We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming
to bring you the following report from NBC News.
Here now is Tom Brokaw.
Good evening from Des Moines, Iowa, tonight.
The Democratic caucuses in the state of Iowa now are underway,
and the first results have just been reported.
The NBC News projection
is that Walter Mondale will be the winner.
About half of those attending the caucuses tonight
who expressed a preference for a candidate
are for Mondale.
All the other candidates are far behind.
It does appear, however, that Senator John Glenn
will not finish second.
And it appears that there's a very good chance tonight
that Gary Hart will be second in the preferences
of those attending the Iowa caucuses tonight.
Let some of the other...
His hair looks like shit.
- When is he getting it cut? - That is the new cut.
We can't get a clear line.
What? Are we at full stick?
Jesus. Did you have to park so close to the building?
Okay, go, Steve!
Yes, we learned just a few minutes ago
that Senator Hart will soon leave this hotel,
head back to the convention hall, where he will concede.
Yes, he will concede to former vice president Walter Mondale.
Hart went into the primaries a relative unknown,
eclipsed by challengers like John Glenn...
I'm on my hands and knees,
fiddling with these wires behind the accelerator.
I'm trying to get a...
Congratulations.
I'm fooling with the wires behind the accelerator
trying to jump-start the damn thing, but...
- You know how to do that? - Well, golf carts are easy
to jump-start, you got to get the right wires together.
Say he's been making phone calls and thanking supporters
and asking them to back Walter Mondale's campaign.
Okay, let's try another one. In three...
Hey, asshole, you're walking through my shot!
- Yeah, sorry. Sorry. - Come on!
Hart won every state west of the Mississippi
in his fight for the Democratic nomination,
but in the end,
it was a question taken from a Wendy's advertisement
that dogged his insurgent campaign.
Roll tape. Go.
When... When I hear... When I... When I hear...
There are some specific ways to do that.
When I hear your new ideas,
I'm reminded of that ad, "Where's the beef?"
- Yeah? - Okay, go, Steve.
Hart will take to the stage
- later this evening... - Wait. Hold it, Steve. Hold it.
- To share his thoughts... - We lost the signal.
Are we facing south?
- I think we're facing south. - Steve, would you shut up?
We lost the signal again.
Well, maybe you should invest in a goddamn compass.
Would someone tell... Steve, shut up!
When he took the New Hampshire primary.
Okay, no one's listening to me.
At that point, it was anyone's game.
This news tonight resets the playing field.
Insiders of both camps say the challenge now,
heading into the fall campaign, will be to unify
this very divided Democratic Party.
The long fight between Mondale and Hart...
What's the plan for after?
The body's still warm. You want to talk about '88?
- I mean drinks. - Oh, that Hawaiian place.
Polynesian.
I don't know what he was talking about,
but he was in that... Carter's White House...
- So, can you use it? - I lost all feeling above the knuckle.
I could always tell when it's about to rain.
- No, really? - Yeah.
Mmm-hmm.
Yeah, okay.
I appreciate it, Walter.
I'll come with you back to Denver.
You should stay.
Senator, it's time.
Remember to hit homelessness, sir.
- I don't want you to fly alone. - I'll be fine.
I'll take the kids. You need to be in D.C.
- I don't need to be anywhere. - Yeah, you do.
Senator, we need to roll.
Are you really gonna follow Mondale around
- for another six months? - My apartment is grim.
I'll take the free meals, though.
Maybe they'd like your job, Quinn.
Ah, it's a good plan. Well, it was a good plan.
They light the damn thing on fire, don't they?
Uh, there's no weapons allowed at the table.
The only shot I want's whiskey.
- To the wisdom of the framers. - Jefferson and his slaves.
Ah, leave Jefferson out of it.
- Gentlemen. - Oh, hey, Bob.
Hmm.
Of course, they don't even have a straw big enough
- to reach down the bottom... - You want a real drink?
- Huh? - You want a real drink?
No, that is a real drink.
America is the land
where dreams can come true for all of us.
Ladies and gentlemen of the convention...
Thinking of going swimming?
My name is Geraldine Ferraro.
Remember our first trip to New Hampshire?
Come home in a Carter motorcade?
And those two vans, you know, that time we won the primary.
Think Mondale's got a chance?
Mondale? No. Reagan's gonna crush him.
In four years, they won't have an answer for us,
- for our ideas. - George Bush might.
You think young people are gonna vote for George Bush?
If the economy keeps up.
The world changes when young people give a damn, Billy.
We're the only ones who'll give a damn about them.
We should have won.
That's not what this was about.
Then what was it about?
Now they know who we are.
- The circus. - Uh, Jim, I would like to say,
we do miss home, and four months ago, we left,
and I have not walked into my house,
have not seen my puppies and my kittens and all those things
and our dear friends that we love so much since.
And so, to the people at home, we love you,
- we miss you and... - Yes.
And we hope all of the people we love so much will forgive us.
Give the president a little credit.
No...
One could argue he's trying to keep us safe.
No, President Reagan has allowed our cities to decay,
while he buys enough warheads
to destroy this planet 30 times over.
I mean, imagine if every school could have a computer,
every library, every home. That is...
Well, why don't we just buy everyone a microwave?
And a television set, while we're at it.
I'm interested in educating
the next generation, not entertaining them.
You know, gentlemen, this is beginning to sound
something like a campaign debate.
Mr. Billy Shore, what's the story?
Do either of you have anything to announce?
It's not gonna happen today, Alan, okay?
- After you, Senator. - But keep asking.
You and your younger Democratic colleagues
have been called the "Atari Democrats."
I've heard. I didn't coin that.
- Have you ever played Atari? - Uh, yes,
I've tried Asteroids a few times with my son.
Uh, I mostly drifted around getting pelted with rocks.
Felt like my first term in the Senate.
Did you see what Bono announced?
He's running for mayor of Palm Springs.
Oh, come on.
I can certainly guess his campaign slogan.
"He's got you, babe."
- He looks good. - Yeah.
- I've read your spy novel. - Well, thank you.
Hey, you guys be careful. Let's put that inside right here.
Now, these other candidates are all decent guys.
They all want what's best for this country.
But they're not gonna win.
You know it, they know it. More importantly, George Bush knows it.
That's why they're all gunning for us.
We lose this primary, that's it,
we can kiss the White House good-bye.
And kiss your future good-bye, because...
Will somebody pay the pizza guy?
How much is it?
$17.99.
If line three rings, don't pick up. That's the fax.
What if line one and two are busy, though?
Use line four.
It's amazing.
We have a rusting industrial base.
How does he look that good?
Genetics.
Whose? Don Johnson's?
Yeah. That's why I look like this.
What if line four is busy?
- Who the fuck did this? - So, when you're exhausted
and your feet hurt and your fingers are frozen
from knocking on doors in Nashua for 12 hours straight,
you miss your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your
kids...
You're tired of eating fast food and
leftovers because we don't pay you jack shit...
I want you to think about the opportunity
that we have right here, right now.
And the cost to this great country
if we squander it.
Anyway, let's assume Cranston's out. Who are we missing?
Well, if Cranston doesn't know he's out,
- somebody better tell him. - Gore's looking at it.
- What, Al Gore? - Is he old enough?
- He's 38, I think. - His daddy could win him the South.
- Have you seen the wife, Tipper? - Thanks.
- That's her name. - There's Dukakis, maybe.
- Who? - The Governor of Massachusetts.
"Dukakis"? That's not gonna look good on a campaign poster.
Yeah, add a "K," he could win the South.
Gallup's got Hart beating Bush by 12.
- By 12? - Uh-huh.
Jesus.
Woodward, you know the guy.
What do you think?
Gary Hart? He could win it.
I mean, he's got the hair.
How many points do you think the hair is worth?
Six points. Four, if it's windy.
I think it's a little lofty
for Senator Hart to be discussing our grand future
without crediting President Reagan...
Come on, I'm not gonna credit...
...for the reforms we're seeing
- in the Soviet Union. - We did not bankrupt the Soviets.
Communism bankrupted itself morally and economically.
You do not get credit for kicking down a door
- that's already open. - Well...
I mean...
Uh, ribbon-cutting at the end of the week
and then a run-through of the grand announcement
6,000 feet above sea level at Red Rocks.
Has anybody been able to get him off this weird mountain man thing?
- It's... - No. He is entrenched.
Uh, technically, I don't think he can be entrenched
if he's on top of a mountain.
- Okay, thanks, Doug. - There is a long, storied history
of announcing one's candidacy from a drab, shit-colored ballroom with,
you know, electricity and lights.
