"Ambulance!" "Stay with him, stay with him!" "Get the mic down." "Got a two-shot?" " Ambulance!" "Keep down the mic, keep it down." "Keep shooting!" "Somebody bring an ambulance!" "Stay close." "Watch out!" "An ambulance, for Christ's sake!" "Get this shot, right here!" "Go away!" "Go away!" "Keep shooting." "Bring it around." "Go away!" "Roberto, let's go." "It's dangerous out here, come on." "Not until an ambulance arrives." "The ambulance and a doctor are already on the way." " Are you sure?" " Yes, positive." "Let's go." " Are you sure?" " Let's go, let's go." "Roberto!" "Roberto!" "Come on, hurry!" "Cut, cut, cut!" "So, who did it?" "The guerillas?" "Maybe." "Christ, you were terrific!" "It was an incredible moment!" "I'm gonna cut the film tonight in New York and have it flown back down tomorrow." "We're gonna take this thing." "We're gonna take it." "When are you coming back?" "I don't know yet, but I've gone over everything with Miguel." "He's gonna be handling all the print contracts, the billboards, the posters." "He also's gonna be having the payroll, which includes the reporters." "I gave him a list already." "From now until the election, every speech, every appearance, you're gonna wear this shirt." "You keep your jacket on till just before the finish, then slowly take it off and you just stand there, let the whole country see it." ""They want to hurt us, they want to destroy us,"" ""but they'll spill our blood before they defeat us."" "Blah, blah, blah, blah." "Nice trip, Mr. St. John?" " Tired?" " I can't tell yet." "We booked the mixing room for the rest of the night." " Did you bring the film?" " Yeah, but I wanna clean up a bit." "I want you to stick around when I do the cuts." "I assume you found some decent talent for the voice-over." "No, I found some great talent." "He's an actor." "He does Spanish soaps here." "He used to be a radio announcer in South America." "Mom, I hope you didn't wait up." "God, you look like shit." "And this is only March." "What will you look like in November?" "I don't know." "I had him talk to my friend Patricia, and according to her, he has a very sexy accent." "I advise you to wrap this thing up early tonight because Wallace Furman is coming in the morning." " For how long?" " Definitely, no longer than all day." "What did Ellen want?" "She said some decent information, for a change." "You're having dinner tomorrow night with..." "..." "Senator Hastings and his wife." " In Washington?" "Yeah, the plane will be at LaGuardia at 6:00." "Even with traffic, you should get there by 8:30." "You pulled the file from the last campaign?" "Yeah." "Also the Stannard files." "Oh, Garber called last week." "We pushed your meeting up to the 12th." "You'll go to Seattle right out of D.C." "I'll go there tomorrow and brief them on the new numbers." "You did good." "Syd, you are sensational!" "No problem!" "You're my kind of guy." "And what kind is that?" "Temporary." "So, let us move ahead, with energy, with compassion, and united by the vision of what New Mexico can be if only we dare to make it so." "Darling, you are so positive." " No, I'm not." " Your strength flows right off" " Oh, no, please" " I'm not just saying that!" " I was terrible." " You're so strong in a nice, understated way." "Now, granted," "I may be a bit biased, Mr. St. John, but you have got to admit that Wallace has just got that certain-- you know." "Mrs. Furman, Wallace, I'll be right down." "Are you sure you want to handle this campaign?" " Why?" " Why?" "If this guy were masturbating his hand would fall asleep." "We have nothing to lose." "Anything that gets over 39% makes us look good." "And it pays the overhead." "Wallace, you're running for governor." "It's not gonna be easy." "What we're aiming for here, the ideal, is that you personify the themes of the campaign." "That you make a statement just by standing up." "Now, our themes are:" "new ideas, new directions." "Change!" "Vigor!" "No offense, but you look too soft to change a tire..." " ...much less a state." " That's ridiculous." " What are you saying?" " He's saying you're a wimp." "What I'm saying is, you've got to align the perception with the reality." "We've got two immediate problems." "One, you were born into money." "Two, you did it out of state, which wasn't too smart, but these are turnable, we'll manage this whole thing." "All right, I want you to go on a high protein diet and start working out on a Nautilus, three times a week, minimum." "We also gotta work on punching up this delivery of yours." "And energyze it, make it track with the message." "Okay?" " Yeah, okay." " Now let's talk about colors." "Syd's gonna take you to this guy on 57th Street for a couple of dozen shirts, once we get set on the shades." "I don't like you in blue or gray." "Too cold for you." "You're running in New Mexico." "You look a little washed out." "Don't you ever get outside at all?" "I've asked him to stay out of the sun because his family has a history of skin cancer." "But you've never had it." "No." "Long-term exposure, right?" "This is only going to be for the next six months." "I don't see anything to worry about." "Wait, I-I'm paying you, you-you work for me" "You're trying to run my life here!" "Wallace, Wallace, Wallace..." "You are paying me to make you a new life!" "Politics!" "And in order for me to do that," "I gotta be in charge of all the elements that go into it." "It's the only way I work." "That means, framing the overall strategy as well as deciding all the specifics." "The look of the campaign, the look of the billboards." "Bumper stickers, what colors they're going to be?" "It means the polling, the ads, radio, TV, newspapers." "It means coordinating every piece of information out of this office to make sure it fits with what a polling tells us the people are worrying about." "Or what they're feeling good about!" "But, aside from the campaign themes, I want to address..." " ...some of my long-term plans!" " Yes, I'm sure they're great, but they're not important." "See, my job is to get you in." "Once you're there, you do whatever your conscience tells you to do." "...before the largest crowd of the campaign." "It now appears the bloody terrorist attack succeeded only in adding momentum and conferring legitimacy on the one-time underdog Cepeda." "Well, Mr. Billings, this is not good news." "It certainly is not, Your Excellency." "Do you know how it happened?" "Well, we know that none of our people were involved." "Perhaps, the guerillas." "I'll know more tonight." "How will the bombing affect us?" "It's hard to know." "Cepeda could gather tremendous support." "The only thing I know for sure is that Pete St. John will milk this thing for all it's worth." " Milk it?" " Exploit." "Use." "An incident like this is tailor-made for St. John." "He managed the Cepeda campaign brilliantly." "He'll probably manipulate him into the presidency." "That is what I fear." "We have spent considerable amounts of money down there." "His Majesty will not be pleased, Mr. Billings." "Nor am I, Excellency." "These have been difficult years for us." "Prices keep falling." "Populists like Cepeda keep nationalizing their oil and entering the market." "Here, we have senators and congressmen talking of solar generation and electrical wind generators and other such-- impractical ideas." "Your upcoming elections are important to us, Mr. Billings." "We're well prepared." "I feel completely secure about Senator Hastings." "And the man who will be replacing him in..." " ..." "Oheeo?" " Ohio." "Thank you, Mr. Billings." "A superb candidate, Your Excellency." "Who will be in charge of his campaign?" "Well, we have one of the top campaign consultants." "Why not..." "Pete St. John?" "He may be too close to Senator Hastings." "He may have conflicting loyalties." "From what I know of St. John, he has no loyalties." "His candidates seem to be on the left, on the right, in the center" "He seems to be loyal only to money." "And we have money." " I want to think about it." " Is he the best?" " Yes, certainly