"Do you renew your commitment to this woman as your lawful wedded wife, to love her, honor her, comfort her, keep her in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, be true to her, as long as you both shall live?" "I do." "Do you renew your commitment to this man as your lawful wedded husband, to love him, honor him, comfort him, keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, be true to him, as long as you both shall live?" "I do." "May this renewed commitment deepen your love for each other and strengthen your eternal bond." "ONE MONTH EARLIER" "Francis?" "No photographs when they unload his body." "Will you promise me that?" "A lot of people are calling you a hero." "A lot of people aren't." "Francis, I will get this peacekeeping resolution passed through the General Assembly." "I owe you that." "So we have the photograph tomorrow for the presidential portrait." "It's what they're gonna base the painting on." "I'll be smiling." "Will you?" "What are they doing?" "Part of a..." "cultural exchange, sir, with Tibet." "They'll be here for a month." "A month?" "Don't worry, your handwriting's atrocious." "Couldn't read a thing." " Tom." " I know." "Kate Baldwin." "I know." "Oh." "Gold stars for us." "It only took two months riding on the same plane to introduce ourselves." "Maybe I'm shy." "Oh, no, you're not." "You just don't mingle with the peasants." "If one of us is a peasant, I think it's me." "I'm sorry I can't stay here in Gaffney with you." "It's okay." "I'll see you tomorrow." "Maybe tonight, if all goes well." "Feeling optimistic?" "I made you a promise." "Well, go on." "You have a plane waiting." "Thank you." "Tom." "The Republicans are introducing a bill that amends the Stafford Act." "They say that the siphoning of FEMA funds for America Works" " violates the appropriation." " So let them." "It's got bipartisan support." "Dunbar's going to publicly support the bill." " What about Jackie?" " She's trying to stay out of it, but if it goes to a vote, she's gotta go with the tide." "We don't want her poll numbers to take a hit as she's starting to gain on Dunbar." "If they pass the bill, I'll veto it." "If they override, I'll refuse to enforce." "By the time it gets to the Supreme Court, we'll have jobs to show, they'll have nothing but rhetoric." "This is a public relations battle," " not a legal one." " Statement?" "Just what I just said, less combative." "So, how do we want to do this?" "I think the First Lady should sit." "You behind her." "Does that work for you, Mrs. Underwood?" "Uh, yes, whatever works best." "Let me adjust the light for her, and then I'll place you, sir." "The African bloc just added a provision to the peacekeeping resolution." "What does it say?" "Requires African command of the forces." "It's a poison pill, Francis." "There's no way Israel or Palestine will get on board with that." "You think the Russians are behind it?" "Probably." "Cathy and I are investigating." "All right, Mr. President." "Just behind your wife, please." "Do you prefer I not?" "What?" "Where you had your hand is perfect." "Great." "All right." "Here we go." "A little more of a smile, please." "Come in." "Any luck today?" "Moryakov... says it wasn't them." "Not that I trust him." "So now I just need to see if I can get Zimbabwe to talk." "Today, when we took the photo..." "I touched your shoulder." "Yes?" "You flinched." " What?" " I felt it." "No, I didn't." "It was like... you recoiled." "I think you're reading too much into something that I don't think actually happened." "All right." "Forget I said anything." "Wait." "I just..." "Never mind." "I don't know what I was gonna say." "Good night." "House must've been somewhere out there." "Well, if you can call it a house." "It was no bigger than that truck." "Nothing left of the farm, which is for the best." "Peaches didn't want to grow here anyway." "That's what you get for planting on land with solid rock two feet below the topsoil." "You know, that's one of the points that we should make in the book, that hard work is only worth it in the right conditions." "We want to set people up for success." "Vocational training, legitimate career paths." "Welcome back." "How was Gaffney?" "Do we have a time set for Ambassador Caspi yet?" "Her office is stalling." "Get her schedule." "We'll go wherever she is." "I think she'll be at the cocktail reception tonight" " at the Mexican Consulate." " I'll call and find out." "What's that?" "It came in for you this morning." "Francis?" "John Pasternak." "Michael Corrigan's husband." "The latest pile of interview requests is on your desk, most of them Corrigan related." "And GLAAD wants you to be a keynote speaker at their Media Awards Ceremony." "How did he know?" "About your vows?" "It's been in the news." "No, that I liked tulips." " Did your mother work?" " As a maid, mostly." " In high demand, because she was white." " Mm-hm." "People