And elevators.
Oh, has anybody told him we can't drop balloons from a mountain?
Maybe we could rent a plane.
...not just this quarter's bottom line.
We did not prep any of this. He's just shooting from the hip.
It's unbelievable.
Yo, we're gonna need water for the press.
- Maybe oxygen, too. - I moved here two weeks ago,
I still can't find a decent package store.
Okay, maybe stop that, and focus on...
She's not the one who gets the coffee, by the way.
- Downtime in Miami... - You haven't found the one on Wynkoop?
It's right around the corner.
Doesn't it close at, like, 5:00?
- Can we... Can we just focus? - I'll put together
some local party leaders out of Fort Lauderdale.
Yeah, no, we're not doing that.
We're not getting endorsements?
We're not filling up a photo album with people
who are gonna think we owe them something.
Anything else we're not doing?
Yeah. No barbecues.
- I love barbecues! - Dix, the road
to the presidency goes through the Iowa State Fair.
- What about the steak fry, Dix? - Not this year.
- The steak fry? - Oh, my God, calm down
about the barbecues. It's not happening.
Okay, we're gonna talk about this.
- No, we won't. - Who's staffing Miami?
Billy's there all weekend.
- You're going to Miami? - Billy B. Broadhurst, not...
How about I get a down week in Miami?
Jesus, there's a lot of Billys around here, right?
Well, I'm Bill, right?
Only an 8-year-old should be called Billy.
So, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to ask this question,
but what exactly is Billy B.'s position on this campaign?
Well, he's a Louisiana lobbyist,
so his chief contributions to the political process
seem to be gumbo and bourbon.
And dirty jokes.
- He makes the senator laugh, so... - All right, going back.
Last week in April, we kick off and hit the road,
starting with a grip-and-greet in Kansas.
Kansas is a go?
Yeah, we think Kansas is a go.
He'll actually talk about his parents?
- No. He finds that irrelevant. - Right.
How? Everyone has parents. It's relatable.
So, what's relatable? That he was born?
Okay.
It's not four years ago, though.
He is up 12 points. People are gonna want to get to know him.
- Yeah, Dix. - How do we get the senator to open up?
We don't, okay? We just don't.
I've never known a guy more talented at untangling the bullshit of politics
so that anyone can understand.
It is a gift,
and he wants to share that with people.
And all anybody wants is for him to take a stupid photo.
He will never understand that.
The danger is this.
Will America, in the year 2000,
wake up to a future as a second-rate power?
This is the key test of American leadership.
What about his marriage?
I heard she looks the other way.
Must be a limited field of view.
Sounds pretty ideal to me.
No, sounds like a zipper story.
What is the candidate's position on zippers?
He prefers them open.
Bob, you and he were roommates for a while?
Yeah, when Lee kicked him out a few years ago,
- he crashed on my couch. - And?
And anything that happens on my sectional sofa is irrelevant.
A.J. says the trail reporters are obsessed with it.
Mr. Parker, is this so?
No, just some stories circulating.
Such as?
Oh, well, I heard one when I was in Dallas.
Someone said they saw Hart go into his hotel room
with a blonde heiress after a fundraiser.
- Original. - Well, when I was on trail,
we fucked each other, we didn't write about it.
- Well, I'm married. - Good luck with that.
Should we follow up?
You know how many members of Congress...
We'd have to expel half the Senate.
And you wouldn't be thrilled with who was left.
I'm not thrilled now.
Why do they need three hours to take a picture?
It's the cover of People. It's just what they do.
And they want Gary and Lee, right?
- That's right. - They call me every single day.
They're not the only ones, either. I need to know what the plan is.
As in?
Uh...
As in...
I don't think that it would hurt us
to put them both out there.
Okay, okay, what are you talking about?
The state of things.
There's a ton of interest
in the separations, in the getting-back-togethers.
It wouldn't hurt us to...
What? I think that...
I think that people want to get to know the Harts.
I think that they want to see them out, walking their dog,
pumping their gas, being regular people.
He's not a regular person...
He's the next fucking president of the United fucking States!
Nope, it's not up for discussion.
Your husband won't move off announcing at Red Rocks.
It's a powerful backdrop, Billy.
You're gonna have to distribute oxygen tanks to the press.
Perhaps they'll conserve energy by not asking questions.
Billy wants us to pose for People magazine.
Millions of people read People.
- Oh, it has words? - Oh, don't be fooled.
- Gary loves People. - That is slander.
You should have told him it was for Popular Science.
- Hey, Andrea. - Hey.
You know, people want to feel like they know you,
and this is a good forum for that.
Come on, if I do a photo shoot, uh, today, what's tomorrow,
swimsuit competition, talent show?
Okay.
Well, there will be photographers in Kansas.
Yeah, and I will be smiling like
- some sort of game show host. - I love drinking Robitussin
to fall asleep every night.
What do you think? This time next year, you might be living at the White House.
Ah.
Just think what my chores will be.
Just think what your rent will be.
How are the applications coming?
Utterly fascinating.
This is really good.
But I just don't think you need the paragraph about the iguanas.
It's kind of making light of everything else you're saying about yourself.
It says I have a sense of humor.
Yeah, I don't think they care.
So, Red Rocks?
Yeah. I mean, if you're gonna reframe the debate,
you got to reframe the location.
I know that. Dad, I really like it.
Thanks.
I'm still getting a hard time about the road trip with Kate.
Well, we're your parents. We're supposed to, you know...
Just, uh, stay on the main roads and call us every night.
It's Kate's dad.
He doesn't like that we're sharing a room.
He's uncomfortable about it.
One bed or two?
Make an economics argument.
Hotel rooms aren't cheap.
It's a little bit farther.
Seriously, was Everest not available?
Uh, we should hit Enlightened Engagement
before the three E's, I think.
You're calling it "the three E's"?
Economy, education, environment.
You forgot ethics.
- Huh? - So there's four "E's"?
- Gary'll need some water. - What's that?
You're gonna need some water.
- We'll have water, Mrs. Hart. - And beer.
The straight-down light's gonna make brutal shadows.
Mrs. Hart, you okay with the climb?
Are you?
Uh, no, it's gotta be three "E's," linguistically.
Ah, so we're losing an "E"? Which one?
Environment, education or economy?
- Which do you suggest? - Add an "E." Who gives a fuck?
Can we get some music?
Like, a high school marching band or something?
- No band. - No? Music is important.
It sets a tone.
What, are we opening a Stater Bros.?
- Where's Bill? - I'm right here.
No, not you. Shore.
He's Billy. I'm Bill.
Oh, hey.
Senator, how would you react to a tent?
- Lee. - Poorly.
Can we run this much cable?
- We'll use a mult box. - All right,
- you'll be standing over here. - Okay.
With Andrea. And I think you'll want to wear
- something dark, maybe a blue. - Dark? In nature?
Yeah.
I... I don't know, I've already bought something.
What'd you buy?
Can we, uh...
Excuse me, I'm sorry. Can we just have a minute?
- Have you talked to Andrea? - Uh, yeah. Remind me later.
- Okay. - Sorry.
Really? Is this necessary?
The Brown Palace has a perfectly lovely ballroom.
Dixon, Dixon, Dixon. You know what brought me to Colorado originally?
The railroad.
I spent a summer hammering railroad ties. Can you imagine?
I actually can, yeah.
You know the last time a Democratic president came out of the West?
- Never. - Exactly.
The West is the future. Always has been. Still is.
Uh, oh, yeah. Remind me later.
The announcement was originally scheduled to begin exactly at noon,
but now they say that Gary Hart is going to be a few minutes late.
Senator Hart will be out any moment.
- Please take a step back. - He's gonna be going here.
Everybody needs to be behind that line.
What are you thinking? I'm leaning towards the red.
I feel like the red's gonna pop for camera.
- Why are you asking me? - I'm not sure. Hey, Grace,
I feel like the red. Let's get the red ribbon up, please. Nice and taut.
I'm just gonna make it go the other way.
Mmm-hmm.
- You ready? - Senator.
- Okay. You all right? - Sir?
- Yes? Yes? - Here you go.
Wow. Couldn't find the big ones?
Gary Hart's been a United States senator for 10 years.
At 46, he's one of the youngest candidates.
You've built up quite a lead.
Do you already have your eyes on the general election?
You know what, don't shoot the fucking desk.
- We've got, like, policy papers and... - Senator Hart...
- Senator Hart is taking... - Senator Hart...
