"[ Man ] Previously on Tanner '88." "The old Dukester couldn't afford to hire any more outside consultants, at least not me." "If Dukakis can't afford to hire you, how can we?" "Hey, your man can't afford not to." "If you let me, in just a few days, I can show you how to go on that tube... and project strength and decisiveness... and an uncommon commanding presence that the people have been looking for." "Do it." "White-collar criminals whose actions damage the public health..." " Sweep." " or steal from the public estate... will be in for a rude awakening." " Passion, passion." " They will be subject to prison terms..." " and stiff fines." " [ Cheering ]" "Yes!" "Well, that whole makeover thing was just pure desperation." "I mean, up until that point, our whole selling point was personal authenticity." "You know, my realness." "And suddenly I've got a speech dynamics coach... who's teaching me about eye-clicking and the Sarnoff Squeeze." "[ Chuckling ] Jesus." "Well, actually, you know, that eye-clicking thing works pretty well when you're lecturing." "Even my students are afraid to look away." "Do you know his students out there at Michigan adore him?" "I'm not kidding." "They want him to run again." "A couple of his grad students have even put up a "Draft Tanner" website." "There's already about 20,000 people registered on it." "[ Laughing ] Can you believe it?" "[ Female Interviewer ] Ifhe ran, would you manage him again?" "[ Chuckles ] Would I manage him?" "Oh, ho, ho." "[ Stevie On TV] Okay, we ready?" "Reverend Jackson, it's your turn to pose a question to Congressman Tanner." " Keep it to 30 seconds, please." " Thank you, Linda." "Jack, all of the candidates, including myself, support the war on drugs." "You alone want to declare a unilateral truce." "Do you really think advocating the decriminalization of heroin... crack and P.C.P. represents responsible leadership?" "Well,Jesse, with all due respect, I think America is tired... of being led into wars that it cannot win." "If you'll recall... former President Nixon was the first person to launch this war on drugs... and now he wants us to use our soldiers to seal off our borders." "This is the same former President Nixon... who couldn't seal off South Vietnam from North Vietnam... and he had over 500,000 troops to get the job done." "We've gotta get real about drugs." "We've got to relearn the lessons of prohibition." "Any law that creates a criminal class of 25 million Americans..." " is a law that lacks the moral - - [ Stevie ] Force of consensus." "Yeah, better." "But you gotta get off that mark faster,Jack." "You need velocity." "Velocity creates airstreams." " Leaves all the other schmucks gasping." "So what you're saying is..." " down with hope and up with dope." " No, that's not what I'm saying at all." "You know,Jack, with all due respect to your message of defeatism... in Massachusetts we're winning the war on drugs." "I've created several model programs that are the envy of this nation." "Well, I think your drug council's at variance with that claim, Mike." "Wham." "There you go." "There's your silver bullet, kemosabe." "Dukakis goes on the defensive." "Stevie, can we substantiate that?" " No, we can't." " You still haven't answered my question." "Are you saying that you would sell P.C.P. at the local market like beer?" "Jack,you can't use that about Dukakis." "His drug council supports him." "Remember that." "I've created a cost-efficient, seven-point policy initiative... that will end the war on drugs... in the first year of the third quarter of my second term as president." "No, Gore would never say that." "Come on." " I'm not Gore,Jack." "Gore's out." " Concentrate,Jack." "It's Dukakis." "Okay, now what about crack?" "Would you sell it at football games?" "Jesse, that comment is not up to the level of" " I can do a pretty good Gore, though." " Would you forget Gore?" "[ Whistles ] Forget Gore,Jesse, all right?" " He's notJesse." "He's Mike." " Whatever." "You're saying you really wouldn't mind if your daughter used heroin." " Oh, fuck you,Jesse!" "That's the " "Jesus Christ." "You gonna say that,Jack?" "Remember, this isn't your advocacy." "This is just a proposal, long-term, and you got 30 seconds to do it, all right?" "[ Stevie ] It's very important,Jack." "You cannot advocate legalization here." " All right." "Okay?" "Okay." "Hey, good." "Let's