What Kind Of Day Has It Been?

[Admin]

From NBC:
President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) prepares for a town hall meeting with college students while the U.S. military races to find a downed American pilot in the Iraqi desert before the Iraqi military captures him. C.J. (Allison Janney) doesn't relish the notion of misleading the press over rescue preparations. Likewise, Toby (Richard Schiff) tries to ignore updates from the distressed orbiting space shuttle which includes his brother David, a payload specialist aboard the craft which cannot close its cargo doors. Meanwhile, a huffing Josh (Bradley Whitford) is dispatched to run down and convince the wayward Vice President (Tim Matheson) to re-think his position on campaign finance reform.

[Joey Lucas]

From The Official Companion:
The President is holding a town hall meeting at the Newseum in Rosslyn, Virginia. It’s just Bartlet, a stool and a microphone. A moderator sits at a small desk to the side, pressing Bartlet about apathy among young voters. At the last election, only 32% of eighteen- to twenty-five-year-olds voted. Bartlet asserts that indifference towards politics has always been a problem, but in the end, decisions are made by those who show up. As the President winds up the meeting, Gina Toscano surveys the audience from a catwalk. Sam receives a call from a guy called Peter Jobson. Sam sees Toby across the atrium, sitting alone, very much wrapped up in his own thoughts. Sam makes a gesture with his hand like a plane taking off. Toby calls over to Josh and motions the same. Josh passes the message onto Leo, though Leo’s not even sure what the signal means anymore.

In the press area, Danny’s tapping away at his laptop when someone hits him on the back of his head. C.J. is finally presenting Danny with a peace offering, a tip about the space shuttle Columbia. In front of the theatre, Butterfield whispers to Gina that the President wants to watch a softball game after the meeting, so he’s going straight to the car, no rope line. The President is announcing that his aide, Charlie Young, gave him a report from the Centre for Policy Alternatives that says 61% of young people think politicians have failed their generation. Charlie’s delighted that Bartlet used his material. He remembers something Josh told him on his first day in the White House.

CHARLIE: (pause) You were right.
JOSH: What do you mean?
CHARLIE: It doesn’t go away.

The town meeting comes to a close and the audience slowly disperses. There’s a large crowd outside, gathered on wither side of the exit route, chanting for the President. Floodlights illuminate the area. Always observant and on edge, Gina’s looking all around. Something’s caught her eye, but she’s not sure what. Zoey falls in with her, chattering about her father’s inability to stay away from rope lines. Gina’s wracking her brains. She murmurs, “I saw something . . .” She realizes what she saw, whips round 180 degrees, and looks up . . .

The twelve hours before the town hall meeting had been intense. An F-117 Nighthawk didn’t return from patrol of the no-fly zone over Iraq. The President has been in pretty good mood until that point, joking as he rehearsed for the town hall meeting.

STAFFER #4: Good morning, Mr. President.
STAFFER #5: ‘Morning, sir.
BARTLET: Hey, Steve. Hey, Mikey. (to Charlie) Listen, have I gotten any of the names right so far?
CHARLIE: No, sir, but you came damn close on a couple of ‘em.

Bartlet corrals Sam to ask him why the space shuttle Columbia didn’t land last night. Sam doesn’t know, and Bartlet refers him to Toby, whose brother is a payload specialist on the flight. Sam asks Toby if he knows why the shuttle didn’t land.

SAM: You know that not only did I know you had a brother on the space shuttle right now, I didn’t know you had a brother.

Josh needs to see Vice President Hoynes, but the only time he has open id when he’s jogging. Josh sighs. Not exactly the meeting he was hoping for.

Leo pulls Bartlet out of his speech rehearsal to go to the Situation Room. They’ve established the Nighthawk pilot is probably alive, but is grounded only about ten miles from the Forth Corps of the Republican Guard. Fitzwallace has devised a rescue scenario using low-altitude helicopters. The President asks the pilot’s name – Captain Scott Hotchkiss from Rhode Island. Bartlet know there’s a bounty on American planes or pilots. He says if Fitzwallace has to call this kid’s parents, he’s invading Baghdad.

Leo briefs C.J. on the F-117, but demands that she lie to the press about the risky rescue plan. C.J.’s immediately on guard lest they rehash what happened over India/Pakistan. It wasn’t lying to the press that made C.J. uncomfortable, it was being lied to by her colleagues. Leo’s putting her in the loop this time.

Sam tells Toby one of the payload bays on the shuttle wouldn’t close. After researching, he knows Toby’s brother is Dr. David Ziegler, who holds postgraduate degrees in physiology and biology. With this recitation on information, Sam knows more about Toby’s brother than he does about Toby. Sam says the shuttle has a minor problem. Toby asks him to keep in touch with Peter Jobson at NASA and to let him know as soon as the shuttle lands.

Josh is jogging with Hoynes, with agents front and back. Josh says that soft money is legalized bribery: over a hundred businesses gave more than $125,000 to both parties at the last election. Josh knows Hoynes has been meeting with opponents of finance reform. Josh stops and says Hoynes is backing the wrong horse. Bartlet’s approval’s at 51%. National TV exposure from the town hall, that’s another five point. If they bring the pilot back alive, it’s in the high sixties. Josh says they’re off to the races and Hoynes’ll be wondering where everyone went.