The Democratic Party has been in the dumps psychologically,
and in disarray ideologically.
Bill Martin, Senator.
- Bill. - Really proud to be
- here with you. - Excited to have you on my team.
- Thank you. - Thank you very much.
Joe Trippi, part of our press team.
- Joe, how are you? - Senator. Nice to meet you.
- Senator, Ginny Terrazo. - Hi, Ginny.
- I'm sorry? - Uh, press team.
- What was your name? - Ginny Terzano.
- Ginny. Yeah. - These guys you know.
- Gentlemen. - Hi.
- Hi, Billy. How are you? - How are you?
Hi, hi. This is Tom Fiedler from the Miami Herald.
- Miami. Yes, I can tell by your tie. - Oh.
That's Miami, all right.
Thank you. Really appreciate it. Thank you.
A small army of reporters and photographers...
At least 20 or 30 cameras
- or 50 or 60 reporters. - Three, two, one.
I intend, as I always have, to run a campaign of ideas.
Ideas have power.
Ideas are what governing is all about,
and governing is what this election is all about.
Standing before the snow-capped Rocky Mountains in Colorado,
Gary Hart announced for the presidency.
Nowhere is Hart as much a front runner
as he is in his own hometown, Ottawa, Kansas.
The former senator from Colorado
arrived at the airport just about an hour and a half ago.
Now, we're rolling here.
In an era of great change, challenge and opportunity,
it's less important that our...
So we flew to Ottawa fucking Kansas to give a policy speech?
I thought he was gonna get personal.
Personal is not a comfort zone.
If it's any consolation, he is hitting all four of the "E's."
We added an "E"?
Gary Hart, known as the voice of a new generation,
continues to inspire voters both young and old,
who say this Colorado senator has both the presence
and idealism of a Kennedy.
Senator, how does it feel to be back home?
Well, uh...
Are we gonna swing through the South or not?
Why waste the money?
- Carter won the South. - Carter was the South.
Trust me, it's already gone.
Irene's right. I'm not writing off the South.
If my ideas make sense in Youngstown, they'll make sense in Mobile.
Then we get to go to Alabama.
Gary Hart prepares for another busy day on the campaign trail.
No matter what the most hardened political cynics may say,
Gary Hart's speech here
was not simply about furthering his own presidential ambitions.
Take two.
Gary Hart was campaigning in New England today...
Gary Hart is back in the race and back in New Hampshire...
It was typical of what you might see
with the visit of a front runner.
- Gary Hart's campaign circus... - ...is in Fort Wayne tonight.
Why don't we invest in their enterprise, in their industry,
create opportunities for Mexicans in Mexico.
Instead of stealing your jobs, they'll buy your chairs.
They're not very good chairs.
Can't really help you with that.
Let's forget about jobs for a second. Let's talk about security.
Gary Hart is running far ahead of the pack of contenders.
- Give me another take. - Serious campaigning aside,
Hart's mood in recent days...
This week's issue of Newsweek magazine profiles Hart.
...considered to be the leading contender
for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Hart spoke at four schools,
was interviewed by the editors of two newspapers...
After a blistering first week,
Senator Hart is taking a break from the campaign trail.
So, he comes to me, he says,
"Hey, Mr. B.B., if I go for that deal,
"I will trade you the car and the crawfish."
So I took that deal.
I took that goddamn deal.
- There it is there. - Oh, is it anybody I know?
You know, friends are for dinner parties,
yachts are for new acquaintances, Hart.
Quite a boat, Billy.
Well, belongs to a man named Soffer.
Good fella. Nice guy. Owns a shit-ton of real estate around up in here.
- Hi, B.B. - Hey, darling. How are you?
- I'm good. - Told you it was a friendly crowd.
- Hey. - This is Gary.
I can't hear. What?
- You're a senator? - No, recently retired.
Oh, yeah.
Gary.
Hi. I'm Donna.
- Sorry? - Donna!
Donna? Right.
Gary.
Nice boat.
- Yeah. - Right?
It's just, I, you know... I wanna go back up.
I might just go up.
Okay, three, two, one. This is Mike Ritchie reporting
from Austin, Texas, where Senator Gary Hart of Texas...
Colorado. Fuck. Let's take it from the top. Ready?
- Okay, 30 minutes away. - Three, two, one.
This is Mike Ritchie reporting...
Where's Sally?
...Senator Gary Hart of Colorado spent the day talking...
- A designer suit? - It's not about the suit.
- It's the presentation of things. - Hmm.
What's this?
Ralph Lauren announced they're doing wardrobe for CBS News.
- John's not sure about that. - What?
You, uh, preferred Hugo Boss?
It's that word, "wardrobe."
Like they're on Three's Company.
Well, it is a television show.
No. It's the news.
A bad suit should mean something, it's trustworthy.
Trustworthy?
Yeah, look, it starts with designer clothes,
and everyone says, "Don't they look nice,"
and pretty soon Vidal Sassoon is doing Tom Brokaw's hair.
Right. Then they add some pop music, right?
- Yeah. - Electric guitar?
Sure, great.
Mark Knopfler's writing some opening theme song,
and they'll have fucking action shots
of anchors leaping away from fires
and pulling kittens out of storm drains.
Hey, I'd watch that.
Dix, what do you think?
I don't give a fuck.
All right.
You should give a fuck.
It's the death nail of journalism.
Do you mean "death knell"?
It's a common mistake.
How often do people just punch you in the face?
Hey. It's Gary.
You were?
I would love that. You know I would.
Well, within the next 10 days.
Miss you, too.
Yeah.
Now boarding flight 435.
Now boarding.
Another foolish call, and everybody gets a secret.
Can we swing him by the high school?
- Unlikely. No. - We can't do that.
I think it's a good opportunity, a photo op, whole family.
If we keep him hopping around, he's gonna get scratchy.
- Yeah. - Scratchy?
Remember this time last year we had that flat on our bus?
- Oh, here she comes. - Oh, here we go.
I always assumed that he was born in '36
and two years after we were married,
he had said '37...
Oh. Sorry about that.
- We're gonna get started. - Yep. Who is it?
It's Parker. Yeah, he's from The Washington Post.
- He's coming up right now. - Parker?
Yeah. Yeah, we'll bring him up.
It's kind of going up.
- Yeah, yeah. - Okay.
If you don't see it kind of curving up like that...
Hey.
We have a few minutes right now, if you're ready.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, great. Thanks.
- Sorry, sir. Thank you. - Hey, guys.
Go get him, tiger.
So, second row up, in.
- Uh, Kevin? - Yeah?
Uh, when can I get some face time with the senator?
We're gonna do a presser on the ground.
No, no, I mean a one-on-one.
We're not doing that this time.
What do you call that?
The Washington Post.
- Please. - Hey. Hi.
There have been several opportunities to negotiate,
but it seems that the president is not interested in that.
Well, but you don't think the president has gone far enough?
I know he hasn't gone far enough.
I know Gorbachev, too, don't forget.
Well, what are we supposed to do, aside from negotiate more reductions?
Well, there won't be any peace dividend
if we don't meet Gorbachev more than halfway.
I'd, uh, invite him to my inauguration.
What? The Soviet premier?
Sure. Yeah.
Why wouldn't he come?
Why... Why wouldn't we show him democracy in action?
- I think we need to be bolder. - Do you really think that'll
lay the groundwork for more negotiations?
Groundwork? The groundwork's already laid.
It's just, uh... It's just turbulence.
Yeah. Uh-huh.
Hey, hey.
It's just wind.
Just close your eyes.
Seriously.
Okay, you're just
driving down a country road.
See? See? Yeah.
We just hit... We hit a few bumps.
The truck keeps going.
You've been doing this your whole life.
Okay? Some roads aren't paved, that's all.
Um... Thank you.
So, the, uh, Soviets are in an economic tailspin,
but, um, that change has to be managed,
otherwise, you'll get a power vacuum in Asia and the Mideast,
and you know what fills vacuums, right?
- Human nature? - Exactly.
Uh, wars, dictators, religious extremism.
That's your view of human nature?
Didn't they teach you Tolstoy at, uh...
Oh, Yale. And I was a history major.
Right.
Uh...
Here.
Teach you something about the, uh, Soviets.
Thank you.
Um... I'll get it back to you.
Keep it. I'm not a library.
It is your job, specifically,
to convince the senator not to do things exactly like this.
What exactly do you want me to say?
He's gonna look like an idiot.
- Or worse, kill someone. - Roosevelt was an outdoorsman.
He shot a grizzly once.
You know that's where teddy bears come from?