do AI DS." "Governor?" " Are you looking at me?" " Yes, please." "AIDS, AIDS." " As the son of Greek immigrants - - [ Laughing ]" "Well, he says that every two seconds." " [ Barney ] I love the humor." " We are proud to " "Hold it." "Save it for San Francisco." " Which, by the way, is where we're going next, boys and girls." " San Francisco" "[ Whistling:" ""Exercise Your Right To Vote"]" "Well, I think the Kennedy-Nixon debate was a classic for its time, of course." "Solid-gold trickster." "But my favorite, I mean, my all-time favorite... was the George Smathers-Claude Pepper senate debate." " I saw it when I was living in Florida." " [ Tanner ] Uh-huh." "I mean, we are talking a triumph of innuendo." "First Smathers declared that Pepper's sister was a "thesbian. "" "Then he called Pepper's brother a practicing Homo sapien." "Then he accused the candidate himself of openly matriculating while in college." "Well, I can tell you, the next morning the entire state was in uproar." "And guess who won the election." " Who?" "Well, Smathers, of course." "Pepper was destroyed." "I mean, after all, back in those days, the folks from Florida did not cotton... to known matriculators." "[ Chuckling ]" "What a gorgeous tie." "Mind if I take a peek at the label?" " I'd just as soon you didn't." " Oh." "Well, I just wondered." "Looks like a Ralph Lauren." "It's just a necktie my daughter gave me." "So what are we gonna debate tonight, AI DS?" "Well, I suppose it will probably come up." "Yeah." "Oh, that's too bad." "I am so tired of that subject." "That's all the local politicians talk about." "You'd think the gays owned San Francisco." "I don't know about that, but it's a pretty important topic, don't you think?" " Evening, Congressman." " Linda." "Hi." "How are you?" "Well, I'm fine." "But I want you fresh for the debate tonight." "So don't letJennifer wear you down." "Jennifer?" " Yes, it's a family name." "I was named after my father." "[ Audience Applauding ]" "A bit about the ground rules now." "The panel will direct questions to specific candidates." "The candidate will then have 90 seconds to answer." "Following that, any other candidate who wishes to comment... will have 60 seconds to do so." "The order of questioning has been determined by lot." "When we return in a moment, Governor Robb will have the first question." " We'll be back." " [ Applause ]" "[ Barney ] Why don't you hang out near the wires?" "I'll keep Molly and David warm." " Okay." " Stay up on those gorgeous toes, Stevie." "IfJack breaks out on that drug thing, the conventional wisdom crowd... is going to need to know what to think." "I hope so." "I am stoked to stroke." "Excuse me." "Pardon me." " It's in her carriage, poise." " A real woman." "Joanna, do you have any room for me on the plane with you going back?" "They got me sitting next to Seidelman on the Tanner charter." "Hayes, we always have room for you." "[ Man ] Stand by." "Three, two, one." "You're on." "We're back." "Governor Robb, the first question is yours." "Thank you, Linda." "Since all of us know each other... we're gonna be a little bit informal, if we may." "Jesse, I'd like to start with you, if I may." "If voters want to take with them one or two thoughts about issues   [ Snoring ]" " What is your message?" "That's a tough one." "Keep in mind the guy's not a professional journalist." "We must stop the flow of drugs in this country." "It's the number-one threat on the streets of our nation today." "While visiting border patrolmen in the valley ofTexas a few weeks ago... we have 300 border patrolmen covering 600 miles of land and water... with one boat and one helicopter." " Patrolmen?" "Where was this?" " How should I know?" "You're with theJackson campaign, aren't you?" "Oh, sorry, Stevie." "Where'd you get that idea?" "[ Mutters ] Jesus." "[Jackson ] The amount of money involved in drug trafficking " "Our borders are militarily inferior... in terms of being protected from drug traffickers." "Jesse, as you may recall... it was former President Nixon who started the war on drugs... and who now advocates using the army to seal off our borders." "This is the same former President Nixon... who couldn't seal off South Vietnam from North Vietnam with 500,000 troops." "America's tired of being dragged into wars it can't win." " And the war on drugs is a loser." " [ Applause ]" "And any law that makes 25 million Americans criminals is a loser." "It's time to get real." "The only way to get drugs off our streets is through legalization." " [ Laughing ] He said it." " What?" " He said it." " Did he say "legalization"?" "There goes the street value of my stash." "...is not the Sandinistas." "It's this avalanche of drugs pouring into this country." "[ Applause ]" "[ Dukakis ] And we've gotta take it seriously... and we've gotta take enforcement seriously and interdiction seriously... and work with our democratic neighbors and allies in Central and Latin America to stop it." "This is how a party nominee behaves." "He doesn't have to be here." "I mean, the nomination is locked." "But, uh, that's Mike - all class, bringing people together." "Come on,Joanna." "You're giving me diabetes." "A number of political commentators argue that the media and the other candidates... have avoided criticizing your record for fear of charges of racism." "No, it's 'cause he's ugly." "Contradictory accounts of events... occurring immediately after the death of Rev. Martin Luther King... and reports of financial indiscretion within Operation Push... have received little attention." "Have you been subject to less scrutiny than the other candidates because you're black?" "I don't think so." "I've exposed myself to every major debate..." "[ Molly ] Oh,Jesse's gorgeous." " Really?" "Go to him." "Break his cycle of pain." "Make little rainbows." "We sit here today, black, white, brown, male, female..." " Animal, vegetable, mineral." " 'cause I have opened the doors for everybody." "That's character." "We now have a public accommodations bill." "That's character." "And I have the right to vote " "Jesse, your implication here is that if people don't support you... they're against all these things, they're racists." "And I just don't buy that." "I mean, I have more confidence in our countrymen than that." "I think people, with all due respect... are more than ready to elect a black president." " I just don't think they're ready for you." " Whoa!" "What did they put in his oatmeal this morning?" "Jesus, he's going ballistic." "[ Chuckling ]" " What kind of spin do we put on that?" " Okay, that could be a real loser." "No question." "But let's not panic." "Keep smiling." "[ Stevie ] Okay, he still respects Jesse and the work he's done... but he feels his campaign is becoming a referendum on bigotry." " Something like that." " I can live with that." "Let's do it." "[ Hayes ] Gaffe of the month." "Jesse's clean on the race issue." " It's just everybody else." " I disagree." "I think it's right on the money." "Jackson has never discouraged the view... that people who don't vote for him are rejecting him because of race." "I think you have to give Tanner credit for raising the whole issue of moral blackmail." "Molly, who is this over here in the white dress?" "Joanna Buckley." "[ Seidelman ] Buckley?" " As in Dukakis'deputy campaigner?" " Of course I'm not giving him credit." "All I was saying was I just didn't think we should overreact." "What the hell is she doing flacking forJack?" "Beats me." "[ Hayes ] Stevie, am I going crazy, or are they blindsiding Jackson here?" "[ Stevie ] How the hell should I know?" "Give me a break." "[ Man ] Countdown for commercial break." " Three, two, one." " Is she making a case for him?" "Hey, Congressman." "Let me wipe that blood off your chin." "You guys rang a lot of bells." "You are the story,Jack." "You know, I always thought party unity was overrated anyway." " Aw, Barney." " All right, so it wasn't the game plan." "But we're on it." "Stevie's already working the alligators." "Besides, we're in California." "People here could respond to the boldness of it." "There was something very Harry Truman about your directness." "You know, tough exchanges are what being president's all about." "Don't waste that on me, Barney." "Go back up Stevie." "We'll do the postmortem on the plane tomorrow." " You got it." "Good night." "Come on, everybody." " See you back at the hotel, okay?" "Jack, we gotta talk." " All right." "We'll talk." "[ Andrea ] To Vincent and Tovah Spinelli " "[ Exhales ]" "Thank you, thank you, thank you." " You want a beer?" " No." "[ Chuckling ]" " Well, well, well." " Geez." " You and Jesse." " Yeah,Jesse and me." "What did you do, go to the Ed Koch