MONTGOMERY It might even play better for the crowds. LEO We'd cover half the ground. MONTGOMERY You'd get a boost from the joint appearances. GOODWIN The point is, this campaign should be making the best use of its political assets. LEO We are... with me on the trail and Josh Lyman running things at headquarters. GOODWIN Congressman? SANTOS I appreciate your thoughts, gentlemen. GOODWIN Right. MONTGOMERY Thank you, Congressman. They all shake hands. Goodwin and Montgomery walk off. LEO We should find Josh and go over the morning meetings. SANTOS Uh-huh. Leo? Should Josh be running this campaign? CUT TO: INT. - HALLWAY - WHITE HOUSE - DAY Abbey is walking through the hallway. She walks into the lobby and sees Leo. ABBEY Hey, stranger. LEO Abbey. ABBEY Nice speech in Des Moines. LEO Can you believe this dog and pony show they've got me in? ABBEY You getting any sleep? LEO And eating my vegetables. ABBEY Good. LEO How's Ellie? ABBEY Still standing. LEO That's good. ABBEY Not really. The dress... it wrinkles. LEO I'm sure he'll be here any minute. ABBEY You think? LEO Miracles happen. CUT TO: INT. - OVAL OFFICE - DAY Bartlet and Co. are still in the room. Bartlet has by now taken his jacket off. BARTLET Lian, I need your men to stop advancing. If you'll just hold your position... TRANSLATOR I'm not sure what that will accomplish. BARTLET Let me at least talk to the Russians. Try to convince them to push President Tarimov to reschedule elections. Debbie puts another sticky note down on the desk. This one says "5:46." TRANSLATOR It was the Russians who put Tarimov in power in the first place. For years, this has been how the Russians have been operating... BARTLET Lian. TRANSLATOR [cont.] ... and given their history, it seems clear to me... BARTLET Lian. TRANSLATOR [cont.] ... that the only way to stop their continued aggression... Bartlet slams his fist on the desk and stands. BARTLET Damn it, Lian, will you shut up already! The translator says nothing, indicating that Lian is silent as well. BARTLET Is your daughter married? TRANSLATOR Excuse me, Mr. President? BARTLET Your daughter, the one I met when we were in Beijing, is she married? TRANSLATOR Yes. She was married two years ago, last spring. BARTLET Then you will understand me when I tell you that my daughter's wedding is this afternoon and that she has been waiting for 46 minutes for me to give her away because I can't put down this damned phone until you tell me that you're not going to start World War III today! Now, for the love of God, Lian, will you give me just one half hour so I can go and walk my little girl down the aisle? There is silence for a moment or two. Then we hear Lian speak. TRANSLATOR Mr. President, we can continue this discussion in one hour. BARTLET And your troops will hold their position until then? TRANSLATOR Yes, Mr. President. BARTLET Thank you, Lian. He hangs up. Debbie gets his jacket and helps him put it on. BARTLET You've got one hour. He and Debbie leave. CUT TO: EXT. - PORTICO - DAY Josh is standing at the balcony as Leo walks up. JOSH Is the wedding starting? LEO Not yet. JOSH How's Senator Montgomery? LEO Full of hot air, as usual. JOSH Yeah? Who's he want to replace me. LEO Josh. JOSH Who is it? LEO No one wants to replace you. JOSH It's Goodwin too, isn't it? Son of a bitch. He was just shaking my... So, who do they want? Is it Pipeman? Bloom? I mean, the guy's practically tone deaf when it comes to message politics, but I'm sure he'd be good. LEO Josh. JOSH You could get Simons or Sharp. Maybe you should just promote Lou. It's not like any of the others have run a Presidential. There is a silence and Josh realizes who they wanted. JOSH They want you. It's you, isn't it? Hell, that's who I'd want. You would have known. You would have been in Illinois months ago, right? LEO Stop it! JOSH Right? You would have figured it out. Where would you have gotten the dough? Come on tell me, where would you have gotten the money? LEO I wouldn't have gotten the money because I would have been in Illinois. The polls there looked as bad as when we were running against Eisenhower. I would have made the same decision as you. And that is exactly what I told Barry Goodwin and George Montgomery. Look, these are tough calls. It's impossible to know how they're going to turn out. What's important is how you respond when you get it wrong, how you react, what your next move is. Josh pulls out the map he was looking at earlier. JOSH I don't know what my next move is. I've been staring at this damn map all day. I still haven't got a clue. Iowa's vulnerable. I don't know what I was thinking in Wisconsin. We can't take a dime out of Ohio, Florida, Texas... I don't know where to start. They're right: you should take over. LEO You're all trying to kill me. They hear music begin to play. LEO The wedding's about to start. Give me the map. Come on, we'll talk about it on the way. He takes the map and they begin to walk inside. CUT TO: INT. - RESIDENCE - DAY Bartlet walks in. Abbey and Ellie are still waiting. ABBEY You made it. Ellie looks at Bartlet and smiles. BARTLET Honey, you look... ELLIE Dad? BARTLET I'm sorry, sweetheart. ELLIE It's okay, Dad, really. You wanted a White House wedding. He holds out his arm. CUT TO: INT. - HALLWAY - WHITE HOUSE - DAY Santos is on the phone. SANTOS All of that is being taken into consideration. ... Well, I thank you for your support. ... Thank you so much. Leo and Josh walk in as Santos hangs up. LEO I'll meet you in there. Josh walks away. SANTOS How'd it go? LEO Fine. SANTOS You taking over? LEO No. SANTOS Leo, I thought we... LEO Josh is going to make a lot of strategic decisions over the next few weeks. He's going to sweat them like life and death. And they'll be important, sure, which is why you and me are going to be in on every one of them. But they're meaningless compared to the decision the voters are going to have to make just by listening to you and trying to see if they can connect with the idea of Matt Santos as President. And Josh has nothing to do with that. Goodwin's right: Josh has taken you as far as he can. The rest is up to you. CUT TO: INT. - STAIRWELL - DAY Bartlet is walking Ellie down the stairs. They come into the foyer outside the East Room where the wedding procession of bridesmaids and flower girls has begun. They stop, waiting till time for Ellie to walk. ELLIE You okay, Dad? BARTLET You know, one time during my first term in Congress we went on a Congressional delegation to East Germany. You probably don't remember, you couldn't have been more than four or five. But anyway, we got to East Berlin and we were waiting online with our passports at Checkpoint Charlie when all of a sudden you bolted out into the no-man's land between the two guard posts and everything stopped. The MPs just froze and your mother and I were scared to death, but not you. You just calmly looked up at one of the soldiers on the wall and you waved and the soldier waved back. And then... He falters. Ellie picks up the story. ELLIE And then all the soldiers were waving at each other. I remember, Dad. He helps her pull her veil down over her face. ELLIE Take my arm. They begin their walk and we see the audience rise. DISSOLVE TO: END TITLES. FADE TO BLACK. THE END. * * * The West Wing episode 7.09 "The Wedding", original air date 11 December, 2005.