WEST WING TRANSCRIPT: Season Six - Ninety Miles Away (S6E19)

THE WEST WING
6x19 - “NINETY MILES AWAY”
WRITTEN BY JOHN SACRET YOUNG
DIRECTED BY ROD HOLCOMB

Transcribed by Walking, Talking, And Yelling At Clouds
(kegofglory.blogspot.com)

Link To My Blog Entry For This Episode

TEASER

NINETY MILES AWAY

MONDAY MORNING

FADE IN: INT. - LEO’S OFFICE – NIGHT

It is still dark. Snowflakes fly outside. LEO walks into his office, turns on a light, sits at the desk and picks up the phone. He dials a long string of numbers. 

LEO (as the call is answered)
Jorge, por favor. (pause) Ah, canceladas. (beat) Por ahora, no? (pause) Y esto esta conectado con este rumor?

We see BARTLET slowly walking down the hall, using his cane.

LEO (VO)
Que mierda, Jorge. (beat) No se, no se. (beat) No quiero perder esta oportunidad. (beat) Inventaremos algo, okay?

CUT TO: LEO on the phone.

LEO (into phone)
Gracias, Jorge. (pause) Hasta luego.

[TRANSLATION OF LEO’S CALL:

Jorge, please … Ah, canceled … Not for now? … And this is connected to this rumor? … What the hell, Jorge … I don’t know, I don’t know … I don’t want to lose this opportunity … We’ll come up with something, okay? … Thanks, Jorge … See you later.]

LEO sits back thoughtfully in his chair. He looks at his whiteboard, with ‘330’ written at the top. He stands and walks to the whiteboard, erasing the number as BARTLET appears in his doorway.

BARTLET
Leo, you know what time it is?

LEO (as he replaces ‘330’ with ‘329’)
Good morning, Mr. President.

BARTLET
I’ll be the judge of that. It’s a little after 5 am. (sitting) 5:13, to be precise.

LEO
It wasn’t my favorite thing calling you.

BARTLET (grabbing a book from a pile on Leo’s end table)
Yeah, I had to run the gauntlet upstairs.

LEO
That can be special.

BARTLET (reading)
‘The world breaks everyone and afterwards many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially.’ When he was good, he was very, very good, and when he was bad, he was horrible -

LEO
Hemingway was a monster. He hated his mother, treated four wives miserably, trashed his friends, grew paranoid, had breakdowns, and like his father, killed himself.

BARTLET
Well, aside from all that, why are you harassing me at 5:13 am?

LEO
I’ve been on the phone. There’s a rumor about Castro.

BARTLET
There’s always rumors about him.

LEO
And at some point, they’ll be true. We’ve been laying groundwork and making progress – slow, granted -

BARTLET
A year, but who’s counting?

LEO
But if the talks we’ve cobbled together with Cuba blow up, and this (referring to the whiteboard) number reaches zero, and we’ve got nothing to show for it but -

BARTLET
And for this, you’re reading Hemingway again?

LEO
It’s been ten years.

BARTLET
I remember. In 30 days, you read the complete works of.

LEO
It was hot. It was dry. I had time on my hands. Changed my life, well … not Hemingway, exactly.

BARTLET
Sierra Tucson can do that.

LEO
Sir … I’ve got an idea.

CROSSFADE TO: INT. - OUTSIDE LEO’S OFFICE – LATER THAT MORNING

MARGARET comes to LEO’s door to find the office empty. She turns to CHARLIE outside the Communications bullpen.

MARGARET
Charlie – have you seen Leo?

CHARLIE
He’s gone.

MARGARET
Gone?

CHARLIE (as they both walk towards the foyer)
I saw him packing up when I came in a couple of hours ago.

MARGARET
That would be night.

CHARLIE
Yeah, it was still dark out.

CUT TO: INT. - HEMINGWAY HOUSE IN CUBA – DAY

A man opens the door to allow LEO to step inside.

LEO
Muchas gracias.

As LEO walks up the steps, he meets a MAN inside.

MAN
Senor McGarry - you made it successfully. (they shake hands) How was your trip?

LEO
The boat ride wasn’t a lot of fun.

MAN
Ah, the weather. It’s been bad.

LEO
Seemed like a good idea at the time.

MAN
Bienvenido. Please, enter la finca de Senor Ernesto Hemingway.

LEO
Gracias.

The two walk through the corridor of the mansion.

CUT TO: INT. - OVAL OFFICE – DAY

BARTLET is working at his desk, DEBBIE next to him. CJ and CHARLIE enter from her office. As they do, both BARTLET and DEBBIE check their watches.

CJ
Mr. President -

BARTLET
7:53.

DEBBIE
7:49.

BARTLET
It’s 7:53, and I had 7:53.

DEBBIE
It doesn’t reflect kindly, sir, if I may say so, to what looks nothing so much like trying to welsh on a bet.

CJ
Mr. President, you requested the EPA’s ozone standard report. I know Leo had it, but -

BARTLET
We’ve been expecting you. I had 7:53, and Debbie’s watch stopped.

CJ (beat)
Sir?

BARTLET
Just a small wager about how long it would take before someone came to inquire about where Leo might be.

CJ
I don’t understand.

BARTLET
Who knew he was such an Ernest Hemingway fan that he’d drop everything and go and visit Hemingway’s house?

CHARLIE
The one in Idaho or the one with the six-toed cats in Key West?

BARTLET
Good question, Charles Young. You know, I forgot to ask.

CUT TO: INT. - HEMINGWAY HOUSE IN CUBA – DAY

The MAN leads LEO through the house.

LEO 
Me da mucho guo estar aqui, especialmente en esta casa. [I’m glad to be here, especially in this house.]

MAN
Esta muy necesitada de un buen retoque. [It’s starting to sorely need attention.]

LEO
A lo mejor podriamos ayudar en eso. [Maybe we could offer some help with that.]

MAN
Creo que tenemos apurarnos. [I think we should hurry.]

LEO
Por eso es que estoy aqui. [That’s why I’m here.]

The MAN leads LEO around some corners and down a few steps. LEO stops as he sees who is sitting in a chair waiting for him.

MAN IN CHAIR
You admire Ernesto?

LEO
Very much. His writing. The best of it.

MAN
Senor McGarry, le presento al Presidente de Cuba.

And now we see the man in the shadows waiting for LEO is Fidel Castro himself.

SMASH CUT TO: MAIN TITLES.
END TEASER.
***

ACT ONE

FADE IN: INT. - WHITE HOUSE HALLWAY – DAY

As CJ exits the Mural Room, CHARLIE is there to meet her as they walk.

CHARLIE
The bug people are coming today.

CJ
How about ‘Good morning? Coffee? Eggs over easy?’

