Political Animals s01e06 Episode Script

Resignation Day

1 This season on Political Animals Come on, baby, say the words.
I am gonna run for President Without you.
I am running against you.
And I will resign in 48 hours.
Annie, will you marry me? Yes.
You know, working with Anne on the engagement party has been a dream.
You don't make it easy to love you.
It's not supposed to be easy.
Easy is where you can spend the night while I'm moving out.
My parents, they have spent their lives putting this country before our family.
Somebody has to put our family first.
We can't take another run.
He's just pissed because his queer son was having an affair with Reeves.
You remember Susan Berg, right? Nice to see you again.
You are gorgeous.
Before the suicide story broke, I went five months without doing blow.
I was good, Dougie.
We had a deal, and you can't even go one day.
Stop! Without getting high? Sam, call an ambulance! We made a choice, Bud.
We put our goals for this country ahead of the well-being of our child, and that is a decision we have to live with for the rest of our lives.
Whoo Whoo, whoo Whoo Whoo, whoo Whoo Citizens of planet Earth The only problem we can Who's driving to distraction Whoo, whoo The fascist system Whoo Dear President Garcetti, for over two years, it has been an honor to serve this administration as Secretary of State.
I'm deeply grateful that you placed your trust in me to represent our country around the world.
You have allowed me to be a firsthand witness to historic changes in every corner of the globe.
Here at home, leading the department has been a joy.
It is staffed by the most intelligent, dedicated and loyal people I know.
Take a little time to contemplate Whoo Who we are and see what it's like behind it all Mm, how was San Diego? Fine.
Busy.
You didn't call.
You always call.
I'm sorry.
I set certain goals for myself when I accepted this job.
I'm proud that I accomplished many of them.
But as always, there are some intractable problems that I must leave for others to solve.
I'm sorry, sir.
Someone from the hospital must've tipped them off.
I just can't stop embarrassing you, can I? T.
J.
, I got some experience in dealing with these assholes when all they want to do is see how ashamed I am of myself.
Now, you know what I used to do? I used to imagine you and your brother smiling and waving at me.
Now, okay? We can do this.
Come on.
Got to take some time This experience has profoundly changed me changed the way I see our country's future and our standing in the world.
Whoo-hoo We will pick up very selves where we fall Aunt Susan, wake up! Wake up! Come on.
Mom's making waffles! Yum We will see what it's like " Sir "I deeply regret it has come to this, "but I can no longer in good conscience "serve this administration.
"The values that have guided you of late are not ones I support"? It goes on to say that the feeling is mutual.
And that since I serve at the pleasure of the President, it's only right that I should resign.
It's just not the polite pro-forma thing I was expecting.
Well, he knows I'm running against him.
And I want it on record that there's a real parting of the ways here on moral grounds.
I think it's great.
Bill thinks it's great.
Show it to the undersecretaries as a courtesy, and then bring it back to me for the signature.
I don't want this one signed with the autopen.
Your mother's resignation? I made a copy.
You're seeing it before Garcetti does.
But this is it.
We're even.
No more double agent.
Of course.
I understand.
And you know, about what happened between us before Douglas, don't.
What happened on the plane was a mistake, okay? I'm getting married.
You mean you're not throwing off your picture-perfect bride to share bunk beds with me at my sister's? We're not in college.
You don't need the one-night stand breakup speech.
I've heard it and given it.
Just so you know, I don't normally do that kind of thing.
And I'm not the kind of journalist who sleeps with her sources.
So we're even now.
Isn't that what you wanted? I should get back.
I I don't imagine I have a lot of time before the news is official.
Good-bye, Douglas.
You're still a good guy even though you betrayed your mom and screwed around on your fiancé.
Somehow, you are still a good guy.
And I haven't met a lot of those.
Holy shit.
This is huge.
This changes our entire timeline.
We have to add this letter to the story and run them ASAP.
No.
That is precisely why I showed you this.
You wanted to cover this with me for a reason: respect.
That takes crafting and building a story, and it takes running it at the right time.