one of the best." " Then, please, Billings do think about it." "I don't want His Majesty upset with another failure, mine or yours." "...We can't afford you anymore, Pete." "Naah, you don't have to, Senator." "I'm like Mother Teresa." "My work's only for the truly needy." "I ran into Phil Healston." "He said he saw you at the Aspen conference last month." "How's Phil doing?" "Great, absolutely great." "He said he was very impressed with the paper you gave him on solar generation." " He showed it to you?" " Mm-hm." "What do you think?" "What else?" "If that new design works shake-out will be absolutely incredible." "I mean, if this gets funded, actually worked..." "My God!" "We're talking, ten, fifteen years?" "Just the Sun Belt alone, what, 30%-40% of the population?" "That's it for the utilities." "Gone." "This is the fuel oil, electric, gas, everything right down the tubes." "This must've leaked out by now." "You and your committee must be getting squeezed like hell." "God!" "When I talked with Syd, naturally, given the timing, she, uh, ...she assumed" "I'm not running again, I've made the decision." "It's done." "I'm not feeling well." "I'm ill." "That's what'll come out." "Sam, I didn't know." "It's over, Pete." "I'm sorry about the campaign, but-- it's over." "Fuck the campaign." "Just tell me how're you going to be." "I'll be all right." "Is it terminal?" "No, it's, uh" "After a while, when we have some time, we'll talk." "I asked you down here, well, first, to tell you." "Then, to ask you to help me with the statement." "I don't want to get into specifics, but, it must be unequivocal." "I've thought you'd be the guy to write it." "When do you want this thing?" "I asked my press secretary to call a news conference, 10:00 in the morning." "Tomorrow?" "Sam, you know you can postpone this a couple of days" "No!" "Okay." "There's a few calls you're gonna have to make tonight to let people know before they hear it on the news." "Yes, I forgot." "You're right." "The Majority Leader," "the..." "State Party Chairman..." "Sam, I'm really sorry." "You're one of the three or four guys who made a difference up there." " Yeah." " Mr. St. John?" "Who are you?" "Arnold Billings." "I'm calling on behalf of Jerome Cade." " Never heard of him." " Yes, I know." "I'd like to arrange an introduction." "Mr. Cade will be running for Senator Hastings' seat." " How did you find out?" " We just heard." "He'll be entering the primary?" "Yes, but I expect he'll be unopposed." "I seriously doubt that, Mr. Billings." "Nonetheless, that's the opinion here." "The filing deadline's the 1st." "We already organized to collect signatures." "Mr. Cade is well-known within Ohio and the Senate seat is something he's giving serious thought to." "You know my price?" "$25,000 a month plus expenses, 15% override on all media buys." "Tell me more about Mr. Cade." "Senator, how are you, sir?" "How are you?" "It's good to see you again." "Madam." "I got one for you." "Why did they put windshield wipers on a Polish airline..." " ...on the inside?" " Why?" " Hey!" "How're you doing?" " Wilfred, you old reprobate!" "I hear you're gonna resign from the paper and finally..." " ...do some good in the world." " Oh, God." " Good to see you." " Nice seeing you." " My Goodness." " Good morning." "I was worried for a while I was gonna break our string." "Oh, no, I got your message." "You were in London last week." "Yes, Leonard and I were summoned by our news editor for some in-depth preplanning of our-- let's see, of our" "American election coverage." " Wilfred?" " Yes?" "What have you heard about, um, about Sam Hastings?" "Oh!" "Nothing yet." "He's supposed to be sick." "Hm!" "No ideas, huh?" "Are you writing this down, Ellen, honey?" "No, no, no." "I'm just curious." "All I know is he" " Have you decided?" "Oh, uh, yes." "Have you got any freshly squeezed orange juice?" " You didn't have any the last time." " We have." "Right." "I'll have a large glass and and English muffin." "I'll have that juice, too, with a little vodka and ice." " Anything else, Mr. Buckley?" " A doughnut plain." "All I know is, I ran into him three weeks ago at the Gridiron thing, and everything was great." "He looks great, like usual." "He feels good, just had his physical at Walter Reed, everything cheked out just fine, and, all of a sudden, he's walking away from the U.S. Senate." "Mmm?" "This means that Mr. St. John loses one of his "A" clients." "How's our boy?" "Have you seen him lately?" "I called him, he's in South America." "He was doing the presidential campaign last week, there." "Are you two getting back together?" " Are you?" " No." "Let's get right to it, shall we?" "Did he screw you as good as he did me?" " Have you seen him?" " No." "You're doing the New Mexico gubernatorial race, uh..." " ..." "Frank McKusker, right?" " Yeah." "You'll be seeing him very soon." " He got Wallace Furman." " Yeah, I heard he signed on." "Well, why not?" "Get the best money can buy, right?" "That's what he is, isn't he?" "I mean, he's the very best." "It doesn't matter what or who gets hurt in the process." "Sometimes I look at him and he seems the same." "You were married to him, so tell me, when did it happen?" "I keep thinking back and I can't figure it out." "When did he start thinking it didn't matter anymore?" "I never heard of this guy." "He's got me on the phone one hour, 55 minutes after you'd made the calls." "I'm not surprised." "We knew it would get around." "Who is he?" " Billings or Cade?" " Either one." "Well, I've met Billings once." "He's in Washington." "I believe he has a public relations firm," "I'm not exactly sure." "And Cade, owns a number of businesses." "Trucking, bottling, and something with pipelines, mostly in the Midwest." "He's made some large contributions to the State party." "He got a lot of publicity last year." "He headed a blue-ribbon commission on governmental waste." "What do you think?" "About what?" "Cade." "Should I take him on?" "Well, I'd give it some serious thought." "Is that the new draft?" "Yeah." "Yeah, that's it." "Still, you must be happy about connecting with McKusker." " He's the big favorite, right?" " Oh, I sure am, honey." "Gotta look out for my batting average." "Speak of the devil!" "Look at this." "As I live and breathe." "Hello." "Darling." " I'm sorry about Sam." " Yeah." "How's Claire taking it?" "She's doing fine." "So is he." "Pete, Pete-- um" "Is it" " Is it cancer?" "I-I know his physical last month was good" "His press conference is at 10:00." "What did he say?" " "His press conference is at 10:00."" " Oh." "Thanks." "I hear we'll be running into each other around New Mexico." "Yeah." "How about we keep it close till the last week?" "Then flip a coin." "I saw you on Brinkley." "It's incredible but I think you're more arrogant since we got divorced." "Hey, look, don't go blaming yourself." "You're meeting with Jerome Cade at 10:30." " Tonight?" " Look, his people called!" "You're going flat out the rest of the week and they wanted this meeting as soon as possible." "Look," "I'll call back and postpone." "You don't need to take this guy on." "Besides Stannard in Seattle, we still got Cepeda." "And Furman in New Mexico's gonna take a lot of time." "It's all right." "All right, it boils down to this, Governor." "We don't wait for Murdoch to bust our balls, we jump his." "Now, you've seen how he's braked out." "You're getting killed on the death penalty veto." "Ever wonder why the Eastwood movies do so good up here?" "And then, there is the-- the divorce." "Not so much that you split up, ...but we had been pushing the family image in the first campaign." "I read the report this morning, Pete." "Not unexpected, but the fact that the resentment has lasted this long was surprising." "Look, Governor, if you go over the focus group interview... you'll see they keep mentioning the fact that you married your campaign manager." "They also keep mentioning that campfire commercial." "Harry cooking eggs over the fire for the kids, while you're chopping wood?" "That