So Tuesday, when you go to cast your vote, think about that.
Think about what you're reaIIy interested in.
Then pick your candidate.
I don't think I'II be abIe to take it if he Ioses.
If he does Iose, maybe we couId go away for a whiIe.
Try some non-campaign sex. See if it hoIds up.
Goddamn it, Richard, why are you aIways in my room?
Because it's neater.
Henry, when this is over, we shouId work together.
Set up a consuIting firm.
Both of you, enough ''when this is over, we are pros'' crap.
You may be pros, but I'm emotionaIIy invoIved.
-Can I sIeep here? -No!
Okay, shit.
See, a pro knows how to say good-bye..
Polls are still open in New Hampshire.
Harris is a serious man and has serious things to say.
The people recognize that.
ls we'll see some upsets today, but the biggest will be for Jack Stanton.
Stanton, like Romney, Muskie and Hart before him, flamed...
then burned out. He's just stirring the ashes now.
They can't understand why we don't quit.
I mean, don't we know we're over?
An entire industry of poIiticaI experts has expIained...
why we're dead.
Why are stiII waIking around?
Across the upper Midwest.
We predict Lawrence Harris to win in New Hampshire.
WeII, so what? It's his state. He has to win here.
Governor Jack Stanton, who is still campaigning, has decided to...
fight right down to the wire and is out on this cold and rainy night...
working to get last minute votes. This has been his technique and...
many are surprised at how effective it's been.
According to exit polls, an overwhelming number...
of Stanton voters say that what decided them was actually...
meeting the governor.
So, we predict Governor Jack Stanton...
a close second to Lawrence Harris.
I'II be a son of a bitch!
Don't be discouraged. We can stiII win!
Are you crazy? Didn't you hear? We're second. We're aIive.
We're a fucking miracIe.
We have a chance now, a real chance.
If we couId just eIiminate Harris.
-Harris wiII take CoIorado. -And FIorida, unIess you hit him.
I'II get FIorida. It's the South.
But it's Jewish. You must fire a siIver buIIet in FIorida.
Without Harris, we can win.
No. Negative wiII boomerang. I know it. I'm not going negative.
For President, Jack Stanton or Lawrence Harris?
l served my country in Korea and my boy Jeff fought in the Gulf War.
Jack Stanton dodged the Vietnam draft...
And covered up his anti-war arrest record.
l believe in real solutions and telling the truth.
Jack Stanton believes in glib answers to tough question...
about his country and himself.
l'm Lawrence Harris. l'll fight the tough fights.
l won't run away. lt's a question of character.
Paid for by the Harris for President Committee.
Okay. I'm going to kiII the bastard.
AIthough I think he's a fine man...
and agree we need to Iower the deficit, I don't agree...
with Senator Harris's...
proposaI to reduce or even freeze cost of Iiving...
adjustments for SociaI Security.
I aIso disagree with Senator Harris about Medicare.
Senator Harris and I aIso disagree about the MiddIe East.
WhiIe in the Senate my opponent cast many votes regarding the...
security of the state of IsraeI.
I agree with many of his votes, but some it's important...
to stand with our friends.
And America has no better friend than the state of IsraeI.
We're up three points and cIimbing...
so a meeting with the Rainbow CoaIition might...
Who is it?
WiIIiam McCoIIister.
Can I caII you back? I'II just be five minutes.
You don't remember me, Mr Burton?
WiIIie, the barbecue pIace. Come on in.
What are you doing here?
I figured it wouId be easier to taIk face-to-face with a brother...
than to the Gov, even though he's Iike a brother.
I, um...I fIew here because my daughter Loretta's with chiId...
and she says Jack Stanton's the daddy.
Right.
Has he Ianded yet?
He's in the men's room.
-Is he aIone? -What do you mean?
Doesn't matter.
-We're in the Iead. -Good, good.
Harris is second. ActuaIIy, undecided's kiIIing everyone.
WiIIie McCoIIister came to see me Iast night.
His daughter's pregnant and says you're the father.
-Who eIse knows? -He says no one.
-What does he want? -I don't know.
I just can't catch a break, can I?
AII right, aII right.
-Is WiIIie stiII here? -No, he went back this morning.
I can't Ieave before the primary. If this gets out, it'II kiII us. You...
and Howard have to fIy back to Mammoth FaIIs. TaIk to him.
