Enemies

[Admin]

From NBC:
A crucial banking bill is at risk when political rivals of environmentally sensitive President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) attach a land-use rider to it that would allow strip-mining some of the Montana wilderness. C.J. (Allison Janney) tries to stamp out rumors that the Chief Executive chastised the Vice President (Tim Matheson) during a cabinet meeting. An overworked Leo (John Spencer) isn't too keen on his independent daughter, Mallory (Allison Smith), dating the handsome Sam (Rob Lowe). C.J. continues to fend-off the romantic charms of a perceptive reporter (Timothy Busfield) with a knack for sniffing out juicy stories. Former lovers Mandy (Moira Kelly) and Josh (Bradley Whitford) clash over the administration's attempt to jettison the land-use rider that might also ruin passage of the more important banking bill.

[Joey Lucas]

From The Official Companion:
It’s 1:30 in the morning as the President sits in the Oval Office lecturing Josh on another one of his pet passions, America’s national parks. Josh’s body language says he’s heard enough but the President’s having fun. Not only can he name all the parks, he’s visited all fifty-four. Bartlet warns Josh if he’s any less deferential and any more uninterested, there’s a chance he’ll get an oral guided tour of each one right then and there.

JOSH: You’re quite a nerd, Mr. President.
BARTLET: Really.
JOSH: Yes, sir.
BARTLET: I assume that was said with all due respect.
JOSH: Yes, sir.

The morning dawns early for the West Wing, and the talk of the office is the banking bill, which appears to be in the bag. The President excitedly tells C.J. they beat the banking lobby and advises she should talk it up to the press. Over breakfast, Mallory congratulates her father. Leo asks about Jenny but Mallory refuses to be her parents’ middleman, and suggests he call her and ask her himself. With no reconciliation in sight, Leo gives his daughter his and Jenny’s opera tickets.

In the Roosevelt Room, Vice President Hoynes commences a cabinet meeting in the President’s absence. Mounting his high horse, Hoynes says their first goal must be to find a way to reconcile the White House ties with Congress, to reach out to the House and Senate. Hoynes stops abruptly when the room comes to its feet, hailing the President’s arrival. Bartlet slyly asks the stenographer Mildred what he’s missed. She repeats what Hoynes said and Bartlet stares him down, “You don’t think our first goal should be finding a way to best serve the American people?”

In Toby’s office, Toby and Sam are running a fine-tooth comb over a speech. Josh comes in asks if they’re hearing anything on the banking bill, because he has. Approaching C.J. in her office, Danny fishes for some gossip; he’s heard the President roughed up Hoynes at the cabinet meeting. On the record nothing happened, C.J. says. Off the record, yes it did. Back on the record, Danny asks C.J. out for dinner. She says she can’t go.

Still searching for a story, Danny takes his gossip to Hoynes. The vice president is talking to reporters about the robustness of Internet stocks. He denies anything ever happened at the cabinet meeting, but from the widespread story, C.J. knows there’s a leak.

With her father’s tickets in hand, Mallory asks Sam if she wants to join her for the Beijing Opera at the Kennedy Centre. Sam asks her if it’s a date, and Mallory answers a firm no. “There will be, under no circumstances, sex for you at the end of the evening.”

SAM: If you hadn’t come along with your offer of Chinese opera and no sex, all I’d be doing later is watching Monday Night Football, so this worked out great for me.

Lacking insight into the mind of an overprotective father, Sam tells Leo about his date to the opera. Unconvincingly, Leo says he’s fine with Sam and Mallory pursuing a social relationship, someone should use the tickets.

C.J. is on a mission to find the source of the cabinet meeting leak of the Hoynes story. She goes directly to the horse’s mouth, Hoynes himself. He tells her he didn’t talk to Danny and if she’s implying that he did, she’s being ignorant and insulting. No matter what she thinks of him personally, Hoynes reminds her he represents the Office of the Vice President.

Josh’s concerns weren’t unfounded, because the banking bill is encountering a few bumps on the way to Congress. Josh wasn’t hearing things. He informs Toby that Broderick and Eaton have added a land use rider that would allow strip mining in the Big Sky Federal Reserve. The addendum comes as a total surprise, so when C.J.’s asked about it at a press conference, she’s blindsided. After the briefing, Danny ventures that the question came as a complete shock. Undaunted by her glares, he asks C.J. out again. And again, she says no.