was almost four years ago." "Hell of a spot!" "The election's this fall." "I gotta teach you how to cook." "Governor, this is my recommendation." "We advance the media buys three weeks, shift money from the fall schedule if we have to and blow him away now." "Back him off, before he nails you for mothering killers and..." " ...dumping Harry and the kids." " She didn't dump them." "Yeah, anyway, that's my recommendation." "We've leased 30 minutes of satellite time." "They'll be beaming him in in about 90 seconds." "So, let's move our chairs a little closer." "Charles, go ahead, sit down." "Mrs. Furman." "Put the chairs close so we can talk into the mic." "Who is this guy?" "Captain Video?" "No, he's the best numbers-cruncher in the free world." "I'll be heading back to New York in about 10 minutes, but Syd's going to stick around for a couple of days and make sure everything's on line." "I thought you were going to be in charge." "I am, Mrs. Furman." "I'm in overall charge." "Fortunately, Syd has consented to make sure I don't screw up on any of those details." "It'll take a minute." "St. John to Ralph." "St. John to Ralph." "St. John to Ralph." "There he is." " Sorry, Pete." " It's okay, Ralph." " Sorry, Pete." " All right." "You're looking good, Ralph." "I try." "Ralph, I got Mr. and Mrs. Furman here, and Charles Whiting, their campaign manager." "They're excited to hear about what you can do for them, so, just lay out the program and they'll cut in if they have any questions." " The sound level's okay?" " Yeah, it's great." "The principle is simple enough." "We take the last census data and we match it against all the New Mexico zip codes." "Then we combine that with what the field research has determined should be the targeted population clusters." "In your case we've isolated 18 neutral or favorable clusters." "For example, we concluded a high favorable is, uh pools and patios." "Suburban, white-collar, married, 25 to 49 years old." "We tailor the mail and the phone pitches to each group based on what we already know is bothering them." "But the really exciting stuff comes when I work out a simulation model." "That's when you tell me what you're thinking of saying and I'll tell you how they're going to react." "Even then, the short range possibilities of a simulation" " Err-- excuse me..." " Yeah." "What is a simulation model?" "It's a little complicated but I'll try to explain." "See you around the block." "It's based on the idea that..." "See you." "...a small number can represent a much larger number." "We start out with the breakdown of, let's say, a city like Albuquerque." "We break it down demographically by..." " Are you all right?" " I'm all right, yeah." " Bye!" " Goodbye." "Pete!" "Wallace Furman?" "Oh, God!" "Wallace Furman?" "You got a real piece of work this time, Pete!" "What's gonna happen to your boy Furman when you go home and he's got to stand all by himself, and let all the folks in on whatever he could possibly have on his feeble mind?" "Goddamn!" "How could you sell this guy?" "It's just for governor, he doesn't have to be perfect." "There's more than just winning!" "I told you that the first time you came in the door!" "And you used to believe in that, too!" " You used to believe that" " I used to believe in tooth fairies, OK?" "Oh!" "You wanna talk about fairies?" "What about Willet?" "The man fucks chickens!" "Yeah!" "This guy goes down to Haiti and he gets his rocks off drinking blood of fucking chickens!" "We had pictures!" "We had pictures and we couldn't even use 'em!" "You put a pervert in the U.S. Congress who fucks chickens!" "I wouldn't be concerned." "He's probably exaggerating." "Pete, they're backed up at LaGuardia." "We'll be circling for about ten minutes." "Mr. Cade." "Sorry I'm late." "I've been looking forward to meeting you, Mr. St. John." "I hope you're going into this thing prepared to be the official hydrant for the State of Ohio?" "You'll find that I'm prepared for whatever it takes." "Does that go for the energy market as well?" "Ah!" "I see you've been making inquiries." "I'd have been concerned if you hadn't." "John, Henry, Mr. St. John." "Can we expedite this?" "Is there something you haven't found out yet, that you'd like to know?" "What's your biggest weakness?" "You mean, in running for the Senate?" "Probably, the fact that I haven't held public office yet." "Although I personally consider that a plus." "It's not critical." "You have done some public service stuff." "Even as far as issues that could get you into a Kennedy School seminar, or get your position paper printed in the Times' op-ed page." "I take it money is not a problem." "No." "So, you would start" "I haven't done any polls yet, I'd figure 16, 17, 18 points down." "And just by getting the nomination that would jump." "So, I take it you're with me, then, Mr. St. John?" "Have you got a couple of minutes?" "I'd like to show you something down in the basement." "Gentlemen, thank you." "Mr. Cade." "The Senate put in new chairs, right before Sam's last campaign." "I talked him into letting me keep his old one." "We used it in four or five of his last TV spots." "Sit in it." " How does it feel?" " It feels quite comfortable." "And please, don't play games with me, Mr. St. John." "I've known what I wanted for a very long time." "You want one like that?" "It's going to run you..." " ...ten, eleven million bucks." " An absurd sum, Mr. St. John." "But the real absurdity is to spend that kind of money and not get it." "Now, you tell me, if I pay you what you want, will you be able to give me the amount of time I require or you'll be spread too thin among your other candidates?" "You'll get all the time you require, Mr. Cade." "You do know that if I take you on," "I'll be in control." "Just so we're clear, that means strategy, budget" "The process doesn't interest me, Mr. St. John." "What does is that you have an 85% success rate." "I will pay you to play those percentages." "My sole concern is my work once I'm elected." "Why should I take you on?" "Because some guy named Arnold Billings got my phone number..." " ...and got to me first?" " Because once I get in-- and I will, with your help or with someone else's," "I can accomplish what has to be done." "Change the policies that are strangling this country." "Now, I'm ready to begin." "Are you with me?" "Where is Billings in all this?" "Mr. Billings is a business associate of mine." "He handles public relations work for some of my companies." "He has no official position in my campaign." "He told me you were going to line up with Sam on the issues." " Did he get that right?" " That's correct." "Except for the solar energy bill, I don't believe that approach is sound." "No, no." "You explain it to me." "He's with you except on solar energy." "Like being with Gloria Steinem except on women." "I don't understand, Pete." "You were never much interested on how your clients stood on the issues before." " I am now." " Why?" "He'd be replacing you." "What's the big problem?" "Take him on." "Leonard..." "I want to cancel the West Coast trip." "We can get a stringer from L. A. if we really need it, can't we?" "Okay." "I want to take a look into Sam Hastings." "Right, you're friendly with him and he's wife, right?" "Have you heard anything?" " Nothing special, no, but I" " Coordinate it with Manny." "He's pulled a couple of people from metro just to chase down the rumors." "Have you heard the latest?" "He's got AIDS." "Jesus, I love Washington!" "Thank you for your note, Ellen." "It meant a great deal to us, it really did." "I meant everything I wrote in it." "It's a great loss for the country." "Sam is what the Senate is all about." "Thank you." "Claire!" "Claire!" "You're new home is absolutely beautiful." " You've never been here before?" " No." "Oh, I can't believe it." "Oh, I feel terrible!" "Claire, it's my fault." "It's ridiculous, but, when you get divorced you don't know where you stand anymore with your old friends." "You tend to avoid them in case you make them feel awkward." "You