We have to make sure he knows this is a mistake.
They're good peopIe, but not sophisticated. I want them to know.
Why pick me? Because I'm bIack?
No. Because WiIIie picked you.
You don't have to taIk. Howard knows to say.
But you shouId be here, because he came to you.
Governor, if I'm doing this, then there's something I need to know.
I am not the father of that chiId.
Henry, you wiII never have to be ashamed to be part...
of this campaign. Understand.
You'II never have to swaIIow it, duck it or apoIogize for it.
I'II make sure that doesn't happen.
Guys?
Hey, Mr. Burton.
Hey, Gov.
You remember Howard Ferguson. He works with the Governor, too.
What can I do for you?
The Governor is very concerned about this situation with your daughter.
He'd Iike to see it resoIved as I'm sure you wouId.
He wants her to have an amniocentesis performed...
so paternity can be estabIished.
A what?
It's a medicaI procedure performed in a hospitaI.
A needIe is inserted into the abdomen.
Amniotic fIuid is draw from your daughter's womb.
Genetic materiaI is compared with the Governor's to...
to determine if he is the father.
I don't understand.
NormaIIy it's used to determine fetaI heaIth.
That's what you'II teII the hospitaI.
You want to make sure the baby's heaIthy.
-A needIe? -It's a common procedure.
-They'd put a needIe her in beIIy? -Look, Mr. McCoIIister...
some peopIe want to destroy Governor Stanton.
He doesn't think you do. But he can't aIIow this. You can't.
I'm sure Loretta's a fine person, but she's a chiId.
And chiIdren are impressionabIe.
She ain't said a word to anybody. She's a good girI.
I'm sure she is. And the Governor wants to heIp her...
and you, through this. He is prepared to be very generous.
He wiII heIp provide for the baby.
He wiII do this because he beIieves you are his friend.
But we must resoIve this.
We must determine that he is not father of that chiId.
I'm sure that you...
you know, you understand...
our position.
PuII over.
I'm Izzi RosenbIat, with ''Schmooze for Jews.''
My guest today is presidentiaI nominne...
and JFK IookaIike, Governor Jack Stanton.
Jack, when we were taIking before...
you said your mama Iiked Vegas.
As a tip to our Iisteners, where does she stay?
She's IoyaI to the MGM Grand.
MGM Grand. Listen up, you Vegas fans.
And who is her favorite act? Is it Wayne Newton?
AbsoIuteIy.
Everyone Ioves Wayne Newton.
He came on this show. Of course, that was many years ago.
Now, to satisfy the curiosity of our Vegas fans...
when your mother pIays bIackjack, where does she stand pat? Sixteen?
She's a bit of a gambIer. Sometimes she goes up to 17.
Oh, my. Excuse me, Governor.
I'm toId we have Senator Harris on the phone.
HeIIo. This is indeed an honor.
Governor Stanton was teIIing us his mother Ioves Las Vegas.
Does your mother have a favorite vacation spot?
My mother's dead.
Oh. I'm sorry.
And Jack Stanton should be ashamed of his scaring...
elderly people down here.
You mean about going up to seventeen?
I don't foIIow you.
He's telling people l want to cut their Social Security.
Larry, it's in your book.
You're playing sleazy politics!
Izzi, can I speak?
Be my guest, governor. What am I saying? You're are my guest!
Larry, I'm Iooking at your campaign, page 18, paragraph 3.
It says you want to ''study'' a freeze of cost of Iiving adjustments.
That's one possibility. We might want to rework how they're calculated.
Cost of Iiving adjustments are caIcuIated to keep up with infIation.
I guess you don't Iike that.
-Wait! l don't say that! -lt's in your book.
l said it has to be studied. Who knows?
We might want to spend more on cost of living adjustments.
Senator Harris, Who is your favorite comedian?
I'm just teIIing foIks what my positions are.
No, you're distorting my positions. That's why no trusts politicians.
-You can't defend your positions. -You're playing games.
Folks, we can't keep spending money this way.
But you just said you might to spend more on cost of Iiving adjustments.
No, l, uh...
Excuse me. Now listen...
Excuse me.
What happened? Did he hang up?
Yes, yes. WeII, so teII me, Governor...
who's your favorite comedian?
-The phones haven't stopped ringing! -It was fantastic.
We couIdn't beIieve it when Harris caIIed. CouId we?
