first lady

Ijustloveyourwriting,Tom,

eversinceScorpio.

Ithinkitjustgetsbetterandbetter.

Oh,yeah?Whatelhaveyouread?

Allofthem.

Ithoughtthelatestwasbrilliant,God'sCauldron.

-Youreadthat?-Inonesitting.

Butwhatwe'dreallylovetoread

isyourbookontheUnderwoods.

Well,it''sfictionnow.

Butbadonthem.

Peoplemightdrawparallels.

WouldtheUnderwoodsfinditflattering?

Idon'tthinkthey'dbetoohappywithit.

Howdoyouthinkit'lldo?

-Whoknows?-BetterthanGod'sCauldron,Ihope.

Salesweredisappointing,weren'tthey?

Infact,they'vebeendisappointing

oneverythingyou'vewrittenthepasttenyears.

Wecanchangethatwiththisnewbook.

I'mnotapoliticaltool.

Wedidn'tflyyouupherebecaumywife'safan.

I'msureyouhadanotionofwhatwe'reafter.

Ididn'thaveanyexpectations.

IjustcamebecauIwascurious.

Well,thenletmesatisfyyourcuriosity.

IfyourbookcanhurttheUnderwoods,

wewantittobepublishedbeforetheelection,

andwewantittobebig.

DanaTreister,doyouknowher?

TheeditorofVanityFair.

That''saclofriend.

AndBenGrant,founderofPollyhop.

Isawthewebcast.

Theydon'tmanipulatearchresults,

butlet'sjustsayabigspreadinVanityFair...

Nicejuicyexcerpt,

profileonThomasYates,hisliterarycomeback.

We'reonthecoverthismonth,but...nextmonthitcouldbeyou.

I'montheMarxistsideofDemocrat.

WhywouldIhelpaRepublican?

You'dbehelpingyourlf,Tom.

Andifthathelpsusalittlebitalongtheway,

what'stheharminthat?

SenatorDeanAustenofOhio,

theleadership'stopchoiceforrunningmate.

TwelveyearsinCongress,

helpsuswithamajorswingstate,

middleoftheroad,veryfewenemies,

andmostimportantlytothem,long-timefriendoftheNRA.

Nowhisshortcomingsarehe'sanothermiddle-agedwhiteguy,

underwhelming,unimaginative

andalong-timefriendoftheNRA.

SoyoucanehowIfeelabouttheleadership'schoice.

Senator.

I'mhonored,ent.

Ijusthaveonemajorrervation.

-Claire.-Yes,sir.

Well,betweenyouandme,

I'mnotevensurethisgunbillisgonnapass.

ButifI'mbeingaskedtosupportit,

youknowthesortofhotwater--

Yes,butIneedyouontheticket

tobalanceourstanceonguns.

WehavetoappealtotheRepublicansaswell.

Andlook,I'mnotaskingyoutogetbehindthebill,

justnottopubliclytrashit.

Iknowthisisanimportantissuetoyou.

Itisimportant,

butnotasmuchasanexperienced

leaderwhocandeliverOhio.

Thenconsidermeonboard,sir.

We'renotsurewecangetthistothefloorbeforetheelection.

That'sthedealwemade.

YougetAusten,wegetthegunbill.

WeneedastrongSenateversionfirst,

sowedon'thavetwoweakbillsgoingintoreconciliation.

YouwantAusten,youwillmakethisbillareality.

Or,wecanrevisitthechoiceforrunningmate.

No...letusewhatwecando.

I'llcallMitchell.

Gentlemen,

thefuturevicepresident.

-Congratulations,Dean.-Thankyouverymuch.

-Welcome.-ood.

-Nicetomeetyou.-Verynicetomeetyou.

So,how'sitgoinginhere?

Well,Ithinkwe''tyousay?

It'sbeenaproductivemeeting.

So,let'stalkaboutwhenweshouldannounce.

I,uh,IneedtosoftentheblowtotheNRA

beforewegopublic.

It'simperativewekeepalidonthis.

Noleaksuntilwe'reready.

Justthefourofusinthisroom.

AndClaire,ofcour.

Well,Ineedtogodothisquickinterview.

Um,letmeknowhowitgoeswithMitchell.

Allright,I'msureyouhavesome--

Oh,sostuffyinhere.