We we have Elaine Barrish's resignation letter.
And when we run it, it will be the crown jewel of the whole piece.
If we drop this now Then it's all about the letter.
We'll get a huge headline, agreed.
But as journalists, what have we accomplished? We got a piece of information.
What's behind it? Why did she write it? Why did she write it now? There are a thousand questions that need to be asked and answered before people read this.
You're protecting her.
I'm protecting the story and my credibility with my source.
I showed you this against my better judgment because I thought this was a teachable moment.
Waiting for the announcement was our deal, so that's what we're doing.
We clear? Yeah, sure.
I don't want to hold you up, Mr.
President, but I thought we should resolve this before you leave.
Handwritten on official letterhead.
Always a lady.
I'll leave the timing of the announcement to you, sir.
Even with everything we've been through, I'm gonna miss working with you, sir.
Why didn't you tell me what Collier did to you and your son? Honestly? I was given the impression that you knew.
Elaine, how did we get to the point where you actually believe I'd approve something like that? And Collier's telling, uh, telling everybody those bruises were from a tennis match.
They're not? Bud didn't tell you.
He got them from your husband.
Your ex-husband.
Bud? My Bud? He punched the Vice President? Right up in the Oval.
I had to pull him off my desk.
Elaine, I can count on my left hand how many people I admire in government.
You're one of them.
Yes, sir.
I've got the GEC this weekend in Paris.
When I get back I'd like your decision.
My decision? Don't quit this administration, Elaine.
Run with me.
Be my Vice President.
Say yes this time.
Mr.
President I'm not saying this because I think you'll beat me.
I'm saying it because it's the right thing to do.
We are better for this country together than we are apart.
You know it.
I asked you once before to be my Vice President, you said no.
I let you.
That was a big mistake for both of us.
If I were to accept your offer-- and I'm not saying I would-- I would have to suspend my campaign.
If you're not being completely honest with me right now, I would be shit out of luck, wouldn't I? Yep.
"Please run with me"? I signed it so you'd have proof.
I put the "please" down there so you wouldn't think it's an order.
Thoughtful.
Yeah.
Well I'm not accepting your resignation.
Not today.
So you still work for me.
But I am ordering you to think about it.
Have a good trip, sir.
After all God can keep my soul But don't ever give me up I could never get back up When the future Starts so slow That was fast.
Ah Like pulling off a Band-Aid.
That's the last drink I'm gonna have for a long time.
Last time you tried simpatico sobriety with T.
J.
you lasted about two hours.
What bee flew up your butt? Hey.
How did it go with Garcetti? Did he accept? Do we have a date effective? Let's just get T.
J.
settled first, okay? Hey, everybody! Oh, hey.
Hi, in here.
Oh, sweetie.
Welcome.
Mama.
We stopped by T.
J.
's to pick up a few things.
Oh, hitting the heavy stuff, Nana, huh? Oh, I'm stocking up on soda for both of us.
And this time, I'm gonna last longer, I promise.
Margaret and I fixed up your room.
I'm sure you'll feel very much at home.
Well, uh Look, this isn't my first rodeo.
So I think I'm gonna go lie down.
The sedatives are still in my system.
Yeah, I I can get that, Dad.
Thank you.
Ha.
Pathetic, huh? 30 years old and I'm living with my mother.
Again.
So, uh what's next? Are you gonna go back into rehab? Because that's worked so well for me in the past? You ever wonder how we shared the same womb, but we turned out so differently? Like I inherited all of Dad's worst qualities, and you got all of Mom's best ones.
What are you talking about? I make mistakes, too.
Big ones.
Yeah? Like what? Like I'm I'm just saying, we're not that different.
What's this? Oh, Annie must have brought it over from our apartment.
You have a picture of the two of us in your apartment? Dude, that's so gay.
Okay.
It's not like I built a shrine to it, all right? It was probably in one of my albums.
Aw, do you look at that every night before you go to bed? I do.
Grandpa Hammond's farm.
Yeah, the summer before you went off to boarding school.