- Fuck off. - It's true.
Teddy Roosevelt almost killed a giant bear, and they commemorate it
by making plush toys for children.
It was a national sensation.
Ten bucks says he misses?
- I'm all right, thanks. - I can't believe
we're at a fucking axe-throwing contest.
What do they call it, Timbersport?
This is a first.
He might just actually throw away his campaign.
I can't fucking watch this.
That was incredible!
Oh, my God!
- Excuse me. - Yes.
Could you sign my diary?
Hey, guys.
- What's the news? - Cuomo's officially out.
Wow.
Well, long way to go.
Mmm, Kennedy, Bradley... They're all out.
I like Gephardt. Al's still in this thing.
Jesse Jackson.
Come on, I mean, Senator, sir.
What? He's got double digits.
You think the people of this country will elect Jesse Jackson as president?
- Maybe vice president. - Well, that's what Jesse
really wants, anyway, right?
Uh, another round on me.
Oh, I'm sorry, you can't do that.
Fine. Another round on them.
Word is you're gonna be president.
I don't know, how does Secretary of the Navy sound?
Mmm, I've already been a secretary, honey.
But you're sweet.
Right before they breach our airspace,
they dump the entire fucking shipment into the Atlantic.
And not pounds. Like, tons of coke.
It's like a Volkswagen worth of coke, just boom.
Like a Volkswagen, not like a Honda or something?
Yeah, like a Volkswagen.
What the fuck am I talking about here? I got an old Navy buddy
gives fishing tours out of Islamorada.
I spent five nights under a fucking cargo net.
All right, well, maybe you'll be more comfortable
in a cushy chair, Murph.
Let's work up some sort of map of the route
and make sure we have artwork on these cigarette boats in motion.
No bullshit stock photo. I want to see surf kicking up.
Got it. Sexy boats kicking up surf.
Anything from the Mickey desk?
MGM is suing Disney World.
- No shit? - It's a license violation.
Let's work up a top for the front page,
and some options on a crying Mickey drawing.
Oh, we've done crying Mickey.
Twice. When Universal came to Orlando,
and then when that alligator
- ate that kid near Epcot. - Oh, yeah.
Who builds a theme park in a swamp?
All right, give me, uh, Mickey in handcuffs.
Politics?
Good morning. Politics.
Uh, yeah. I just got back from the kickoff tour with Gary Hart.
Whew!
Okay, anything new?
I mean, it's the curtain raiser
on the guy that's gonna win the presidency, so...
Keep it to 100 twills, Tom. We're tight today.
- Are you serious? - Sports!
How about those Dolphins?
He's knocked down. Allison has it. Centers.
He scores!
Mike Allison scores...
Tom Fiedler.
Hello?
Um...
Did you write the story about Gary Hart today?
Yeah. That was me.
He's having an affair with a friend of mine.
Uh, what's her name?
What's your name?
I can't tell you that!
Look, this isn't funny, okay?
I mean, you just can't call people and make allegations.
- So who are you, and... - She's flying up there
to see him in Washington this weekend.
Uh, Hart's not in D.C. this weekend.
He's going to Kentucky for the Derby.
Sorry, lady.
Wait.
I want to ask you,
do you guys pay for pictures?
That's great. Jesus.
Good luck, lady.
- What'd he say? - He hung up.
- Thank you so much. - That's great...
- Hi... Yes. - You can go out...
Yes, sir, he is a voice for the working man, that's correct.
That's right, ma'am. Thank you so much for...
- Glad we can count on your support. - Yeah...
My name's Gary Hart. I'm running for president.
Now, over the next year, you're gonna see a lot of campaign ads...
Goddamn, he looks good.
- He... Yeah, he's great. - That's a great tie.
- Very attractive man. - Yeah.
I think I like the second take better, though.
He's got his hand in his pocket.
Senator Hart actually opposed the current administration's efforts
to reduce federal unemployment benefits.
Yes. He actually also voted against every aspect
of the Reagan program in 1981.
Well, you know what, that's fantastic to hear.
Well, we will. Eileen, I really appreciate it.
Hal will call you about where to send the check and all that, and, uh...
Righto.
Okay. Talk soon.
You're a free man.
- Until call time tomorrow. - Thank you. Oh, Irene,
will you tell Steve and Kitty I can't make, uh, Kentucky?
You're gonna miss the Derby?
And, uh, get Ellie to get me some coffee.
You never get the tacos.
Someone should have told you that.
But Friday's taco day, man.
Yeah. Let me know how Saturday goes.
- Hey. - What's doing?
Uh, I think I need your help on something.
You all right?
You look like you've seen a ghost.
All right!
Won't be a moment.
There's the beef.
It's not bad, actually.
A lot of potatoes in that one right there?
- It's good. - Yeah.
Baked potatoes too?
- Fries are pretty good, huh? - Good gravy.
Um, but don't let your burger that I slaved over go cold, okay?
Sure.
Mmm.
We'd like the burger to be mentioned in the first paragraph, A.J.,
- if that's okay. - Sure. Absolutely.
Maybe the best thing I've done this entire campaign.
So, uh, are we almost done?
- Uh, just about. - Mmm-hmm.
Oh, have you, uh... Have you read the book yet?
Mmm. Just about. It's Tolstoy.
Can I ask you about your separation?
It's a fairly common occurrence.
I'd avoid it if you can.
Um, look, I'm not having fun asking about this,
in case you're wondering.
I wasn't.
Well... Well, look, I just...
Why should anybody care? How... How is it relevant?
- Well, some people feel like... - Senator?
...it's hard to know you, and I'm trying to help...
No. Why are... People... Who are these people
- everyone keeps telling me about? - Okay, fine.
- Because no... - Maybe... Maybe some of us.
- We feel that way. - So, reporters?
Some of us, yes.
Oh, some of you who were still in high school
when I was running McGovern's campaign.
A.J., either ask something else...
It's not my fault you're just arriving at the party, A.J.
Well, okay. Fine.
So, around that time you told Gail Sheehy
you believed in reform marriage, what did that mean?
Oh, for crying out loud. I...
I was young and tired and living across the country from my wife,
and I made a stupid joke.
You know, this right here is why people don't want to be in public life,
because someone will dredge up something you said in a moment 15 years ago
and act like it somehow encapsulates your life.
- Look. Hey, look, I don't... - No, look I... I'm gonna
answer one more of these. I'm not gonna sit here anymore.
We've covered all the stuff that matters.
Did... Did you ask Reagan
- about his marriage? - All right, let's wrap this up.
No, no. Listen, did you ask Carter these questions?
There have been rumors, particularly about...
For God's sake, A.J., just ask whatever it is you came here to ask
or whatever your editor told you to ask me.
This is beneath you.
- Okay. - Hmm?
Do you feel like you have a traditional marriage?
"A..."
- Yeah, no, that's it. We're done here. - You know,
you... You want to know what I'm doing in my spare time, A.J., is that it?
Follow me around, put a tail on me. You'd be very bored.
That was bullshit.
Just relax.
- What am I supposed to do? - Act bored.
Most people just look bored.
- What does she look like? - Attractive. You know?
Hot enough to make you leave your wife.
Honestly, it wouldn't take that much.
Miami passengers...
Please have your passports available for inspection by the gate agent.
Stop staring at 'em.
You don't have to look at the floor. Just...
- Here you go, sir. - Thank you.
- What would you like, ma'am? - Just a...
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
We will soon be arriving at Washington National Airport.
Do we know where they're going?
I know where Hart lives.
This one here on the left.
You want me to pull over?
Uh, just hang a second.
No security? Nothing?
- You think this is it? - It's his place.
- You guys getting out? - Just give us a second.
- No Secret Service? - He isn't the nominee yet.
Look, I don't know what you guys are up to, but...
I think somebody pulled your leg, buddy.
We've been here all of two fucking seconds.
Look, this isn't a peep show.
Now, which one of you guys are paying me?
New destination. We're gonna need a hotel.
Hold on!
Look, man, I'm...
Fuck me.
- You chilly? - Yeah.
We're gonna need a photographer.
Hi.
Is this the stakeout?
No, we ran out of gas.
Will you get in the fucking car, please?
- Oh, right, sure. Yeah. - Get in the car.
Jesus fucking Christ.
You sure they're in there?
Yeah, yeah. We saw them come in and out a couple of times.
"Follow me around."
Hart told The Post to follow him around. Hey, Roy.
"Follow me around, put a tail on me.
"You'd be very bored."
He asked us to follow him.
Technically, you were already following him.