school of political diplomacy?" "Well, what do you think I did to myself out there?" "I don't know, but I wouldn't run for mayor of New York." "He is a dominant force, this guy, isn't he?" "I got mad." "I lost it out there." "Well, first of all, he's a very strong personality." " And he's hard to interrupt." " You're telling me." "And he's also - he's a preacher." "And I'm a good Methodist kid from Texas." "I was raised, you don't interrupt the preacher." "Yeah, boy." "But, uh, I think I may have upset my happy band of followers." "I'll be on the old charter tomorrow." "I'll hear the results." "Well, you may upset them, but it made good television." "It's like the Bush-Rather brouhaha." "People kept saying, "Was Bush right?" "Was Rather right?"" "Well, Rather's capable of being a pompous ass." "Bush is certainly capable of being a wimp." " But it was great television." " Goddamn it." "It's about making great television, isn't it?" "You know, somehow we've gotta crack through that." "I mean" "Yeah, I suppose." "And Lord knows, we contribute to it." "I mean, we don't wanna " "Television can cover a war." "Television can cover a birth." "It can cover a highway accident." "But what television can't cover very well is change." "And an election is change." "A campaign is change." "We don't do a very good job of that." "If you asked me, I think anybody- any one of you - after having gone through the process... anyone who goes through that whole process and gets to the White House... probably is somebody you don't want there." " [ Chuckling ]" " I remember back in 1 980... a group of us wanted to... save the American people and the press a lot of time and money." "Cancel all the debates, cancel the campaign... and just put Rosalynn Carter and Nancy Reagan into a pit." "And whichever one of them came out, her husband could be president." " Oh,Jesus." " I know which one I would have bet on." "[ Man On P.A.] This is your pilot." "I'm going to turn off the seat belt signs... so you can move around in the cabin." "But I suggest you keep them buckled when you're in your seats,just in case." "[ Barney Whispering ] Let's not worry about it." " You all right, sweetie?" " Yeah, I'm all right." "Now, look, honey, if you're gonna get sick, use the air bag this time." " Don't want to have any accidents like last time." " Yeah, okay." " [ Emile ] Yeah, please." " It's not funny!" "Sorry." "Oh, God." "I gotta go to the bathroom." " Five bucks says she blows lunch." " Oh, that's funny, Deke." " All right." "What's the damage report?" " Well, it's not as bad as we thought,Jack." "Yeah, you were in every lead, but it was that drug line that made the news." "TheJackson attack landed with the reporters, but it didn't stick." "My guess is they're so used to Mr. Nice Guy, they weren't sure it really happened." "The press is clearly dancing around trying to find reasons to ignore it." "So why don't we help them?" "My advice is to drop it while the dropping is good." "Exactly." "Why?" "I meant it." "I've known the guy 20 years." "He's manipulative beyond belief." "Come on, Stevie." "Ask anybody who works for him." "It's force of will." "He makes you debate the way he wants to." "And then when you do, you're lost, you're sunk." "Yeah, but what have you lost?" "It's too late to draw votes from Jesse." "Jack, face it." "We're out of the picture altogether... if we don't go into Atlanta with at least a working relationship with him." "I mean, no matter what your personal opinion..." "JesseJackson is important, and notjust to blacks." " He's made the whole party look ahead." " Excuse me." "And how?" "By using your famous impertinent question over and over again." "All right." "Okay, Stevie." "I'll lay off him." "Yeah, but you wanna back off the drug thing,Jack, right?" " That's a killer." "That is cutting edge." " Right." "Stick with it." "All right." "All right, all right." "That's true, Dad." "But I - I think that's true... but I think you should be - [ Exhales ] you should be more specific about what you do." " I mean, it's a really big issue out here." " Okay, thanks, Alex." "There are so many pot growers in this state you wouldn't believe it." "If you promised to appoint one of them to the Department of Agriculture" "I said thank you, Alex." "Well, excuse me." "I thought I was a part of this campaign." " Alex." " It's all right." "I'll