The Basket, Part 2 (!)
Jul. 15th, 2006 05:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
caz963So,in Take Out the Trash Day.
We learn that Josh likes his hamburgers so well done that "if you dropped it on the floor, it would break"... that Bartlet's in trouble with Chiquita and Dole and that Sam and Toby never have their late night chats any more... which, apparently, they never had anyway... whatever.
JOSH
I need you to read a report.
C.J.
I'm a woman in her prime, Josh. I'm a prime woman.
JOSH
There's no doubt about it, but I need you to read this anyway.
C.J.
What is it?
JOSH
We want Congress to sign off on funds for a hundred thousand new teachers. They say, fine, but you gotta stipulate that in Sex Ed classes....
C.J.
Abstinence only?
JOSH
Yes.
C.J.
I would no have trouble passing such a class.
JOSH
We commissioned a report about a year ago on Sex Education in public schools, and, well, this is it. [drops the report on C.J.'s desk]
C.J.
What's it say?
JOSH
It's not good.
C.J.
How's it not good?
JOSH
It says basically that teaching abstinence only doesn't work- that people are going to be prone to have sex whether they're cautioned against it or not.
C.J.
Well, what are they recommending?
JOSH
Something called "abstinence plus".
C.J.
Abstinence plus?
JOSH
Yes.
C.J.
What's that mean?
JOSH
Well, Sam's renamed it 'everything but'.
C.J.
Everything but?
JOSH
Yes.
C.J.
Ah.
JOSH
Yes.
C.J.
They want teachers to teach...
JOSH
Yes.
C.J.
And so the sticky wicket joke was...?
JOSH
A regrettable pun. Should I order you some food?
C.J.
Y'know, I can't remember the last time I got home before midnight.
JOSH
By the way, pages 27 to 33? A couple of things every girl should know.
C.J.
Get me a salad.
And "exposition girl" finds out that Take Out the Trash Day means dumping media stories you don't really want anyone to read all in one go on a Friday because nobody reads the paper on Saturdays!
I love Sam and Toby's discussion about the commandments, and then Sam's comment to Leo:
LEO
Coveting thy neighbour's wife's gonna cause some problems.
SAM
That's what I said. Plus, if I were arrested for oveting my neighbour's wife,I'd probably bear false witness.
LOL! *ahem*
So, Josh and Sam have to meet with people from the appropriations committee in order to stave off a hearing about Leo... Leo of course doesn't want any favours, but Bartlet isn't having any of that, telling them not to discount anything without talking to him first.
(Oooh - this is pretty, too!)
Of course, what the committee wants is for the Sex Ed report to be buried in return for not going after Leo...
Then we have CJ having to suss out the mother and father of the young man who was beaten to death for being gay - they're due to attend the signing of the hate crimes bill and Mandy is uneasy about the father, feeling his reticence has something to do with his being uncomfortable with the fact that his son was gay. CJ can't believe anyone could feel like that, especially considering what happened, but she has to find out if this could be a potentially embarassing situation for the Prez. As it turns out, it's more than that - the father had no problem with his son's sexuality -
MR LYDELL
I want to know what qualities necessary to being aparent this President feels my son lacked? I want to know from this President, who has served not one day in Vietnam - I had two tours in Vietnam. I want to know what qualities
necessary to being a soldier this President feels my son lacked? Lady, I'm not embarrassed my son was gay. My government is.
Wow - now there's a smackdown. And I love the bit after, where CJ tries to leak the story about why the Lydells won't be at the bill signing after all... and he won't let her.
DANNY
I always took a free lead.
C.J.
Then...
DANNY
Not from you.
C.J.
Why?
DANNY
Cause twenty minutes from now you're gonna remember you're a professional and you're not gonna like me anymore.
C.J.
[thinking this over] What makes you think I'll like you now?
And Donna finds out, sort of by accident, who was responsible for leaking the information about Leo's rehab. and getting the confidential records.
Sam fires her. And I have to say this, now - a lot of fic out there has forgotten just how mean Sam can be when he needs to. He's often presented as being a bit clueless and a bit of a gossip who can't keep his mouth shut - and I really can't fathom where that came from! Sure, he has his clumsy moments (like Josh) and maybe the sleeping with a call-girl thing wasn't his finest hour, but still...
But in the end, in an AWESOME scene, nailed to perfection by John Spencer, Leo calls the girl in to see him. He doesn't bawl her out, he just wants to understand her motivation for doing what she did.
I love this scene, so I'm just gonna let the words speak for themselves...
LEO
I'm Leo McGarry.
KAREN
Yes, sir.
LEO
I wanted to meet you and I wanted you to meet me.
KAREN
Yes, sir.