assumed she wouldn't steal any valuables, but of course she did." "Uh-huh." "I remember one night, she came home with two sapphire earrings." "She took them to the pawn shop in Spartanburg the next day, but she wore them all night long, even slept in them." "I guess she wanted to know what it felt like to have real jewelry, even if it was just for a few hours." "That does not go in the book." "Why didn't your parents have any more kids?" "That's not relevant to what we're doing." "I'm just trying to get a sense of your family." "The barn must've been somewhere right over there." "My father used to escape in there to get away from us." "Usually brought a bottle with him." "Did you love your father?" "He was a good man, down deep." "He cared for us greatly." "Worked hard to put food on the table." "Didn't always succeed, but that wasn't for a lack of trying." "See... that's not an answer." "I asked you if you loved your father, you don't tell me." "You tell me what you want me to write." "Which is what you've done since the beginning." "It's time to start telling the truth." " You think I've been lying?" " I know you have." "The only time you haven't is that one night in the White House." "The worst adventure I've ever been on." "I can promise you..." " I don't get it." " The game is unwinnable." " What is the point?" " That is the point." "I find it unlikely that we'll ever progress by starting over and over again." " But it's got to be better than this." " Oh, God." "Okay, let's give it a shot." "Why not?" " Something was very clear." " It just started over again." "It keeps doing that over and over." "Ignore his instructions, he sends you back." "What if I follow his instructions?" " Hm..." "Chaos takes over." "Randomness." " Ah." "It's impossible to follow the rules." "Another time." "It's too much like my real life." "Mm..." "Besides, we shouldn't be playing games." "You should be asking me questions." "You're getting me drunk." " I won't remember what I asked." " Mm..." "The last time I got this drunk, I broke into a library." " In Charleston, my alma mater." " Hm..." "The Sentinel." "I almost puked all over myself." "That's Chapter Eight:" ""POTUS Blows Chunks."" "Can you keep it down, please?" " Come join us." " So sorry." " I was asleep." " Oh." "We'll..." " We'll move into the study." " Thank you." "Francis?" "I'll be right there in a minute." "I don't like him being up here." "We'll be more quiet." "This is our private space." " He's my guest." " He's a stranger." "All right." "After tonight, no more." "I'm not being unreasonable." "I should've... realized how much noise we were making." "Can I ask you a question?" "Well, that's what you're here for, isn't it?" "Why don't you sleep in the same room?" "Uh, that just sorta happened over... a few months after we moved in here." "Everything okay?" "Between you two?" "Oh, you bet." "Well, it's been better." "No, it's not okay." "The fight." "Coming back from Moscow." "You heard us?" "The yelling." "Not what you said." "Hm..." "We don't fight often, but, uh..." "This one... scabs keep coming off." "Hm." "We said things." "Things you just can't take back." "It's late." "We should call it a night." "Thomas." "I have no interest in salaciousness." "August fourteenth is the anniversary of the New Deal." " I'd like to hit 20,000 by that date." " I believe we can do that, sir." "Remy, what's the timeline on the Senate bill outlawing FEMA funds?" "The Leg office predicts the Senate version will pass in two to three weeks." "Working with friendlies in the House." "Throw some pork on it, slow it down." "That's all the more reason that we need to accelerate." "If I'm gonna veto this bill," "I want it to be because it's gonna kill 50,000 new jobs." " Jobs that we created." " Yes, sir." "Cathy?" "The Russians remain intransigent on the Jordan Valley." "The ambassador is working hard to push the peacekeeping resolution to a vote" " by the General Assembly." " Why the delay?" "We're having a hard time getting the African bloc to remove the poison pill provision." "We think Israel's behind it." "They got cold feet, convinced the African bloc to sabotage the resolution so they have an out." "Do I need to speak to the Prime Minister?" "Uh, the Israeli ambassador has already denied." "I think we need to keep our focus on the provision itself." "All right." "The head of the African bloc is Zimbabwe." "And we believe Israel has promised them a sizable aid package for HIV prevention." "The Secretary and I recommend increasing our relief funds to Zimbabwe." "Outspend the Israelis." "Well, President Chimbetu will just pocket the money." "Well, we always anticipate a certain level of graft." "A certain level?" "He's egregious." "The man's a monster." "Who happens to run the African bloc." "Who happens to kill his people when he's not stealing from them, which is why I reduced aid to Zimbabwe." "If we