assume they're all going to take sides." "And I assumed-- well, Sam and Pete are so close..." "I really appreciate your decision to keep the details of the illness a family matter." "Well, it was very hard." "Yes." "Yes, I can imagine." "Is Sam being treated here or in Ohio?" "Well, that hasn't been determined yet." "And how are the boys taking it?" "Oh, I am so proud of them." "They have been so strong, so good." "I wouldn't have gotten through this without those guys." "And your mother, how's she doing?" "Well, this thing's been very hard on her." "We talk to each other every night on the phone and I" " She's in Charleston, hm?" " No, no." "She moved back to New Orleans several years ago." "Oh!" "Ralph, I need some help on this Billings guy." "Why's it this tough?" "How many top black lobbyists can there be in Washington?" "Maybe his client list." "Maybe if you pass by all the probable data banks?" "I'd appreciate it." "If they're international we could try wire transfers." "But don't hold your breath." "Ever since those kids started breaking into everything, everyone's gotten meshugah on access codes." "Maybe if you take a run by all the standard industry stuff." "Billings Associates's a privately held corporation." "That won't help." "Billings is the only listed officer." "You need this by when?" "As soon as possible." "I'm flying down to South America in 24 hours." "I'm in New Mexico the next couple of days," "Ohio the rest of the week." " I know you're busy as hell" " Have a safe trip." "Go." "Pete!" "How's the South American guy doing?" "He's going to take it." "My husband felt such shame, you see." "No one in his family, not one, with all their money, ever offered to help us out." "They just washed their hands, every single one of them." "Well, except once when Claire was getting ready to go to college," "I had a call from her grandfather, that he wanted to know if Claire needed any money for her education." "I told him what to do with his money." "I told him that Claire was valedictorian and we'd get along somehow." "Well, he passed away." "I don't remember," "I guess it was several years later." "I did not go to the funeral." "But I did say a prayer for his soul." " You okay?" " Yeah." "Go get'em, tiger." "Okay, take him back." " Okay, let's go." "Okay." "It looks good from here." "Yeah, we can see the whole thing." "You about 50 feet?" "A little less." "Stand by." "Eddie, can you read me?" "Yeah, go ahead." "You got them lined up yet?" "Yeah, we finally got'em but you better hurry up." "Okay, I wanna stay clear on channel 1." "And I want to hear if there's any troubles, right now!" "Martha, I want to get a rough time on this, so, start reading as soon as the wagons go, okay?" "Okay... roll tape!" "Let me know when you got speed." "Speed!" "Background action!" "Cue Wallace!" "New Mexico is a special land, blessed with mountains, deserts, clean air and pure waters." "But besides her natural resources, our state has been blessed with its human resources, from the proud Apache and Navajo tribes who first hunted and planted here, to our long history of people who have journeyed here." "Whether they came from Mexico, or Europe or Asia or other parts of this country, they all shared a common dream:" "to live in a land where their opportunities were limited only by their own vision... and to make this special place even better for their own children and other generations." "We are surely blessed by that heritage." "Wallace Furman believes that pioneer spirit is still alive." "Wallace Furman, a governor we can trust." "Back to one." "Back to number one." "Take it back." "Eddie, take them back to number one." "Back to number one, line it all up again!" "It'll be close to an hour, Pete." "We're not gonna have enough light left." " 50,000!" "We'll come back tomorrow!" " Weather prediction's bad for tomorrow!" "Hold it a second, everybody." "You want us back at number one, Pete?" "Wait." "Wait a minute." "Move it, move it!" "Back it up." "Back!" "Move on back!" "Do you hear me?" "Tommy, roll it up to where the schmuck fell off." "Okay, take it back." "Back, back, back, back, back..." "Back... back..." "OK, now forward." "Slowly, very slow..." "Slow, slow slow slow freeze!" "Okay, mark it." "Take it back to the top." "Okay, forward." "Real time." "New Mexico is a special land, blessed with mountains, deserts, clean air and pure waters." "But besides her natural resources, our state has been blessed with its human resources, from the proud Apache and Navajo tribes who first hunted and planted here, to our long history of people who have journeyed here." "Whether they came from Mexico, or Europe or Asia or other parts of this country, they all shared a common dream:" "to live in a land where their opportunities were limited only by their own vision... and to make this special place even better for their own children and other generations." "We are surely blessed by that heritage." "Wallace Furman believes that pioneer spirit is still alive!" "Wallace Furman, a governor we can trust." "Let's go home." "What's overriding is that we pinpoint the audience." "Tomorrow morning I want to go with TV news coverage." "But, every time we hit a new medium market, we'll have live remotes set up for the noon or 6:00." "Local anchors don't know shit-- even less than reporters." "This way we'll be able to give..." " ...our message straight" " Hold it, hold it." "On the state level, a new entry into the Senate race for the seat of Sam Hastings." "Phillip Aarons, an Oberlin College History professor, who's known for his involvement in antinuclear and state environmental causes, called a news conference this morning to announce his candidacy as an independent." "I am announcing my candidacy as an alternative, and perhaps an answer, ...to the regressive, short-sighted policies of Mr. Westbrook and Mr. Cade." "I, along with many other people of Ohio, was particularly disappointed by Mr. Cade's decision not to follow the example set by Senator Hastings in the national leadership of the development of renewable non-polluting energy offered by solar generation." "I intend to use this campaign as a sounding board to educate the people of Ohio and, more importantly, the politicians of Ohio," "as to certain facts having to do with our environment." "Pardon me." "We can... no longer" "What the hell does that mean?" "Nothing." "Not a damn thing." "He'll make a little noise, feel real good, and he'll get his 4% from the veggies and save-the-whalers." "He's not going to hurt us." "They'll hate your guts anyway." "But-- there is something." "Our first poll's showing a problem with college-educated women 21 to 35." "There's something about you they don't trust." " How are you today, Mr. Billings?" " Just fine, thank you." "Are you expecting a print-out from Ralph?" "Yeah, I sure am." "It must've gotten caught in the printer." "Have Ralph send me another one." "Governor?" "Hello, Pete." "I think we gotta talk about the death penalty thing." "Absolutely not." "That is not negotiable." "I'm not talking about backing down." "But tell me this:" "where does it say just because you gotta follow your conscience we gotta stand still and get kicked?" "Any thoughts on the subject?" "Yes, I do." "One." "Frank Coleco." "For Christ sakes." "The man is a neanderthal!" "So what?" "He's our neanderthal, isn't he?" "He happens to be speaking for a constituency we could use." " Or you wanna argue about that?" " You ever actually heard him?" "In the State House, on the floor, he said he'd pull the switch and then drive home and eat a pizza." "This is very, very simple." "He crosses the line, endorses the opposition, we start to bleed." "Come on, Pete!" "You got any guarantees he won't?" "I put out a wire." "What do I hear?" "It turns out the Senator's next greatest passion, next to frying convicts, is high school football, specifically, Eagle Lake High, where Frank Jr. happens to be starting left tackle." "He's so proud of the kid he goes out and buys him a brand-new Dodge pick-up." "Then, to