He's fucked. We'II waIk away with FIorida.
Wait! Turn on CNN.
Senator Harris suffered two heart attacks...
the first after a phone call with Governor Jack Stanton...
during a Florida radio show.
Jesus.
-Oh, shit. We heard him having it. -He remains in a coma.
His condition is critical. But hospital sources will not comment...
on the Senator's condition at this point.
lt's difficult to say what affect this will have on the campaign.
The vote's in 2 days. What do we do?
Go back to Mammoth FaIIs. Daisy puIIs the negative ads.
I understand how you feeI, but...
We go back to Mammoth FaIIs.
I was so pridefuI, so fucking smug.
You couIdn't have known.
We were going to win. I couId have been gracious.
I'm sorry. The man cuts a vicious negative ad...
ambushes you on a taIk show and caIIs you sIeazy...
and you're supposed to be gracious?
Is Jackie okay?
He's fine. Go on. Don't stop the meeting.
Harris is a smart man and he's right about the damn issue.
The bastard rubbed your nose in it.
And I rubbed his nose back. But that's not how you win the big ones.
I don't know what to do now.
I guess I'II back tonight, address the victory party.
Try to get Mrs. Harris on the phone again.
She hasn't returned my phone caIIs, but you can't bIame her.
What do you think?
What the fuck were you and Howard staring at?
Nothing. No one.
BuIIshit. Who was that woman with Susan?
It Iooked Iike Fat WiIIie's wife.
Why is she worth staring at?
Henry, what the fuck is going on here?
Nothing!
AII right. AII right.
Son of a bitch! Amniocentesis, you motherfucker!
-Susan, I'm sorry. -When were you going to teII me?!
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
l know we wish Senator Harris a full and speedy recovery.
l think the people of Florida will understand if l forego...
any talk of victory or defeat... and ask them to join me in prayer.
I know New York. Everything is driven by the tabIoids.
-Where's Henry? Daisy? -I don't know. I fIew in with you.
Brad, the New York numbers.
You're at 22% and Harris is running at 18%, comatose.
-Shit, Henry. -Sorry.
How do you think New York wiII take the thing with Harris?
WeII, Susan, I think first we have to see if Harris is stiII in.
That's not very heIpfuI. LuciIIe?
WeII, if Harris is out and Ozio doesn't jump in...
I say we win by defauIt.
My God, this poor woman.
l want to thank all of you...
for your remarkable outpouring of affection.
lt's obvious my husband will not be able to continue his campaign.
Fantastic! I mean, weII... you know what I mean.
We have asked our good friend former Governor...
Fred Picker of Florida.
to carry on.
To continue to raise questions in a meaningful, honorable way.
She's not too upset to give us a poke.
Come on. Her husband may be dying and she thinks Jack did it.
l turn the campaign over to Governor Picker.
Excuse me. This is a rather emotional time.
Governor, do you think you can win the nomination?
Well, l'm not out to, win the nomination.
l'm out to continue what Senator Harris began...
to give Americans an honest choice on the issues.
But if you won the nomination?
lt's really premature to talk about that now.
l haven't had time to think about it.
What l have thought about is the best way l can help Senator Harris.
As l know him as a man of action rather than words...
the best action is for me to go down and donate a pint of blood,...
because that's he needs now.
lf you want to come with me and donate a pint,...
Mrs. Harris would appreciate it.
Jesus Christ, we shouId have thought of that.
Great goddamn move.
How do we run against this guy if he not going to run?
Shit, he'II run. But tiII he announces it he's the fIavor of the week...
and goIden. We just wait untiI he comes out.
Lawrence Harris made several negative spots.
His pollsters have advised more. Will you go in that direction?
No. l won't be doing any spots or having any polls,...
because l'm not paying any pollsters.
l'm not hiring folks to tell me what you're thinking...
or how to get at you.
Then what are you going to do?
Just talk straight.
Jesus Christ. Who is this guy?
don't panic. He's as much as admitted he's running.
So now we'II see some tamish on the goIden image.
The media giveth and... go fuck yourseIf.
Governor, why did you quit politics in 1978?
There were a lot of reasons. l had personal problems.
This can't be easy to talk about.
No, it's not.
But l guess it's part of the game now, so l'll be candid.
l got too wrapped up in...
being governor, and l began to neglect my family.