TUESDAY MORNING

CHARLIE
Seems there’s a suspicion there may be termites.

CJ
This is a revelation.

CHARLIE
In the White House.

CJ
Hold the eggs.

CHARLIE
Two companies want to do some tests. It could be some kind of ant as well – carpenter ant, maybe – and there’s fear it might be related to the outbreak of the woolly adelgid.

CJ
The woolly what?

CHARLIE
They’ve been attacking hemlocks in the Smoky Mountains and across Virginia … and they’re closing in.

CJ
You’re making this up.

CHARLIE
You gave me the briefing book! What do you think, the Roosevelt or the Mural Room?

CJ
Are these people coming here to sit and talk?

CHARLIE
Well, they may have to munch around a bit.

CJ
Munch? Just, keep them far away from me, thank you.

CHARLIE
They do handle a very large constituency.

CJ
You mean a small constituency.

CHARLIE
Well, size doesn’t count.

CJ (as they’ve reached LEO’s office)
Changing the subject right now – any word from Leo?

CHARLIE
Still in Hemingwayville, as far as I know.

CJ
Did you know he even read Hemingway?

CHARLIE
History, books about fishing, thrillers, Graham Greene, Charles McCarry …

CJ
But you never saw him reading Hemingway?

CHARLIE
Can’t say I did.

CHARLIE walks away as CJ looks around LEO’s office.

CUT TO: INT. - SITUATION ROOM – DAY

Some intelligence officers sit around the desk, including CIA DIRECTOR ROLLIE, as KATE comes into the room.

ROLLIE
He is 79 years old, so it could be true.

KATE
Where’s the report come from?

ROLLIE
Miami.

KATE
Miami. Well, that’s reliable. 

CJ enters the room.

KATE
CJ, a report’s come in the last hour that Fidel Castro’s seriously ill.

CJ
Has it been verified?

ROLLIE
No, we have nothing firm yet.

KATE
It’s from Miami.

CJ
So it could be accurate, it could be wishful thinking.

KATE
There’s a lot of Chicken Little down there, or it could be the cover for something else. There’s a history of everything, from assassination attempts and psy ops forays to invasion plans.

CJ (looking at ROLLIE)
I thought all that had stopped.

ROLLIE
The CIA did -

KATE
Yeah.

ROLLIE
We’re talking years, decades back.

KATE
Wasn’t that long ago.

CJ
How long before you can nail down the information?

ROLLIE
Well, there’s a rabid Cuban-American community that could be involved, old zealots, young hotheads, and a ton of agencies – FBI, DEA, NSA, NIA, INS - 

CJ
Which doesn’t answer my question.

KATE
We may never get a straight answer – Miami, South Florida, South Florida, Miami … it’s Chinatown.

CJ
I don’t care. Pin it down.

CJ exits as KATE looks over her paperwork.

CUT TO: INT. - OUTER OVAL OFFICE – DAY

BARTLET is talking with DEBBIE as CJ comes out of the Oval Office.

BARTLET
By the way, I haven’t collected my winnings yet.

DEBBIE
Excuse me, sir -

CJ
Mr. President?

DEBBIE
- I think that would be my winnings.

CJ
Sir, there’s a rumor about Castro.

BARTLET
Debbie, let’s pull up the drawbridge for a couple of minutes.

DEBBIE
I’ll sound the trumpets, alert the gatekeeper, and I think – get the federal government to attach your wages.

BARTLET (as he closes the door behind him and CJ)
Believe me, they already do. 

CUT TO: INT. - OVAL OFFICE – DAY - CONTINUOUS

BARTLET
Castro’s always dying. He’s dying from hypochondria, or the exiles are trying to kill him, (lighting the fireplace) or the CIA’s trying to kill him. You know, he collapsed a couple of years ago – same thing, endless rumors. Then he reappears in fresh fatigues, trimmed beard, and launches into a speech of such length and intensity, it would’ve put away William Jennings Bryan.

CJ
NSA seems to think even if it is a false alarm, it may be significant.

BARTLET
That’s kind of what Leo said.

CJ
Why am I, suddenly getting the feeling that there’s something going on with Leo besides Ernest Hemingway?

BARTLET (beat)
My apologies, CJ. Look, before you were Chief of Staff, we began secret exploratory meetings in Canada with representatives of the Cuban government.

CJ
Leo’s gone to Canada?

BARTLET
Actually, no. Cuba.

CJ
With perhaps a thermometer and a stethoscope?

BARTLET
And an offer. A new deal.

CJ
And what does he say?

BARTLET
I’m waiting to find out.

CJ
And when you find out, is it your plan to tell the rest of us who try and help you two run this place?

BARTLET regards CJ, a slight smile on his face.

BARTLET
Hmm. One night in 1961, shortly after the Bay of Pigs fiasco, President John F. Kennedy sent Pierre Salinger out on a mission – come back with a thousand Cuban cigars by morning. Petit Upmanns is what the President smoked, and before 8 am the following morning, Salinger had managed to corral 1200 of them. JFK smiled, thanked him, lit one up – then he opened his desk drawer and pulled out a long piece of paper, which he signed immediately. It was a decree banning all Cuban products from the United States, and ever since then, we’ve had an embargo against that mosquito of an island 90 miles away which has never worked, while long before we threw out our anachronistic policies towards Russia and China that are thousands of miles away and far more complex.

CJ
If these meetings become public the reaction in the Cuban-American community and on the right will be ferocious.

BARTLET
If the Cuban government makes certain accommodations before that -

CJ
The Florida primaries are right around the corner, this comes out, sir -

BARTLET
Heh, this comes out, we can bring out the shovels and bury the Democratic candidates in that little fiesta.

CJ
You sure the country’s ready for this?

BARTLET (beat)
Who knows who’s gonna be sitting here next? Who knows what’s gonna happen after Castro? All I know for sure is there’s a moment here, and before I’m gone and he’s gone – I am not going to let it pass.

CUT TO: INT. - WHITE HOUSE HALLWAY – DAY

CLIFF is walking past the Communications bullpen and CJ comes out another door and joins him.

CJ
Oh, what a beautiful morning, oh, what a beautiful day.

CLIFF
You wanted to see me?

CJ
I find that highly improbable.

CLIFF
Been here three weeks. Bring me in, coach.

CJ
All right, sport. You know Senator Rafe Framhagen?

CLIFF
I don’t like this already.

CJ
He called the President and then Leo and then me, and guess what that means. 

CLIFF
None of you wanted to talk to him, which leaves me.

CJ (as they reach her office)
See? You do know the Senator.

CLIFF
What’s not to know? Brilliant, bilious, impossible. Fires staffers for putting paper clips backwards on briefs.

CJ
Which way on a paper clip is backwards?