We had the whole place to ourselves.
I came out that year.
Yeah.
And Mom and Dad, um, hired that tutor to help you, uh, pass all those classes that you flunked.
Mallory.
How hot was she? Shit, I I slept with her.
Yeah, I know.
I did, too.
Mallory.
The summer that you came out of the closet.
I just I mean, I had to make sure.
You know, every once in a while I gotta sleep with a woman, to just double-check.
Look, they don't tell you when you get the gay card that breasts are off the table.
I mean, breasts are awesome.
Grandpa Hammond's farm.
Best summer ever.
Don't you wish we could go back there again? You took a swing at the Vice President of the United States? Oh, please, it was just a little slap.
You know, I appreciate your righteous anger in defense of our son.
And I will even admit to a certain amount of pleasure at the thought of it, but once again, you have set off a shitstorm of historical proportions.
If you say that you planned this, I swear to God, I'll strangle you.
Well occasionally, I can still be surprised.
See, if Garcetti wants you to run with him, it's not 'cause I reminded him what a dickless bastard Collier is.
It's 'cause it's the right thing to do.
So, I suppose he wants to wait till the convention before he chops Collier's head off.
Smart, huh? Yeah.
That's it? Bud, in 30 years, I have never had to ask you for your opinion.
I'm starting to think one of us is having a stroke.
All right.
I believe you can still beat Garcetti.
But I no longer believe you want to beat him.
I think that, uh, sub crisis, doused the fire in your belly, and you think maybe there's a core of goodness in the man, and he's just lost his way.
You see, that's your lot in life, Elaine, to see the goodness in flawed men.
Hell, it's why you married me.
Well, I also divorced you.
And yet here I am, in your house, surrounded by our family.
And I'm still basking in the warm glow of making love to you not one month ago.
Don't press your luck, Bud.
Oh, baby, as long as there's an ounce of luck left to press, I'm gonna press it.
Shit.
Georgia, please.
Please tell me that you didn't You have the resignation letter? You would burn down this building if it would advance your career a half an inch, you stupid little girl! Oh, please, like we are any different.
I'm just younger than you, by a lot.
Georgia, can you give us a minute? I need to talk to Susan alone.
We're running that letter.
We can't sell out a confidential source.
We're not naming your source.
Publishing that piece will essentially identify and burn my source without naming them.
You don't have to say "them.
" You can say "him.
" Douglas Hammond.
I have serious questions whether your relationship with several Hammond family members has exceeded the bounds of proper, professional contact.
You're one to talk.
The only reason you know about that letter is because you're still sleeping with that.
Look, I allowed you latitude with the Hammonds before so you could pursue the bigger story.
Now that we have it, the paper cannot afford the perception of favoritism.
Alex knows it's you.
He knows there's a letter, and he is running it.
There's nothing I can do.
But you promised.
I know.
And I'm sorry.
This is it.
Okay? Forget my career, it's over.
My mother, no one, will ever trust me again.
There is a way I can still protect you.
You're not my only State Department source.
If you need a name for the leak, I can give you one.
And throw some innocent civil servant under the bus? As cynical as it is, it's the world we live in.
If you're not getting screwed over, you're screwing over somebody else.
You don't want to do that.
No.
But I want to help you.
If I named someone we'd be no better than the people we despise.
And I already don't sleep at night So what are you going to do? Afraid I can't let you do that.
I've been given instructions not to let anyone leave the premises.
What is this? I'm on lockdown now? Just following orders.
What's going on, fellas? Nana, will you please tell Agent Clark that I don't need a goddamn baby-sitter? It's okay, Clark.
I'll handle him.
Yes, ma'am.
Nana, what is it? I gotta run some errands.
Oh, yeah? What kind? Like maybe tracking down your dealer to score some coke? Or finding some nameless boy to screw and do a little blow with? Anne and I found your stash.
We dumped it.
You're one to talk.
Where you hiding your liquor since I've been home? Mom says the house is clean.
Bullshit.
I don't need a drug addict like you to tell me that I'm a boozehound.