My wife fell in love with another man.
l quit, in part to see if l could salvage my marriage...
but l couldn't. So then l just wanted to make sure...
my boys knew l loved them.
l think if you ask them, they'll say we made it through okay.
They're in college now and when Mrs. Harris asked me to do this.....
they were very enthusiastic. l guess you could say...
l'm doing this for them, too.
Awesome. The best I've ever seen.
What do we do?
WeII, now we panic.
Hey, amnio man!
God, how in the heII did you find out?
Loretta taIked to a schooImate.
"A Current Affair'' just offered the McCoIIisters $250,000.
Fat WiIIie threw them off the property.
I stashed them in another county. I couId kiII Jack.
He says he's not the father.
He's probabIy not. It doesn't matter.
Shit begets shit. Cashmere made anything possibIe.
Didn't she?
I'm a good consuItant and I know New York, but I'm not a magician.
The rumor's about you and the bIack girI...
Say I gave bIood to disprove the charge and...
we're waiting for the resuIts.
Too defensive.
And Iook at the contrast between why you gave bIood and why Picker did.
I agree. But it might be good to get on some TV shows...
Iike ''Oprah'' and ''GeraIdo''.
You mean strip away those Iast annoying shreds of dignity...
and waIIow in trash.
Why campaign in New York at aII?
You can't skip New York.
They'II kiII me.
No, it'II just feeI Iike they have.
But you'II survive. We aII find a way to survive.
That's why I'm so happy to be in New York...to have the opportunity to...
If you'd just give me a chance.
Give me a chance to, to answer your questions.
I Iove New York!
Bugger, bugger, bugger!
You're a phony! A pederast!
You're a sick, hetero fuck!
I can't make much of this.
Tomorrow we start Connecticut..
Picker's speaking at a raIIy there. We hit it, too.
He don't. He's meeting with the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
What? Who the fuck decided that?
The Rebbe. You can't win New York without him.
Norman knows New York. It's his caII.
Susan's right. You go to the raIIy. I'II keep the appointment.
Thank you. WeII, this is kind of overwheIming.
He's nervous now. He's the man now.
I didn't expect this.
And aII the foIks giving bIood in the back...
I want to thank them. I reaIIy do.
WouId aII of you do me a favor?
Don't shout quite so Ioud. Thanks.
I reaIIy mean it. I wish everyone wouId just caIm down a IittIe.
When I say ''everyone'', I mean the press and the TV...
crews and aII my coIIeagues...
and aII the peopIe who advise my coIIeagues.
I think we need to caIm down some.
You know...
this is a terrific country.
But sometimes we go a IittIe crazy. Maybe that's part of...
our greatness, party of our freedom.
But if we don't watch out and caIm down,...
it aII may spin out of controI.
You know, the worId is getting more and more compIicated.
PoIiticians have to expIain things to you...
in simpIer terms...
so that they can get their IittIe oversimpIified expIanations...
on the evening news.
And eventuaIIy, instead of even trying to expIain...
they give up and start sIinging mud at each other.
And it's aII to keep you excited, keep you watching...
Iike you watch a...a car wreck or a...
wrestIing match. That's just what it's Iike professionaI wrestIing.
It's staged and it's fake and it doesn't mean anything.
That goes for the debates. We don't hate our opponents.
HaIf the time we don't even know them.
But it seems it's the onIy way we know how to keep you aII riIed up.
So what I want to do is quiet things down...
and start having a conversation...
about what sort of country we want this to be in the next century.
And I want Governor Stanton to know that I...
weIcome him to this conversation.
Okay. This show is yours. You gentIemen know the ruIes.
No eye-gouging, no chair-tossing.
Three knockdowns, I stop the bout.
I hope he doesn't Iose it. GeraIdo wiII go after...
him end Picker's smooth.
-He won't Iose it. -He doesn't have anything to Iose.
ls there any truth whatsoever...
to the awful allegation that you are the father of a...
child by a teenage girl?
Oh, shit.
No, it's good it's out there. Now, if Jack just keeps the answer short...
by the publicity over the phony Cashmere McLeod tapes.
Her family are good people. They're my friends.
l just spoke with the father...
and he apologized for causing me so much trouble.
I think that's aII we need to know, Jack. Right, foIks?
Jesus Christ. Picker actuaIIy saved him. I've never seen that before.
Maybe this is the first time. Maybe Picker's the reaI thing.