CLIFF
And that one other thing.

CJ
I’ve heard. Practically day and night.

CLIFF
A wooden leg. Passes out in his car, though, they say.

CJ
There you are, your assignment. Godspeed and l’chaim.

CLIFF nods, stands and exits.

CUT TO: INT. - MURAL ROOM – DAY

An exterminator, CYRUS YOLANDER, is searching around the walls with a flashlight as CHARLIE watches.

YOLANDER
Oh, yeah, you’ve got all the indications all right.

CHARLIE
Indications of what? 

YOLANDER
Subterranean termites. You know, these fellows outnumber us a thousand to one. Pile all them up, and all us up – ten times the weight of all the folks in the world. Probably swarmed in through a crack I saw in the foundation. There was some damage under a window.

CHARLIE
Swarmed? What window?

YOLANDER
Window near that weird round room, looks over the Rose Garden.

CHARLIE
The Oval Office?

YOLANDER
Man – people appeared from every which way. Never seen such a thing. (reaching in to scrape part of the wall) Maybe some evidence here.

CHARLIE
Hey, that’s a 200-year-old mural!

YOLANDER (looking around the room)
Oh, yeah. How many rooms you got here?

CHARLIE
One hundred and thirty-five.

YOLANDER
Whew, I better get on it, this might take a while.

CHARLIE
If you don’t find more trouble, what do you plan to do?

YOLANDER
Sentricon Termite Colony Elimination System should do the trick.

CHARLIE
What does that involve?

YOLANDER
Dig some holes – install some stations – drop in a few grams of Recruit II … and wait.

YOLANDER grabs his bag and heads out, revving up his drill.

CHARLIE (following)
Okay, hold on a second. I’m coming with you.

CUT TO: INT. - SENATOR FRAMHAGEN’S OFFICE – DAY

CLIFF peers through the door and sees SEN. FRAMHAGEN sleeping at his desk, as his RECEPTIONIST stirs him awake.

RECEPTIONIST (VO, whispering)
Mr. Senator, Cliff Calley is here.

The RECEPTIONIST steps out to the outer office.

RECEPTIONIST (to CLIFF)
The Senator will see you now.

CLIFF stands, sighing, and enters, knocking at the door.

FRAMHAGEN
Yeah, come on in, son, what are you drinking?

CLIFF
Diet Coke’ll be fine.

FRAMHAGEN (chuckling)
Diet Coke. Oh, that’s a Georgia drink. In Florida we drink orange juice. Fresh, shipped up every week. Vitamin C. We can inject it with something, if you like.

CLIFF (chuckling)
No.

FRAMHAGEN
So they sent you, did they?

CLIFF
I have that privilege, Senator.

FRAMHAGEN
I remember you. Yeah, we breed lawyers around here like minks, except we can’t wear you in the wintertime. (as a woman enters with a glass of orange juice) Well, here’s Linda Lee. Do me a favor, darling, would you freshen mine up, too?

The woman takes FRAMHAGEN’s glass and exits.

FRAMHAGEN
That is a sashaying piece of pulchritude, isn’t it? Well, uh … some people say that beauty and brains don’t go together. Well – I’m talking smart pulchritude around here. You know why you’re here, don’t you?

CLIFF
There’s the water table in the Everglades, the, the hurricane damage on the Gulf -

FRAMHAGEN
They didn’t tell you.

CLIFF
I’m sorry, sir?

FRAMHAGEN
Of course not. Send ignorance to combat truth, huh? All right – well, you go back over there, you – you tell those people, those people the Senator so graciously tried to call, who didn’t bother to call the Senator back – you tell them, that I’ve heard it, too. The rumor.

CLIFF
What rumor?

FRAMHAGEN
That Castro thing. And somebody knowledgeable better come see me right quick. Hey, when Leo was Chief of Staff, I could heckle him a little. We used to bend our elbows together right in this room … down home, back when. Now he’s gone. Probably only that NSA gal, huh?

CLIFF
Gal?

FRAMHAGEN
You like repeating things, son?

CLIFF
I seem to be getting good at it.

FRAMHAGEN
Yeah - yeah, you go back a couple of years, get her out of those power suits, back into the Sunshine State – there’d be some serious pulchritude. She’s a buttoned-up babe now.

CLIFF
Babe?

FRAMHAGEN
I’ll bet she knows what’s going on.

CLIFF
You mean Kate Harper.

FRAMHAGEN
Just a warning shot across the bow. If some heroic new Cuban agenda is being contemplated by the Bartlet administration, it’s gonna backfire. The House may have that bill that waters down the embargo, but my Cuban-American constituents are just gonna raise bloody hell over that bill with Democrat candidates – and no such bill is ever gonna see the light of day out of my Commerce committee. Now, did you get that, son? Or do you want to repeat some of it?

CLIFF stands silently and walks out of the office.

FADE OUT.
END ACT ONE.
* * *

ACT TWO

A shot of the White House, snow on the ground, the wind blowing.

FADE IN: INT. - CJ’S OFFICE - DAY 

MARGARET ushers CLIFF into CJ’s office.

MARGARET
CJ – Cliff’s here?

CJ (sighs)
Yeah.

CLIFF (entering, sarcastically)
What’s next, boss, that was so much fun.

CJ
You saw the Senator?

CLIFF
I’m full of Vitamin C.

CJ
Nothing stronger … ?

CLIFF
I think his orange juice was spiked.

CJ
What’d he want?

CLIFF
I’m not really sure.

CJ
You’re not really sure?

CLIFF
This repeating thing must be contagious. (beat) Look, I assumed it was going to be an infamous doddery Senator who’d run out of paper clips, but it seemed to be about Fidel Castro.

CJ (looking up)
You got my attention.

CLIFF
A rumor about his -

CJ
Health. Whether he’s alive or dead.

CLIFF
I gather he was wondering if the White House was behind it, or part of it, or up to something.

CJ
What is this city? Just one big game of Telephone?

CLIFF
Is there anything I should know?

CJ
There’s a rumor about Fidel Castro’s health.

CLIFF
Yeah. One other odd thing … he suggested I talk to Kate Harper.

CJ
Well, she’s the Deputy National Security Advisor.

CLIFF
I don’t think that’s it.

CJ
Why’s that?

CLIFF
I can’t exactly put my finger on it. The Senator just sort of indicated between refills something other than that. More.

CJ stands and goes to the door.

CJ
Margaret, get me Kate Harper.

CLIFF (as CJ returns to her desk)
Let me guess, then – back to the bench for me?

CJ
This is disgraceful, I’m actually starting to like you.

CLIFF turns and walks out of the office, crossing paths with MARGARET in the doorway.

MARGARET (to CJ)
She’s gone for the day.

CJ looks up, somewhat surprised.