LEO
Would you like to put down your things and talk for a minute? If you don't, I understand.
Karen places her box on the table and turns back to Leo.
LEO
When you read in my personnel file that I had been treated for alcohol and drug abuse, what went through your mind? Karen, it's okay, you can say it. The worst
thing I'm empowered to do is fire you and I've already done that.
KAREN
My father drank a lot...
LEO
[nodding] So did mine. In fact he died from it. He came home late one night very drunk, my mother was yelling at him. I'm not sure about what, but I heard the yelling downstairs from my bedroom. She came upstairs and he went out to the garage and shot himself in the head.
KAREN
Is that why you drank and took drugs?
LEO
I drank and took drugs because I'm a drug addict and an alcoholic.
KAREN
How long did it take you to get cured?
LEO
I'm not cured. You don't get cured. I haven't had a drink or a pill in six and a half years, which isn't to say I won't have one tomorrow.
KAREN
What would happen if you did?
LEO
I don't know. But probably a nightmare the likes of which both our fathers experienced. And me too.
KAREN
So after six and a half years you're still not allowed to have a drink?
LEO
The problem is, I don't want a drink, I want ten drinks.
KAREN
Are things that bad?
LEO
[laughing slightly] No.
KAREN
Then why?
LEO
'Cause I'm an alcoholic.
KAREN
I don't understand.
LEO
I know. It's okay. Hardly anyone does. It's very hard to understand.
KAREN
You're not like what I thought you would be like.
LEO
You haven't answered my question yet. When you saw my personnel file, when you saw I'd been through treatment, what when through your mind?
KAREN
My father used to... [She falters. It's obvious this is not a subject she's comfortable discussing] You have all these important decisions to make in your job, every day, all the time, decisions I can't even... people's lives.
LEO
Karen, what you did caused a lot of problems; for me, for the President, and for a lot of people we don't even know. But I'm not sure it wasn't a little bit brave. Did
you like working at the White House?
KAREN
Yes, sir.
LEO
Okay. Then why don't you go unpack your carton and you and I will give each other a second chance?
KAREN
[smiles, then nods] Okay.
And in addition to all this, there was discussion about bananas, some guy trying to get Leo to resign, Toby saving PBS and Danny telling CJ he didn't mind the random grabbing-and-kissing. No wonder time flies so quickly when you're watching one of these... watching two episodes means I did AN HOUR AND A HALF'S IRONING!!! But it didn't seem that long at all!
We learn that Josh likes his hamburgers so well done that "if you dropped it on the floor, it would break"... that Bartlet's in trouble with Chiquita and Dole and that Sam and Toby never have their late night chats any more... which, apparently, they never had anyway... whatever.
JOSH
I need you to read a report.
C.J.
I'm a woman in her prime, Josh. I'm a prime woman.
JOSH
There's no doubt about it, but I need you to read this anyway.
C.J.
What is it?
JOSH
We want Congress to sign off on funds for a hundred thousand new teachers. They say, fine, but you gotta stipulate that in Sex Ed classes....
C.J.
Abstinence only?
JOSH
Yes.
C.J.
I would no have trouble passing such a class.
JOSH
We commissioned a report about a year ago on Sex Education in public schools, and, well, this is it. [drops the report on C.J.'s desk]
C.J.
What's it say?
JOSH
It's not good.
C.J.
How's it not good?
JOSH
It says basically that teaching abstinence only doesn't work- that people are going to be prone to have sex whether they're cautioned against it or not.
C.J.
Well, what are they recommending?
JOSH
Something called "abstinence plus".
C.J.
Abstinence plus?
JOSH
Yes.
C.J.
What's that mean?
JOSH
Well, Sam's renamed it 'everything but'.
C.J.
Everything but?
JOSH
Yes.
C.J.
Ah.
JOSH
Yes.
C.J.
They want teachers to teach...
JOSH
Yes.
C.J.
And so the sticky wicket joke was...?
JOSH
A regrettable pun. Should I order you some food?
C.J.
Y'know, I can't remember the last time I got home before midnight.
JOSH
By the way, pages 27 to 33? A couple of things every girl should know.
C.J.
Get me a salad.
And "exposition girl" finds out that Take Out the Trash Day means dumping media stories you don't really want anyone to read all in one go on a Friday because nobody reads the paper on Saturdays!
I love Sam and Toby's discussion about the commandments, and then Sam's comment to Leo:
LEO
Coveting thy neighbour's wife's gonna cause some problems.
SAM
That's what I said. Plus, if I were arrested for oveting my neighbour's wife,I'd probably bear false witness.
LOL! *ahem*
So, Josh and Sam have to meet with people from the appropriations committee in order to stave off a hearing about Leo... Leo of course doesn't want any favours, but Bartlet isn't having any of that, telling them not to discount anything without talking to him first.