Let'sdiscussthetiming.

WasityouortheFirstLady?

-FirstLadyalltheway.-Shethinksshecanwinmeover?

Sheknowsyou'llhitharderthananyoneel.

Ifshe'sstillstandingbytheend,maybethebillhasalegs.

-Kate.-Goodmorning,ood.

HowaboutwetalkintheRooveltRoom?

SupportintheHouisalreadywavering.

Thepublic'slosinginterestinguns.

Don'tyouwanttowaituntilwesitdown?

omakethemostofit.

Oh,it'sbeingud.

Let'sfindsomewhereel.

Kate?

Well,historically,gunreformcomesandgoesinwaves,

asyouknow,soIbelievethistime,itcanbetrulydifferent.

Allthedata'sfilteredhere,withinthewalls.

Myanalystsdoafirstpass,butultimately,

Idothefinalroundmylf.

Ourbiggestconcerniscurity.

Top-gradefirewall,sameasyouguysuatNSAheadquarters.

Whataboutinternalcurity?

I'mtheonlyonewithfullaccess.

So,ifyoudofindanything,

howdoyoucommunicatethattousinacureway?

Inperson.

I'llcometoFortMeademylf,oryoucomehere.

Nohardwareleavesthepremis.

Canyouwalkusthroughhowthefilteringalgorithmswork?

We'lltakefirearms,forinstance.

Ifwestartwitheveryonewholegallyownsagun,

trackgeo-locationpatternsthroughtheirphones,

westarttoputtogetheraportrait

ofwheregun-ownerslive,eat,shop,everything.

Fromthis,wepredicteveryonewhomightwantafirearm,

butwhoisn'tregistered.

They'relikelytoexhibitthesamebehavioraspeoplewhoare.

YoucanuthatforpeoplewhoareinterestedinArabic,

uh,wannatraveltotheMiddleEast,

ment...

Sothesametechniquesthat

we'reusingforourinternationalsurveillance.

Yes...

butfarmoreadvanced.

Okay,turnalittlebittowardsme,.

Right.

Youlookgreat,Hannah.

-Whataboutthecandidate?-Don'tgetmestarted,Will.

-You'rereallyphotogenic.-Iknow.

FrannyWallace,nioryear.

-Theall-Goldfishdiet.-Didyouhavetheputherespecially?

Werollouttheplatinumcarpet,darling.

IwonderwhatFranny'suptonow.

Hmm,nottheEditorofVanityFair,I'lltellyouthat.

OrabouttobetheFirstLady.

Comealongway,haven'twe?

Yeah,WillandI,um...WillandIappreciateyourdoingthis.

It'snotcharity.

Thisissuewilllllikecrazywithyoutwoonthefront.

Well,IfeellikeIshouldreturnthefavor.

AnightintheLincolnBedroom?

Astory.

Youhaveacopyforme?

Anexcerpt.

-Ineedthewholebook.-That'sallyouget.

Conwaygotthesamething.

-Thatwasamistake,Tom.-Theycametome.

Buttheydon'tgettopublish...withoutmyapproval.

Sowhatdoyouwant?

-Ameeting.-For?

You'rejustamesnger,Doug.

Yougotyourmessage.

Oneweek.

Thanksforthecoffee.

ood,welcome.

Thankyousomuchforrecordingthisrobocall.

It'llgoalongwayingettingthisbillpasd.

Well,thankyouforalltheextraordinaryworkyou'redoing.

Uh,wherewouldyoulikeme?

Uh,Sallywillshowyouwherewetupfortherecording.

Rightthisway,ood.

LeAnn...

Whatisthat?

Names,phonenumbers,emails.

Aquartermillionfreshtargets.

Aquartermillion?Where'dyougetthis?

Noreturnaddress.

It's50timesthenamesthatwehave.

Isitlegit?

samplecalls.

Hello,thisisClaireUnderwood.

Ineedtoconfesssomething...

somethingI'mnotproudtoconfess.

WhenIwassittingbesidemyhusbandinthehospital...

allIthoughtaboutwasme.

ifIwastolohim.

Anditwaslfish.

I--Iwasn'tthinkingabouteveryoneel

whohadgonethroughthatfearandpain,

whohadtositwhereIwassitting

becaualovedonewasshotbysomeonewhoshouldn'thaveagun.