CUT TO: INT. - PRESS BRIEFING ROOM – DAY

TOBY is dealing with a raucous press corps shouting questions.

MARK (VO)
Does the White House have specific knowledge about Mr. Castro’s health?

TOBY
The last time the White House had firsthand knowledge of Mr. Castro’s health was 1959.

MARK (VO)
But we’re hearing that he canceled a rally to denounce the US on Malecon Boulevard, and that several posters of the Cuban President have been removed from the capital.

TOBY
Well, that could mean he’s dead. Or it could mean the Communist government took down some Castro posters and plans to replace them with more flattering photos, as they did six years ago.

KATIE
Vice President Russell said that he voted for the embargo in 1996, and will continue to support it until this horrific dictatorship is brought to its knees. Is he speaking for the White House?

TOBY
The Vice President said that at a campaign rally.

MARK
But if Castro is no longer in control, how would the White House react?

TOBY
We don’t react to hypotheticals.

MARK
In a post-Castro world, would the State Department consider declassifying Cuba a terrorist state?

TOBY
Only if they reacted to hypotheticals, which they and I both don’t. (referring to another reporter) Yeah, you.

STEVE
Steve. Uh, the CIA issued a report that Cuba has replaced, uh, East Asia as the destination for pedophiles and sex tourists.

TOBY
No,I can’t issue you a visa, next question.

The reporters laugh.

KATIE
Hoynes’ campaign may be collapsing, but Russell says he wouldn’t rule out military intervention to secure a democratic transition in Cuba.

TOBY (wryly smiling)
Yeah, they’re, they’re campaigning – in Florida.

MARK
What about Santos? With his surprising victory in California, will the White House -

TOBY
I, I just answered that question! If you wanna, uh, cover the campaign, take your questions to Florida! Steve, please!

STEVE
Uh, here in Washington -

TOBY
Thank you!

As we hear STEVE continue with his question, we CUT TO: INT. - BAR – NIGHT.

STEVE (VO)
- Senator Framhagen said, ‘The worst thing a President can do is send mixed messages …’

As the sound of the press conference fades out, we see KATE walking inside the bar. She appears to see someone at a table. She sighs and walks over to the table, where the man (ANDY) stands to meet her.

ANDY
She’s a blonde now.

KATE
I wasn’t gonna come.

ANDY
And stand up a former CIA compatriot after all these years?

KATE (as they sit)
It’s a time I’d like to forget.

ANDY
It was a time of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower, but we will grieve not -

KATE
What do you want, Andy?

ANDY (takes a breath)
We’re not running off-the-reservation ops any more. We’ve changed.

KATE
Second time I’ve heard that today.

ANDY
No more dirty tricks. No more messing with elections. Even for Cabrera. Still, our, our assignment’s the same, Kate.

KATE
And you came all the way up here to tell me this?

ANDY
No. I just wanted to warn you guys over there that it’s a big mistake to be digging into the Cuban tar pit once again.

KATE
What are you talking about?

ANDY
Leo McGarry.

KATE
What about him?

ANDY
You can’t touch down in Cuba at his level. Whatever the precautions, word’s gonna leak out. Everybody’s on the take, or has an agenda, or is an agent, or a wannabe.

KATE
I don’t know anything about it.

ANDY (sitting back in his chair)
You played that beautifully.

KATE
I didn’t play anything.

ANDY
Whether you’re lying or covering because you can’t or won’t tell me, or - you’re telling the truth … the one thing we learned down there, you can’t beat history. The Bartlet administration can’t pull this off. It’s not gonna work. The President will be hung out to dry.

CUT TO: INT. - WHITE HOUSE HALLWAY – DAY

As CJ comes down the hallway, she’s confronted by KATE.

WEDNESDAY MORNING

KATE
CJ – why didn’t anyone tell me?

CJ
Excuse me?

KATE
I’m Deputy NSA and I don’t know Leo McGarry’s in Cuba?

CJ
Yeah. How did you find out?

KATE
It’s 90 miles away, it’s like driving to Baltimore. There’s three and half million Cuban-Americans, what -

CJ
Kate, do you know Senator Framhagen?

KATE
Florida. He is Florida, yeah, I knew him when I was stationed there in ‘95. It was my first posting.

CJ
Why would he say to ask you about Castro’s health?

KATE
I don’t know, maybe because he assumed I’d know about Leo’s trip.

CJ
How close is your source?

KATE
Very. (beat) Look, CJ, we don’t wanna get stuck in the muck down there again.

CUT TO: EXT. - PORTICO – DAY

CJ comes out the door to find BARTLET and LEO standing outside, hunched up against the cold.

BARTLET (to CJ)
Hey, look who’s back. (to LEO) She caught on, Leo, I had to spill the beans.

CJ
You saw him? Talked to him? How is he?

LEO
He’s alive, and I think he might finally be ready to deal, and he certainly can talk and talk. He agrees on the need for further private, unpublicized discussions bilaterally. The man’s indefatigable. No wonder he’s held sway for coming on 50 years. Still smoking cigars. I’m not sure he’s ready to fight for truth, justice, and the American way. I am optimistic, but we’ve been down this road before – I don’t wanna fail again.

BARTLET
It’s a beginning, an opening. Just thank God he didn’t ask about baseball, what I think about it, knowing what he thinks about it, that could’ve blown the whole thing right there.

LEO
He saw you pitch at the Orioles game, sir, had some pointers.

BARTLET
I’m sure he did.

CJ
Excuse me, sir. My fear is there seem to be rumors and more rumors and rumors within rumors.

LEO
When you’re talking about Cuba everybody seems to have secrets, and they never stay that way.

BARTLET
Yeah, you’re right. We don’t need to paint this guy as some kind of hero. It’s just time to deal with him, is all. Now, let’s put together a fail-safe response on how and what to announce about Castro’s health, about Leo’s trip. Then – if found out – public reaction, Congressional reaction, and the candidates … what to do about its impact on the primaries and the general election, and Cuba’s response, for that matter.

CJ
How soon?

BARTLET
How about the end of the day?

CUT TO: INT. - MARGARET’S DESK – DAY

CJ comes down the hall towards MARGARET.

CJ
Are they here yet?

MARGARET
They’re waiting in your office.

CJ
Can you get me something while we’re meeting? Kate Harper’s file?

MARGARET
I can’t.

CJ
Why not?

MARGARET
That would be classified as top secret, above my level.

CJ
So what do we have to do?

MARGARET
A formal letter of request, signed by you.

CJ
Write it, then. Forge my signature. You can do the President’s.

MARGARET
Well, yes, but - his is simple, just a sweeping garland formation. Yours …

CJ
Mine is what?