make it really special, he calls the Governor's assistant for a little help in getting plate nbr. 76," "Frank Jr.'s football number." " You're way out of line, pal." " Coleco calls once." "He can't get through." "He leaves a message." "He calls back again." "The Governor's assistant is still in conference." "His secretary calls back two days later and says his request for plate 76 will be considered!" "What is the thought there?" "You're turning a philosophical disagreement into a vendetta?" "Our office has never delivered" "Just get him the goddamn plate, all right?" "!" "Well, as you know, I've lived in this state all my life." "And I've got a lot of confidence in the plain horse sense of the voters of New Mexico." "That they'll be able to see the real issues of this campaign, who has the experience and the proven ability to lead and that we simply cannot afford a governor who needs on-the-job training." "Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen." "Pardon me." "Hi there!" "Thanks, people." "Thanks." "Right!" "Hey, you're looking good over there!" "That's good, Frank." " Real good, Frank." " I'm worried, Will." "Oh, there's nothing to worry about." " He's starting to move." " Well, of course he is." "He started so far down he got no place to go but up." "But still, he's coming up in the poll." "Look, if can't beat some geek, maybe we don't deserve to win." "You're going to ice him, Frank." "Hi, there!" "How are you?" " You want him to hold?" "Excuse me..." " One minute." "What do you think of someone..." "What?" "Is this a joke?" "You're not serious, are you?" "And what about you, ma'am?" "What do you think of someone..." "Utterly preposterous, young man." "Not worthy of discussion." "From New Mexico?" "Is this some kind of affirmative action thing?" "A cow-boy, governor of New York?" "What do I think of a cow-boy governor of New York?" "C'mon, will you?" "Gee..." "Crazy." "Stupid!" "Wilfred, you are great." "McKusker from New Mexico for New Mexico." "You didn't have a date or anything tonight, did you?" "Not anymore." "Oh, wow." "Wallace!" "How're you doing?" "Yeah, yeah." "I just saw it." "It was terrific, huh?" "Yeah, Wallace..." "Wallace-- look-- Stop worrying, Wallace." "We'll be making a rebuttal commercial tonight." "Yeah, say it again." "Listen, can I call you right back?" "Yeah, right." "Thanks." "Helen?" "I want you to call Jack Rosack." "I want him to do a sweep of the offices, studios, everything." " Right away?" " Right away." " I want him to do the apartment, too." " The apartment-- okay, all right." "...Wallace Furman can give our state." "He didn't HAVE to come here." "He WANTED to." "Wallace Furman for governor." "A new vision for New Mexico." " Is that a buy, Pete?" " That's it." " I can go home now?" " Let's go home!" "This is the upper East side of New York." "This is Monte Carlo." "This is Beverly Hills, California." "Wallace Furman could have lived in any of these places." "Instead, he chose to live in New Mexico." "Not because it was more exciting or luxurious, but because, unlike Monte Carlo or Beverly Hills, it was a place that needed help, needed the energy and the new leadership that Wallace Furman can give our state." "He didn't HAVE to come here." "He WANTED to." "Wallace Furman for governor." "A new vision for New Mexico." "What about the photo session?" "Syd!" "Syd!" "I've got Pete on the line." "The newspaper you wanted me to research?" "We just got the overnights, we stopped the erosion." "That carpetbagger thing is a dead issue." "I know you don't need to hear this, but that mansion spot was brilliant." "Yeah, that was great." "Look, I'm going to be here one maybe two more days, and then back to New York." "I want to go over this stuff that Mitch sent, then we have to talk about the rehearsal for the debate." "Oh, almost forgot the best part." "Listen." "The story going around down there is that McKusker got the new numbers and he panicked." "I have it from two sources that he fired Wilfred Buckley and he hired John Dietrich." "Isn't that incredible?" "Jerome." "Yeah, Billings?" " He's doing everything he should?" " Mm-hmm." " The quality is...?" " Well, you've seen it." "The polling, the ads." "First rate." "I don't know..." "Baggage will arrive at the low level." "Buses for downtown Cleveland are available outside main hall." "Thanks for meeting me, Pete." "I thought you'd get out of all the travelling this year." "So did I!" " Spoken to Sam recently?" " Last week." "Talked about his illness?" "Off the record." "Not much." "Mostly about whether or not he's going to stay in Washington and practice law or go back to Ohio." "I don't think he's ill." "Is that so?" "I'm curious, how much do you actually know about Sam?" "Financially, I mean." "He's never had that much." "It's just his salary." "And Claire?" "Her family's got dough." "Yes, but she never got any, did she?" "Her father blew his share." "Did you know she needed scolarships..." " ...to get through college?" " You've been busy." "Pete..." "How many times have you been to their house?" "Have you ever wondered how they carried that place?" "Look, that house's gotta be worth at least $600,000." "The mortgage is under $200,000." "I know they didn't get anything like that when they sold the other house in Virginia." "Have you ever noticed the furniture?" "The antiques?" " Claire paid for those, all in cash." " What are you trying to tell me?" "That Sam's on the take?" "Is that it?" "Is that the line that'd let you win the Snoop-Of-The-Year award?" "Cause if it is, you've got this one little problem." "Why's he taking a walk?" "I don't have the story yet." "I don't know why he's leaving." "Pete, Sam is your friend." "If you're-- Any bad judgement" "You're talking to me, remember?" "You're praying so hard he's fucked up, you're salivating." "You're f" "You're fucked up." "Not him." "You're a fuck-up." "Look, there's a lot of stuff flying around Washington about why you're leaving." "About how you can afford all those antiques, about buying the new house." "As a friend I appreciate you telling me that, Pete." "I love my job." "A man couldn't ask for a better one." "But it's precisely because of crap like that I'm glad I'm getting out." "Those things are Claire's." "She collects them." "The money's from her inheritance." "Here you are, Mr. St. John." " Thanks." " You're welcome." "You were right." "I shouldn't have done that." "It was stupid." "I just wanted you to know that I... recognize that." "So..." "Maybe, buy you a drink?" "How'd you know I'd be here tonight?" "Well, the receptionist said you hadn't checked out, and your office in New York said you weren't due until tomorrow and..." "I saw Sam." "Oh." "You knew I would." "That's why you've been camping out here all night." "It's all right, it's okay." "You're good." "You're real good." "I mean, on that we've always agreed." "I'm going to tell you what Sam said." "He said the money came from her inheritance." "Christ, he lied to me." "For a politician, you'd think he'd be pretty good." "He was so fucking bad." "You've been lied to before." "Oh, yeah, right." "I forgot." "Are you going to hold that over me forever?" "Good old Saint Pete, who never told a lie to his wife." "You never asked." "Well, I'm asking now!" "How many?" "Times or women?" "Oh, let's keep this to one night." "Women." "All right, let's set the history straight here." "Towards the end, you and I were close if we were in the same time zone." "You got any idea what it's like to spend ten days massaging some poll?" "And wind up at 1:00 a.m. in some bar in Cleveland and notice some lady across the room with a lot of hair on her chin?" "Yes, I have an idea." "It must be like chasing a story for a week and a half, getting nothing but doors slammed in your face and ending up in some bar in the Ramada Inn in Akron, next to a guy with a clean shirt," "whose hands don't sweat?" "No." "Nothing like that at all." "Well, they're now in his room, fucking." "So what?" "They used to be married." "Look, what has he actually done?" "He