I'mashamedbecauI'veneverdoneanythingaboutit.

I'mashamedofhowmanyliveswecould'vesaved.

Howmanyfamilieswecould'vekeptfromsuffering.

Weshouldallbeashamed,everyoneofus,

becauthebloodisonallofourhands,

anddoingnothingisthesameaspullingatrigger.

Weneedtodosomething.

Andthatmeanschangingthelaw.

SenatorAusten'soffice.

Morethan500sincethisafternoon.

Fromourdistrict?

Wehaveitlight.

I'mhearingthatotherofficeshavegottenoverathousand.

SenatorAusten'akeamessage.

Francis.

Youreallyshouldn't.

Oh,onewon'tkillme.

Didyoufinishit?

Yeah.

Onepartreallycaughtmyeye.

"Achasmopenedupbetweenthem,

ahallwaylessthantenyardswide.

Butitmightaswellhavebeenathousandmiles.

Awell-appointednoman'sland

withaplushcarpetandhighceilingbetweentwobedrooms.

Initweretwocenturiesofghosts,

allthePresidentsandFirstLadiesbeforethem.

Butalsotheghost...oftheirmarriage.

Athirtyyears'warthatleftthembothdeadinside

andthisdeadspacebetweenthem."

He'sperceptive.

Uncanny.

Well,it'more.

Peoplewillwanttobelieveit'strueevenifit'sfal.

Whatdoyouthinkitishewantstoaccomplish?

Hecamehereonenight,afterI'daskedyoutoresign.

Hesaidhewasobsd.

Ormaybehewantsbackin.

Youfeltsomethingforhim.

Maybeforamoment.

-Didyou?-No,Idon'tthinkso.

Ifelt...

Ifeltlikehesawme.

Me,too.

.

Icouldn'tstopthinking,sinceyoucalled...

aboutZoe.

-IguessIwantanswers.-That--That'swhatIwant,too.

-Whatisityouwanttoknow?-Wasthere...arelationship?

WithUnderwood?

Whenshewas17,justbeforeshewentofftoschool...

shefoundoutIwashavinganaffair.

Salesrep,somedrugcompany.

w.

Thisisn't,youknow,ontherecord.

No...No,notifyoudon'twantittobe.

Yousaidshefoundout.

Shegavemethreedaystotellhermother,orshewould...

I'msorry,Ihadafewdrinks.

-Didyoutellher?-Yeah,Itoldher.

Wesplitup.

Zoedidn'ttalktomemuchafterthat.

Idon'tknowanythingaboutUnderwood.

I'mthelastpersonshewould'vetold.

IwishIwould've...mademoreofaneffort...

toreachouttoher.

Areyoudriving,?

Yeah.

-I'malmosthome.-Youshouldpullover.

Didyoufindoutanything?

Anythingyoucantellme?

Shedidn'thavealotoffriendsattheHerald.

Um,fromwhatIcangather,

shedidn'thaveanyclofriendsatall.

Ispoketosomepeopleinherneighborhood...

butnothingsofar.

Willyou?

-Ifyou...-Yeah,ofcour,ofcour.

Ifyouthinkofanything...

Yeah.

Thenwhatwereyoudoingthere?

IfIdoameetingattheWhiteHou,

Idon'thavetoexplainmylf,Julia.

Thisbillmightpass.

-Irealizethat.-Areyouhelpingthem?

Absolutelynot.

-Julia.-ood.

Sorry,I'dshakeyourhand,butIjustgotbackfromarun.

Listen,Iwantedtosay,

Iknowourmeetinglasttimedidn'tgoverywell,

andthat'ude,whatIsaid,

andIhopeyou'llacceptmyapology.

Haveaat,plea.

Youeverbeenintheresidencebefore?

Thepersonaltouchisn'tgoingtobringmeonboard.

NeitherwillafewthousandcallstoCongress.

84,000inlessthan24hours.

Butlet'sputthatasideforamoment

-andtalkaboutyourgoodfriend.-Who?

-SenatorAusten.-gmate.

Oh,notjustrunningmate.

YousaidIwouldn'thavetosupportthisbill.

Yes,butalotcanchangeinaday,Dean.

Wehadnoideathere'dbethissortofgroundswell.

JuliaMelmanwasallover

myasvenforbeinginthesameroomasyou.