Now, you want to go outside and do some "errands," well, go right ahead, honey, Go on.
I'm not gonna stop you.
But just remember this, if you go out that door, that is your choice, and nobody else's! What's wrong? You're shaking.
You think it's easy? Taking a chance you'll never come back home again? But there's no other way.
I'm scared, too.
Oh, God I remember you when you were a little kid.
You were always so happy.
Dougie was the tortured one, but you were just full of smiles and light all the time.
What happened, T.
J.
? I-I don't know.
I stopped being me such a long time long ago, I can't even remember who that was.
Guess the only thing that makes me feel like myself these days is when I'm not.
But you've got your whole life ahead of you.
You know, with your crappy genetics and the awful choices you've made so far, you're going to have to fight for it.
But it's worth it, honey.
It is.
But you have to fight for it! Oh.
Oh.
Hi.
You know, I don't think Sophia's quite nailed this.
I'd like you to take a look at it.
I mean, it's it's okay, but it's just Um Susan Berg is running a story about your presidential aspirations.
Keeping up with the chatter, I guess.
Just take a look at It's not a speculative piece, Mom.
She knows what donors we've reached out to.
She's gotten hold of Jubal Jacobs's research in full, and she has your resignation letter, from this morning.
She can't have my resignation letter, because only two or three people in the world even know it exists.
I'm the source.
Everything that she knows, I gave it to her.
I thought that another run would destroy this family.
And I didn't think that you had a chance of winning.
Now, just hear me out for a second.
Now, after Jubal, I tried to stop it, Mom.
I-I really did, but it was too late.
And I got her to stay silent for as long as I could So all this time, you have just been pretending to support me? At first, yes.
But then we got Jubal's research, and suddenly everything seemed possible.
And I was, I-I was trying to unravel what I had done, Mom Jesus, Douglas.
Yeah, I screwed up.
Screwed up? The access you gave this woman, this journalist, my letter-- everyone will know it came from you.
I know.
I don't think you do.
Tell me, just exactly how did you think this would end? After you told me that you were gonna run, I gave you a dozen reasons not to.
Well, that would've been the time to say no to running my campaign.
Well, I have zero experience saying no to you.
I'm 30 years old, and my worst nightmare is letting my mother down.
Well, you've certainly done that with flying colors.
You should go.
So that's how it's gonna be, Mom? I get the famous Elaine Barrish ice-out.
Huh? I go permanently into the enemy column, Mom? Just another person that let you down, that didn't live up to your impossible expectations? Forget everything that I've done or that my entire adult life has been dedicated to making your life better and easier! Well, I'm sorry.
I am sorry that I am such a disappointment.
Can I just vent for a second? Okay, the new client that I have, the socialite-- she has this harpsichord, okay, and she wants me to design around it.
What's going on, Douglas? Well, um, I got into a big fight with my mom.
And she yelled, and I yelled back, and it got pretty ugly, and I definitely don't have a job there anymore.
But I don't give a shit, because you know what I do care about, Annie? You.
You are the only thing that matters to me.
Marry me.
Haven't we been through this? Now.
Let's elope.
Hey, we'll leave tonight.
All right? What are we waiting for? A roomful of people smiling that we don't know, staring at us, gawking at us, or some spread in Vanity Fair? It shouldn't be like that.
It should be about us.
Should be about you and me.
Are you serious? I've never been more serious about anything in my entire life.
So, is that a yes, then? Yes? Yes.
Yes.
I really thought we'd made a connection here.
I felt I could trust you.
But you've been using me and using my son.
Just like you've been using me.
And you lied to me, said you weren't running.
That's not the kind of thing you tell a reporter.
You say it to someone you have a connection with.
And if I had told you, would you have told me that you were working covertly on a piece about my intentions to run? I don't know.
But you didn't give me that chance.
No.
No, I didn't.
If you run that story, everyone in D.
C.
will know that Douglas was your source.
It will destroy any political career he might have.
'Cause if he would do this to his own mother No one else will ever trust him again.