MARGARET
Angular, aggressive. I mean, your signature – (MARGARET gestures for CJ to come closer as she pulls a document out of a stack) See the baseline? The unevenly distributed pressure, some countermovement to the natural flow -

CJ
Which means what?

MARGARET
You’re concealing something.

CJ
It’s my signature! What, are you a counterfeiter, some handwriting analyst?

MARGARET
My great-uncle was, right after the Civil War, he was a dashing man with a moustache and one arm, and he -

CJ
Okay, by now we could have written it, and I could’ve signed it. Just go, do it.

CJ goes into her office. CLIFF and TOBY are waiting for her. A TV news report is on in the background.

CJ
How’s it going? Give me a progress report. Cliff?

CLIFF
I think there’s an opportunity to use the rumors of Castro’s health as deflection. Keep ‘em coming. I mean, it’s been a kind of Marx Brothers comedy anyway, his illnesses and the 29 doctors who surround him and claim he’s gonna live forever.

CJ
Yeah, I’m not sure how long that’s gonna fly.

CLIFF
Uh, then, there is support in the House to curb the embargo from both blue and red states. Midwestern Republicans ready to jettison the trade part, uh, Cuba’s an economic disaster area -

TOBY’s attention is drawn to the MSNBC news report on the TV. The banner reads ‘CONGRESSMAN CABRERA HOSTS RUSSELL RALLY IN DADE COUNTY, FL.’

CLIFF (VO)
- it desperately needs American grain, meat, technology -

TOBY
Who the hell’s this guy Cabrera? Introducing the Vice President, Congressman, seventh, eighth term – once ran an ad standing next to a picture of himself with the caption, ‘Convicted Felon.’

CJ
Thanks for the lesson in local color.

TOBY
Keeps winning every two years, keeps winning saying the same thing, same words. Cuba Libre, Cuba Libre! Then he gets here, doesn’t do or say a damn thing.

CJ
Toby, did you call Josh and Donna? I want to take the temperature in the campaigns.

TOBY
Somebody should make this son of a bitch obsolete.

As TOBY exits, we hear the news anchor speak with a photo and graphic of Vice President Russell on the screen. The graphic reads: BOB RUSSELL LEADS IN STATEWIDE PRIMARY POLLS; 5 POINT LEAD OVER SECOND-PLACE SANTOS; WRAPS UP THREE-DAY TOUR OF FLORIDA CITIES.

ANCHOR (on TV)
Vice President Bob Russell, the front-runner of the Democratic Presidential -

CUT TO: INT. - MURAL ROOM – DAY

CHARLIE is bringing in the entomologist experts, DAVID ORBITZ and RANDY WYSNIEWSKY. The two are carrying large display boards with pictures of insects.

ORBITZ
Has he been here?

CHARLIE
Who?

ORBITZ
The exterminator.

CHARLIE
There was a man yesterday.

WYSNIEWSKY
The Sentricon Termite Colony Elimination System?

CHARLIE
As a matter of fact, yes.

ORBITZ (as they all sit, setting up easels)
We don’t wanna quarrel with another company’s product -

WYSNIEWSKY
That’s not why we’re here. We can talk about the specifics of individual species like RIFA.

CHARLIE
R-I-F-A?

WYSNIEWSKY (showing CHARLIE a photo)
The Red Imported Fire Ant.

ORBITZ
And we’re members of I-F-A-H-I to thwart the spread of RIFA, and we’ve got charts to show you (pulling out display charts) of the spread of the chinch bug, the black-legged tick (WYSNIEWSKY continues to show CHARLIE more photographs), the viral-spreading mosquito, and this very year’s infestation by the Mormon cricket. Here.

ORBITZ holds out a glass tube containing a Mormon cricket. CHARLIE stares at him, then reluctantly takes the tube as WYSNIEWSKY speaks.

WYSNIEWSKY
We are entomologists, and while some control is necessary, these others -

ORBITZ
The exterminator.

WYSNIEWSKY
- have lost sight of how insects help preserve the diversity of life and are essential to the ecological web.

ORBITZ
Insects can spread disease, but they are also crucial to studying how diseases are spread.

WYSNIEWSKY
But now the newest discovery, and perhaps most important, is they can play a crucial part in learning about our own history.

ORBITZ
Like this great White House. Think Abigail Adams and the War of 1812, the burning of this building. Now, I’ll wager … we go into these walls and we will uncover all kinds of information and revelations as yet unknown.

WYSNIEWSKY
And now helping solving crimes. Forensic entomology, my special field, is invaluable in, uh, measuring exposure of the victim, whether, uh, homo sapiens, uh, felis cattus, uh, canis, uh, familiaris -

ORBITZ and WYSNIEWSKY share a chuckle as CHARLIE continues to look on stonefaced.

WYSNIEWSKY
- to determine the time of death, or even the method of murder.

ORBITZ
You’ve gotta make a decision. Do you simply want to wipe out the infestation or … (showing CHARLIE another display board of ant anatomy) use these little pioneers to journey into our past and unveil its secrets for the first time?

CHARLIE scoffs, as if the two are joking with him. He looks down, then back up, seeing them both gaze steadily back at him awaiting an answer.

CUT TO: INT. - WHITE HOUSE HALLWAY – DAY

MARGARET, wearing a coat and gloves and carrying a briefcase, walks through the hall and into CJ’s office.

CJ
You got it?

MARGARET
They checked my clothes … patted me down, searched my shoes – my best shoes – practically X-rayed me -

CJ
But they didn’t do any personality profile?

MARGARET (beat)
That didn’t even occur to me.

CJ
Yeah. What were they thinking?

MARGARET (opening the briefcase)
Here it is. (handing over a file) Kate Harper. (as she leaves) Close the door?

CJ
Yes.

CJ looks over the file. The cover sheet reads:

WARNING: SPECIAL ACCESS REQUIRED

TOP SECRET

File Name: HARPER, KATE

File No: C-347

CJ opens the file to find page after page of highly redacted documents, black marker blocking out large sections of the text.

FADE OUT.
END ACT TWO.
* * *

ACT THREE

FADE IN: INT. - CJ’S OFFICE – DAY

CJ is sitting on a chair by the couch, still looking over KATE’s file. There is a knock at the door and CHARLIE enters.

CHARLIE
CJ … 

CJ (not looking up)
Charlie, tell me you have good news.

CHARLIE
I’m not sure.

CJ
Entertain me. Enlighten me. Raise me up to the rooftops, please.

CJ closes the file and stands.

CHARLIE
I think this has more to do with the lower depths.

CJ
Oh, no, it’s coming back to me now. Bugs.

CHARLIE
Rhinotermitidae.

CJ
Is that the guy in the suit I saw with the gizmo yesterday?

CHARLIE
It could be.

CJ
And he found - ?