Didyoutellher?

-Ihadto.-Christ,Dean...

Itwasthat,ormakeanenemyforlife.

She'supt,butIthinkshe'llcomearound,

unlessyoumakemeendor

closingthegunshowandInternetloopholes.

Thenshe'llgoballistic.

Deanwouldn''vepouredmillionsintohiscampaigns.

Andnowhedoesn'tneedyouanymore.

Areyoutryingtointimidateme?Togetustobackdown?

No,Ihaveanoffer.

Ohio'satoughstateforDemocrats.

Julia'sbeenverygoodtome.

Loyalty'simportant,Iunderstand,

butyourloyaltyhastobewithmenow.

Ijustcan'tdoit.

Allright,thenwe'llcanceltheannouncement.

I'llfindsomeoneeltobemyrunningmate.

No,Imean,I...Ijustcan'tsupportthisbill.

Oh,butyoue,thetwogohandinhandnow.

So,areyouontheticketornot?

WhatifthegunbillpassintheHou,butnottheSenate?

Inreturnforwhat?

Youconvincethenatortopullout.

Now,theleadershipwantshim,andwe'veplayednice,

butthepresidentandIwantCathyDurant.

She'samuchstrongercandidate.

You'rewillingtoabandonyourownbill?

Ifit'smeansbeatingConwayorbeatingyou,

that'snotahardchoice.

IalreadytoldDeanthat

Icouldlivewithhimbeingrunningmate.

HowdoIbacktrack?

Justwatchthenewstomorrow.

Youmadetherightchoice.

-Ihopeso.-Well,don'thopeso,knowso.

AndI'llhaveSethndyouacopyofthespeech.

Youcanshowthenatoroutnow,thankyou.

Yes,sir.

-Oh,I'msorry.-It'.

-Whatdidhesay?-He'dshesay?

Thatshe'llthinkaboutit.

Howdoweknowshewon'ttellhimourplans?

Itoldherifshedoes,

we'llmakesurethebillgoesthroughtheSenate.

Canyouhandmeatowel,plea?

-Meechum'shand.-What?

Itraceditonawalldownstairs...Awhileback.

They',nevermind.

Francis,I'vebeenthinkingaboutYates.

TheConwayshaveeverything.

Theyhavetheirchildren,theirvideos,theirTwitter.

Thereareveryfewpeoplewhounderstandus.

Meechum...wasone.

Tomisanother.

Eight...

.

nts.

!Go,go,go.

-Go!-Areyouhungry?

yourmoney,go.

-I'mcallingthecops.-Allright,allright.

-Thecops,rightnow...-Allright,allright.

-I'mcallingthecops.-Allright,allright.

Ma'am...

I'mOfficerTom.

Youcalledforme?

Therewasamanhere.

Averybadman.

-Doyouliveonthisblock?-Thirty-threeyears.

-Doyouliveonthisblock?-Thirty-threeyears.

Didyoueverethisbadmanonyourblock?

Didyoueverethisbadmanonyourblock?

Allright.

Whataboutthiswoman?Didyouevereher?

-Pretty.-Yes,yes,sheis.

Whore!

-Goaway!-Why'dyousaythat?

-.-Why'dyousaythat?Tellme.

youcallherthatword?

Goaway!

Builtthismylf,withmyson.

He'sdoingElCapitannextspring.

Free-climb.

Ifeellikerunningforpresident

islikeclimbingacliffwithoutasafetyrope.

Howisitthepressdon'tknowyou'rehere,bytheway?

Justlikeyou,General,

ItakeSundaysofftospendtimewithfamilyandfriends.

Ortomakenewfriends.

Look,Governor,Iknowyoustillwantmetoresign.

ButIwaswrongtothreatenthat.

DreyertoldmeICOtookoveranotheroilfieldthisweek.

They'regrowing.

Dreyersharesalotwithyou,doesn'the?

Thisishappeningonyourwatch,General.

Thepresidentisn'tactingandyoucan'tforcehimto.

Notifyoustay.

Ifyouresign,though,Ipromiit'llonlybetemporary.

OnceIgetpolitical,Ican'tcrossbackovertheline.

Idon'tmeanarecommission.

Imeanmakingyoumyrunningmate.

Thankyou.

-Haveyoureadit?-'spowerful.

