Sacred Cows by Joe Eszterhas

8/10/2019 Sacred Cows by Joe Eszterhas

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S RED

OWS

oe szterhas

il i l

99


2/125

F DE

IN:

EXT. A CAMPAIGN RALLY D Y

A suburban mall s parking

lo t

- -

hundreds of people,

lots

of

red-white-and-blue everywhere.

Signs

that say:

TAYLOR/FORRESTER

and

JIM

TAYLOR

FOR

PRESIDENT.

Republican

SENATOR JIM

TAYLOR,

of I l l i n o i s in his l a t e - 4 0 s a t t r a c

t ive,

stands

on a bunting-draped

stage.

He speaks in

an

incisive rhythm.

SENATOR

TAYLOR

We re

not a welfare agency for

the

world. I say we put Americans

hard-earned dollars

back

into

America

Yes, I know there i s

poverty in India, but that poverty

i s not

our responsibil i ty, i t

i s

the

Indians responsibil i ty. Let s use

those

dollars

my

opponent

wants

to

give away

for our

good.

Loud CHEERS

from

the

crowd.

EXT.

A CAMPAIGN RALLY D Y

A narrow side s t r e e t in an

inner

c i t y

- -

thousands

of

people. Signs that say: RE-ELECT PRESIDENT

PARR

and

PARR/GRAHAM. The President of

the

United S t a t e s SAM

PARR, the former

Senator from

Nebraska, stands on

top of

the car.

He

i s

64

years

old: his

face i s

craggy: but,

except

for his

shock of

white hair ,

he

looks l i k e he

i s

in

his

mid-50 s.

He

speaks

in

a

low-key,

person-to-person

style .

PRESIDENT PARR

Let s not

bog ourselveS down in the

p o l i t i c s

of fear.

The

Parr

Plan

For

Progress

opens

our hearts to the

less

advantaged - -

not just here,

but in other parts

of the

world. ~

l ive in a time of peace and

prosperity.

We

are

a blessed

nation. ~ e are a blessed people.

Let s share our blessings. Let s

noe

fear

generosity. Generosity

is

nothing

to fear. Generosity

will

only

make richer.

the

s t r

e e t s

lller l e a l

Deafening

NOISE

Millions o f people

\


3/125

Total chaos

- - and

in

the

middle o f th e chaos we glimpse,

s tr ay in g a im l es sl y,

some

s acred

cows.

A TELEVISION

SCREEN

see the e l a b o r a t e

i n t r a and

tneme MUSIC

for the EES

Nightly

News

with

Tom

Martin. nd then we see M RTIN

on

screen: he is in

h is l a t e - 4 0 s ; t he re

is

a pol i s hed

s i n

c e r i t y

s boot

him.

M RTIN

s

an es t i m at ed t hr ee m illio n people

stag ed

the l a r g e s t pro-American

de m onst r a t i on

in

h i s t o r y in

C alc utta , I nd ia ,

a Gallup/EES

p o l l

shows

P re sid en t P arr with

a

s t i l l

climbing 28 p o i n t

lead

a g a i n s t

co n ser v ativ e

Republican

S enat or Jim

Tay lo r .

There a re onl y t h i r t y days

l e f t in th e campaign as th e

can did a tes p rep are fo r t h e i r

f i r s t

d eb ate.

INT.

THE

PRESIDENT S

BEDROOM

-

THE

WHITE

HOUSE -

NIGHT

The

P r e s i d e n t

of th e

United

S t a t e s shut s th e s e t o f f with

a remote

devi ce and

g r i n s .

Next

to

hi m in be d i s L CY

RR W in her mid - 3 0 s,

a

b e a u t i f u l

woman.

S M

PRESIDENT

P RR

Twenty-eight

p o i n t s l

You

know

what

t h a t

means? I t means

r

d o n t have

to

chase t h a t

p i s s a n t

a l l o v e r

th e

co u n tr y .

L CY smiles)

I

t hought

yo u

l i k e d pre ssi ng the

f l e s h .

S M

I do.

He l ooks a t h e r , smi l e s. Sh e s t a r t s g e t ti n g o ut of be d to

d r e s s .

He watches her a p p r e c i a t i v e l y .

S M

Where

the

h e l l

a r e yo u going?