CHARLIE
Rhinotermitidae.

CJ
We’re not tenting the White House.

CHARLIE
No. We’re drilling walls, unearthing foundations. There is this other group who are suggesting that we observe them before killing them.

CJ
The ones in the Mural Room with the animatronic -

CHARLIE
Insectilatronic, apparently. They say we can find out remarkable things from the termites – about lumber conditions, about when the White House was built, burned, rebuilt. What Presidents smoked, ate, smelled like.

CJ takes a beat.

CJ
This, Charlie, is not a tough choice. For once, our policy can be clean and simple. Just – excuse me – kill the damn bugs.

CHARLIE nods curtly and exits.

CUT TO: INT. - TOBY’S OFFICE – DAY

TOBY is on the phone with DONNA, who is in the midst of a loud demonstration in Florida. The scene cuts back and forth.

DONNA (VO)
Who is this?

TOBY (into speakerphone, loudly)
Toby. I wanted to ask you about this Castro thing.

DONNA (into phone, with a finger in her other ear)
I’m sorry, I can’t hear you.

TOBY (into speaker, shouting)
Donna, it’s Toby! It’s Toby Ziegler!

DONNA (into phone)
It’s so crazy in here, wait a minute.

TOBY (into speaker, shouting)
Hello?

DONNA has moved to the end of the hallway, a bit further from the noise.

DONNA (into phone)
Toby?

TOBY has switched the line on the call to DONNA, and now hits the speed dial for another number. As it’s answered:

TOBY (into speaker)
Josh?

JOSH is outdoors at a Santos rally in Florida, with all sorts of chanting and yelling.

JOSH (into phone, a finger in his other ear)
Toby?

TOBY (on phone)
We’re not talking to each other.

JOSH (into phone)
Then what’s making my phone ring?

TOBY (into speaker)
I don’t know, the thing’s got a mind of its own.

JOSH (into phone)
Hey, what’s with Castro? What’s going on with that?

TOBY (into speaker)
That’s what I wanted to ask you.

JOSH (on phone)
I, I can’t hear you, it’s, it’s crazy down here. (into phone) It’s Guatemala.

TOBY (now hearing nothing on the line)
Hello? (he punches the button to go back to the line with DONNA) 

DONNA (into phone)
I lost you. How are you?

TOBY (into speaker)
What’s going on down there, Donna?

DONNA (on phone)
You wouldn’t believe it. (into phone) This state, it’s unreal. It’s like -

TOBY (into speaker)
Guatemala?

DONNA (into phone)
Hey, that’s good, you a speech writer?

TOBY (into speaker)
What’s the impact of this Castro thing?

DONNA (on phone)
It’s unbelievable. (into phone) Castro’s become Che, is he alive or dead? He’s wallpapering the primary.

TOBY (into speaker)
Wait, what, uh, Donna, hold on one second.

DONNA (into phone)
Toby, I’ve got … (she looks at her phone)

TOBY (switching back to JOSH’s line)
Josh? Josh! Josh!

CUT TO: INT. - CJ’S OFFICE – NIGHT

LEO is in CJ’s office as she walks to her desk.

LEO
CJ, I should apologize for you not knowing about the trip to Cuba.

CJ
Yes, you should.

LEO
I thought it was worth the risk. I still do.

CJ
Well, while you were gone we all got calls from Rafe Framhagen. I sent Cliff over, who said the Senator may have been three sheets -

LEO
Yeah.

CJ
And he had these questions about Kate Harper and Cuba, as if she knew something.

LEO
If you’re concerned, why don’t you pull her file?

CJ
I did.

LEO
And this has been the long way around to what?

CJ
A lot of blackout.

LEO
Aren’t you getting sidetracked here, Kate Harper, Navy, father, Navy, formerly CIA, wasn’t it?

CJ (handing KATE’s file to LEO)
Africa, blackout. Kosovo, blackout. Iran, blackout. She got around. (as LEO looks it over) You’re in it.

LEO (surprised)
That’s impossible.

CJ
Turn the page.

LEO (as they sit)
1995. Florida. (beat) But why is it in her file? (handing the file back to CJ)
The CIA must have been monitoring us.

CJ
The rest is blacked out, what is it?

LEO
We had a gathering of the Bay of Pigs veterans from both sides for the first time. And it was remarkable. These aging warriors, enemies, fellow countrymen – and I had high hopes. We were pulling together, strand by strand, a dialogue with the Cuban-Americans and Cubans.

CJ
Never heard any of this.

LEO
There was also an election recount underway, Congressman Cabrera.

CJ
Yeah, I know the one.

LEO
I was Secretary of Labor. And Rafe Framhagen showed up, and we started drinking … (heavy sigh) and I made a fool of myself. Talk about three sheets to the wind. And when I got back, it was over. It had all fallen apart. I should’ve never left. So, I vowed then - if there was ever a chance I’d put it back together.

CUT TO: INT. - BAR – NIGHT

ANDY, who we’d seen earlier at a table in the bar, is drinking at the bar. KATE comes up and takes a seat next to him.

ANDY
If we had a cigarette, a lighter, and the password, we could be back ten years.

KATE
Except it’s so loud in here now, I’d never hear the password. 

ANDY
Don’t you miss it? When you were undercover?

KATE
I miss the excitement … dressing up and down, disappearing into character.

ANDY
And now look at you … wearing suits, and sitting in meetings with amazing people. You’ve changed.

A pause as KATE thinks about this.

ANDY
I saw your ex-husband not long ago. He’s still down there.

KATE
Why’d you call me again?

ANDY
I wanted to apologize.

KATE (beat)
For what?

ANDY
I knew back then what was going on … what it was doing to you. I should have, protected you better.

KATE
Woulda, shoulda -

ANDY
No, but it’s – there’s more to it than that.

KATE
It’s too late now, Andy. It was too late then.

ANDY
I know. I know. Part of my 12 steps to make a fool of myself … especially to those people who maybe I made fools of.

KATE (beat)
Thank you.

A pause, then ANDY leans in close to KATE.

ANDY (into KATE’s ear)
They have all of it down there now, Kate. Leo McGarry’s trip, the deal he’s trying to make with Fidel … they’re gonna break the story.

KATE
You’re sure?

ANDY
Yeah. Don’t get caught in this again when it goes to hell. (ANDY sits back on his stool again) Cuba – it scums everybody it touches.

CUT TO: INT. - WHITE HOUSE HALLWAY – NIGHT

KATE, in a coat and scarf, walks down the hallway. She removes her gloves, then we see entering CJ’s office. She sits, sighing, across from CJ.

KATE
It’s freezing out, and I’m walking back here thinking this is a building I never thought I’d be in.

CJ
Mm, maybe it’s a place you never quite get used to.