Andit'andI'llshowyou.

TheTelegraphwouldneverletme.

-Sameparentcompany,bothourtitles.-Doesn'tmatter.

Paperisstrictwhenitcomestomoonlighting.

Itdoesmatter,becaumydadisontheboard.

Onecalltoyoureditor...

There...thereareplentyofpeoplewhowouldjumpatdoingthis.

Notwhoknowhimintimately.

Mynewelectioncorrespondent,

hesawyouandYatessneakingoffonthecampaigntrail.

Yateswillopenuptoyou.

I'msureyouknowwhatbuttonstopush.

It'saconflictofinterest.

Mydadshowedmethatarticleyouwrote.

Theonethatneverwenttoprintwhereyoucalledhimatyrant.

Someofushavebuiltourcareersonourreputations,

notbyhavingtheirdaddiesgivethemamagazinetoplaywith.

Orbycozyinguptooldschoolchums,right?

I'vehearditallbefore.

Youmaynotlikeme,youmaynotliketheConways,

butIhavetobelieveyoucanstomachusbetter

thananotherfouryearsofPresidentUnderwood.

-Well,thewritingisgood.-Iknow.

Notgoodenoughtostrong-armapresident.

Well,goodenoughtogetmeinthisroom.

IthoughtFrancismadeitverycleartoyou,

youwerenottochallengeus.

hewouldtelltheworld

Ididn'twriteScorpio.

Ihopeyouunderstand

thatwecan'tallowyoutoprintthisbeforetheelection.

Ido.

Thenwhydidyouwanttomeet?

Ineedanending.

IhaveoneIcanlivewith,butnottheoneIlove.

-Becauit'sfal.-Well,it'struethatyouleft.

IfIleft,Iwouldn'tbehere.

Idon'tbelieveforacond

youwenttovisityourmotherbecaushewassick.

Andwhyisthat?

Becauyounevermentionedheronetimetome.

Sayingnothingsaysalotsometimes.

Well,whatifthestoryisn'tabouthowsheleft,

buthowshecameback.

Justbecauyou'reheredoesn'tmeanyou'rehere.

Well,wouldn'tyouliketoknow?

Don'tyouwantyourending?

Areyougonnatellmeaboutit?

Aboutthetwoofyou?Nolies.

No,I'mnotgoingtotellyouanything.

Youcanobrve,likeyoudidbefore.

Thedifferenceiverythingyouethistimewillbeyours.

Andinreturn,wewouldlikesomething.

someonewhoknowsus...

andknowsourvoices.

Aspeechwriter?You'rekidding.

It'stheonlywaytojustifyyoubeingwithus...

incathepressask.

Youwanttokeepaneyeonme.

Well,Ithinkthat''tyou?

Ifyou'rekeepinganeyeonus?

'llgiveyouaday.

Itwasrighthere,onthisveryspot,

thatIwasshotwithtwobullets

fromanillegallyobtainedhandgun.

SecretServiceAgentEdwardMeechum,

amarineandmyfriend,

wasslainwiththebulletsfromthatverysamegun.

Thepublicsupport...

fortheFirstLady's...UniversalBackgroundCheckBill

hasbeendeafeninginthelastfewdays.

Wehaveheardfromthousandsandthousandsofvoices,

andtoday,wewouldliketoaddonemorevoicetothatchorus.

Anditisapowerfulvoice.

SenatorDeanAustenofOhio.

Thankyou,ent.

I'vebeenamemberoftheNRAsinceIwasateenager.

I'vealwaysbeenafierceadvocateforgunrights.

ButtodayIwanttooffermystrongsupport

fortheFirstLady'sbill.

Hereyougo.

-Letmeaskyouanotherquestion.-I'mtellin'you,man,

ifyousayshelivedontheblock,Ibelieveyou.

Butshemustnothavelikedpizza,

'cauIdon'tremembereverein'herface.

entUnderwood.

Oh,Christ,Ican'tgetawayfromthisguy.

llaboutguns.

Youeverenhimaroundthisneighborhood?

Oh,time.

WiththeQueenofEngland,Fridaynights,afterbowling.

WhenhewasinCongress.

Nah,neveronce.

Iwould'veremembered.I'mgoodwithfaces.

-Parmesan?-Overthere.

Isawthisguyafewtimes,though.