I know.
Exactly.
Besides, none of it is true anymore.
What? I would like to share with you something that only two other people in the world are privy to.
But I really have to know that I can trust you.
Not as a reporter, trust you as a human being.
Yeah.
The president would not accept my resignation.
He wants me to stay on at State and run with him in the next election as his vice president.
And you're accepting his offer? Why? I have one son who has nearly died twice in the last six months.
My other son-- there is a confusion and an anger there that I am just beginning to see.
They're both adults, but they're still my children.
It's not the right time to take on my boss or my party.
I am their mother first.
It's the best story I'll ever get.
And you just told me so I won't run the second best story I ever got.
Well, I did ask if I could trust you.
You can.
It's a nonstory.
Even if Barrish decided not to quit, she still wrote a letter proclaiming all the reasons that she was quitting.
There's no mulligan on something like this.
I don't want to make my career destroying another person's-- her career-- anymore.
I-I'm sick of it.
I get your obsession with Elaine Barrish.
Actually, I I actually understand why you want to protect her and her family.
But we have the letter, we-we have to run it.
That's our job.
We don't pick sides of the truth, we report it.
It's not the whole truth.
I slept with my source.
I slept with Douglas Hammond.
I'm-I'm not entirely sure that's why he gave me the letter, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with it.
God, Susan, if we had run that letter and printed that letter I know, Alex.
I know, okay? Oh, you know? You know? You really know? This paper, you know, it's already on the brink.
A scandal like this, with somebody of your stature-- it would ruin this place.
If you're going to fire me, please just do it already.
Y-You never said what you just said.
I never heard it.
Go back to your office.
Go! Oh.
How's T.
J.
? Oh, T.
J.
's fine.
He and Margaret are upstairs playing Scrabble.
Neither of them is drinking.
Well, have a soda.
Have you spoken to Douglas? Uh, no.
Why? Madam Secretary! In here.
Number four is secure, number four is secure.
Bobcat secure, Bobcat secure.
What's going on? There's been an accident.
You can't do this to me, Alex.
That was supposed to be my big break! The fact that she's not resigning means it's D.
O.
A.
I'm spiking it.
There are other people I can go to.
I'll go to Seavers.
You want to go above my head, Georgia, be my guest.
Oh, my God.
I repeat, Air Force One, the president's plane, has crashed on approach to landing in Biarritz, France.
The cause of the accident is unknown, but early reports indicate a mechanical malfunction.
Eyewitnesses say the plane lurched and pinwheeled into the ocean.
President Garcetti was on board, along with White House staffers, Secret Service and Air Force One personnel.
34 people in all.
French authorities have dispatched hundreds of search boats, looking for any sign of life amidst the wreckage in the water below.
Six rescue planes are also flying over this crash site and have been dropping life rafts into the water Authorities continue their search for survivors of the Air Force One tragedy.
The French Government has dispatched hundreds of search boats looking for any sign of life amidst the wreckage.
President Harbin of France on Skype.
Put her through.
Any word from Douglas? Networks are saturated.
Got one through, left a voice mail.
Madam Secretary.
Madam President.
Your country has mounted a heroic rescue effort and moved so swiftly.
We're deeply grateful.
If my plane were down off Miami Beach, you would do every bit as much.
With your permission, we have a team on the tarmac here, comprised of NTSB, Secret Service, FBI and Air Force.
Of course.
The nation of France grieves tonight, with all Americans.
Thank you.
Madam Secretary.
Barry.
I'm glad you're safe.
Most trips, one or both of us would've been on that plane.
Look, uh, we've been at each other's throats for quite some time, but right now, Elaine, the fact that you are still in office is the only bright spot in my day.
Collier's asked the Chief Justice to administer the oath.
He's not invoking Section Four? I tried.
White House counsel even wrote the letter.
Section Four? Of the 25th Amendment.
It allows for the powers of the presidency to reside temporarily with the vice president.
It's the only proper course of action because we haven't found Garcetti's body.
I have no standing vis-à-vis the 25th Amendment, but you do.