The staff has different ideas on how to respond to the rider. Bartlet is incredulous. Why are these two guys screwing up the bill? Toby explains that it’s retaliation for the campaign. Bartlet asks what he did. “You won,” says Toby. Sam would swallow the rider for the sake of the bill. It’s a good bill, the reserve is just a bunch of rocks, and electorally there’s not much to lose. But Josh has his ego in full gear, and proposes a veto. Toby hops on board. It would demonstrate their unwillingness to be held hostage by two members of the Banking Committee who just want to be a thorn in the President’s side. When Toby and Josh get geared up for this kind of thing, it’s hard to move them. Bartlet is roused by their determination: “I don’t like these people, Toby. I don’t want to lose.”

Now that Leo’s let the President in on his deteriorating marriage, he has to live with his boss’s unsolicited advice. Bartlet, who lives among many women, explains that Mallory’s annoyed because Leo ignored her mother and made her cry. Leo’s not in the mood for pep talks and explanations. When Charlie tells him that tomorrow is the deputy transportation secretary’s fiftieth birthday, Leo asks Sam to draft a letter of congratulations before he leaves for the opera. Meanwhile, C.J. can’t get Danny to loosen his bite on the Hoynes story. Mandy suggests she trade him something – half an hour alone with the President on the record. Danny takes the offer.

[Joey Lucas]

From The Official Companion (cont.):
When Mallory, looking fantastic, comes to get Sam for their non-date, he’s slumped over his computer, still polishing the birthday letter. The President had glanced over a draft and asked him to revise it. Mallory doesn’t understand what’s going on. Sam’s written large parts of stump speeches, Bartlet’s acceptance speech, the Inaugural, the State of the Union, and now he’s writing a birthday card? Sam makes her wait while he fiddles with the writing. She thinks Sam’s chickening out and it makes her crazy.

As she waits for the final version of the birthday card, Mallory realizes she’s been set up by her dad. She calls him an “addle-minded Machiavellian jerk.” Leo confesses. He wanted to show Mallory how inflexible his job is, asking her to stop blaming him for what’s happened with her mother. Bartlet joins them, and clearly he’s a co-conspirator. He runs down the checklist of Leo’s day: intelligence briefings, meetings with Senate Democrats about funding for the army, meetings with counsel, security briefings, and so on. A light day, he says. Bartlet tells Mallory to give her father a break.

When the President takes his leave, Mallory and Leo patch up their misunderstanding and mistaken emotions. Mallory suggests they go out for coffee and dessert and invite Sam as a gesture of peace. Leo fesses up to Sam and apologizes for plotting against him. He admits Sam’s first draft was fine, but as the resident perfectionist, Sam wants to nail it. Mallory tells Sam, “You are so exactly like him.”

Hoynes requests to see Bartlet to straighten out the awkward situation during the cabinet meeting. C.J.’s already told Bartlet she’s sure the stenographer was the source of the leak, and the story’s dead. Hoynes clearly has something he wants to say to Bartlet but he’s almost out the door before he turns around.

HOYNES: Where in our past, what’d I do that makes you treat me this way?
BARTLET: John –
HOYNES: What’d I ever do to you but deliver the South?
BARTLET: (pause) Really?
HOYNES: Yeah.
BARTLET: You shouldn’t have made me beg, John. I was asking you to be the Vice President.
HOYNES: Due respect, Mr. President, but you’d just kicked my ass in a primary. I’m fifteen years younger than you are and I’ve got a career to think about.
BARTLET: Then don’t stand there and ask the question, John! (beat) It weakened me right out the gate. (beat) You shouldn’t have made me beg.

Without another word, Hoynes leaves.

The hours have bought no resolution to the banking bill. Mandy is still fighting to accept it, rider and all. She tells Josh a tie is a win, but he doesn’t know how to back off his pride. Crankily, he tells Donna to hurry up with the information he wants. Donna says she’s doing her best, but the files are antiquated. Eureka! He rushes to Toby and Sam, ranting about the Antiquities Act, which says the President can designate any federal land, like the Big Sky Federal Reserve, to be a national park. Josh goes to tell the President. Toby and Sam leave Josh to it; they’re now both hooked on nailing the birthday greeting.

Josh tells the President his idea. Bartlet loves it, though he knows Big Sky National Park will just amount to a bunch of rocks.

JOSH: I’m sure that someone with your encyclopaedic knowledge of the ridiculous and dork-like will be able to find a tree or a ferret that the public has a right to visit.

Abruptly, Josh changes tactics. He tells Bartlet, “We talk about enemies more than we used to.” He just wanted to mention that.

[Bill]

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