-Thenator?-No,the,uh,thedeadguy.

TheSecretServiceguy.

Inhere?

Yeah,tostopinforcoffee.

Neveranypizza,justcoffee.

-You'repositive?-ou,I'mgoodwithfaces.

"Thewheelslifted,andwithinconds,

Washingtonfellaway,disappearing

underablanketofhazeandsmog.

Foreheadpresdtothewindow,

sheimaginedthiswaxactly

howitmusthavelookedathousandyearsago,

whenthesunroabovetheclouds

andtherewasnothingbutaswampbeneath.

Fromthisheight,withthisview,

shecouldbeanywhere.

Buttheimportantthingisshewasanywherebutthere."

-Youwantanother?-Yeah.

Didhesaywhy?

Okay,thanks,Dana.

Yatespulledout.

SaidhecametoanagreementwiththeUnderwoods.

Hewasplayingusoffeachother.

Wecouldstillleaktheexcerpt.

It'tawaywithit,great.

Ifwedon't,

welooklikeopportunistsfuckingoveranacclaimednovelist.

It'snotworthit.

Doyouthinkit'strue,thatchasmbetweenthem?

Whoknows?

Ilovethatwriting.

-IwishIcould'vereadtherestofit.-IhatedScorpio.

-Itwasbeautiful.-It'sgarbage.

-Why?-Themaincharacter'sapussy.

-Will,youknowIhatethatword.-Heis.

nothing?

oingtodieanyway.

Itdoesn''scowardly.

friend.

AndIthinkYateswasbravetowriteit.

ht,nomatterwhat.

So,KateBaldwinwaswillingifYateswasin?

Yeah,Danawasgivingher20,000words.

Ithinkwecanpivot.

How?

Getherbackonthephone.

-Julia.-Olivia,Ididn'tknowyouwereintown.

Oh,justalittlevisit.

ImisseingDean''ttellhimthat.

-Willyougiveusafewminutes?-No,sheshouldstay.

Oh,Iknowyouhavethingstodiscuss.

Likeyourhusbandwithdrawingfromtheticket.

That'swhyshe'sintown,right?Fortheannouncement.

Iknowthepressconferencemust'vecaughtyouoffguard,

butthepresidentdidn'twantyoutoknow.

-Hethoughtyou'dorganizeaprotest.-'ve.

Myplanwastositdown,talkthisoutbeforetheannouncement.

Thereisn'tgonnabeanannouncement.

You...youcan'twaltzinhere--

We'veraid$20million

foryourhusbandsincehewasafreshman.

ThatgivesmetherighttowaltzinwheneverIwant.

-Showsomerespect.-Honey,plea.

whatwewanted.

-Whatwe'veworkedfor.-WhenUnderwoodlos,

you'llspendthenexttwoyearsfightingoffaprimaryopponent.

Everyoneofour200,000membersinOhiowillturnonyou.

Bythetimeyou'velostthisoffice,

Olivia'slawfirmwillgotitsup.

Don'tforget,wepushedmostofyourclientsyourway.

nIdo?

Convincehimtochangehismind.

Hewouldn'theNRAcamedownhardonhim.

Becauyouhadhimdothepressconference.

No,thatwasAusten'sidea,notmine.

Itoldhimtolaylow,

buthesaidifhewasin,hewantedtobeallin.

Theideawastobalancetheticket.

Well,wecan'tdoanythingaboutAusten.

Thequestionnowiswhodowegettoreplacehim?

Gobacktothelist?

Hewasfine,butI'mnotenthudbyanyoneelonthatlist.

Let'snotgobacktosquareone,ent.

Wehaveagoodlist.

Everybodycangetbehindthonames.

It'scommonn.

Theonlyproblemwithcommonnisthatit'sso...common.

Ithinkwecandobetter.

Who?

CathyDurant.

Now,Louisiana'snotaswingstate,Iknowthat.

Butsheisstillanationalfigure,

shehelpsuswiththewomen'svote,

andItrusther.

Whataboutguns?

Idon'tthinkshe'verhadastrongposition.

It''sneverutteredawordontheissue.

Wechecked.

-Ilikeit.-SodoI.

-ButIhadanotherthought.-Who?

Not"Who."How.

Idon'tthinkIshouldchooher.

Ithinkthepartyshouldchooher.

