SANTOS: ... yes, we worry about what's happening in the culture--we have two young kids. But censorship's like saying, "I can' t have a steak because a baby can't chew it." (audience laughs and applauds) Let's ... be careful. (acknowledges audience member with a question) Yeah.
DONNA: He's good tonight.
JOSH: As long as he keeps pivoting to the issues, I'm fine.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: You told Rolling Stone you like Bob Dylan. I was just wondering, which is your favourite album?
SANTOS: My favourite Bob Dylan album ... I guess I should say "Highway 61 Revisited" and then we can just ease into transportation policy, (audience laughs) but really, it's, uh, "Blonde on Blonde". (audience laughs again, as Helen gives him a look; Santos chuckles) Believe me, there's no policy implications to that!
DONNA: Did he just imply ...
JOSH: Jay Leno's gonna have a field day.
DONNA: (as she speaks, Bram walks up to Josh and hands him a note) No big issue's capitvated the voters--you're surprised it's come down to geezer rock trivia? (when Josh doesn't respond, she glances at him, then sees Bram and the note in Josh's hand)
JOSH: (to Bram) Wrap it up.
DONNA: (concerned) What?
JOSH: There was a nuclear accident in California. Get to a television, laptop--get any details you can.
BRAM: We could make a lot of hay out of this--Vinick's the pro-nuke poster child.
JOSH: No hay! No posters. The Oregon trip is off.
(Donna comes up behind them and hands Josh a report)
DONNA: You may want to hang on to your pitchfork.
DONNA: Guess you heard the President's taking Vinick to California.
JOSH: (tightly) Yeah.
DONNA: (sighs) It's his home state. There's a protocol to these things, right?
JOSH: Well, let's hope everyone uses the correct fork.
DONNA: It could hurt Vinick--flying into the fallout?
JOSH: He gets to be statesman, healer--and when is the press going to figure that out he got the plant open?
DONNA: Cable news is still running that debate clip.
(Bram enters, holding a stack of papers)
BRAM: More press requests (he gives several slips of paper to Donna), plus ... (he gives the remainder to Josh, who rifles through them)
JOSH: Governor of Colorado ... head of the DNC ... these are all for me?
BRAM: They're wondering why we're holed up in Florida, instead of mobilising the whole party to slam Vinick.
JOSH: Prevailing winds.
BRAM: Even the Advance guys are begging us to get off the dime.
JOSH: Tell Advance to stick to losing my luggage. (he bends down to pick up the basketball)
BRAM: Vinick's coasting towards his bipartisan buddy weekend with the President. The Advance guys are right--if we don't take him on, he--
(Josh thusts the basketball into Bram's arms, snatches the press requests out of Donna's hand and storms out of the room)
JOSH: The President's wheels-up is in an hour.
DONNA: Tray tables and all.
JOSH: I want you to lead a couple of reporters toward those documents about Vinick and San Andreo.
DONNA: (she stops, her face full of shock and disbelief) I thought you didn't want our fingerprints on it.
JOSH: Just drop hints. Ask leading questions. Do it off the record.
DONNA: That's going to get out. (she gasps) You were the one who didn't want to--
JOSH: Once the President bear hugs Vinick, the game is over.
DONNA: Does the Congressman know about this?
JOSH: (whispers) Just ... go.
DONNA: Leading questions.
JOSH: Or we blow the biggest chance to win this thing we're ever going to get.
(she nods, looking shocked, then squares herself and walks through the open doorway and down the corridor)
BRAM: Advance wants to know ...
JOSH: We're taking tomorrow off, too. There's going to be wall-to-wall press on this--he's said all he's going to say.
DONNA: Best day of the campaign, and we didn't do a thing ... at the rate we're going, maybe we should take the whole month off.
(Josh writes and underlines "too close to call" on the whiteboard above the map)