Look, it's an invitation.
We... We have a responsibility here.
Are some folks in Iowa seriously supposed to vet
some governor or congressman from God-knows-where?
You know, it... It's up to us
to hold these guys accountable.
Oh, shit.
Is there a reason you brought a camera?
- Oh, yeah, sure. Right. - Go ahead.
Yeah, okay.
...have a triple, two singles,
and all they have for it is a tie.
Raines, and then Wallach.
Winningham at first, Candaele at second and Nichols at third.
- Hey. - Hey, Senator.
Uh, last... Last draft here.
- We changed the last paragraph here... - Yup.
And you've done that already? Good.
- Yeah. - Uh...
- No, that's it. It's good. - Okay?
- Okay. - Bye.
Wilson, the policy guy.
Did he make you?
I don't think so. Fuck.
Have you seen the girl?
I... I need a closer look.
Guys, it stinks in here.
Who are they? Bush campaign?
I don't know. Maybe.
Better head on back to your place.
Fuck.
Come on, come on.
Do you think he saw us?
Good evening, gentlemen.
Evening, Senator.
I'm a reporter from the Miami Herald. Uh...
We... We'd like to talk to you. Um...
I'd like to ask you about the woman that's staying in your townhouse.
No one is staying in my townhouse.
Uh, we saw you leave and come back with the same woman. It's a blonde woman.
I may, I may not have.
We saw you.
I don't know what you think you saw.
Uh...
Hello, Senator.
Tom?
Yes, sir. Uh...
I wonder if you could tell us
whether this woman works for the campaign,
the one we saw you with.
She's not part of my campaign.
Okay. Uh...
Then can you tell us how you know her?
Oh, uh...
I don't think that's relevant.
I can assure you, Senator, this is relevant.
Yeah, it's just that we saw you leave and come back with this woman,
and we... We didn't see her...
Tom, you can't be serious. No one is staying in my home.
There's no need for that, all right?
Uh, I am serious, sir.
How long have you known this woman?
What kind of question...
What kind of questions are these?
Is she a friend?
Well, I don't know why I would tell you that.
- Tom, I am not going to... - Can you produce her
to corroborate what you're saying here?
I don't have to produce anything.
This has gone on long enough.
Senator, we know you've made calls to this woman
from Kansas and New Hampshire.
- We have the dates. - Well, I make calls every day.
I don't see how I'd remember, and I don't...
But, Senator, I was at your announcement speech, okay?
You said... You said,
- "We must hold ourselves accountable..." - I know what I...
- I know what I said. - "...to the highest possible
"standards of integrity and ethics."
Then why are we standing here?
Why are we standing in an alley on a Saturday night?
I mean, don't you think you owe it to us
- to be forthcoming? - Owe you?
You're denying what we've seen with our own eyes.
The only thing I deny is the idea that somehow
you have the right to ask me these things.
- You're running for president. - I'm aware of that, Tom.
- It's in the papers. - Well, you have a responsibility.
I know full well what my responsibilities are.
Do you know yours?
Senator.
Have you had sex with that woman?
You should be...
You should be ashamed of yourself.
The only one putting you in this alley, Tom, is you.
Holy shit.
We gotta type this up.
Hey, Billy. Get Dixon now.
Hey, how long is it going to take you to develop those?
Uh, about eight, 10 minutes.
- All right. Well, don't fuck it up. - Something like that.
I'll try not to.
All right. Okay.
Ah, fuck me.
Coffee.
Hey.
- They want us to hold for a day. - Why?
Just until we can get our shit straight, maybe get the girl's name.
I can't. We'll lose half the readers.
We can't do it. We can't do it.
No, no, it's not... It's not a Monday story.
It's a Sunday story.
Yeah, we saw her.
We saw her.
We got pictures. We got everything.
Hello?
Hey. How soon can you pick me up?
- We need to get to D.C. - What's... What's going on?
I can't tell you. It's Gary.
Forty-two minutes.
Hey, you want to say "linked" here?
Saying she's "tied to Hart"
- kind of sounds... - Professional.
No, like whips and chains and shit going on.
I know, I know.
- Hello? - Billy.
- Yeah. - They're here.
I brought 'em back to my place.
Tell Fiedler we can give him an interview with the girl.
Yes, yes. Just tell him anything.
Just straighten this out.
Yes. Just buy us some time.
Okay, Donna, Donna, I need you to be straight with me here.
Maybe you told somebody.
Your mama, the mailman.
Somebody.
Gary said the reporters are from Miami.
That means they're following you, not Gary.
- Are we... - I don't know.
Okay, well, can I talk to her?
No, I can put you on the phone with the girl if you give me a day.
Yeah, how about I give you a week?
- You want a month? - No, come on, now.
You give me a day, huh?
We'll talk about it.
They're stalling.
Listen, we know what you're doing, okay?
We're not writing for some college paper here.
We're not giving you a day, all right?
Give me a day, and I'll put you...
We haven't fact-checked a word of this.
You don't even have the woman's name.
You want to rush to print with some other paper's quote,
a quote from The Post?
- We need the quote. - You want the quote.
- We can credit The Post. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
All right, look, we could... We could tease the interview,
follow it up later in the week?
No, no, no. I'm telling you right now,
they're gonna find a way to spin this thing.
You guys are crazy. We got him right now.
We got him dead to rights. You're gonna let him go.
Easy, Crockett. This isn't a drug bust.
He was asking for it. Yeah, that's...
- I mean, that is the story. - I got it, I got it.
You guys are walking away from this. Hang on, hang on.
Uh, "In an interview with The Post,
"he challenged those who questioned him
"to, quote, 'follow me around.'"
Look, right now, The Post is in bed asleep.
Gary Hart is locked in a room with his entire campaign team,
figuring a way out of this.
He's not wrong.
You got 20 minutes to make tomorrow's A1.
No quote.
All right.
- Hello? - Hey, kiddo.
- I need you to get your mother for me. - Dad.
It's the middle of the night. Is everything okay?
Andrea...
It's Dad.
Hello?
Something's happened.
Okay. What is it?
There's going to be a...
There's going to be a story tomorrow
about me.
And you know what, they would...
What they're going to write shouldn't... Should never be written.
Um...
I can't seem to stop them. Um...
I...
Oh, go on, Gary. Just say it.
I met a woman, uh, in Miami,
and they followed her to D.C., to our townhouse in D.C.
I see.
I'm so sorry.
The one thing I ever asked was that you don't embarrass me.
I feel so stupid.
Good. It sounds like you should.
Feel stupid for a while.
Military authorities in Fort Belvoir
have been searching all vehicles leaving
the compound tonight as they continue looking for
the reputed contract killer...
...today, and Thursday, before a congressional panel
investigating the Iran-Contra Affair. He also conceded that...
What's going on, Donna?
I don't know.
I just want to go home.
Can I go home now?
Soon.
I know you want to get home.
I don't belong here.
Hmm.
I just need to get the facts.
- Talk to Gary. - Uh...
Gary's not a real big talker when it comes to
this kind of thing.
I told you already.
Uh-huh.
I wanted a job with the campaign.
B.B. arranged the interview.
"Interview."
You've worked in politics before, Donna?
No. I just wanted to work for Senator Hart.
Why's that?
I like his positions.
You think I'm some stupid bimbo.
I don't think anything.
I sell pharmaceuticals, you know?
Okay.
I was the top saleswoman in my district.
I don't doubt it.
I graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
I did all the things I was supposed to do
to make sure that men don't look at me
the way that you're looking at me right now.
I just want to go home.
Yeah, let's see how we're doing with that.
The Herald piece just came across.
Jesus. Already?
Yeah, they didn't exactly wait for comment.
Did Gary see it?
No. We sent him to Georgetown. Steve and Kitty's.
Yeah, who he should have gone to the fucking Derby with.
Okay.
Let's go.
You're up.
It shouldn't take much.
Presidential candidate Gary Hart
has dismissed allegations he's a womanizer,
challenging reporters to follow him around.
Well, this weekend, the Miami Herald did just that.
- They're using my quote. - Congratulations.
- It's completely out of context. - What context?
The only context is the idiot says, "Follow me around,"
and then goes and fucks his mistress.
It was a throwaway line. They're using it after the fact
to justify their tabloid bullshit.
Would we have staked him out? No.
- If we knew about the girl? - I hope not.
So you get to decide what...
All right, all right, that's enough.
Just covering their asses.
I swear this is true.
New Year's Eve after Jack died,
Lyndon Johnson sits down with a whole bunch of us,
pulls us in close and says, "Boys, you're gonna see
"a whole lot of women coming in and out of my hotel suites.