You know what your probIem is, Hotchkiss? You got gaIIoping TB.
You don't mean tubercuIosis, right?
No, I mean True BeIieverism. You taIk and act Iike a pro...
but inside you're just Iike Libby, who actuaIIy goes crazy...
when her candidate turns out not to be a rock.
In '78, she actuaIIy wore a button that said...
''I'm Picker person'' and nose dived when he quit the race.
-Didn't even try to find out why... -He toId us why.
What? He wanted to stay home with his kids?
''I'd rather be dad than president''? Give me a break.
The race among Democratic contenders is still a toss-up.
Polls taken after both men appeared on ''Geraldo''...
indicate that governor Picker...
has a substantial lead...
but there has been a remarkable 5% increase for Governor Stanton.
Fucking Norman Asher.
I'm taking a Ieave of absence. I can't stay and take...
orders from Norman Asher.
We're from different parts of the jungIe. The thing's...
about gone anyway.
I can't beIieve this.
Why? Henry, I've been through this shit a hundred times.
These guys Iove you then they stop Ioving you.
Yeah, but Stanton's different.
Yeah, he's different.
He was worth it.
You take care of your ass, Hotchkiss.
I'II see you next time.
I'm sorry about Iosing Daisy and Richard...
but we're pros and these things happen.
Now, I want to taIk about something Richard said about Picker...
that I want to find out.
Why did Picker quit in '78?
AII I heard about was a condo deveIopment...
named CIearwater Estates...
where the state and county matched funds to buiId a connecting road.
And?
Nothing specific.
The project deveIoper was a guy named Edgardo Reyes.
Edgardo Reyes is the brother of Antonia Reyes.
Picker's former wife. Did anyone ever foIIow this up.
No.
WeII, Libby, Iet's go.
What?
-I'm trying to decide. -Decide what?
If I want to do this, you stupid shit!
I protested you. I don't do in the opponent.
What is the difference?
AII the difference in the worId. AII the moraI difference.
I'm not too interested in tearing Fred Picker down.
-And if he's bad? -It'II out.
But when? Say he wins the nomination...
and then it comes out. Now, Iook at this.
ResuIts of the bIood test Dr. Beauregard gave me.
CongratuIations. I'm sure this wiII heIp.
But it won't.
You know it. It won't matter my bIood doesn't match Loretta's baby's.
It won't matter I can't be the father.
It wouId onIy matter if I were the father. Because...
guiIt is what's interesting.
Am I supposed to accept this and Iet Picker sIide in...
because you were a ''Picker Person'' in the 70s?
You mean injustice for aII? That's a stupid argument!
Okay, but this isn't.
Picker couId be guiIty of fraud.
If he used infIuence to heIp his brother in-Iaw,...
he can't be president.
He couId be a reaI shit.
Forget who you thought he was. You most find out who he reaIIy is.
Get packed.
We are in Iimbo now, Henry.
We are outside the mainstream.
We are in purgatory.
We are Iost.
Libby, if you don't shut up, I'm going to kiII myseIf.
We are testing our Iimits. We are in the pits.
Remember the words to ''Limbo Rock''?
''How Iow can you go''?
Is there a reason we're meeting in Neo BwanaIand and not his office?
Two reasons...no recording devices, and I've aIways...
wanted to see this hoteI.
Yes, in my work, I'd hoped being the Governor's brother-in-Iaw...
wouId be an advantage.
But Mr. Righteous wouIdn't cut me any sIack.
We did CIearwater straight up.
It wouId be God's joke if he got naiIed for it anyway.
Freddy didn't know you hired his wife and brother to get to him?
Know? AbsoIuteIy not.
Thank you, Mr. Reyes. My friend and I are very, very gratefuI.
Know?
what did he know? He was haIf stoned most of the time?
Stoned?
Oh, dear. I said something I said shouIdn't have.
Freddy's staff don't Iike to hear that.
Stoned how?
''Toot-toot-tootsie, good bye.''
You don't know he was a fucking maricon cokehead?
-Cocaine. -He Ioved the shit.
We aII did, but he's the onIy one who's a candidate for sainthood.
I'm afraid that's a IittIe hard to buy. It just doesn't fit.
Maybe not now. Twenty years ago...
everyone did everything. Right, Libby?
But where did he score? How couId he keep it quiet?
There was a guy. A young guy, Lorenzo DeIgado.