KATE
One time, my father was gone with the Pacific Fleet, and my mother and I were left at the Key West naval base. There was no housing, so for a while we lived in this – boiling trailer with no air conditioning. The wind shook it at night and rocked me to sleep. (beat) It’s a long way from here.

CJ (pause)
Kate, what’s going on?

KATE (beat)
Tomorrow morning, Cuban-American factions are going public with Leo’s visit to Cuba. 

FADE OUT.
END ACT THREE.
* * *

ACT FOUR

FADE IN: INT. - OVAL OFFICE – NIGHT

BARTLET enters the Oval Office, where CJ, KATE, CLIFF, LEO, and TOBY are waiting.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

CJ (as everyone sits) 
Mr. President, it is clear now that the news of Leo’s trip is going to break.

KATE
We don’t know what it’ll be, audio, eyewitness testimony, photographs, but we know it’s coming.

TOBY
CNN’ll get it, then the networks.

BARTLET
A delightful prognosis.

CJ
We can try and spin it – it was Cuban representatives who initiated the conversations. We said we’d listen, agreed to nothing, accepted nothing -

BARTLET
No, I hate that. 

TOBY
We have to look at the consequences, the South Carolina and Florida primaries are less than two weeks away.

KATE
And there’ll be no mercy in the Cuban-American community. We’ll be drawn and quartered.

TOBY
It won’t go away by the general election.

CLIFF
Russell will find a way -

BARTLET
Yeah, I can hear his soundbites already.

TOBY
Santos is a mystery, I have no idea what he’s gonna do. Bet he probably doesn’t know, either.

BARTLET
And the Republican candidates, Walken and Vinick?

CLIFF
I think Vinick probably agrees with what you’re trying to do, but publicly he will step back and let Framhagen and Walken put on their war paint and gather around Little Big Horn.

BARTLET
Wasn’t exactly the image I was hoping for. (beat) So, Republicans and Democrats alike will distance themselves from this act of madness of the Bartlet administration.

LEO
I think it’s time we look beyond regrets and elections, sir.

BARTLET (beat)
It’s here, isn’t it?

LEO
Another cliff, yes, sir.

BARTLET
Toby?

TOBY
Jump.

BARTLET
CJ?

CJ nods, silently.

BARTLET
Get me some air time. I’m going to have a few words with the nation. (standing) Debbie!

CJ
When?

BARTLET
As soon as possible, we’re not gonna wait for the story to break.

TOBY (as DEBBIE comes in the door)
I think it’s only fair to let the candidates know what’s coming.

BARTLET 
I agree.

DEBBIE
Sir, the Vice President is still waiting.

BARTLET
Get Senator Vinick on the phone first, and then Congressman Santos, and then I’ll see the Vice President.

Everyone heads out to take care of their tasks as BARTLET stands behind his desk.

CUT TO: INT. - SENATOR FRAMHAGEN’S OFFICE – NIGHT

FRAMHAGEN pours vodka into a glass of orange juice. He takes a drink as LEO appears in the doorway, knocking.

FRAMHAGEN (as LEO enters)
Leo … thanks for coming all the way over here. (beat) Been a long time. (beat) You care to join me?

FRAMHAGEN brandishes the bottle of vodka.

FRAMHAGEN (chuckling)
No, I’m only fooling, I know you don’t any longer. Kinda wish more people around here did, uh … what’s Hemingway’s word?

LEO
Utilize? How’d you find out?

FRAMHAGEN (as they sit at a table)
Boat captain. Deckhand. Limo driver, gas attendant, does it matter? It seems to me we got a lot more done around here when we were utilizing. Got along better, too. Left and right, elephant and mule. Course, these days that’s one place where my point of view is in the minority.

LEO
Not the only place, Senator. Demographics are changing in your state.

FRAMHAGEN
You were Scotch, as I recall, the good stuff, huh? Just, just the way it poured?

LEO
Younger Cuban-Americans don’t care. (FRAMHAGEN scoffs) The Cuba effect on Florida’s going the way of too much utilizing.

FRAMHAGEN
Mmm – so for the younger Cuban-Americans, your solution is to have an old man with MS send another old man who’s had a heart attack, to check on the health of a third old man – a man who could be, should be, and God willing soon will be dead.

LEO reacts with a tight smile.

FRAMHAGEN
It’s too late for the Bartlet administration to go legacy-shopping in Cuba, Leo.

LEO
If I had come to you first, what would you have said? Mmm, no. We had to change the calculus, or you’d bury us.

FRAMHAGEN
I am gonna bury you, Leo.

LEO
After 45 years, it’s time to admit the embargo isn’t a reason for or a solution to Cuba’s tragic reality.

FRAMHAGEN
The reason for Cuba’s tragic reality is Fidel Castro, a vicious dictator who refuses to allow free press, free elections, who jails even the slightest opposition. You, you want to legitimize his government.

LEO
The Good Ship Legitimacy sailed decades ago, he’s there, has been for a very long time.

FRAMHAGEN
The State Department lists Cuba as a terrorist state. The State Department, Leo! The FBI just busted a Cuban espionage operation, arrested ten spies.

LEO
When we’ve tried reforming a Communist regime through embargo and severing relations, we’ve always failed. When we sought change through engagement and trade, we’ve succeeded.

FRAMHAGEN
What about the law, Leo? Congress has codified the embargo. US sanctions cannot be lifted against Cuba until all political prisoners have been freed, until political parties and labor unions have been legalized and free elections have been scheduled. Now, no American President can just overturn the will of the people. 

LEO
It’s not the will of the people. It’s a few loud and shrinking number of Cuban-Americans.

FRAMHAGEN
Who came here stripped of everything, who floated over here in some little leaky boats, their kids in one hand and their dreams in another. And how many of whom did we turn away? May God forgive us -

LEO
No one, no one’s disputing that.

FRAMHAGEN
And who have become monumentally successful, and too many of whom have become Republicans, right, Leo?

LEO
But, who we’ve also pandered to for far too long. I’m bringing you a possible breakthrough.

FRAMHAGEN
Awww, there’s no such thing.

LEO
We’re starting with an executive order to provide food and dollars to the United Nations -

FRAMHAGEN scoffs.

LEO
- the Department of Treasury liberalizing business travel to Cuba, working to involve Cuba in curbing narcotrafficking and terrorism, rather than treat them as part of the problem.

FRAMHAGEN
And there’s the toothless, gutless foreign policy we’ve all come to expect from the Bartlet administration. Just give away the store, probably billions of dollars, without getting a single concession in return, right?

LEO
Extradition treaty.

FRAMHAGEN
He’s gonna re-sign the extradition treaty?

LEO
We’re talking.

