Jim and Mac walk down the hall and a man stands to meet them -- Manute, the Nigerian Ambassador. They greet each other warmly. He begins to offer condolences, and Mac interrupts him with a smile, saying she doesn't have much time as she ushers him into the room. As he begins to insist that that United States not continue to interfere...he trails off, as all of the military brass stand for the President. Mac asks, "I'm sorry, what was that?" That was quite the awesome power play. Manute stands, literally speechless and gaping at the assembled men. Mac asks General Pollack to explain the extraction plan for Oria Madula. There's a whole lot of military procedure talk, and he concludes, "By the way, we're pretty good at this sort of thing. There should be limited loss of life." Gobsmacked, Manute finally stammers, "I-I don't believe the USA would take such unilateral action..." Mac explains, "Manute. You're a good guy. You really are. But I can't take a chance that my becoming president would speed Oria Madula's execution. And if you think I'm going to stand by and watch a young woman be executed -- tortured -- for having sex? You are sorely mistaken." Manute looks at the men. "I will call the Prime Minister." As he leaves, Jim smiles to himself. This girl's got balls.

However, back at home, Rod looks slapped. "I'll tell you what I resent, okay?" "Okay," Mac replies, faintly. This is a true husband-wife conversation, not a working one. He's upset that she knew this all along, and she interrupts to explain. He stops her to finish his own thought: "That you knew that you were going to do this all along and you let me behave like an ass in front of Jim." He's got a really valid point, and although we know that Jim felt for Rod's situation and didn't look down on him, Rod doesn't know that. He continues, "I mean, thanking him for his service to this country. I'm so humiliated." Mac tries to placate him: "Rod, come on, you know..." "'Come on'? Honey, listen, listen. The only way this has ever worked is when we've walked side by side. And I want to be there..." Mac: "You will be." Rod: "As Chief of Staff." And Rod loses some of the sympathy he'd just gained, since now he's just being thick-headed. I can't imagine that he couldn't guess how bad that would look, and how it would undermine Mac's new authority. But...well, just keep looking good in a suit, Rod. To his credit, as Mac pleads with him to know how important he is to her, he drops it. He's clearly upset, but (at least this week) this is the last he shows his upset.