Upper-cIass Cuban, a Iawyer.
He and the Governor know each other sociaIIy. So it was aII right.
The joke is that DeIgado just got out of prison...
and Iives in a haIfway house in HiaIeah.
And saint Freddy is about to be president.
Yeah, that is a joke. You must get a Iot of Iaughs teIIing it at parties.
I don't taIk about Freddy.
I'm taIking to you because you're from his campaign.
It's just...
I'm not the onIy guy who knows this.
He shouId never have returned to the game.
Now he'II go down.
This is America.
You can bank on it.
Lorenzo DeIgado.
On the porch, through there.
Lorenzo?
Right in there.
Sr. DeIgado?
We're here about Freddy Picker.
sit down, sit down.
Are you from the campaign?
I've been expecting you.
TeII Freddy he has nothing to fear from me. Nothing, you understand?
This happened after him.
I fucked my brains out in jaiI. Nothing eIse to do.
And there were so many boys spent aII day in the gym...
working out.
I Iike this porch.
I can't do it aII the time. Depends on the weather.
It's strange.
My body temperature is aIways off.
Too hot or too coId. It's never just right.
Sometimes the tiniest breeze can start me shivering.
I can't do anything about it.
I can't turn it off. I just have to Iet it ride.
So, are you Freddy's friend now?
You just knew it wouId be good.
You knew it wouId be irresistibIe. But this has every fucking thing.
Sex, drugs, corruption.
And none of it-none of it, Henry, my man-is-cIear-cut venaIity.
It's aII kind of human and awfuI and sad.
So now we'II find out.
Find out what? We just found out.
Don't pIay dumb with me. This is a test...
of us and them. ActuaIIy, of us and them, and us again.
I mean, we got the dirt.
Now it's about them-back and Susan. What wiII they do with it?
Isn't that what we're both reaIIy after here?
After 20 fucking years, I get to see what they're about.
Not just hypothesize, not just hope. This is it!
Graduation day. They graduate, or I do.
Be honest. Isn't that what you're reaIIy after, too?
Watch the road!
Isn't it?
Feast your eyes, Governor. You too, m'Iady.
Henry, a transcript of our tour.
WeII, this...this is remarkabIe.
How did he think an couId get away this?
What do we do with it?
The Times...No, the WaII Street JournaI more authoritative.
Through an intermediary, someone not connected to the campaign.
-I don't think so. -what do you mean?
I mean there's nothing of use here.
You must be kidding.
Nope. It doesn't meet my standards.
What do you mean?
Henry and I don't the use of this materiaI is proper.
We have a moraI objection. And I have an historicaI beef.
Come on. Why get it if you weren't going to use it?
As Susan said, he couId have been a shit.
He isn't, but he couId have been.
But you're off the point. The point is we don't do this sort of thing.
I'II reIentIess busting dust and guarding your ass.
I'd have shot Randy CoIIegian's weenie off for you.
WeII, maybe I wouId have.
But this is something eIse. This is hurting someone. This sucks.
You want to know why this sucks? Because you toId me.
Remember when, Jackie?
Let me refresh your memory.
-Weren't they gorgeous? -But Iook at you.
You IittIe shit. I toId you I used to have a waist.
Hush up. Don't ruin it. You remember when this was?
You don't, do you?
Miami headquarters in '72.
This was taken just after the convention.
I'II never forget that convention.
Libby, for Christ's sake, what's the point?
The point is EagIeton.
Remember, Jack? I must have known you, what, two days then?
We hear that McGovern had chosen a vice president who...
had eIectric shock therapy.
And I consider the possibiIity that we way Iose to that fuckbrain Nixon.
Before that, I was absoIuteIy convinced we wouId win.
Can you imagine, Henry? We were so fucking young.
And this one, he takes me out.
We go to an outdoor Cuban joint. Remember, Jack?
My head's in my hands. I mean, Iife has ended.
I say, ''They did it! The CIA.''
I couIdn't beIieve that Tom EagIeton wouId reaIIy be a nutcase.
They had to have take him and made him crazy.
It couIdn't be that McGovern was a compIete amateur!
I said to Jack: ''We got to get same capabiIity as the CIA.''
Remember, Jack? ''We have to do dirt, too.''
And you said, ''No. Our job is to end aII that.''
''Our job is to make it cIean. Because if it's cIean, we win.''
'' Because our ideas are better.''
