MONDO EXTRAS

Seuss. A.J. says that Leo Solomon was thrilled with the deal Shepherd made this morning. Looks like Shepherd forgot to tell A.J. about it. A.J. thinks that it's a waste of time. POTUS doesn't think so: "GDC makes a big push for the votes, and when they come up short, we move in with the softer bill to get passed, we're everybody's hero." A.J. adds that Sydney Wade called. Shepherd misses his shot, badly. Turns out she wanted to apologize and grovel some more. Like a tenth-grader, Shepherd asks, "Did she say anything about me?" A.J. doesn't seem to guess why she might have. Shepherd says, "No, it's just that we had a nice couple of minutes together. She threatened me, I patronized her...we didn't have anything to eat, but I thought there was a connection." A.J. looks unimpressed. Shepherd persists: "She didn't say anything about me?" A.J., with quiet sarcasm, "Well, no sir, but I could pass her a note before study hall." Shepherd: "Tell me this: hypothetically..." A.J. "I feel a nightmare coming on." Shepherd: "What would happen if I called Sydney and asked her to be my date at the state dinner Thursday night?" A.J. can't believe he's serious, and says that the President can't just "go out on a date." POTUS wants to know why not: "Jefferson did. Wilson did." He continues, "Wilson was widowed during his first term. He meets a woman named Edith Gault. He dated her, courted her, and married her, and somewhere in there managed to form the League of Nations." A.J. responds, "Mr. President, this is an election year. If you're looking for female companionship, we can make certain arrangements that'll insure total privacy and..." POTUS, angrily: "I don't want you to get me a girl, A.J. What is this, Vegas?" Hee. POTUS argues that he, as a single adult, should be free to see a woman socially. A.J. points out that Wilson "didn't have to be the president on television. You've said it yourself a million times: if there'd been a TV in every living room sixty years ago, this country does not [sic] elect a man in a wheelchair." He argues that the administration will take a hit; POTUS wants to know how big. A.J. thinks as much as five points, maybe more. That doesn't seem to concern Shepherd: "I drop five points when Wisconsin doesn't make it to the Rose Bowl." A.J. suggests getting Kodak to run some numbers. At first Shepherd says yeah, but then he says, "No. No. I don't want to check a polling sample to see if it's okay, like I'm asking permission to stay out an hour past curfew. This is not the business of the American people." A.J. replies, "With all due respect, sir, the American people have a funny way of deciding on their own what is and what is not their business." Shepherd says that he likes Sydney, and asks A.J. to "stop being [his] chief of staff for one minute." A.J. tells Shepherd to call her. POTUS yells for Janie. He asks again whether Sydney said anything about him. Apparently she said he was taller than she thought he'd be. Janie arrives and POTUS tells her that she needs to track down a phone number for him.