L CY s m i l e s ,

as she d r e s s e s

r have

a

debat e

to

cover

land

l omon ow

l U I

nice in bed, Sam - -


4/125

I ll take v

thank

you

S

nice

at my

age.

3.

L Y (smiles l

But I m

not going

to

take

a

chance

of g ettin g th at idiot

elected

President of the

United

State

Besides,

there s no

future in i t .

Look

what

happened to Donna Rice.

S

What

happened

to Donna Rice?

L Y

Nothing.

She comes to

the bed,

kisses him on

the cheek.

L Y

Good

luck

tomorrow. The

future

well-being

of

the

Western

World

res ts in

your

hands.

He

puts

his

hand on

her

b u t t

cups i t .

S M

(smiles)

Yes

does.

She knocks

his hand

away

smiles, and walks

out .

s soon

as she goes out, J K HEFFERN N

comeS

in through another

door. He

i s

in his

ear ly-50 s , a take-charge

kind of guy,

the President s Chief

of

S t a f f .

IiEFF

(upset)

I v e been waiting out

there for

forty minutes, Mr.

president .

Sam

gets up out

of bed

- - he wears undershorts

goes to

pour himself a

drink.

S M

I m

gett ing

old, Heff. When

I was a

kid,

I wished I

could

take more

time.

Now I wish

I d i d n t take

so

much.

flEFF

(grins

l

He

wants

to t a l k .

S M

liEFF

Beats

me. Tomorrow night,

before

the

debate. Just Jimco and ctor

and me.


5/125

S M

T e ll him

to come to the h o t e l .

HEFF shakes h is head)

S t r i c t l y

p r i v a t e ,

no

media.

He

wants to meet

a t the h a l l a h a l f

hour before the debate.

Sam

thinks

about

i t

a

long

beat,

sips

h is

dr ink.

S M

Do you know what he i s

Heff?

He s

a skunk.

HEFF

That means we can

take

the

meeting,

but

we

have to watch the

smell .

EXT

CONVENTION HALL CLEVELAND

NIGHT

The P r e s i d e n t

g ets

out of s

limousine

in

f r o n t

of

Convention

Hall.

With

him

ar e

h is

wif e,

EMILY

in

her

e a r l y - 6 0 s , a well- kept woman:

DOC

BARLEY in

h i s e a r l y

7 0 s ,

a

rumpled man who is

Pr esident

P a r r s

congr essional

l i a i s o n

an d on e of s o l d e s t f r i e n d s :

and

Jack

Heffernan.

The Pr esident waves

to

th e

crowd

and, smiling,

is

led

in to the h a l l by a

phalanx

of S e c ret S e r v i c e

an d

law-enforcement types.

INT. ; MAKEUP ROO CONVENTION

HALL

NIGHT

Makeup people are

working

on

him. Doc i s

t h e r e

and Heff

and

~ l y who i s k n i t t i n g

and

look s b ore d.

DOC

to

makeup guyS

Watch th e t i n t Okay? This

i s n t

Richard

Nixon

he re l

EMILY

Are we i n v i t i n g Pr esident Nixon to

the

dinne r

for

th e

Indian Vice

Pr esident

next

month?

S

hard)

Nol

HEFF

Yes

we

a r e .

He

c a l l e d

me

twice

about

i t l a s t week.

S

th e til

t in g

him baCk in .


6/125

HEFF plaintive)

He d o e s n t

have

anything e l s e to do,

Mr

Pr esident,

The

baseball season

is over,

S M

Why d o e s n t

he

l i s t e n to h is

tapes? He

made enough

of e m.

Doc

an d then Heff, laugh.

EMILY

Well,

think

t h a t s ve mean

of

a l l of you.

to Sam

How would you f eel i f you d i d n t

have

anything to do an d you

wanted

to come to a

White

House

dinner?

A S ec re t S er vic e agent

comes

in , whispers

something

to

Heff.

S M

I

wouldn t want

to go to a White

House

dinner

under any

circumstances.

HEFF

I m going

to

have

to ask everyone

except

the

P re sid en t to leave.

DOC upset)

What do you mean I v e got to

leave?

What

the h e l l s going on?

HEFF

National

S e c u r i t y .

DOC

s t a r t s

to leave)

Anytime anybody ever says t h a t , i t S

a

l i e .