went to see Hastings." "He's the best friend he's got." "We know he run a check on me." "You put him in touch with me, so, he run a check on you." "Now, he's screwing his ex-wife." "Uh, she's a problem." "I don't care how you cut it." "Trip to New Orleans, a session with Hastings wife" "I can't help but find that troubling." "All right, Billings, what are you going to do about it?" " Yeah." " Breakfast, sir." "Okay" " Didn't you order Canadian bacon?" " Uh-huh" "Didn't bring it." "...it comes!" "Television's most exciting hour of fantastic prizes!" "The fabulous 60-minute "Price is Right"!" "Tammy Garland!" "Come on down!" "Wally...!" "There's a tap on the phone." "My office phone too." "I found a bug." "Who?" "I'm not sure." "I don't know." "Arnold Billings." "Ever heard of him?" "He works out of Washington, does some kind of corporate PR." "But, why?" "I checked him out." "This is connected with Sam?" "Sam says no." "Andrea's on the line." "Today's poll is worse." "The shift is starting to build." "The feedback says it's coming from those family image spots." "A man called just before it's out of control." "He says the last couple of days have been total saturation..." "Hey, Mom." "Okay, get the voice." "Check the room 44, I think he's doing a new Pepsi spot." "Tell him to be at the studio at 11:00." "And I want you to go to the archives." "Jan shot some cover footage some time last year." "Somewhere in the middle of that there's about 10 seconds of some kid that looks like Ricky Schroeder that runs up to her and hugs her." "If you have some trouble finding that, ask Phil." " Are you okay?" " Yeah." "Governor!" "Word here is you've missed the cut for Mother Of The Year." "Have you seen this latest commercial?" "Not "The-Sanctity-Of-The-Family" one." "This one is grotesque." "They have these kids-- who aren't that cute, all lined up begging for a governor they can look up to." "You know, Andrea, you and I have this, uh this fantastic symbiosis." "Even more than with your husband." "You want to stay in office, I want to stay in business." "I think I'll be able to take care of it." "I want to destroy him now." "I swear I do." "Throughout her public life," "Andrea Stannard has shown the courage to fight for what she believes in, and the compassion to defend those who can't fight for themselves." "But lately, Albert Murdoch has chosen not to attack her beliefs." "Instead, he has smeared her personal life." "Smeared her family." "Smeared her name and reputation." "Albert Murdoch thinks that's the way you get elected Governor of Washington." "Do you?" "Andrea Stannard." "Courage, compassion." "Now, more than ever." "Okay, take it back to the top." "Let's animate it this time with the paint box." "We're ready, Pete." "You want the A. D. O.?" "Yeah, everything this time." "Jackson, you too." "Right, Pete." "Okay." "Hit the tape." "Throughout her public life, Andrea Stannard has shown the courage to fight for what she believes in, and the compassion to defend those who can't fight for themselves." "But lately, Albert Murdoch has chosen not to attack her beliefs." "Instead, he has smeared her personal life." "Smeared her family." "Smeared her name and reputation." "Albert Murdoch thinks that's the way you get elected Governor of Washington." "Do you?" "Andrea Stannard." "Courage, compassion." "Now, more than ever." "All right!" "Right!" "Yeah!" "How did I do?" "You got me so worked up, I nearly went up and register." "You want me Tuesday afternoon?" "Yeah, for the two new Cade spots." " Good night, people." " Good night." "Thanks." "Monday, Rosten's office called." "They said he's reconsidering running for mayor next year." "He might take a shot at the Senate." "They want to cancel his contract." "They even want their retainer back." "They say anything about us doing the Senate campaign?" " That's all they said?" " Yeah." "Wednesday, Gazziano called." "Pretty much the same thing." "They said he's reassessing his campaign plans for next year." "He's out." "Hmm." "Santa Fe Ground, Westwind-407-Whiskey to parking." "Santa Fe Ground to Westwind-407." "Roger." "Forget about the debate rules you learned in school." "Gary, just keep it rolling." "You can turn any question into what you want to say." "If the questions hit our key points, great." "If they don't, just slide off." "Keep pounding away on our themes, which are:" "Integrity, new ideas, no IOU's, no special interests." " All right?" " Right." "Okay, bring it down a little." "Now, you're going to find yourself very nervous." "That's to be expected, it's okay." "Don't forget McKusker is going to be nervous, too." "If your hands start to shake, just rest them on the podium, that's all." "Now, when he hits you with the rich boy shot, and you make your response, don't look at him." "Forget him." "Just look straight ahead into the camera." "Listen, what about the road tax?" "If we come out with a limited increase," " tied to the road tax, we can" " No, no,no!" "You want to win the uncommitteds?" "You've got to stay uncommitted." "Right there, okay, perfect." "Now, tomorrow night-- this is very important, when you and McKusker come out, if that key light isn't high hitting you dead on you just walk off." "Don't come back till they fix it, OK?" " Right." " All right." "Okay, let me see the opening statement again." "No, nothing, Ellen." "No, I just want to know if you found anything out yet." "Yeah." "Syd, come on." "Jack?" "Pete, you're going to have to fly back to New York commercial." " I've already booked you." " All right, what's the matter?" "I got back from dinner and the airplane was gone." "The guys in the hangar said a truck hooked it up and towed it." "They thought I knew about it." "We found it way the hell and back by the old runway." "Whoever it was, went through it, but I can't find anything gone." "I've got to hold it here and have it checked out tomorrow." "Do you have any idea what the hell is going on here?" "You have a visitor." "Mr. Buckley." "Send him in, Helen." "Ohhh, my!" "I thought you never came around these parts." "Yeah..." "Oh!" "I read someplace, uh-- Reader's Digest, that life is dynamic and you got to-- keep trying new things-- you got to" " I..." "I couldn't believe it when I heard about the McKusker thing." "It wouldn't be the first time I had a butt-head firing me." " What's that-- over there...?" " Yeah, go ahead." "Oh, thank you!" "Ah, it was a good lesson." "We'd lost focus." "He's crapping in his pants all the time about what you're going to do next." "I just let it get away from me." "What's this--?" "Ooh!" "Yeah, I lost control of the terrain." "Started reacting, and sure as shit, start losing the battle." "What now?" "I'm going to be in Ohio." " Ohio?" " Mm-hmm." " Westbrook" " You with Westbrook?" " No, with college professor Aarons." "Why, Will?" "The guy's a loser." "Well, it's real simple." "He's smart, he's straight, he needs the help, and I need the work." "I'm going down there, pull another 6 or 8 points, double his share-- it ain't impossible." "What he got going now, it'll make me look like a fuckin' miracle worker." "See?" "It's real simple." "Yeah." "Well, if they're out there, I've seen the polling..." "But, Will, we're not talking about undecideds planning to vote here." "You got 7 weeks to identify and roust 50,000 people about as removed from the system as he is." "That's when I figured that the votes wouldn't be coming from Cade." "Are you going to make me ask?" "Ask what, Will?" "Your demographics, goddamn it!" "The polls." "You're right." "There's no time." "There's no money." "I need them." "Listen to me," "I'm calling everything in." "After this, you owe nothing to me." "I owe--!" "I don't owe you anything now, all right?" "I left you for an opportunity." "You didn't want to go with the guy, I did, so I left." "He was slime!" "He didn't deserve getting you!" "And I didn't deserve being left in the middle of a campaign!" "I didn't deserve that from you!" "Hey-- goddamn it, are you going to make me beg?" "What in the hell did you do?" "We billed