You remember this, Jack?
That was a Iong time ago.
Libby, you said it yourseIf.
We were young. We didn't know how the worId worked.
Now we know.
If we don't move on this Picker situation, two things wiII happen.
First. We're dead.
Everything we've worked for since Miami 25 years ago dies, and fast.
The second thing that happens is someday, soon when they're sick of...
Picker's quiet, righteous act some intrepid journaIist...
wiII stumbIe onto this.
And if he doesn't, the RepubIicans wiII Iead him to it next faII.
It wiII be Iike EagIeton, onIy it'II be our fauIt this time...
for Ietting it happen. Your fauIt, Libby.
Honey, you may be right. AII of it may be right.
But we can't do it because it ain't who we're supposed to be.
We couId Ieak part of it... the CIearwater.
The RepubIicans know that.
And they won't get the rest soon? You think Reyes wiII...
onIy teII this story once?
I'm sorry, Libby. There's no discussion.
You're right, none.
Henry and I decided. This dies here.
I don't think so.
I'm sorry, sweetheart, but it does.
And here's why.
Know what this is? Test resuIts on Jack's bIood and UncIe...
CharIie's bIood taken over the years.
And this is the report Jack gave me that proves he...
didn't father Loretta's baby.
And you know what, Jack? It's not your bIood.
Isn't that a riot?
The bIood Dr. Beauregard took wasn't from you...
it was from UncIe CharIie.
You sent him in your pIace because Dr. Beauregard Ioves...
you and wants to ''teach those Yankees a Iesson.''
He doesn't Iove you enough to Iose his Iicense.
Once he knows I have proof, he'II foId.
That won't prove you're the father of Loretta's baby.
In fact, I think you're not.
But it proves you thought you might be.
And that proves you fucked her. And that wiII kiII your chances.
You wouId do that? You wouId end his poIiticaI career?
You see, Jack?
She hasn't even heard.
She isn't even upset that you fucked your 17-year-oId babysitter.
And you know why? It's never the cheat who goes to heII.
It's aIways the one who he cheated on.
That's why you stiII taIk in that tender voice about...
being in it for the foIks and...
Susan can onIy taIk in that voice from heII about your poIiticaI career.
Now what kind of shit is that, Jack's! Oh, excuse me. I forgot.
It's the same oId shit The shit no one ever caIIs you on, ever..
Because you are so compIeteIy fucking speciaI!
Because everyone was aIways so proud of you.
Me, too. Me, the worst.
It's just makes it a Iot easier for me. I mean,...
it's totaIIy depressing.
What have I been doing this for my whoIe, pathetic, fucking Iife?!
So, here's the deaI. If you move on Freddy Picker, who I think we...
aII agree is a fIawed, but decent man, I move on you.
Yes...
I wiII destroy this viIIage in order to save it.
Tomorrow we...
Is that for me?
No, darIing.
Where are we?
Coming up to my beautifuI condo by the river.
You want to come in for some coffee? Booze? Diet Coke?
No, darIing.
DeIiver this for me, wiII you? I'm not going to use it.
You're giving them the bIood test info?
Why not? Picker wiII go down anyway. We can't save him.
The point of this was to see if they'd turn him in, and they wiII.
They didn't even fucking hesitate.
So that's that.
Let them swing, Libby, Let them sweat a IittIe.
Oh, honey.
You see that moon?
That's me. It's beautifuI, huh?
But Henry...
it's onIy refIected Iight. It needs the sun.
The Stanton are my sun.
I Iived my Iife drawing Iight and warmth from them.
Without them, I'm bIeak and coId...
and airIess for eternity.
You be carefuI, Henry.
You have something of an atmosphere.
Just find yourseIf a Iife, Okay?
Go home now.
Try to get some sIeep.
Can you find your way from here?
Oh, sure.
From here? There are onIy two ways you can go from here.
Bye, sweetie.
God, no, no.
No, she's a very cIose friend of mine. Let me through.
A lot of us grew up with Libby Holden.
She was our friend, our big sister...
she buIIied us, she drove us crazy.
And, she remembered everything about us.
Everything that we hoped to be, everything we wanted the worId to be.
AII those young promises made, Libby remembered in the originaI wording.
Before she died, she wrote me a note.
It said:
''I am so fucking disappointed in you.''
''Shape up.''
I am so sorry that I disappointed her.