You're the senior cabinet official.
Alice.
Can I have the letter? Circulate this to the cabinet secretaries.
Make sure they sign it.
Highest priority.
If they have questions, they can call me.
I'm going to the Oval.
Officials have not entirely ruled out this being an act of terrorism, but experts tell us All right, give this to Frank, but move the quote from the Boeing spokeswoman up.
Hey, how's it going? I got a first-person account from an air traffic controller at Biarritz Parme.
I'm almost done.
Okay.
I got to pop upstairs.
I think Seavers wants to expand the edition.
Get me 600 more words if you can.
Okay.
Hey, Alex.
Can you believe this is happening? It's so sad and scary.
It'll be okay.
You have a call on one.
Something's happening at the Oval Office.
Susan Berg.
Are you sure you can't see anything at all? Elaine.
I'm glad you're here, in spite of all our differences.
We need to talk.
Chief Justice.
Thank you so much for coming.
Means the world to me to know that you'll be the one who will administer my oath.
Fred.
You can't do this yet.
They haven't found the body.
Nation needs to know there is someone in charge.
You are, Fred.
But if you take this oath and Paul Garcetti turns up alive, we'll have two presidents.
And that presents a slight Constitutional problem.
I've spoken to counsel.
I am fully within the bounds of the Constitution.
You don't want questions lingering over your presidency, believe me.
Oath's a bit premature.
The proper course is for me to temporarily assume power by writing a letter to Congress, along with a majority of my cabinet.
We took the liberty.
The cabinet is unanimous.
We all signed.
Hmm.
Of course you did.
Elaine, I'd like you to stay on in your post for a while.
I think the nation wants to see unity.
Yes, sir.
Speaker of the House confirms receipt, and also Senate Pro-Tem confirms.
That it? That's it.
You're now the Acting President of the United States.
Congratulations, sir.
All right.
Thanks, everyone.
Barry, alert the majors.
I'll be giving my address to the nation in 20 minutes.
Right after that, I want the Joint Chiefs in here.
Got it? Got it.
Yes, sir.
Thank you, Elaine.
Hey.
Hey, hey.
It's been 45 minutes; I need to know if I'm getting extra space.
Where are you going? Walk with me to the elevators.
Georgia went to Seavers.
Told him I killed her Barrish piece.
Today? She didn't.
She said, um, I've been having an inappropriate sexual relationship with her.
That to cover it up, I've been denying her professional opportunities.
I've been suspended indefinitely.
Okay, I'll find Seavers.
I'll tell him I was the one who compromised the Barrish story due to my sexual inappropriateness.
No.
There's en enough awfulness for one day.
He does not need to know that.
He wouldn't suspend you Susan, I told you, the paper would not survive that kind of scandal.
You weren't protecting the paper, you were protecting me.
None of this would have happened if I hadn't slept with Georgia in the first place.
Alex I just need to go home.
Okay? Call me sometime.
We'll get a drink.
their search for survivors of the Air Force One tragedy Yeah.
Yeah, I'll make a statement tomorrow, Vin.
All right? Now, tonight I just want you to print what all the history books will say, that we lost a great American and one of the best presidents this nation has ever seen.
Bye.
Yesterday, he was a greasy bastard, today he's a saint.
That son of a bitch Reppel from the Times was trying to quote me back some tasteless joke he thinks I made about Garcetti.
It's an absolutely haunting image.
We are now hearing reports that several more bodies have been found nearby that have not been identified.
Hey, sugar, what's happening there? The Ogamis called.
Anne phoned them from the road.
From the road? Apparently, Douglas and Anne have eloped.
They've eloped? Where to? Who? Across the country? Around the corner? I have no idea.
That's why they call it eloping, Bud.
Yeah, well, you got enough on your plate, Elaine.
You just leave this with us; we'll see what we can do.
I'm coming home.
All right, bye.
Where'd they elope to? I don't know.
I think I do.
Forward anything that needs my signoff.
And, uh, otherwise, just have Bill or one of the undersecretaries.