"I want you to pay us the same courtesy you did Jack."
And we did.
- Different time, Ben. - Yeah, but why?
I mean, who decides that?
The readers.
And if the readers want to see the candidates naked?
Well, that's one kind of measuring contest.
Has anyone seen Hart?
No, he's gone into hiding.
Sweeney won't tell me where.
He's got a big econ speech Tuesday in New York
with the Newspaper Association.
- The publishers. - All right.
Suppose we start with something small.
Write up a story from the wires about the Herald's little expose.
Are we going after Hart or the Herald?
When Americans choose presidents,
personal character traits are important,
and most candidates agree they should be.
Mom, what's going on?
Maureen, listen to what I'm telling you. They were hiding in the bushes, okay?
Like fucking scavengers. Is that journalism?
Right.
I've got Mrs. Hart on line five.
Maureen, listen, I got to go, okay?
But do me a favor and remind your editors
that they run The New York fucking Times!
Okay? And not Us Weekly.
Oh, that's funny. You're hilarious.
You don't think he...
You got a car?
Uh, no, sir.
Mrs. Hart.
- Who are you? - Uh, I'm sorry.
I've got no comment.
- Are you with the Hart campaign? - I'm sorry.
- I've got no comment. - Is Lee coming out? Will there be a statement?
I really don't know. I'm sorry.
Do you just have time for one question? Have you had
- any conversations with her? - How are you, young man?
Steve Dunleavy, A Current Affair.
- "A Current Affair"? - Who are you going to see in there?
- You bringing a message from Gary? - I don't... I got...
- I gotta go. Please! - Can you just give us a statement
before you go in? Tell me your role in the Hart campaign.
You just come to keep her company?
Can you just bring Lee out? Just make one statement for us.
- Have you talked to her? - The kid's in there.
What an asshole.
Joe Trippi, ma'am.
We met with the campaign.
I'm, uh...
I'm here to help.
Okay.
What's your plan?
Um...
So, it's really just a pretty simple stacking game.
I used to play it with my grandfather.
Everybody gets seven cards.
So, one, two...
Sure you don't want some?
Tea?
Yeah.
Can you make a hot tea?
What's...
Yes, ma'am.
Why were they interrogating me?
The standard practice for...
Um...
Is to get all the damaging facts out yourself, if there are any.
So, that way, it doesn't look like you're hiding.
But they'll leave me out of it?
My parents won't hear about any of this, will they?
We know what we're doing.
B.B. did say that you might have a job for me.
Fundraising?
I graduated magna cum laude.
That's impressive.
Do you believe it, about a job?
You sound very qualified.
Yeah, well,
when you're a model, you know, people just assume.
That you can't be smart.
Yeah.
I don't have that problem.
- No, I wasn't comparing. - I'm kidding.
I mean, I don't have that problem.
Um...
But I get why you do.
You want some honey in that, honey?
Southern Comfort.
Well, we'll throw a little fire in there.
We can't leave unskilled workers
wondering what happens to them and their families.
I mean, when they hear the word "technology," they, uh...
They think you're taking away their job, so move that up.
Hey. How are you holding up?
You know, we have to, uh...
When we talk about a digitized economy,
we have to talk more about equality of opportunity.
Gary, we can't hide from this.
Who's hiding? I'm working.
We... We need to say something.
I've already spoken to the person that matters.
There are stories being written right now.
It's gossip, Dix. It'll blow over.
I don't think it's gonna "blow over."
We... We need to go through some things.
Now. Like this boat cruise I'm hearing about, for one.
Do you think they completely missed
- the back door of the townhouse? - Bimini?
- I mean, I know... - It's not in the piece.
If they don't have her leaving...
- So? - Yeah, no, exactly.
I mean, without the back door,
- the entire article amounts... - Gary, I mean, the whole...
...to, yeah, garbage.
That whole trip... Bimini and Billy fucking Broadhurst.
God. Forget the back door.
The point is, it's nobody's goddamn business.
None of it is.
Right? They shouldn't have been there, period.
Now, if we could all just move on.
The... Yeah, that's what we're trying to do.
I mean, I've been doing this for 20 years. So have you.
The public doesn't care about this crap.
They won't stand for it.
- They won't. - I don't know. It...
You know, it's not '72.
It's not even '82. It's different now.
- It's not different. - I wish it wasn't.
It is, and...
And I don't understand why,
but we have to figure out how we're gonna respond to this story.
We're not... There is no story.
They can write all this crap all they want.
They will not earn the dignity of my response.
Jesus, Gary. What about us?
Do we deserve a response?
- About this? - Yeah.
No.
Are you... Are you kidding me?
I got 100 kids unpacking boxes in Denver right now
because we told them you would do what it takes to win this thing.
I told them.
The best and the brightest.
They left jobs. They left their families.
People are sacrificing for you.
And I'm not sacrificing?
What, should I sacrifice my privacy, Bill?
My self-respect? Hmm?
And it won't just be me that gets dragged down.
None of those kids you're talking about
will work another campaign where some candidate
doesn't have to account for who comes and goes
from their bedroom, and that is just the beginning.
Okay, okay, but we're not... We're not talking
- about that right now. - I am talking about that.
No, no. We're talking about how you get through today
without pissing away everything we've all worked for
- on this campaign! - No, Bill.
This campaign is about the future, not rumors, not sleaze,
and I care about the sanctity of this process,
whether you do or do not!
I want to reexamine this language on page 17.
"It's not," uh...
Here it is. "It's not just the specter of a trade war I worry about,
"it's our loss of influence globally."
I saw a bar.
That's my one time in Miami.
Shit-faced, lost, bumming a ride
off some lecherous guy I knew I'd never see again.
Thank you.
Guys in Miami are...
Thank you.
- Well, one of my ex-boyfriends... - Mmm-hmm.
...had his car repo'd while we were at the movies.
- Seriously? - Mmm-hmm. Mmm.
Oh, and another one is in jail for selling cocaine.
- Wow, that's classy. - Yeah.
Even my mom doesn't know about that one.
Gary is so different.
How so?
I feel like I can just be quiet with him.
Myself.
You ever have that feeling?
Yeah.
I'm sorry you got caught up in this, Donna.
This whole world we're in,
none of it's making sense right now.
You have to be smart.
Well, you are.
Thank you.
I mean, coming from someone like you...
Look at where you are.
If she swears it was a job interview,
that has to mean something. Right?
I've known Gary a long time.
In, uh, '84, we were at a hotel.
I forget which one. Doesn't matter.
There was Gary and me and Warren Beatty.
And Gary's wigging out
because he might actually win the thing, you know?
He starts grilling the Secret Service guys.
"If I'm president and I want to fly to Boulder for the day
"and shop for used books with my kids, how about that?
"What about my private time?"
And Warren says, "Gary, you're not getting it.
"There is no privacy.
"The cameras go everywhere now."
And Gary was, like, confounded.
He says, "Well, that's... That's Hollywood, Warren.
"That's the paparazzi. That's not politics."
He's right, isn't he?
I don't know. Is he?
NBC announced Shelley Long's replacement
on Cheers for next season.
Tammy Bakker.
Are we just spinning our wheels?
I mean, when do we know we're dead?
Poor Gary Hart.
Here's a man who's running for the presidency of the United States.
Now, the day before yesterday,
somebody asked him what the name of the boat was,
and they didn't seem to remember.
Well...
I can see why they wouldn't want to remember.
The name of the boat was Monkey Business.
Now, here's what I don't figure out.
You're running for the highest office in the land,
you're going to take a little trip to Bimini
with a couple of ladies...
...and you're gonna go down and charter a boat.
Now, of all the boat names that are out there,
like Mother,
or Mother Teresa,
you hire a boat called Monkey Business?
That's not good thinking.
Nobody knows what... What happened on the boat,
but I understand the whales were watching them.
You...
You can, uh, take that off the hook.
Jesse Jackson called.
Really?
Yeah, he told me to keep my chin up.
He's a lovely man.
Strange.
Oh, man.
Oh, these people.
These people want to feel outrage for me,
but it doesn't belong to them.
Um... Won't be easy getting out of that gate.
I know.
We'll have to figure it out.
I think I'll be ready to fly soon.
What?
I need to see my husband.
Mom, seriously?
I have spent 30 years of my life with your father.
I have made many allowances.
What, you think I should feel humiliated?
Feelings that simple are a privilege of being young.
You need to let him deal with this, Mom.