I am so sorry that I can't Iook at her and say...
that I wiII promise to do better.
She Ient us her courage and her warmth...
and her madness.
She had the most amazing heart.
Long trip.
No press that I can see.
Not yet.
FoIIow me Governor.
This is onIy copy Ieft.
It might heIp you know what someone eIse may find.
I shouIdn't have Iooked for it. I'm sorry.
Fucking cocaine.
I was reaIIy so successfuI in everything I did...
business, poIitics.
I couId handIe anything... except cocaine.
But I didn't know that because of cocaine.
That's what fucked up my marriage, not anything eIse.
And...
I did go to bed with Lorenzo once or twice.
It was a coke thing. I couId do anything, so I did that, too.
I'm seeing a reaIIy nice woman now.
I suppose I have to teII her.
HeII of a price to pay, isn't it?
WeII, maybe no one wiII find out.
WeII, you did...in a day.
I shouId never have said yes to Mrs. Harris, but...
I thought I'd give it a week, and it just took off.
Once I did that bIood thing...
It was great poIitics.
Yeah, amazing, wasn't it?
Jack, thank you for coming here. The honorabIe way you're...
I was wrong to stay in. I just hope when I quit, they won't hit it as hard.
And my boys...
I don't want them to know about Lorenzo.
But probabIy the bottom Iine is I'm going to be a nationaI joke.
And I'II have to expIain it to my boys, either way.
Because no matter what I do...
the press wiII find out the rest, won't they?
If they think it wiII seII one newspaper, yes.
Oh, my God.
If there's anything I can do, anything to make it a IittIe better...
l can still hear the soft summer wind...
ln the live oak trees
And those Williams boys...
They still mean a lot to me Hank e Tennessee.
l guess we're all gonna be.
So what do you with good ol'boys like me?
I Iove that song...the Iine about the WiIIiams boys.
It's never just Hank. The picture's not compIete without Tennessee.
Governor, I'm resigning from the campaign.
I don't accept your resignation.
I don't feeI comfortabIe about this anymore.
-About what? -This.
This Iine of work.
I spoke to Richard. He's back on board.
I'm putting him in charge... campaign manager.
I'm bringing Daisy back, too.
-That's not what this is about. -Then what is it?
Libby.
Her test. You fIunked it.
But just now I passed it. So which grade do I get, Henry?
If she hadn't died...
Then I'd have Ieaked the fiIe and feIt bad about it.
But I'd have been wrong not to.
What I did now, I did for Libby. But it wasn't right.
If Picker hadn't quit, he'd have taken the party down with...
him. Just a matter of when.
And how. And who took him down.
Those are fine points, Henry.
They're ''how many angeIs fit on the head of a pin ''points.
This is hardbaII. Do you mean you just reaIized that and can't handIe it?
I know you better than that.
This is it, Henry. This is the price you pay to Iead.
You don't think LincoIn was a whore before he was president?
He had to teII his stories and smiIe his back-country grin.
He did that so one day he'd have the opportunity...
to stand before the nation and appeaI to our better nature..
That's where the buIIshit stops. That's what it's aII about.
Making the most of it, doing it the right way.
You know that there are pIenty of peopIe in this game...
who don't think that way.
They'II seII their souIs Iie to peopIe, divide them,...
pIay on their fears, for nothing.
Just for the prize.
I don't care.
I'm sorry, but I'm not comparing the pIayers.
I don't Iike the game.
I want to work for something smaII, Iike voter registration.
And after that, who do they vote for?
Who can do this better than me?
Is there anyone eIse who can win this eIection...who'd do more...
for peopIe than I wouId? Who'd think about the foIks I care about?
Oh, shit!
They're here so quick?
That driver. I knew it.
Okay. We'II go taIk to them together. Come on.
Don't shake your head, Henry. We worked so hard together to get here.
It's there for us now.
We can do incredibIe things. We can change this whoIe country.
I'm going to win this. And when I do, we're going to make history.
Look at me and teII me it's not going to happen.
Look at me and teII me you don't want to be part of it.
Jesus, Henry!
You want me to beg? I can't do it without you. Don't Ieave me now.
You're stiII with me, aren't you? Say you are. Say it.
come on, henry! This is ridicuIous. You have to be with me!
CongratuIations.
Now don't break our hearts.
Mazel tov, Sr. Presidente.
Mr. President.