Notanopenconvention.

Look,Bob,let's...

Wehavetofacethefactthat

myhealthisgonnabeamajorliabilityforus.

Nomatterwhobecomestherunningmate,

theycouldwellendupbeingpresident.

Now,thatisa...

ascenariothatIdon'tevenliketofathom,

butwecan'tescapeit.

Andifit'ssuchanimportantdecision,

whynotletthepartymakeit?

Becauit'dbeafree-for-all.

No,itsothatCathywins.

We'lljustmakeitlooklikethepartychoher.

'llownthenews.

Youwanttheconventiontobeacircus.

Oh,Bob,I'mnotsureifyou'venoticedornot,

butpoliticsisnolongerjusttheater,it'sshowbusiness.

Solet'sputonthebestshowintown.

Great.

Willyougivemeasalute,General?

Activemilitaryaren'tallowedtospeaktothepress.

Hedeliveredhisresignationthismorning.

Noshit.

We'regonnabreakitonlineassoonasthepresidentacceptsit.

Notoftenamonthlygetsrawmeatlikethis,huh?

Hisphone'sgonnablowup.

Butyougettheexclusive.

-SorryaboutTom.-I'mnot.

Thankyou,General.

Allright,we'regonnagotupforthe...

Goodafternoon,ldwin.

Shallwe?

So,ood

hasbeenfocusingonisguns,obviously.

We'vegotsometalkingpointswe'vebeenusing,

-soyou'llwantto...-I'msorry,isthereanywater?

Yes.

I'mabithungover.

AtleastI'mnotstilldrunk.

Wantsome?

Uh,we'refine.

Right.

So...

tothetalkingpoints.

Whatisit?

Excumeforamoment,gentlemen.

WhatIwanttocommunicatemostlyisaboutthedeathtoll,

withpersonalstories,thingsthatconnectwith--

Claire.

-Tom.-ent.

Canwespeak?

I'll,uh...I'llleaveyoutoit.

Doessheactuallygiveashitaboutguns?

What'sthatgottodowithanything?

Weknewthiswasapossibility.

He''sConway,I'msureofit.

Problemisn'tConway,it'sLeAnn.

Shepressuredustocanceltheairstrike.

Wechoourpath,'snotcond-guessit.

Nooffen,ood,butshe'sdoingdamage.

Ithinkweshouldreplaceher.

She'sthereasonwe'regonnapassthegunbill.

Sir?IjustgotthisfromDanaTreister,

theeditorofVanityFair.

Notsurewhatitmeans...

He'sgonnamakethatsonofabitchhisrunningmate.

-What'sgoin'on?-I'llewhatIcandiguponhim.

ullyvetted

whenhewascommissionedfortheJointChiefs.

No,yougowithSethanddraftastatementontheresignation.

Yes,sir.

-Let'sgo.-What'sgoingon,Doug?

Andit'sLeAnn'sfault.

Heneverwould'veresignedifitwasn'tforher.

Seewhatyoucanfind.

Onthegeneral?Thepresidentsaidweshouldn't.

OnLeAnn.

Hey,Idon'twannagetinvolvedinsomecagematch--

edience.

I'llewhatIcando.

DoyouagreewithDoug?You'rehavingrervationsaboutLeAnn?

LessaboutherandmoreaboutTom.

ButItoldyouItrustyouonthis,soI'mtrustingyou.

-Hastheleadershipagreedyet?-They'reskeptical.

Wecanuthis.

Well,gentlemen,iftherewas

anydoubtaboutanopenconvention,letitgo,

becauwe'regonnawannaburythisnews.

Brockharthasjustresigned.

AndthegeneralisabouttoappearonthecoverofVanityFair.

ImaginewhatConwaycandowiththat.

Conway!Conway!Conway!

Thankyouforcoming.

Thankyou!

Thankyouforcomingout.

-Danajustntmethis.-Sogreattoeyou.

Thestorybroke.

-Hello.-Isn'tmywifeperfect?

Thankyou.

Letherknowhowperfectyouthinksheis!

Stopit.

You'retoomuch!

-Thankyou!Thankyou!-Conway!Conway!Conway!

Yeah,Iknow,Fausto.

Igetexhaustedjustthinkingaboutit,too.

Allright.

Ajourneyofathousandmiles.