Cade over $200,000 for those two polls." "That makes him the biggest contributor to the Phil Aarons for U.S. Senate campaign." "It's illegal." "And it's stupid." "We're running short of time." "From now on, this campaign frames a single question:" ""Is it or isn't it time for a change?"" "Now, we reshape the question, and make the other two guys part of the problem." "But, the critical thing is, we don't get bogged down trying to come up with the answers!" "By November, there's going to be a feel out there that you can do a better job to find them." " Look, I know you're" " Phillip!" "I could squeeze you out the whole foot and a half of bullshit, but neither of us has the time." "Everything I learned in the last 26 years boils down to this:" "if they like you, they'll vote for you." "Period." "People don't vote issues, they vote people." "Yeah, but the whole point of" "Phillip, you're the best guy running, am I right?" "I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe that, right?" "I think that's why you called me, in the first place." "Now, the leaves are starting to turn." "We got a debate coming up, Phillip, with statewide exposure." "You got a question you got to answer:" "Phillip, are you running for office or running for principle?" "I hope I'm running for both." "Oh, Phillip..." "Phillip!" "I'm personally convinced you'll do a hell of a job once you get in, but you got to get through that door!" "What's the price of admission?" "Why just kiss off the middle class?" "I've seen some intriguing numbers." "A lot of them out there like what you're saying, but they're not going to vote for you." "You know why?" "Because they don't really know you." "They think they know you." "They see you without a tie, wearing an old beat-up jacket and chinos..." "They get frightened!" "We're throwing those votes away!" "On the gut issues, you're not that far away from them." "You got to ease off on the ones that you are, though." "Look, Phil." "They're scared about the future." "Whether or not they're going to have a job next year." "You got to make sure they really listen to you." "They all turn off when you stand up wearing a flannel shirt, and hiking boots, looking like you just came off a picket line." "Yeah." "That's all you got to do." " Are you through with the file?" " Yes, I think so." "I just want to make quite sure, if there were any outstanding notes on their property, any liens, things like that, it would be recorded here?" "Well, are they residents here and is the property here?" " Yes, Georgetown." " Then, it'll be here." "Okay." "Thank you." "Yeah, Ellen." "All right, fellows, bring the boxes in here." "What?" " What is going on out there?" " The pipes in the basement burst." "There's 6 inches of water down there." "Yeah, say it again." "No, don't say it over the phone." "I'll meet you there." "4:30, right?" "Yeah, bye." "What time will you be back?" "It never opened." "The construction costs went way over budget and they couldn't get the rents they were asking." "I don't get it." "The owner is the Liberty Mall Development Corporation." "General partners Arnold Billings and Claire Hastings." "He advanced me some money." "A lot of money for my share in the partnership." "Well, I bought this house and-- redecoration got out of control, I took a second advance." "in anticipation of profits, when they-- sold the share to the limited partners and the rents started coming in." "That whole neighborhood was due for urban renewal, until it got killed in some goddamn committee." "And, ludicrous as it may seem," "I still believed, even then, that in the end everything was going to turn out all right." "When did Billings start leaning on you?" "In January." "He said a couple of clients would be hurt by the new solar design and he asked me to persuade Sam to stop pushing it." "I told him he was crazy!" "I mean, my God, Sam-- wouldn't listen to me on the abortion!" "It was damned sure he wouldn't listen on solar generation." "This went on for a month, six weeks, and then, he brought up a surprise:" "the money." "How much money did he give you?" "380,000 dollars." "A little more." "What was so funny was I thought that I could handle it-- and him!" "Even when he started to..." "I still thought that I-- it was only a little kind of intimidation." "And then, one day, he-- walked right past me into Sam's office, and laid it on the line." "Laid it on the line!" "And he asked Sam to kill the appropriation." "Sam threw him out of the house!" "And then-- because of me, because-- of what might happen to me, he's walking away from a job that he's put his life and soul into." "Remember when you were here last and you spoke about friendship?" "You didn't tell me that you had come here to dig up something on us, but after you had left, I knew why you had come!" "That was one thing I could figure out for myself!" "When you write this, make sure I am the monster." "Right, right, right." "Just send it to me." "If, uh, if I have any questions I'll get back to you." "Yeah, okay." "I had a long talk with Claire Hastings last night." "Well, I happen to know Mrs. Hastings quite well." "I don't know if she told you, but we were business partners." "I'm out." "I assume that means you're resigning from the Cade campaign." "Is that what you mean, Mr. St. John?" "The plane." "The phones." "Two clients cancelling out, what was the point?" "The point-- to what?" "The point is I didn't trust you, okay?" "I didn't want you on this campaign." "One, you're much too close to Hastings and, out of nowhere, this Aarons jumps in the race, and your old pal Buckley is calling the shots on that one?" "No, no." "Look, we hired you to do a job, Mr. St. John, and it wasn't to investigate me and my company and it sure wasn't to exchange information with your ex-wife." "Look, we wanted you to know that if you really did try and screw us, that something bad could happen to you." "That's the message we were trying to convey." "Now, the plane, the phones merely dramatic illustrations." "Don't you walk out on me." "Oh, you think it's all some kinda game, don't you?" "You just walk in, you jerk the locals around, you put in whoever's paying you and you leave." "It is no fucking game!" "You are deciding who's running this country, who's running other countries." "I care about that." "My clients have to deal with the consequences." "You don't give a shit!" "Look, I, uh" "Come on, we're the same guys, you and me." "Why don't you just do what you've always done?" "Just elect Cade, and get paid, and leave." "What is the problem, Peter?" "I hate this." "You're going to do good, Phillip." "Real good." " I've got an idea." " What?" "Instead of me trying to impersonate a statesman, when it's my turn to speak maybe we should just turn down the lights and run "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"." "Now we're starting to move." "You could feel it on our last trip." "You're framing the right message and it's getting through." "Will" "I know this is a real bad time." "Could I have a couple of minutes?" "Yeah, you're right, it is bad." "We're just on our way out." "Phillip, this is Pete St. John." "I've read about you." "Yeah." "Hello." "We'll talk later, uh?" "Look, I gave you two polls." "You can give me two minutes." "What did I give you?" "What did you do with it?" "I sold out!" "All right, Will?" "I sold out!" "He thinks because he won't work for someone like Cade, ...makes everything okay." "It makes me a shit and him, some kind of a holy crusader." "We're the same!" "He got you this suit, right?" "New haircut." "Contacts." "And what you've been saying has started to shift?" "Have you softened anything you were saying before he came along to help you out?" "Hmm?" "Well, that's OK." "That's his job, to get you in." "Once you're elected, you can do anything you want to do." "That sound familiar?" "Look, I know I'm going to hurt your feelings, but you don't have a chance." " You got a lot of gall" " No, no, no, no" "It's OK, Wilfred." "I want to hear this." "You're a bright guy, you