Oh, he will. He will.
Rusting industrial base.
Deteriorating public infrastructure.
Declining system of public education.
Astounding accumulation of public and private debt.
- The 49th Street entrance? - No, we're going here.
- Why are we going in here? - Because the front's worse.
Tenth is jammed.
Mike, how do you want to go in right here?
- Has Dix seen what they've got? - Are you serious?
Billy.
Jesus Christ!
- Are you fucking kidding me? - Senator Hart!
Go, go. Drive.
- Where am I gonna go? - Go around front.
- I'm afraid I might kill somebody. - Go around front.
Jesus.
Please open the door!
Come on.
Mr. Hart, are you dropping out?
Gotta go. Let's go.
How can the American people trust you?
So, how was your weekend, Gary?
- Is that Tom? - Huh?
Brokaw? Is that Brokaw here?
Guess they're really curious about your economics plan.
Hell of a deal, Gary.
Hell of a deal.
- Hmm. - Senator Hart? Sir.
- Yeah. - Latest revisions, sir.
- Pen. - Sorry?
You got a pen?
He's making changes.
- Changes on the changes? - Uh-huh.
Okay, I believe we are ready to begin.
On Sunday, at Ellis Island, we heard from
the current president of the United States.
Tomorrow, right here, a former president will speak.
- Today... - If he's here,
who's rummaging through our trash?
...we offer you two men who, by their own admission
and by the urgings of others, would like to become president.
Kid's a fucking retard.
Ken, we're losing the senator's eyes.
- What? - They're lost in the shadows.
- You can't see his eyes. - I'm not worried
about seeing his eyes right now.
Please welcome our first speaker,
from the state of Colorado, Senator Gary Hart.
Good afternoon. Thank you.
I, uh... I came here today to talk to you about America's future.
That is what my campaign is and...
And ought to be about.
Uh...
But with your permission,
I'd like to address the events of the past few days,
which you, no doubt, have been discussing amongst yourselves.
Last weekend, a newspaper published a misleading story
that hurt my family
and reflected badly upon my character.
The story was written by journalists
who, by their own admission, undertook a spotty surveillance.
Jesus Christ. Man the lifeboats.
Sorry, what was that?
Uh, you're doing great, Senator.
Is there something you'd like to ask me, or does the Miami Herald
- prefer to chat in alleyways? - Fuck. What do we do?
- I can yell, "Fire." - He's got this.
This is not a story about the Miami Herald, Senator.
It's a story about
- Gary Hart's judgment. - Right, sorry.
Can we... Is it possible to get Mr. Martindale a microphone?
That's okay. It's not necessary.
I think it is. I'm pretty sure people would love to hear.
- Thank you. - Oh, look, a microphone.
Yes. Yes, we stand by the essential correctness of our story.
"The..." I'm sorry, "the essential correctness"?
Yes. This is a story about a married man
who spent a little too much time with an unmarried woman.
We didn't speculate as to what went on, of course.
If I may, it was because you simply don't know,
despite hiding in the bushes outside my home.
Well, we certainly know that you made
several calls to Donna Rice on the campaign trail.
- Jesus. - Oh, my God.
We know she was seen leaving your townhouse in Washington.
Was she leaving or not? Because, in your story,
you said she didn't leave my home, and now you're saying she did.
Right. Well, when we interviewed you...
No, your newsmen accosted me in my alleyway.
Listen, with all due respect...
Well, it's a little late for respect, sir.
You ambushed me outside my home in the middle of the night
after putting me under some half-baked stakeout
during which your reporters, your crack reporting team,
failed to realize that my home had a back door.
A back door?
Sir, some surveillance is no better than zero surveillance.
In fact, it's worse.
Okay. Why don't you do your job, and we'll do ours?
Well, it would be a welcome change.
Now, if I may, I'd like to, uh...
I'd like to talk about something a little more exciting.
Economics.
- Got out of it. - That's pretty good. That's good.
Our challenges today, ladies and gentlemen,
are greater than they've been in over five decades.
Okay, so there's a driver downstairs waiting.
- He'll take you wherever you need to go. - Thank you.
And we've got a guy here in Miami. A lawyer.
I just want to...
Just let me give you his number. Really.
Thank you.
- Donna. Donna. - Donna!
Are you and Gary in love?
Was your boyfriend a drug dealer?
Do you have ties to the drug trade?
Did he tell you that this was something
you should not get involved in?
- No. - He didn't tell you,
Fawn or Miss Hall, whatever he called you,
to go home and "Don't worry about this"?
All right, this one's got turkey with cheese...
- Back to New Hampshire. - I'll take it.
Live free or die.
I wonder how many people pick "die."
Oh, um... Is there tuna salad?
- No, I didn't order that. - Are you sure?
I stand by the essential correctness of my order.
- Oh, the essential correctness? - The essential correctness.
I can't, uh... I can't answer these questions anymore. It's just...
One more presser.
We let them ask whatever they want,
then we put it to bed, we get back to the big ideas.
You have conceded that you weren't able to
watch the back of his townhouse
and that, therefore, the lady in question,
may have left when you thought she was still there.
Well, that's...
Mr. Koppel, uh... Ted...
If we're conceding that we're not as good as the FBI
at conducting surveillance,
then I think we have no problem agreeing to that.
That's kind of cute, but that's not the point.
The point is, did she spend the night with him?
And if, in fact, she left,
let's say, a half hour after she got there,
which is what she claims,
then she would not have spent the night with him.
Right.
Well, not right. I mean...
Is this the story that the Miami Herald drops now,
or, I mean, do you... You feel you've worked it?
Uh... I don't know what you mean by that.
Let me put to you an alternative question.
This wasn't a competitive story.
There was no one else breathing down your neck on this.
You could have waited another 24 hours and got it right.
I'm sorry, sir. I believe we did get it right.
You have spoken several times, Mr. Fiedler...
Jesus.
Run this by me again.
They're part of a P.I. report.
A certain senator thought his wife was sleeping with Hart.
- I know this broad. - Gum?
Yeah, she's a lobbyist.
No, thanks. Who?
Uh, we're thinking Tydings.
But as it turns out, Hart isn't fucking Mrs. Tydings.
He's been schtupping this other woman.
- What a town. - How did we get this?
- Anonymous package. - I hate that.
If you got something to say, just say it.
Give me some of that gum.
Do you think Tydings sent it?
- But why? - I don't know.
Wait, we're not even talking about Bush here?
I mean, Hart is running against the former head of the CIA.
- Not yet, he's not. - No return address, no note.
Just a date, six months ago.
- Well, there's your other shoe, Ben. - Yeah.
Just because some unmarked envelope lands on our laps,
that doesn't obligate us to use it.
It shows a pattern of behavior.
Womanizing. Lies.
He's not lying to us.
Christ, don't be so naive.
Yeah, I'm sure this package landed on the lap
of at least three other enterprising journalists.
Okay, so can't we let some other paper use gossip as front page news?
- I mean, that doesn't mean we have to. - It does, A.J.
It does now.
We decline to publish, some other newspaper runs with the story.
I don't know, the Poughkeepsie Journal, the Miami Herald.
Uh, maybe even The New York Times.
And the TVs go apeshit over this stuff.
Meanwhile, we're sitting on our high horse saying,
"Well, we still don't think it's news, because guess what,
"we didn't think it was news before."
And then the wires start running stories
about how we're not covering the one thing
everybody else is talking about.
And so on, and so on.
Hey, why do you hate him so much?
I don't hate Gary Hart. I don't think I trust him.
That's one approach.
Why isn't that your approach?
It's your job to be skeptical.
I don't think his own wife trusts him.
Oh, come on. You don't know that.
I don't think he respects women.
Are you kidding? He loves women.
- Too much, frankly. - He uses them.
Well, come on. Aren't you being a little precious?
I mean, he's smart. He's handsome.
These women are throwing themselves at him.
He is a man with power and opportunity.
And that takes certain responsibility.
If he were just some day trader screwing around with cocktail girls,
I could handle just not liking him.
But as our potential next president,
that makes me nervous,
and as a journalist, you ought to care.
Yeah.
You're missing all the excitement.
Yeah, thank God.
So, it looks like, um,
we are turning the corner out here.
I could get you a flight.
What's on your mind?
I just keep thinking this is never gonna be over for her.
Every time she applies for a job...
Mmm...
She doesn't have a staff of overeducated volunteers.
As far as I can tell, she's alone.
You got anything for me?
Buck up, kid.
You got work to do.
Yeah.
Sorry.