EMILY

to Sam leaving)

Is i t

a

l i e ,

Sam?

S

gr ins)

I m not

going to l i e to you,

Emily:

of course

i t s

a

l i e .

She l a s

long b e a t ,

h

debate

i s

a

and i s

gone

tn Doc

and

the

makeup

people.

A

and then

Senator

Jim

Taylor

comes

i n . wearing

m k h is de, VICTOR M C K t ~ Mackey

man i n h 4 0 s ,

SEN TOR T YLOR

MI

P r e s i d e n t .


7/125

S M

Jimbo

SEN TOR

T YLOR

You know Vic Mackey

S M

All

too

well.

Mackey

extends his hand;

a

beat, an d then Sam barely

shakes i t . They

s i t

on couches facing each other - - the

Pre si de nt

an d

Senator

Taylor in

t h e i r makeup

SEN TOR T YLOR a f t e r

a beat)

Is

this

room

secure?

S M

Nothing S

secure anymore. D i d n t

the CI b r i e f you?

A long b e a t . Heff looks a t

his

watch.

HEFF

We

d o n t have much

time.

You b e t t e r

say whatever i t is you ve got to

say.

M CKEY

a f t e r

a

beat)

Mr

P resident,

do you remember

what

you did two weeks

ag o

Saturday

night?

The

P resident

t hi nks

about i t .

HEFF

impatient)

What is t h i s ?

S N TOR T YLOR

Do you?

S M

a f t e r a beat)

Yes.

I was

a t my b r o t h e r s farm

in

Nebraska.

HEFF

do n t g et

i t

- -

what

does

t h i s

have

to

do wi

M KEY

went into the

ba rn, d i d n t

yOU

lOOks a t him a long

HErF

l in

d i s b e l i e f )

What

barn?

He went i n t o

went i n t o

the barn,


8/125

M KEY

We

have a photograph, Mr Pr esid en t.

A long

b e a t .

Sam

j u s t

looks

a t him,

then a t

Senator

Taylor.

S M to Tayl or,

q u i e t l y )

You so n o f ab itch .

A

long b e a t , as they look a t

each

o t h e r .

HEFF

What photograph?

What s

going on

here?

M KEY to Sam

You withdraw

from the

r ace.

For

reasons

of h e a l t h .

Vi ce-P res i dent

Graham t akes your p l a c e on th e

t i cke t .

Sam

ju st s ta res

a t them

- -

Heff

stares a t

Sam

SEN TOR T YLOR

You ve

had

a br i l l i an t

l o n g - l a s t i n g

c a r e e r . You

d o n t

want to tu r n your

pl ace in American h is to ry in to a

into

a

A long b e a t .

M KEY

MOCkery

A

long

beat

a s

they

look

a t

each

o t h e r .

SEN TOR

T YLOR

You

d o n t

have

a

ch o ice,

Sam

he

looks a t

h is watch)

We

have t h r e e

m i nut e s.

M KEY

g e t s

uP )

A

p leasu r e s eei ng you,

Mr

P r e s i d e n t .

m jus t s i t s t h e r e as

they

leav e; Heff

stares

him,

sees

how

d i s t u r b e d he i s .

HErr q u i e t l y

l

Was

Lacy

out ther e with

H E f f

f r an t l

What th e

hel l

happened?

he

c l e a r s h is

t h r o a t : calmerl

Mr

P re si d en t, w ill

yo u eas e t 1

me happened?


9/125

SE RET SERVI EM N

They re

ready,

Pr esident.

Sam looks a t

him a

beat.

A SE RET

S E R V ~ ~

comes

A

long

beat, an d Sam

gets up. He

looks very disturbed.

INT.

THE ONVENTION

H LL

NIGHT

The Pr esident

stands a t

on e l e c t e r n ; S en ato r Jim Taylor

a t

the o t h e r . Jim Taylor looks

f u l l

of l i f e :

the

Pr esident

looks l i k e h e s been poleaxed. Heff

and

Doc watch Sam

Parr

as he speaks.

S M

haltinglYl

Well, I

think

we can be proud of

do something we should be proud

of to

conquer

d e s p a ir

poverty

in

other

ar eas

p a r t s

of

the globe

in a time o f

gener osity

of

peace

and

p r o s p e r i t y to admit to our

generosity

A TELEVISION S REEN

Tom

Martin,

the anchorman

- - S i t t i n g

next to him is Lacy

Morrow.