want him to remove the amendment, we have to be persuasive." "We are scraping together every penny we can to save AmWorks." "The last thing I want is to be slammed for giving additional money to a brutal dictator from USAID just to persuade him." "This is ill-conceived." "You should think before you bring a proposal such as this." "We'll pursue other strategies and get back to you, Mr. President." "Thank you." "Robert, what's the latest on the omnibus?" "The legislation should go to the floor in the next couple of months." "The leadership is pushing..." "Set up calls with both Lockheed and Northrop." "We'll pay people to get trained and call it a job." "It isn't a job unless the union says it is." "Well, one step at a time." "You set up the training and I'll speak to the AFL." "Are the AARP here?" "In the lobby." "The chairman told me they want to support Dunbar." "They're just trying to rattle us." "Dunbar is promising to save Social Security." "Go after Wall Street and government waste instead of entitlements." "Well, get them in here." "You have your call list." "Their meeting's not for another ten minutes." "Start bringing them over." "It'll take them that long to hobble over on their walkers." " Francis?" " I'll go get them." "I only have a few minutes." "You singled me out today on purpose." " What?" " The cabinet meeting." "If I'm gonna invite you to cabinet meetings, there's not gonna be any kid gloves." "Don't make it sound like a favor." "You wanted to be there." "I agreed." "Well, so I could be informed and do my job." "Everyone in that room is judged by what they bring to the table." "What you brought to the table was amateurish." "Both Cathy and I proposed that plan." "I fault her as much as you." "You're making this too personal." "It is personal." "I think you're punishing me for what happened in Russia." "Oh, come on." "Well, you said it on the plane." "Appointing me was a mistake." "Yeah, you said far worse things to me." "Yes, and I've gone out of my way to put that fight behind us." "Oh, really?" "Like with Thomas?" "When you screamed at us for waking you up." " I didn't scream." " It was embarrassing." "Who cares what he thinks?" "He was our guest and you walked in there like" "I think you're searching for things that aren't there and ignoring the things that are, like this photograph flinching nonsense." "Oh, Jesus." " Do you want me to resign, Francis?" " Don't be ridiculous." "Just say it." "You never wanted me to be ambassador." "You remember what you said to me on the plane?" "You should have never made me president." "I was upset." "I didn't mean it." "You did mean it." "You think you made me." "No, I don't." "I think we're a team, actually." "Well, we're not a team at the moment." "I can't believe we've become this." " Become what?" " Like everyone else." "You ready, sir?" "No, just give me a minute." "Let the smoke clear." "Where are we at?" "Her hair's different." "But I" " Where was this taken?" " Santa Fe." "I've narrowed the search to focus just on that city." "This is all I have, but I think it's a good start." " I should go there." " No." "These photos are three weeks old." " She might have been passing through." " Or she might still be there." "Okay, but if you start asking questions, you might tip her off." "Get me more, then." "How's my passport coming?" "I'll get the lock lifted when you find her." "I've shown you some progress." "I think I should be seeing progress on your side, too." "This isn't enough." "They just arrested another one of my friends." " They could charge me at any minute." " Gavin..." "The things that I've had to do to get this much are fucked up." "An exact location." "That was our deal." "Can you get me the camera feed?" "The system's monitoring it." "I want it, too." "I'll send you the link." "Doug?" "This is Maurice." "He'll be taking over for me." "I'm moving to Seattle." "My sister's opening up her own PT center and she wants me to be a partner." "I'm moving all my clients over to new folks." "So I can help the transition." "I'll be sad to see you go." "I'll go get some bar floats." "Back in a second." "Look..." "I'm having people over this Thursday." "It's a going-away thing at my place." "You should come." " You ready?" " Yeah." "I'll text you the details." "I want to go after the big boys." "Not just Wall Street, but Walmart." "I'd be careful with Walmart." "You'll lose a lot of friends in Congress." "Let's force them to take sides." "That means Jackie Sharp, too." "Introduce legislation." "She either votes for it or we hit her hard." "Any corporation who has more than ten percent of its employees on food stamps has to increase wages until they're below ten percent." "Who has the guts to sponsor something like that?" "Doug?" "Yeah, I'll put a list together." "You'll have something by the end of the week." "Okay." "Talk to you then." " You made it." " Yeah." " How long have you