Bartlet4America: The Page About the Thing

The Supremes

Toby: Wisnewski's a good maybe. The Majority Leader's really pushing him. And Barkham from the Fifth, though he has a question...

Josh: It's a tax thing. We're looking into it.

The Warfare of Genghis Khan

Charlie: Mr. President?

Bartlet: I know, I've got to get dressed for the HHS thing.

Abu el Banat

Debbie: Any word from Ellie?

Charlie: She's running an experiment on viral load reproduction and she hopes to wrap it up in time for the thing tonight.

Will: You know how this thing polls? 48% of Americans consider it a right. 46% of Americans consider it morally reprehensible. It is the definition of a lose-lose issue.

Josh: He's resilient. Which isn't such a bad thing in a candidate.

Leo: He's gonna show up at dinner popping champagne corks and the President's going to be stuck delivering the news in front of the guy's wife and mother-in-law. You have to go back and tell him no.

Doug: [holds up son's baseball glove] Here we go. Is that the greatest thing you ever saw? Can't even get my thumb in there.

Doug: It's a nepotism thing, isn't it?

Josh: That could be part of it.

Bartlet: "The speaker can convince most people of most things and himself of almost anything." Doug came up with that?

Elizabeth: You couldn't give him the courtesy of five minutes? It's one thing to delegate my car loan or Ellie's MCATs to your staff, but my husband?

Shutdown

Leo: This thing's going to be won and lost by how it's played on TV.

CJ: They're blaming us.

Vice-President: You got a minute, Leo?

Leo: Of course, Mr. Vice-President. Please. [To CJ] I'll see you at the thing.

Separation of Powers

CJ: First off, I wouldn't characterize this as a crisis or a breakdown. While we're at it, here are some other things it's not: a showdown, a stalemate, a stand-off, or a textbook example of partisan gridlock.

Josh: Donna? Do we have any of those pills left from that Naval doctor?

Donna: Admiral Feelgood?

Josh: The cold and sinus stuff?

Donna: The ones that made you sing all of "Bye Bye Miss American Pie"?

Josh: It was Harry Chapin. Those big blue things.

Donna: Bartram from the Times called.

Josh: About what?

Donna: Budget stalemate.

Josh: I don't know anything.

Donna: That's what I told him. [pause] I mean, not exactly. I said you're busy with, you know, things, and can't do press calls.

Toby: It's time to get Ashland off the bench, Leo.

Will: There's this thing called the Constitution. It's a nagging little document, I'll grant you, but...

Angela: We can still get tax-deductible tuition. We can get a lot of things. You got to get them to give it, that's all.

Joe Quincy: Every year he likes to hire a conservative clerk to argue with, and arguing with him helped me clarify the things I believe in. And one of those things is an independent court above party or interest.

Joe Quincy: Maybe we could all do it better. But there is such a thing called judicial independence. A lifetime appointment. He's still alive, so he gets to decide when it's time!

Margaret: The...President's Osaka remarks on opening Japan's microchip market and complaining about autos and flat glass.

Josh: Flat glass...excellent!

Margaret: [confused stare]

Josh: It's a new thing I'm doing. Kind of positive attitude thing.

Disaster Relief

Disaster Victim: What kind of a god would do such a terrible thing? We go to church every Sunday, we try to do the right thing. What kind of plan could this possibly be?

Constituency of One

Josh: Look, Donna, no gifts, no parties. Just another day, okay?

Donna: Coffee and...?

Josh: Yeah, with a...thing.

Amy: Due respect, sir, that's what she'd want.

Bartlet: She has to be here to want things. And you don't have to be here at all.

Han

Bartlet: This draft of the Rose Garden thing, it needs more altitude.

Toby: So, I'm going to start doing other things.

Leo: What other things?

Toby: We're drifting...we need to refocus, get back on message.

Larry: Signs indicate we could be headed toward...bagel.

Josh: Sir, Larry doesn't need a vacation. That's the word we've agreed to use in-house to avoid using the R-word.

Some guy attending the meeting: Recession?

Bartlet: What I need is your recommendation for keeping us out of...I really don't have to call it that, do I?

Leo: Of course not.

Bartlet: For keeping us out of a...thing.

Some guy: The Fed does its thing, a reduction of 25 basis points stops the bleeding.

Some other guy: You can't just leave this to the Fed, it'll look like we're asleep at the switch.

Official in meeting regarding the piano player's defection: It's the most unpredictable regime in the world. Walking out on the negotiations could be the least thing they'd do.

Josh: We have a meeting.

Ryan: Outstanding.

Josh: Okay, you can't say things like "outstanding" during it.

Toby: Distinguished...

Will: Wanna use "surpassing" again?

Toby: Eminent...illustrious...the problem being, he's none of those things.

Jefferson Lives

Leo: On the other thing...

CJ: I'm fine.

Leo: Toby thought you were a little...

CJ: I'm not.

Leo: Berardi's resignation letter was persuasive...

CJ: It was, but I'm not.

Abbey: Amy, you're going to have to handle things for me a little while longer.

Amy: I know. Do you want me...

Abbey: I trust you. That's why I hired you.

Charlie: She puts up a good front.

Bartlet: Name one thing...one thing my little girl's afraid of.

Josh: We don't have a Vice President! Get it? It's our first thing, and I can't get it done. I can't get Berryhill confirmed. The one guy the President wants and I can't get it done. So could you just...be quiet for one moment?

Bartlet: There's only one thing you have to do for me. Give yourself time. Don't try to rush this.

Zoey: There was an arm...grabbing me. When I start to fall asleep, it comes back.

Bartlet: We're going to help you. We're all going to help.

Russell: Let me go on the record. If you were to offer the job. I would be honored.

Bartlet: Thank you.

Russell: But I would need a couple things.

Bartlet: Oh?

Russell: I wasn't close enough to say for sure about your relationship with John Hoynes, but as your Vice President I would want more access.

Bartlet: Uh-huh.

Russell: Direct access.

Dogs of War