FRAMHAGEN
You’re talking? Sure, he’ll romance you. He’ll waltz you around through the summer until he gets what he needs -

LEO
Maybe he’s legacy-shopping, too.

FRAMHAGEN
Which is cash, he needs cash. That’s why he’s talking to you in the first place. We finally got the bastard where we want him, on the verge of economic collapse -

LEO
Well, that’s what we said in 1963.

FRAMHAGEN
He’ll take your money, Leo – our money – and he’ll renege.

LEO
The rest of the world’s already there. If we don’t get our foot in the door, US business interests and your - poor, maligned Cuban-Americans will be left out in the cold.

FRAMHAGEN
Oh, that is really good. The Bartlet administration is gonna save Castro for the sake of American business? (chuckling) That’s rich.

LEO
So you’re gonna go to war? So a few geriatrics can get their cabanas back? That’s the trouble, with our policy. Your rigor mortis stance, it’s holding hostage the Cuban-American community you say you so love, and by proxy has held hostage the whole country. The world, time has passed them by, Castro won. Rafe – it’s time. It’s long past time.

FRAMHAGEN (as they both stand)
Whatever dumb thing you do to prop up Castro will be reversed next year. Because if you do it, you lose Florida in the election, and the Presidency with it.

LEO
Your bottom line is you care more about American politics than relieving the plight of the Cuban people, just like in 1995.

FRAMHAGEN
Which year was that?

LEO
The one where Cabrera won the election recount, and it turned out his sister-in-law, who worked for you, was the chief monitor.

FRAMHAGEN
Cabrera did win that election.

LEO
He was a convicted felon, and you knew at the same time we were meeting, talking with Castro’s people.

FRAMHAGEN
I came down there … I remember we had a drink -

LEO
We could have had a deal, ended all this insanity a decade ago.

FRAMHAGEN
It was you who took me aside, invited me for a drink. Now you’re gonna climb up on your high horse, huh?

LEO
That’s what I got to live with.

FRAMHAGEN
We were close once – back then.

LEO
No … Senator, we just drank back then. We were never close.

LEO exits.

CUT TO: INT. - SITUATION ROOM – NIGHT

KATE is sitting alone, writing on a pad. LEO enters.

KATE
Hey.

LEO
I was looking for you.

KATE
The President goes on air any minute. Thought I’d watch it down here.

LEO
Alone?

KATE 
Yeah.

LEO (sitting)
Cuba. Florida. - You know a lot about them, you were there in the ‘90s, 1995, maybe?

KATE
Yeah.

LEO
Yeah. I was there – only a few days, and … I can’t remember much at all. Led me to lock myself away for 30 days, dry out. But I believed then, and I believe now, this fight is worth it.

KATE
There’s gonna be hell to pay tomorrow.

LEO
If I’d only gotten it done ten years ago, Jed Bartlet could be spared it, I wish -

KATE
The CIA would’ve never let the embargo go away then. They’re against ending it now.

LEO
What about you?

KATE
I was in favor of it then.

LEO
And now?

KATE (shrugging, shaking her head)
I don’t know. It’s not about me, it’s about the President and - what you want for him. And this is something.

LEO
Yeah.

LEO gets up to leave, then turns back to KATE.

LEO
Did we meet back then?

KATE
Do you remember me?

LEO (thinking, then slowly shaking his head)
No. (pause) Do you remember me?

KATE looks back at LEO silently.

The screen goes white as a flashback begins.

FLORIDA, 1995

It is dark. KATE, with straight brown hair, is smoking a cigarette, one eye bruised. Behind her a drunken LEO, with a bit more hair stumbles his way towards some parked cars. He drops his glass and we hear it shatter. He struggles to stand against one car, breathing heavily, then starts to pass out. KATE grabs him before he slides to the ground.

KATE
Where are you going?

LEO (pointing)
That car, I think that …

LEO steps up against the car door and collapses again, KATE catching him under the arms.

KATE
Okay, okay … why don’t I drive?

LEO
Naw …

KATE
Yeah. (taking the keys from LEO) I think I’ll drive.

LEO (as KATE starts to guide him toward the door)
I’m fine.

KATE (getting LEO to the passenger door)
Here you go.

KATE opens the passenger door and helps LEO inside. He falls into the seat, nearly spilling back out the door.

KATE
Okay, okay, okay. That’s good.

KATE closes the door, walks around the car and gets into the drivers seat. As she puts the key in the ignition:

KATE
Where are you going?

LEO (groggily)
Why not drive off into the sunset?

KATE (starting the engine)
Yeah, I think we missed it.

LEO
Something happened to your eye.

KATE
Well, you should see the other guy. (as she begins to drive) Where are you staying, are you at a hotel?

LEO
On Calle Ocho, got a suitcase, pack it, airport, if I can find it, hmm. (mumbling) I’m gonna remember this.

KATE
No, you won’t.

LEO
Yes, I will.

KATE
No. (beat) But I will.

LEO
Gonna put my head down. (leaning against the window) Just for a moment. Thank you.

CROSS FADE back to the present. INT. - LEO’S OFFICE – NIGHT

LEO is sitting in his office, staring into space, as we hear BARTLET’s address on TV.

BARTLET (VO, on TV)
My fellow Americans – in 1961, President John F. Kennedy bought some cigars. They happened to be from a country called Cuba, and since that day, nearly 45 years ago, no American has been able to do it again, and it’s time for that to change. (as LEO turns his attention to the TV) This is not about cigars, of course, but about our relationship with a country that is only 90 miles away.

CUT TO: INT. - OVAL OFFICE – NIGHT

BARTLET is at his desk delivering his address.

BARTLET
Change is not going to come easy. It’s not going to be a change without passionate discussion and disagreement, but a change there can and will and must be. The Cuban people -

CUT TO: INT. - SITUATION ROOM – NIGHT

KATE is alone listening to the address.

BARTLET (VO, on TV)
- and the Cuban-American people have suffered too long under intolerable circumstances on both shores.

CUT TO the Oval Office again.

BARTLET
My dream is that every one of the hundreds of thousands of Cubans who draw lottery cards every year -

CUT TO LEO’s office.

BARTLET (on TV)
- to win one of the the 20,000 slots allowing them to come to America in search of a better life and freedom, will finally have the chance to find that freedom -

PULL BACK on an exterior shot of LEO’s office, the TV visible through the window, snow falling in the night.

BARTLET (VO)
- in their own country as well. And that the one and a half million Cuban-Americans, who have for so many decades longed to return to their homes, will finally have the chance to once again see the land of their fathers and forefathers.

DISSOLVE TO: END TITLES.
FADE TO BLACK.
THE END.
* * *

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The West Wing Transcript
Episode 6x19 – Ninety Miles Away
Original Airdate: March 16, 2005