The West Wing, Season Two

Bartlet:
Toby's concerned that the peaceful solution I brokered in Kashmir last year was the result of a drug-induced haze.

Leo:
I was there with him. So was Fitz. So was Cashman, Hutchinson, Berryhill...

Toby:
Well, that's fantastic.

Leo:
Toby.

Toby:
None of you were elected!

Bartlet:
I was elected, they were appointed. The Vice President was elected. He has the constitutional authority to assume my--

Toby:
Not last May, he didn't. Last May, when you were under general anesthesia.

Bartlet:
That's because I never signed the letter, but I don't think I got shot because I got MS!

Toby:
No, I don't think you did either, sir. I meant that during a night of extreme chaos and fear when we didn't yet know if we'd been the victims of domestic or foreign terrorism, or even an act of war, there was uncertainty as to who was giving the national security orders and it was because you never signed the letter. So I'm led to wonder, given your condition and its lack of predictability, why there isn't simply a signed letter sitting in a file someplace. And the answer, of course, is that [chuckles] if there was a-a signed letter sitting in a file someplace, somebody would ask why. The Commander in Chief had just been attacked, he was under a general anesthetic, a fugitive was at large, the manhunt included every federal state and local law enforcement agency. The Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware National Guard units were federalized. The KH-10s showed Republican Guard movement in southern Iraq. And twelve hours earlier, an F-117 was shot down in the no-fly, and the Vice President's authority was murky at best! The National Security Advisor and the Secretary of State didn't know who they were taking their orders from. I wasn't in the Situation Room that night, but I'll bet all the money in my pockets against all the money in your pockets that it was Leo. Who no one elected! For ninety minutes that night, there was a coup d'état in this country.

Bartlet:
[sarcastically] And the walls came tumbling down. I feel fine, by the way, thanks for asking. [interjecting as Leo tries to speak up] No, Leo, Toby's concern for my health is moving me in ways...

Toby:
Mr. President --

Bartlet:
[suddenly infuriated, throws a stack of papers against his desk] SHUT UP! [circles around his desk, staring Toby in the face] You know, your indignation would be a lot more interesting to me if it weren't quite so covered in crap!

Charlie:
[poking his head in] Sir...

Bartlet:
[sharply] Yeah?

Charlie:
Mr. Garrett.

Bartlet:
Thanks. [glares back at Toby] Are you pissed because I didn't say anything, or are you pissed because there are fifteen people who knew before you did? I feel fine, by the way, thanks for asking.