teach college, just can't be news." "You do not have a prayer." "It's just one of those awkward realities we don't say out loud in front of the paying clients." "Instead of just going back and teach History why don't you go out there tonight and make some?" "You got nothing to lose!" "Why don't you go out there stand up and say exactly what you think?" "What you think!" "Maybe even what you feel!" "Not what the polls say, or what Wilfred says, or what I" "Are you saying I can't handle my client?" "Wilfred, I'm not talking about you." "You're the best of all of us." "But it doesn't mean a damn who's running the show!" " It's a show!" " What do you want to do?" "Go back to the old days?" "Like it was before?" "Have the machines put their boys in?" "Is that what you want?" "Have the newspapers in charge?" "Have the "Los Angeles Times" create another Richard Nixon?" "If you want to walk, just walk." "Go ahead." "You shit on your own life, not on mine." "Come on, Phillip." "We're irrelevant." "But you're staying." "Those people there sure as hell aren't going anywhere." "Can you look at 'em and say exactly what you feel?" "I'm not saying you may not make a horse's ass of yourself." "But, just the spectacle of something human out there may make hordes of people come tumbling out of their homes in a huge tidal wave of emotion and vote for you." "You read the papers, you got to know there's a higher voters' percentage in Bolivia than in the U.S." "I don't know, maybe they feel connected to what's going on." "Maybe it takes too much in America-- too much energy, too much attention to follow it all." "Maybe that's why they like to get their candidates predigested, prepackaged, like TV dinners." "I've become a very rich man believing that." "Prove me wrong." "Hi, Pete." "Syd, come on." "We can watch from the booth." "As President of the Ohio League of Women Voters," "I wish to personally welcome you to the United States Senatorial debate tonight." "The order of opening and closing statements was determined this afternoon by lot." "Mr. Aarons will give the first opening statement, followed by Mr. Westbrook and Mr. Cade." " Mr. Aarons." " Thank you, Mrs. Bernhardt." "For those of you who still don't know who I am," "I'm the guy for whom this job actually means a raise in pay." "Ladies and gentlemen!" "Ladies and gentlemen!" "Ladies and gentlemen..." "I would like to remind you to please refrain from any kind of public demonstration during the debate." "I, uh, feel very uncomfortable right now." "I feel uncomfortable standing up here, under all these lights, trying to fit what I believe in into a 180 seconds." "But more than that," "I feel uncomfortable with the job of being a candidate." "With trying to convince you that by electing me to the U.S. Senate you're going to get a better job, you're going to make more money, that your lives are somehow going to magically improve," "because that's not going to happen." "It's not going to happen if you elect me, or Mr. Cade or Mr. Westbrook." "Therefore," "I am not going to ask you now for your vote." "I am going to ask that you listen to me for the next few minutes, and during the rest of the debate, and then just think about what I've said." "I think that, above all else, our real problems-- chronic poverty, shrinking resources, are long-term." "But the solutions we're being given are designed to get the politicians elected, not to solve the problems." "Ladies and gentlemen!" "Ladies and gentlemen!" "Once more I remind the audience not to cheer or applaud." "You only take time away from your candidate." "You only take time away from your candidate." "Thank you." "Right now, right here in Ohio, why can't we be the first to forget about the election?" "And think past November." "And past next year." "And-- maybe even beyond our own lifetimes and begin to really think about the real answers." "If there is an early pattern in this off-year election, is that the voters are sending a strong signal to the politicians, saying any politician who takes them for granted does so at his or her own peril." "For instance, Senate races in New York, Florida and Oregon, had been predicted by the experts as easy contests." "They're horse races." "Jim Hart, it's an hour or so before the polls close in the West." "What do our exit polls show us so far?" "Roger, one contest in which the experts appear to be right, though it was exceptionally bitter and hard-fought and closer than expected, is the New Mexico gubernatorial race." "Based on our numbers, we believe that congressman Frank McKusker will wind up with about 53% of the vote, defeating millionaire Wallace Furman who spend more than an estimate of $5,000,000..." "Wallace, I'm sorry!" "Oh, yeah, Wilfred called me last week." "Yeah?" "How is he?" "Well, he was pretty upset when he called." "Something about you storming in like the mad prophet of doom." "That's the way he put it." "He was pleased you left Cade." "But he seemed, hum-- upset about something you'd said to Aarons." "What did you say to him, Pete?" "He-- wouldn't be specific." "The truth, I think." "Finally, all he had to offer was himself." "Thank you." "Based on our ABC exit polls, and early results from key precincts in the State of Washington, we're now projecting that incumbent Governor Andrea Stannard will win a second four-year term..." "Thank God." "Well done." " Well done." " Thank you very much." "Thank you." "Thank you." "You having problems with your story?" "How do you mean?" "It's just that I haven't seen it yet." "I'm surprised, that's all." "No." "No, it's fine." "Just a-- a mess." "You having trouble finding sources?" "Oh, uh" "No, no." "What is it?" "I, uh" "I just" " I decided not to do a story about, uh..." "Sam and Claire, that's all." "Why?" "Well, first of all, Sam didn't commit any crime." "He didn't do anything wrong." "The only person who did anything was Claire." "Billings went into business with a Senator's wife and tried to influence his vote." "Of course, it's nasty and it's against all the rules, but it's just a question of degree." "The man's basically a lobbyist, right?" "That's what he gets paid for, trying to influence votes." "Do you know what the real story is?" "Foreign influence in American elections." "Do you know what I found out since--?" "That's what's going in next week, anyway." "I don't believe this!" "Even I think Sam and Claire's a terrific story." "I hate the idea of it" "You're not getting human on me, are you?" "Hey." "I don't believe this." "You're not blushing, are you?" " Hmm?" " Excuse me." "Certainly, one of the big surprises of this election night-- and we're having a lot of them-- was the apparent second-place finish by an independent running for the Senate in Ohio." "Phillip Aarons, not long ago, was an unknown college History professor." "He has been beaten by Michael Westbrook, a republican, but now clearly, and some say, miraculously, he will finish ahead of Jerome Cade in a contest that no-one had predicted." "As you can hear, the excitement and enthusiasm here at Phil Aarons' headquarters is running high and wild." "You get the impression from these young people that their man has just won the Presidency of the U.S., when in fact, he lost an election." "Phil's phools fooled the political experts by catapulting their man from a virtual unknown to a second place in the highly contested freeway..." "We are number two!" "Now, let's go to the podium for the man of the hour, in what many here consider to be a victory speech." "He's about to address his cheering supporters and the American public." "Good night." "Something that none of the comentators, none of the newspapers, none of the so-called "media wizards" predicted came into this race." "Something something human came into this race." "Some straight talk, some honest feeling, something that wasn't slick and prepackaged, that wasn't engineered by these media wizards," "We we, together, have achieved that historic moment in politics." "And we have come too far to turn back now." "Tonight tonight..."