go back." "I'll sit in the children's section." "It's fine." "[ Seidelman ] Ah!" "Royal flush." " I haven't had one of those since college." " Against a full house." "I'll take that blouse now, Molly." "Molly, why do you still play this guy?" "You haven't won a hand in two months." "I'm hustling him, Stringer." "I'm just waiting for my big moment." " Stringer." " Uh, bathroom's mine." "Tell me something." "What do you know aboutJoanna Buckley?" "Nothing.Just that she's Dukakis' deputy campaign manager." " Does Jack know her?" " Does Jack know her?" "Yeah, does Jack know her?" "I don't know." "I suppose it's possible that they've run into each other." "[ Pilot ] Folks, this is your captain speaking." "I'm afraid that we've got a little problem with the fuel line in our number two engine." "There's no reason for concern." "We've got the situation pretty well in hand." "But as an extra precaution prior to our landing... we're going to stay up here another hour or so and burn off some fuel." "We'll keep you posted." "In the meantime  [ Seidelman ] This isn't my seat." " Well,just for now, take this seat." "All right." "Oh, God." " I can't stay on this plane another hour." " It's okay." "It's all right." " I swear to God." "I have to get off." "Just fasten your seat belt." " It's probably not an hour." " Oh, God. what do you think is wrong?" "Nothing." "Probably nothing." "Miss." "I want a cigarette." "I want a cigarette." "I want a cigarette." "La, la, la bamba" "I think the worst one of all was on the Carter plane... uh, in Iowa during the blizzard." "Remember?" "Yeah, that was pretty hairy." "There wasn't a dry pair of pants on the plane. [ Chuckles ]" "Oh, my God, that was character building." "I was kind to people for weeks after that." " Alex, talk to me, please." " I don't wanna talk." "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean to upset you." "I just thought that now was the best time for me to tell you how I feel about you." "Emile, I don't mean to be cold... but you have picked absolutely the worst time in the world to tell me this." " How do you feel about her, dude?" " Deke, I swear to God!" "All right, all right." "Cool out." "Oh, look what we have here." "Good morning." " Deke, what are you doing?" " Nothing.Just talk." " You're crazy, you know that?" " You're looking back on your life." "Reflecting on what might have been." "What comes to mind?" " [ Screams ] -[ Deke ] It's okay.!" "Only a little turbulence.!" "Jesus!" "[ Chuckles, Sighs ]" " Oh!" "Thank you anyway." "Whatever." "Get this.Jack's plane ran into some mechanical trouble." " What?" " They're already a half hour late." "I hate airports." "Here's the sports." "[ Barney Muttering ]" "[ Barney ] God, pray for us sinners now and at... [ Gulp ] the hour" "[ Continues Muttering ]" " What's going on up there?" " [ Sighs ]" "A lot of"Yups" and "Nopes" and "Yes, ma'am"... twinkling eyes and boyish grins." "The flight engineer's taking apart a computer." " But nobody seems particularly rattled." " I'm gonna go check on Lexy." "Okay." "Does he know that we're not scheduled to make any history today?" "Why is it taking so long?" "How much fuel could we have?" "Oh, hey." "Any parting thoughts, big guy?" " Get out of here." "[ T.J.] Barney, stop praying out loud." "Dad." "It's almost over, sweetheart." "It's almost over." "So, how long have you guys been waiting?" "Oh, hey." "There's Hayes Taggerty." "Hayes, what do you got on Congressman Tanner?" "Come on, leave." "Hey, don't be so concerned." "They're just burning fuel." "That's all." "You know about us, don't you?" "It's none of my business,Joanna." "Unless, of course, you feel like talking about it." "Oh, my God." "Oh, my God." "Oh, my God." " [ Molly ] What?" " Molly, are you a Sinatra fan?" " Sometimes." "Yeah." " Channel nine." "Oh, oh, oh." "Yo, Molly, you still my main squeeze?" "You know I am, Tony." "Then dance with me, baby." "[ Chuckling ]" "[ Humming ]" "To look death in the face " "Deke, don't point that thing at me, whatever you do." "[ Bell Sounds ]" "[ Pilot ] We seem to have been able to close off that fuel line to engine two... so everything's pretty much under control." "We should be on the ground in about five minutes." "That's the best news I've ever heard." "He can hear it better when you talk louder." "I knew it." "You'd better sit down." "We're gonna land