JOSH: You’ve had some experience battling Jed Bartlet when he’s right. And you’ve had some experience battling him when he’s popular. Why in the world would you want to try it when he’s both at the same time?
HOYNES: (pause) Josh, sometimes I wonder, if I’d listened to you two years ago, would I be President right now. (beat) You ever wonder that?
JOSH: No, sir, I know it for sure. (beat) I’m done. I appreciate the time, sir.

C.J. delivers her briefing on the Nighthawk. Inevitably there are some questions about a rescue. Danny asks the pertinent question, speaking slowly as if to spell it out. “There’ve been no military moves?” C.J. says, “No.”

The President is prepping again for the speech when he sees Zoey. He asks he to join them tonight at the news station. Zoey balks, saying he’ll just talk about her. She changes the subject, confessing that Charlie has something he wants Bartlet to look at. When the President confronts him later, Charlie denies that he has anything to show his boss. Sam says they should have a signal for good news of the pilot if it comes through when Bartlet’s on TV. Ignoring his colleagues’ rolling eyes, Sam demonstrates his lift-off gesture.

Leo congratulates Josh on catching up with Hoynes. He’s hopped on board. But Leo says the President would jump out of his skin if he knew Josh had discussed a political upside of getting Hotchkiss back from Iraq. The pilot and the rescuers are in real danger. “As a guy who flew planes in a war, I was really offended too,” Leo says. Josh apologizes and steps toward Leo as if they’re going to hug, but Leo backs away. “Man, did you read that wrong.”

Charlie pulls Zoey into Josh’s office. He’s upset at her for divulging to her father that Charlie had any agenda in the White House. Charlie says he doesn’t have the same relationship with the President as Zoey and the staff do. Zoey calls Charlie a chicken. Charlie says no, these people are the smartest people in the world. With that, Josh sits down where his chair is, or would have been if there’d been a chair there. “Donna!”

Sam informs Toby there’s a problem with the space shuttle door. Sam says if it really were that bad, they’d have called the President. Toby admits he reacted the way he did before because he forgot his brother was even in space.

The President demands Charlie tell him what Zoey was talking about. Charlie begins to say it’s a report he’s been looking at. Fitzwallace is there, so Bartlet tells Charlie to stick the report in his briefcase. Fitzwallace will wait with the President for news on the F-117. Fitzwallace comments on the presidential seal in his carpet. It’s an eagle with arrows in one hand, an olive branch in the other. Usually, the eagle faces the olive branch, but when Congress declares war, the eagle faces the arrows. Fitzwallace wonders aloud if they just have another carpet lying around. The call comes and Fitzwallace picks up the phone. They have the pilot on the line. He’s safe. Bartlet’s thrilled and promises to look into Fitzwallace’s carpet question.

C.J.’s having to deal with press questions. Carol tells her she did a good job. C.J. says she did, too. Saudi Arabia was spelt perfectly. But there’s only one “l” in Tel Aviv.

[Joey Lucas]

From The Official Companion (cont.):
As news of the rescued pilot drifts in, Danny’s furious with C.J. She looked directly at him and flatly said there was no military action. C.J. says if lying misdirected the Iraqis for even half a beat, then she can sleep fine. Danny’s more upset because she called on him and made him the fool who clung to the wrong answer. He’s not staying in the penalty box forever.

Before he heads for the meeting, the President finds Toby staring out of a window. Bartlet says he just talked to the shuttle mission commander, and they’re trying to fire something called an RCS. If that doesn’t work, the space program is full of brilliant scientists, so they have thirty-nine other things they can try. Bartlet tells Toby not to be a horse’s ass; he should go to Edwards when the shuttle returns safely and talk to his brother. Toby thanks Bartlet for his concern, but he recognizes that no problem in space is small.

But when Sam gets the call from Peter Jobson at the Newseum, he knows the shuttle is returning safely and Toby’s brother is okay. Sam does the take-off gesture and Toby breathes a sigh of relief. Bartlet gives his closing speech. He’s been called a liberal, a populist, and a socialist tonight, but in actuality he’s an economics professor whose great-grandfather was Dr. Josiah Bartlett, New Hampshire’s delegate to the Second Continental Congress in the summer of 1776. Together those men wrote a document that stated, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” That was the first time anyone had thought to do that. “Decisions are made by those who show up,” he says.

The mood is energetic and upbeat as the President and his staff exit the Newseum. Gina nervously scans the crowd, sensing that something is not right. In a small dark room overlooking the crowd, two handguns are being loaded. Bartlet is drawn towards the rope line, unable to ignore his supporters. Gina’s looking, turning in small circles as she hunts through the crowd and the students on the horizon. Then she remembers. She sees a young man look up at a window. She looks up too.

GINA: Guuuuhhhn!!

A window is open in the building across the street and GUNSHOTS begin hitting the sidewalk as three AGENTS dive for BARTLET and GINA grabs ZOEY to the ground. The STAFF instinctively look to see where the shots are coming from as the CROWD starts flying. Even the SCREAMING crowd doesn’t drown out the rapid pops of GUNFIRE as we:

DISSOLVE TO END TITLE CARD

We continue to HEAR the screaming of the crowd and GUNFIRE along with agents shouting, “Get down on the ground!” We HEAR the sounds of panic and finally the crackle of a radio: “Oh, God, we’ve got people down.” “Who’s been hit, who’s been hit . . .”

FADE TO BLACK