The West Wing, Season Two

[Bartlet stands alone in the Oval Office, in the middle of a raging storm. The back door suddenly flies open]

Bartlet:
God damn it...Mrs. Landingham!

[Mrs. Landingham suddenly walks through the main door of the Oval Office]

Mrs. Landingham:
I really wish you wouldn't shout, Mr. President.

[Bartlet stares at her for a few seconds]

Bartlet:
The door keeps blowing open.

Mrs. Landingham:
You could have used the intercom to call me, you know.

Bartlet:
I know, but I didn't want to-

Mrs. Landingham:
You didn't want to, or you didn't know how?

Bartlet:
It's not that I don't know how. It's just that I haven't learned yet.

[Pause. Mrs. Landingham smiles at him]

Bartlett:
I have MS, and I didn't tell anybody.

Mrs. Landingham:
Yeah. So, you're having a little bit of a day.

Bartlett:
You're going to make jokes?

Mrs. Landingham:
God doesn't make cars crash and you know it. Stop using me as an excuse.

Bartlett:
The Party's not going to want me to run.

Mrs. Landingham:
The Party'll come back. You'll get them back.

Bartlett:
I've got a secret for you, Mrs. Landingham, I've never been the most popular man in the Democratic Party.

Mrs. Landingham:
I've got a secret for you, Mr. President. Your father was a prick who could never get over the fact that he wasn't as smart as his brothers. Are you in a tough spot? Yes. Do I feel sorry for you? I do not. Why? Because there are people way worse off than you.

Bartlett:
Give me numbers.

Mrs. Landingham:
I don't know numbers. You give them to me.

Bartlett:
How about a child born this minute has one in five chances of being born into poverty?

Mrs. Landingham:
How many Americans don't have health insurance?

Bartlett:
44 million.

Mrs. Landingham:
What's the number one cause of death for black men under 35?

Bartlett:
Homicide.

Mrs. Landingham:
How many Americans are behind bars?

Bartlett:
Three million.

Mrs. Landingham:
How many Americans are drug addicts?

Bartlett:
Five million.

Mrs. Landingham:
And one in five kids in poverty?

Bartlett:
That's thirteen million American children. 3.5 million kids go to schools that are literally falling apart. We need 127 billion in school construction, and we need it today!

Mrs. Landingham:
To say nothing of 53 people trapped in an embassy.

Bartlett:
Yes.

Mrs. Landingham:
You know, if you don't want to run again, I respect that. [stands up] But if you don't run 'cause you think it's gonna be too hard or you think you're gonna lose - well, God, Jed, I don't even want to know you.