Will closes the door and calls Sam. Sam's hair is too long, but at least it's not both too long and parted in the middle. It's parted on the side, which partially mitigates the length. Partially, you hear me? Maybe Sam and Katie can sneak out together and get a trim. ["I thought it might be an especially shaggy wig." -- Wing Chun] Will asks Sam why he cancelled the Teamsters. I imagine Will has naturally been trying to keep a very close eye on the campaign in the 47th in addition to grappling with all his new responsibilities. Sam says that Scott thought they should be at the Manufacturing Association breakfast. Will doesn't think that was very smart. Sam calls across the room to Scott that Will doesn't think he's very smart. Scott looks up. Hey, it's Dr. Dale Edson! Will says, "I said 'it wasn't smart.'" Will asks Sam how he gets the speechwriting staff to like him. Sam says he doesn't know: "But when you do, why don't you tell me how you did it?" Hmm. I don't think I believe that the staff didn't like Sam. I don't think Will does, either. Sam says he's going to have to get a new staff now. Will says they have to get a lot of remarks ready for Monday. When Sam asks what's going on on Monday, Will realizes he shouldn't have said anything and lies that it's about the environment. Sam has to go. Sam tells his campaign managers that Will was wondering why they cancelled the Teamsters. Scott tells Sam that while Bartlet et al. are here this weekend, "You're going to need to work hard at avoiding the appearance that you're sitting in his lap, he's reading you a bedtime story." Sam would like to know what they have planned that could require him to have to work hard at that. Scott says, "You stand next to him, you're aide-de-camp, a waterboy." The other campaign guy -- whose name I can't remember (if I ever knew it) -- offers: "Second banana." Sam wonders if they think he didn't know what they meant. Seriously, I already don't know how he's put up with these two for the last three months. Scott says, "This went fast in an ugly direction." He says people need to know Sam is independent. Sam says he has a good feeling about this trip already.
Friday Night. Over the Grand Canyon. We're on Air Force One; on a monitor, a TV anchorperson reports on the Republican Party's intention to roll out their $800 billion tax cut plan and the lack of response from the White House. The staffers (Ed, Larry, Donna, Toby) watch the news; Toby looks frustrated. Larry says that POTUS is going to go out of his mind. Toby says he's going to go with him. They agree that it's worse than they thought it was going to be. Suddenly Andi -- fairly pregnant but not looking exactly as large as you'd think a woman nearly eight months pregnant with twins would look, and moving pretty gracefully to boot -- wanders out and says, "Did you just see that?" Yay, Andi! Toby stands up and says, "Oh, my God. Have you been on the plane the whole time?" Andi: "No, I hopped on board when you guys were over the Great Lakes." He wants to know what she's doing there. She says she told him she was coming. He says he told her she couldn't fly. She says her doctor told her she could fly through the thirty-second week: "And I thought since he's my doctor, and you're really dumb, I'd join the Congressional delegation and help out Sam." He says nothing. She prompts him: "Isn't it great?" Toby: "Listen to me. We've got all kinds of atmospheric cabin pressure up here. We're a little late, so the Colonel's put the hammer down in a 747. You've got wind shear, downdraft, massive turbulence, not to mention four giant engines burning jet fuel at galactic temperatures. We're standing in a flying death tube!" Everyone looks up. Toby: "No, not the rest of y-y-you, it's just my family. It's fine. Look..." Andi: "What do you want me to do, step off?" Toby: "Also, you've got twins in there; you're basically a minivan. How are you fitting into a seat?" Whoa. Not. Smart. Also, I'm thinking the accommodations on Air Force One are a wee bit more generous than your standard economy class sardine can deal. Donna looks at Toby. Andi turns to the rest of the people in the room and says, "Uh-uh...I saw him first, girls." Bwah! Why can't this be the Andi and Toby show? That's not a rhetorical question.









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