now." "[ Sighs ]" "[ Deke ] The grim reaper." "Congressman, we're safe." "[ Chattering, Shouting ]" "Oh, yeah, oh, yeah" "[ Molly ] No, this one is mine, all right?" "This is mine." "You wanna tell us what happened on the plane?" "Hayes!" "Now, where were you?" "You were missed." " Where in the hell were all you guys?" " I got a royal flush." " I'm feeling very sentimental about you." " Oh, come on." " Yeah, where were you?" " Seidelman, how many drinks have you had?" " Only a few." " What is this?" "What the hell happened?" "[ Stringer] Hi, folks." "How you doing?" "[ Chattering, Shouting Continues ]" "[ Hayes ] Cheap airline." "They wouldn't pass out the Globe here, would they?" "So?" "[ Ringing ]" "[ Continues Ringing ]" " Yeah?" " It's T.J.." "Turn on channel four now." "Okay." "[ Man ] The forecast, plenty of sunshine through today with seasonal temperatures" "[ Molly ] The Washington Post is reporting this morning... that Democratic presidential candidate Jack Tanner is romantically linked... with the deputy campaign manager for his chief political rival..." "Governor Michael Dukakis." "The Post story says that sources have confirmed that the woman,Joanna Buckley... has been involved with Tanner since before he joined the race." "Party leaders reached this morning confirmed... that the liaison represents an untenable conflict of interest for both parties." "The congressman could not be reached for comment." "This is Molly Hark, NBC..." "Hollywood." "I don't know what to do " "Stringer, look,just tell - [ Stammering ]" "Tell Governor Dukakis that Congressman Tanner will call him back... at his earliest possible moment." "Yes, he's - Tell him he's in theJacuzzi." "Stringer, goddamn it." "This is yourjob." "Handle it." " [ Receiver Slams On Cradle ] - [ Sighs ] Oh, God." "[ Chuckles ]" "You gotta help me out on this one,Jack." "I'm trying to understand." "I never should have tried to hide it in the first place." "That was a mistake." "It was a mistake." "Boy, you're damn right it was a mistake." "You compromised not one, but two presidential campaigns." "What in the hell were you thinking of?" "I was thinking of someone I cared about, T.J." "That's it?" "You cared about someone?" "[ Scoffs ] Jesus, that's lame,Jack." "What is it about guys like you and Hart?" "Hey, I'm not Gary Hart." "And this is hardly the same situation." "Oh,yes, it is." "And you know why?" "Because you acted recklessly... and you never for a moment considered the consequences for others." "A lot of good people turned their lives inside out to work for you,Jack." "They left theirjobs." "They left their families." "And, Christ, it's like you didn't even notice." "Tell me,Jack." "Do you think running for president is important?" "Of course I think it's important." "What kind of horseshit is that?" "Then why don't you start acting like it?" "You act like it's a goddamn lifestyle choice." "Like you were on sabbatical, had a year to kill." "I am so tired of watching you disengage... whenever you feel like it." "I'll tell you,Jack." "You're right about one thing." "It is important." "It sure as hell is much more important than this year's girlfriend." "This year's girlfriend?" "Look, let's get married." "Why not?" "There's no reason not to now." "Just let me go lose my job first, okay?" "No, I don't think I'm being combative, and I resent that." "We're just saying we don't have any statement " " What's the press situation?" " The phones have been ringing all morning." "There must be 30, 40 reporters crawling all over this place." " They're expecting a statement." " What's on the schedule?" "[ Barney ] You got a speech in 30 minutes out at Pepperdine University." "Now, dig this." "The storm last night washes out the highway... so we got you a helicopter." " A helicopter?" " I knew you'd want to fly again right away." "You know what they say." "You gotta get right back up on that horse." " Is it here?" " Yeah, it's out back on the lawn." "I always wanted to do this." "Go up and get my jacket." " Come on, let's go." "[ Molly ] There he is." " I got it." " Come on, Deke." "Move it." "[ Stringer ] Give us some room, folks." "[ Helicopter Blades Whirring ] -[ Reporters Clamoring ]" "[ Reporter Shouts ] What the hell is he doing?" "[ Reporter Shouts Question, Inaudible ]" "[ Blades Continue Whirring ]" "[ Reporter ] What the hell is he doing?"