Cut to Leo's office: Charlie approaches. "Mr. McGarry?" Leo tells him to please call him Leo and Charlie agrees to try. He wants to ask Leo about a birthday message that is needed for the deputy transportation secretary's fiftieth birthday. Apparently the President usually sends letters for such occasions. Leo tells him to give it to the communications department. As Charlie is leaving, Leo reconsiders and tells him to give it to Sam. Ruh-roh! Charlie runs into Sam in the hallway who begins blathering away about having gone to the gym (though why he'd need to with the constant walking everyone does on this show is beyond me), showered, shaved and shined his shoes. Sam announces that he expects the opera to be excruciating. Charlie is finally able to get a word in edgewise and hands him the birthday card assignment. Sam's incredulous, naturally, but decides he can manage this before Mallory shows up; he barks a bit at his staff, and disappears into his office. It's 7:10 PM.

Toby's head is propped up on his chin, eyeballs glued to the laptop screen. Mandy the pest (psst! Mandy...over here...you should hook up with Danny) ["I thought the same thing!" -- Strega] wants to know if Toby's listening to her. Toby tells her he's not the one to talk to about the banking bill anymore. C.J. appears at the door and asks what's going on. Mandy asks C.J. to tell Toby that they shouldn't veto the bill, except Mandy says it in such an irritatingly snooty and sarcastic way that I will spare you all the pain of quoting her exactly. C.J. takes a stab at it: "Toby, Mandy wants you to recommend to the President that we do it her way." Toby asks C.J. if she understood what Mandy said, to which C.J. replies, "No, but she seemed pretty confident." Mandy wants to talk to Josh again; Toby tells her to talk to anyone she wants; he needs to work. Mandy hustles off muttering about how "you people are too ready to cut your noses off to spite your faces". C.J.'s right on her heels, asking for advice on how to get Danny to drop the Cabinet meeting story. Mandy suggests offering him a trade: "a half hour with the President." C.J. seems to think that will work. Mandy wants help with Josh and Toby but C.J. tells her there's no way she'll talk them out of trying to stop the passage of the bill with the rider; it's what they get geared up for. Mandy snorts, "You guys are idiots, did you know that?" C.J.'s reply: "In our own defence, we actually do know that."