been here?" " Ten minutes." "Come on." "We need to get people dancing." "Actually, I was thinking that I should go." "I just came over to say goodbye." "Uh-uh." "No." "You are not going anywhere." "You don't have to dance, but you can't leave." "Last man standing." " You have recycling?" " Just leave 'em on the counter." "I'll take care of it tomorrow." "You really don't have to help." "I don't mind." "You're such a gentleman." "I don't know about that." "Oh, you're not a gentleman?" "Because... that could be interesting." "I made you a café au lait." "Oh..." "How is it?" " Need sugar?" " No." "It's perfect." "When are the movers coming by?" "Not for a couple hours." "You need any help?" "Packing the rest up?" "No." "You just relax." "You seemed a little sad last night." "No, just tired." "Was that it?" "You were just tired?" "Someone I haven't heard from in a long time." "She reached out." "It was" "It was a little hard." "Last night wasn't 'cause you felt sorry for me, was it?" "No." "Last night was because I'm getting on a plane today, and I'll probably never see you again." "Why not?" "You know it rains a lot in Seattle, right?" "Are you gonna come with me to the memorial today?" "Do I need to be there?" "No." "I'm buried right now." "Fine." "Why has Tom Yates been hanging around so much?" "Is he writing a book on the president?" "We've all asked him and he won't say." "Ballsy move if it's true." "Yeah." "I can't stand his writing." "Are you an idiot?" "I'm an idiot for having an opinion?" "There's no opinions to be had." "His writing is gorgeous." "Well, in my opinion, it isn't." "Said the guy who can't write a grocery list." " Shh, shh..." " Ready whenever you are, sir." "Today marks the 80th Anniversary of the Social Security Act." "It has survived longer than many of its beneficiaries." "We should all be so lucky to live as long as it has." "But by the time the human body has circled the sun 80 times, its youth and vigor are gone." "Joints ache, bones and muscles are weaker, the heart doesn't beat with the same power it once did." "All of us must face this truth eventually." "And when we do, we must hand the baton to the young." "To those who have the strength to carry on our work when we are gone." "Here's another truth:" "Social Security is dying." "Now in its 80th year, it must give way to a new, younger, stronger plan for the future." "That plan is America Works." "In Washington DC alone, we've managed to reduce unemployment by over a third and put 25,000 people to work." "If we can accomplish so much in so little time here in Washington, imagine what we could accomplish if Congress funded America Works nationwide." "We wouldn't be talking about thousands of jobs." "We'd be talking about millions." "Later this afternoon, I will visit FDR's memorial to pay my respects to the man who ushered in Social Security 80 years ago." "We honor the dead for giving us the world we inherited." "However, we must recognize we are doomed if we allow the dead to govern us." "Thank you, and God bless the United States of America." "From NBC News in Washington, this is Meet the Press with Chuck Todd." "Good morning and welcome to Meet the Press." "I have with me Congresswoman Huntley and Congressman Greer." "Congresswoman, let me start with you." "In the President's radio address today, he said the model here in Washington is a model for the nation." " Do you agree?" " I do, Chuck." "I was skeptical at first." "Both my parents benefited from Social Security." "And I've always counted on it for myself." "But, when I think about my kids, and my grandkids" "Rebecca raises a good point, one that we've been making in the Republican Party for decades." "And yet, while you support America Works, most members of your party do not." "Chuck, I've never been a big fan of Frank Underwood." "But the park near my house here in Washington has never been cleaner." "The dry cleaners I go to just hired two new people this month." "The daycare I drop my kids off at doubled their staff so the children can get more individual attention." "The president may have overstepped in taking FEMA money, but when something works, it works." "And America Works works." "Hello." "Promise the money." "Whatever you need to turn him around." "I'll approve the USAID funds." "What made you change your mind?" "Today... at the memorial." "You know what struck me the most?" "Eleanor." "She was off by herself." "Alone." "And so was Franklin." "He was alone." "And there was a wall between them." "The monks." "They've been here for weeks." "We haven't even discussed them once." "It's beautiful, isn't it?" "What they're doing?" "It is." "Francis, I watched them for over an hour today." "And all I was thinking was, why aren't you and I sharing this together?" "We have to do something, Claire." "I know." "What are you thinking?" "My natural color." "Like when I first met Francis." " This