Hey, Billy. You want to let Gary know we're around,
in case he wants to get a drink or something?
With old friends?
The senator's unavailable.
"The senator's unavailable."
Fucking follow me.
Can you believe that?
Okay, so they don't have a podium.
- I don't need one. - You couldn't get a podium?
Don't start with me.
How are voters supposed to believe you
- when you've clearly been lying? - They will or they won't.
- I don't think they much care. - Good. Okay.
Uh, you can cite the polls here.
- I don't care about polls. - Yes, you do.
Gallup just came out of the field.
"Do you think the media went too far
"in its reporting on Senator Hart's private life?"
- 64% say "Yes." - 64% say "Yes."
"Is a candidate's behavior in his relationship
"relevant to his qualifications as president?"
38% say "Yes."
- 52% say "No." - 52 "No."
- Take that, fuckers! - 64%. God.
Uh, they'll ask about phone calls.
Uh-huh. Well, I'll say I call lots of people.
Right, that's fine.
Are we gonna bring up Donna Rice?
We could ask the pool to respect her privacy.
Are you fucking nuts?
It might be seen as a noble gesture.
They may have questions, uh...
You know, they may have questions about women.
Well, they can talk to Irene or Ginny or anyone who's worked for me.
Uh...
Yeah, uh...
I think what
Billy means is, uh...
What?
Have there been others?
Women...
- That aren't your wife. - You've got to be kidding me.
I'm not gonna answer that, not for them and not for you.
It's nobody's goddamn business!
That's it.
That's perfect. That's your answer.
I'll come back when it's time.
I, um...
You know, I've woken the last two mornings
to the sound of helicopters.
They're waiting at our gates, dozens of them.
Trucks with satellites.
Their garbage...
Littered all over the place.
How's Andrea?
She's disappointed.
Just to leave our home, she had to climb in the back seat
of one of your staffers.
He threw an old blanket on our daughter.
That's how she left the house,
like a criminal, like she should be ashamed.
No, these people should be ashamed, Lee.
I mean, the public won't stand for it. It's...
Right.
I'm so sorry.
I can imagine you are.
Were you thinking of me when you were flirting with that girl?
Hmm?
Were you thinking of me on that boat
when you were making her laugh in front of 50 other people?
Were you thinking of me when you invited her into our home?
Are you leaving me?
Not now.
Not yet.
Yeah, maybe at some point.
And that might feel like a burden,
and it should, because you hurt me,
and you need to feel it, you need to know that.
You feel it, you carry it, so I don't have to.
Do you think you can ever accept my apology?
Excuse me.
I will get to all of the questions
that you have, and then hopefully tomorrow,
we can return to the real business of this election.
- Senator. - Yes. Ann.
- Yeah, thank you, sir. - Yes, Ann.
Doesn't this episode
call your judgment as a leader into question?
Uh, yes, I suppose I have...
I've made some mistakes, but I think...
Judgment, like character, needs to be measured
in the full context of a career,
and I think what I've undertaken in the Senate
and the plans I've outlined for the country also speak
to my judgment.
David. Yes.
How are you going to convince people in the Democratic Party
that you are not going to make this kind of mistake again?
Uh, by not making this kind of mistake again.
- Yes. - Were there two people in the house?
Three people? Did they go and come back?
Alan, we've been through this. It's on the record.
Uh, there were three people who came to my house
on the Saturday, late afternoon,
and over the course of maybe two or three hours,
we left, we came back, and then they moved on. Yes.
Senator, you were once quoted as saying that you love danger.
Is that why you've put yourself in this position?
I don't love it that much, Jack, trust me.
Yes.
Senator Hart, what would you say to the women voters of this country?
Well, I would say that, uh,
if you speak to anyone who's worked for me,
my campaign staff, anyone in the Senate,
over the last 15 to 20 years, you'll find that I have
a very healthy relationship, working relationship with women.
You said there's no relationship.
Are you willing to take a lie detector test?
I think the voters are a pretty good lie detector test.
- Will they believe you? - I think they do.
The last poll I saw said that most voters believe
the Herald was out of line.
- More than 60%, in fact. - 64%.
Right. When the numbers are in your favor, always be specific.
Right?
Senator? Senator?
Mr. Parker.
- Yes, Senator. Thank you. - Yeah.
- Mmm-hmm. - Good afternoon.
Glad you could make it.
Yes. Um...
Yesterday in your speech, you raised the issue of morality.
- Mmm-hmm. - Uh, I'd like to ask you,
specifically, what you meant by that.
I have a series of questions, if that's all right, if you don't mind.
- All right. - Um...
When you said you did nothing immoral,
were you referring to that you had no sexual relationship
with Donna Rice last week and/or at any other time?
Yeah, I've said there was no relationship.
That's correct.
Do you believe adultery is immoral?
Do I, uh...
Well, yes. Yes, I do.
- But, Senator... - Mmm-hmm.
Senator, have you ever committed adultery?
I, uh...
Say it. Say it.
Well...
I guess, um...
I guess I don't think that that is a fair question.
- Anyone for more coffee? - It's early.
Yeah, I'll have a cup.
- Sir? - Yeah, I'll do it.
- Ma'am? - No, thank you.
- Yeah, I'll have one, thank you. - Yes, ma'am.
And, you, sir? Coffee?
- Gary? - Hmm.
- You want a coffee? - Uh, no.
I need some time with the senator.
- Are you fucking kidding me? - Come on.
You know what? I tried coke while I was at Berkeley,
and I cheated on my girlfriend. Twice.
Just to save you some time.
Maybe we, uh, we move up military reform.
Yeah. We can do a big roll-out,
- get some generals on board. - I need to call Andrea.
- Do you have a dime? - I have one.
Do you have change?
- Yeah. I have a quarter. - Thank you.
Look, I'm all for going back out there, shaking more hands.
It's just, at the moment, I don't think we can get the senator to...
I don't think it's safe to put him in front of a crowd.
We could call Denver, get some more bodies.
We can book some more TV time.
I mean, how long would it take to shoot a 30-minute spot?
Can we pay for that?
You know, it's, like, we go out there,
we go right to the voters.
Irene, is there any... Any word from Miami?
Um, how do you mean?
Is she... Is she okay?
I don't know how you want me to answer that.
Congratulations.
You just became the National Enquirer.
You're 50 cents at the register.
I'm just, uh, not sure enough people would see it.
If the media's been talking about it...
We'd need a national buy.
Where the fuck is Dixon?
It's outrageous.
Okay, but you're safe?
Well...
They cannot hound you like this. They will not hound you like this.
You know what? They shouldn't even be near you.
Okay, we will take care of this.
Lee.
It's time to go home.
Tonight, Gary Hart and his wife are back in Denver,
where he will end his latest run for the White House.
Once considered the man to beat in '88,
Hart plans to end his candidacy in a formal announcement at noon.
Senator Hart, will you be leaving the campaign?
Well, clearly,
under present circumstances, this campaign cannot go on.
I refuse to submit my family and my friends
to further rumors and gossip.
I don't want to be the issue,
and I cannot be the issue.
If you're gonna have to spend all your time
talking about yourself
and you're not particularly good at that anyway,
then you can't maintain the link with the voters.
In public life, some things may be interesting,
but that doesn't necessarily mean they're important.
And the farmers in Amarillo,
the oil field workers in Louisiana,
the steelworkers in Pennsylvania,
they want jobs.
Their kids want an education, and like all the rest of us,
they don't want to be killed by some nuclear weapon.
Now, we're all gonna have to seriously question the system
we have for electing our national leaders,
that has reporters in bushes,
photographers peeking in our windows,
that reduces the press of this nation into the hunters
and the presidential candidates into the hunted,
after which ponderous pundits wonder in mock seriousness
as to why some of the best people in this country
choose not to run for high office.
Now, politics in this country,
take it from me, is on the verge of becoming
another form of athletic competition, or sport.
We'd all better do something to make this system work,
or we're all soon gonna be rephrasing Jefferson to say,
"I tremble for my country when I fear we may, in fact,
"get the kind of leaders we deserve."
I've said I bend, but I do not break.
And believe me, I'm not broken.
I say to my children,
and the young people of this country,
I'm angry, too.
I've made some mistakes. I said so.
I said I would because I'm human.
But I'm an idealist,
and I want to serve my country.
Events of the past week should not deter any of you
who are idealistic young people
from moving on, from moving up.
The torch of idealism in your hearts burns bright.
It should lead you to want to make this country better.
Wherever you go, whatever you do,
at least in spirit I will be with you.
Thank you.