Madam Secretary.
It's okay.
I didn't think today would end like this.
Oh, it's been a pretty shocking day all around.
I killed the story.
Thank you.
How? Mm A lot of stories will be put on hold for a while.
And my boss helped.
Your ex? Yeah.
The asshole who cheated on me turned out not to be such a total asshole.
No one is as horrible as we imagine them to be.
Two weeks ago, I wanted to crush Garcetti.
Today, I wanted to run with him.
And tonight Sorry, I haven't had time to process any of this.
I'm, uh going home to be with my family.
Uh, Douglas has chosen this occasion to elope.
Douglas and Anne eloped? Yeah.
You must have developed quite a bond with him these last few weeks.
Yes.
A professional one.
Please extend my congratulations to both of them.
I will.
Tomorrow night I'm gonna fly to France, to assist however I can.
Um if you're not sick of the plane you're welcome to join me.
I'm there.
Good.
I'll put you on the manifest.
Anne Douglas I'd like to begin with a prayer of thanks.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for bringing this young couple here today to remind us that even in a time of darkness, love can lift us up to the light.
Bless this young man, Douglas, who I baptized as a baby some 30 years ago Oh, no.
I'm so sorry.
No, we've got to get out.
Get the There we go.
T.
J.
, hey.
How the hell did everybody know we were here? "Grandpa Hammond's farm.
The best place on Earth.
" I thought it'd be a good idea for all of us to be together.
I just didn't realize the Imperial Storm Troopers were coming.
All right, sweetheart! Hi.
Well, thanks for the invite, you little shit.
Take messages from everybody.
Including the Acting President.
Thank you.
Sweetheart, I know this is a huge intrusion.
You think? I just couldn't let you run off and get married like this.
After everything that's happened, I I'm so sorry.
Mom You mean more to me than I can say.
I don't even know if I can explain why, okay? I just needed clarity.
I'm just so happy to see you.
I'm so glad you're here.
Really? Yeah.
Do you think Anne will be glad? We'll find out.
Anne Are you okay with all of us being here? Please be honest.
People don't normally crash other people's elopements.
But this is not a normal time, and this is not a normal family.
All right! Let's get this show on the road.
Now, we got beer, champagne and five pounds of shrimp ready to go.
Yes, and we also brought sake.
In case you want to do the Shinto wedding tradition of San San Kudo.
Mom, all this Japanese stuff that you keep throwing on Anne it's racist.
Oh, I thought I was being multi-culturally sensitive.
Well good thing I didn't bring my kimono.
Mom The Reverend agrees that as ex-President I can perform the marriage ceremony.
Assuming that's okay with you two lovebirds.
Do we have a choice? You do not.
Now, this reminds me of a passage from Isaiah.
"For you shall go out with joy, "and be led forth with peace: "the mountains and the hills shall "break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
" How you doing, darlin'? I'm just, um putting one foot in front of the other.
I made a lot of plans sitting on this wall, including running for President.
I think I was about nine.
Maybe ten.
And right over there, is where I asked you to marry me.
And I said "no.
" Only twice.
Three times.
Wasn't twice? Nope.
You said "yes" eventually.
You wore me down.
I loved you with my entire heart, sugar.
I always did.
You were a little freer with your other organs.
It's a shame.
About the deal you made to be Garcetti's Veep.
You would have finally been on the winning ticket.
We can't let Fred Collier stay President.
He represents the worst of the Democratic Party.
President Howdy Doody.
Now, sure, his numbers will spike with all the goodwill following this.
But he will squander it, right? Like the dumb, shit-eating turtle his.
Bud, the President just died.
Our son just got married.
Can you stop talking about politics for one frigging minute? This is the most profound crisis most Americans will experience in their lifetime.
Now, they need a strong, resilient, competent leader to get them through this.
Fred Collier is not that man.
But you are that woman.
And you know it.
Come on, Elaine, this is me.
No one else.
Now, you tell me you're gonna do something about this.
Just say it.
Say the words.
Say you're gonna run.

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