color?" " Yes." "Exactly." "Okay." "Have a seat." "I want to take up the sleeves a touch." "Oh, I think they're perfect." "Thank you." " What do you think?" " Beautiful." "We have gathered today to renew the vows between Francis J. Underwood and Claire Hale Underwood." "It was here, in this church, 28 years ago, before God, that you two first committed yourselves to one another." "May this renewed commitment deepen your love for each other, and strengthen your eternal bond." "Claire's father bought us this house." "I wanted to pay for it myself." "That's always bothered me." "You weren't bothered to let him pay for your first campaign?" "Well, that's politics." "It's different." "You take money wherever you can get it." "No, this was our first home." " Was it a happy home?" " Oh, please." "I thought you brought me here because we were gonna cut through the bullshit." "This book is supposed to be about America Works." "There is no book without you at the center of it." "Do you trust me?" "Or don't you?" "Because if you don't, get someone else to write it." "Or write it yourself." "You don't know what it's like to go through life looking over your shoulder." "Having secrets no one would understand." "I didn't write my first book." "My friend." " The one who died." " He wrote it?" "The first half." "He didn't show it to anyone except me." "In the hospital, he asked me destroy it." "I told him I would." "It was too good." "It needed to be finished." "So I finished it." " And took all the credit." " Oh, yeah." "It's my part, the ending." "That's what people remember." "But the book..." "My entire career..." "It's all based on a lie." "You don't have a monopoly on secrets." "There's tulips buried under here." "Claire planted them." "I've always... from day one... been ashamed she said yes when I asked her to marry me." "Why?" "I didn't think I deserved her." "I can tell you this, though, there would have been no White House without Claire." "I was half the man before I met her." "But still, I've been selfish... feeding off her the way I have." "She knew what she was getting into." "Probably." "She knows me better than I know myself." "Sir?" "We're scheduled to fly out at 6:15." "Should probably leave in the next few minutes." "Thank you, Meechum." "Scribble away." "So, what'd he tell you in front of the house?" "Mm..." "Nothing much." "Well, it looked intense, whatever it was." "See?" "This is why I don't ride in the van." "You did this time." "Sometimes you just need to leave someone alone." "All right, I got the hint." "I meant him." "Not me." "Where are they?" " Who?" " The monks." "Oh, they finished earlier today, sir." "So it's gone?" "I believe so." "I didn't get a chance to see it." "I'm sure they took a photo." "Will you ask someone to get me a copy?" "Right away, sir." "Thank you." "Claire." "I almost didn't recognize you." "Yes, I decided it was time for a change." "It's very fetching." "I hope you don't mind me crashing your party." "Oh, of course not." "My staff said you'd be out of town." "Would you mind if I borrowed Ambassador Caspi for a moment?" "Of course." " You've been avoiding me for three weeks." " I had a trip to Jerusalem." "You promised Zimbabwe 35 million so they'd introduce the poison pill amendment." " For purely humanitarian reasons." " No." "This is the first time you've ever sent aid to Zimbabwe." "Don't draw connections that don't exist." "We would never try to sabotage the resolution." " The United States is our ally." " That's right, we are." " So act like it." " Excuse me?" "My husband formally approved our own humanitarian package for eighty million." "Zimbabwe will be withdrawing the amendment tomorrow." "And when the resolution goes to a vote," "I expect Israel to support it like the loyal ally she is." "Not lie to us." "That's not the way to solicit our support." "I'm not soliciting." "I'm demanding." "I feel sorry for you, Claire." "Your husband sends you to talk tough." "But as soon as things go wrong in the Jordan Valley, he'll turn his back and leave Israel to clean up the mess." "He doesn't have the muscle." "He can't even get Congress to work with him." "Or back you up after you call out Petrov." "He turned his back on you just like he will on us." "My husband is the bravest and most resolute man I know." "He will succeed in this plan." "Brave?" "I served in Jordan Valley." "As did the President and the Foreign Minister." "Has he?" "You held a gun and somebody told you where to stand." "Don't confuse that with the burden the Commander in Chief faces." "Francis has given the order to kill." "He's buried soldiers he's put into harm's way." "And every day, he wakes up bearing responsibilities you can't possibly imagine." "They would crush you if they fell on your shoulders." "So you talk to your superiors." "And when the amendment is withdrawn tomorrow, you will commit to supporting the resolution." "Oh..."