(Oooh - this is pretty, too!)
Of course, what the committee wants is for the Sex Ed report to be buried in return for not going after Leo...
Then we have CJ having to suss out the mother and father of the young man who was beaten to death for being gay - they're due to attend the signing of the hate crimes bill and Mandy is uneasy about the father, feeling his reticence has something to do with his being uncomfortable with the fact that his son was gay. CJ can't believe anyone could feel like that, especially considering what happened, but she has to find out if this could be a potentially embarassing situation for the Prez. As it turns out, it's more than that - the father had no problem with his son's sexuality -
MR LYDELL
I want to know what qualities necessary to being aparent this President feels my son lacked? I want to know from this President, who has served not one day in Vietnam - I had two tours in Vietnam. I want to know what qualities
necessary to being a soldier this President feels my son lacked? Lady, I'm not embarrassed my son was gay. My government is.
Wow - now there's a smackdown. And I love the bit after, where CJ tries to leak the story about why the Lydells won't be at the bill signing after all... and he won't let her.
DANNY
I always took a free lead.
C.J.
Then...
DANNY
Not from you.
C.J.
Why?
DANNY
Cause twenty minutes from now you're gonna remember you're a professional and you're not gonna like me anymore.
C.J.
[thinking this over] What makes you think I'll like you now?
And Donna finds out, sort of by accident, who was responsible for leaking the information about Leo's rehab. and getting the confidential records.
Sam fires her. And I have to say this, now - a lot of fic out there has forgotten just how mean Sam can be when he needs to. He's often presented as being a bit clueless and a bit of a gossip who can't keep his mouth shut - and I really can't fathom where that came from! Sure, he has his clumsy moments (like Josh) and maybe the sleeping with a call-girl thing wasn't his finest hour, but still...
But in the end, in an AWESOME scene, nailed to perfection by John Spencer, Leo calls the girl in to see him. He doesn't bawl her out, he just wants to understand her motivation for doing what she did.
I love this scene, so I'm just gonna let the words speak for themselves...
LEO
I'm Leo McGarry.
KAREN
Yes, sir.
LEO
I wanted to meet you and I wanted you to meet me.
KAREN
Yes, sir.
LEO
Would you like to put down your things and talk for a minute? If you don't, I understand.
Karen places her box on the table and turns back to Leo.
LEO
When you read in my personnel file that I had been treated for alcohol and drug abuse, what went through your mind? Karen, it's okay, you can say it. The worst
thing I'm empowered to do is fire you and I've already done that.
KAREN
My father drank a lot...
LEO
[nodding] So did mine. In fact he died from it. He came home late one night very drunk, my mother was yelling at him. I'm not sure about what, but I heard the yelling downstairs from my bedroom. She came upstairs and he went out to the garage and shot himself in the head.
KAREN
Is that why you drank and took drugs?
LEO
I drank and took drugs because I'm a drug addict and an alcoholic.
KAREN
How long did it take you to get cured?
LEO
I'm not cured. You don't get cured. I haven't had a drink or a pill in six and a half years, which isn't to say I won't have one tomorrow.
KAREN
What would happen if you did?
LEO
I don't know. But probably a nightmare the likes of which both our fathers experienced. And me too.
KAREN
So after six and a half years you're still not allowed to have a drink?
LEO
The problem is, I don't want a drink, I want ten drinks.
KAREN
Are things that bad?
LEO
[laughing slightly] No.
KAREN
Then why?
LEO
'Cause I'm an alcoholic.
KAREN
I don't understand.
LEO
I know. It's okay. Hardly anyone does. It's very hard to understand.
KAREN
You're not like what I thought you would be like.
LEO
You haven't answered my question yet. When you saw my personnel file, when you saw I'd been through treatment, what when through your mind?
KAREN
My father used to... [She falters. It's obvious this is not a subject she's comfortable discussing] You have all these important decisions to make in your job, every day, all the time, decisions I can't even... people's lives.
LEO
Karen, what you did caused a lot of problems; for me, for the President, and for a lot of people we don't even know. But I'm not sure it wasn't a little bit brave. Did
you like working at the White House?
KAREN
Yes, sir.
LEO
Okay. Then why don't you go unpack your carton and you and I will give each other a second chance?
KAREN
[smiles, then nods] Okay.
And in addition to all this, there was discussion about bananas, some guy trying to get Leo to resign, Toby saving PBS and Danny telling CJ he didn't mind the random grabbing-and-kissing. No wonder time flies so quickly when you're watching one of these... watching two episodes means I did AN HOUR AND A HALF'S IRONING!!! But it didn't seem that long at all!