M RTIN

With

me now i s

White

House

correspondent

Lacy Morrow.

Lacy,

t h i s c e r t a i n l y w a s n t

the

P r e s i d e n t s f i n e s t

hour,

was

i t ?

L Y

Well,

the spin-doctors

a re

trying to

put

the be st possible face on i t

Tom but

I v e

c e r t a i n l y

seen the

P resident

perform b e t t e r .

He

d i d n t

have

an y of h is n a t u r a l

rhythms.

He

ha d a hard time g e t t i n g to the

p o i n t . I t

was

what

I

would c a l l

a

very flaccid

performance.

M RTIN

He

was

s t i f f

L CY

But

d i s j o i n t e d .

He

s t i f f but the r

f and, as we

rEormallce

may

have

been

rmance was

know i t II

t

counts,

says: What

M RTIN


10/125

e

9 .

INT

IR

FOR E

ONE

NIGHT

Eyes gl a z e d,

s t a r i n g

s t ra ight ahead, the Pr esident s i t s in

the d ar k n ess,

a

drink

in

h is hands.

Heff s i t s next

to

him, s t a r i n g

s t ra igh t ahead, t oo,

saying

not hi ng.

A long

be a t , and then f inal ly

- -

S

How

ba d

was

?

HEFF

(af ter

a beat)

I d o n t know; we l l see th e numbers

tomorrow.

Sam says n o th in g , a long b e a t , he

s ip s h is

d r i n k . He

d o e s n t

look

a t

Heff.

S M q u i e t l y )

was o u t

a t

th e farm

- -

i t was

my

d a d s

farm, i t s Mose s

now

I t s

where grew

up.

HEFF l os in g p at ie nc e)

know a l l

tha t .

I m n ot ask in g

yo u

to

compose

a

campaign biography

h e r e . I composed

your

campaign

biography.

A

long

be a t

- - Sam s i p s

h is

d r i n k .

S M

I was t i red . Connie came in from

L A Sh e t o l d

me she s

g e t t i n g

divorced again.

HEFF

So what - -

your

d a u g h t e r s

get t ing

divorced

a g a i n . What does that

have

to do w ith a ny th in g?

S M

(ref lec t ively)

I t d ep r essed

me I

didn t

ra ise her

to

g et divorced a l l th e t ime.

don t know

w h a t s

happening to th e

v alu e s in th is countr y, Hef f .

HEFF

(a f te r

a long

b e a t )

Mr

P re si de nt , p le as e

- -

S M

t i red , r was

u

h i t t

s .

went

i t off .

a

b e a t ;

he

love that ba rn.

a l l th e t

depr essed.

Mose

th e

Jack

to

smiles

was

in th e r e

I was a k


11/125

i

1 0 .

HEFF

a f t e r a long beat)

So?

S M

d i r e c t l y )

So

r woke

up

with a hard-on and

poked a cow.

Heff s i t s there a

long

beat, d oesn t look him.

HErF quietiy)

r

sorry?

.

S M impatient)

r poked a cow. I grew up on a farm,

for P e t e s

sake.

I t s

as

-

American as the fireworks on the

Fourth

of

J u l y .

HEFF

in ShOCk)

You

poked you mean

- -

S M

Yeah I fucked her .

A

long

b e a t , an d then Heff closes

h is

eyes.

INT.

THE

OVAL OFFICE MORNING

Heff

and

Doc s i t

there.

With them

a r e : M R SIMPSON

34,

yuppie- ish, a P r e s i d e n t i a l

speech w r i t e r .

BILLY

LONG

48,

a b a t t l e - a x e

of

a woman very

p l a i n ,

the White

House Press

S ecretary. CLARK CRAWFORD 72, p atrician , d i s t i n g u i s h e d .

a

Democratic

k ing ma ke r a nd advisor to many P r e s i d e n t s .

There i s

a

s i l e n c e

in the

room. They

d o n t

look

a t

each

other, then

- -

CRAWFORD

I m s o r r y .

cannot

accept

t h i s .

do not believe

t h i s .

MARK a

s l i g h t

smile)

I t

is

unprecedented,

ll

do some

rea


12/125

CRAWFORD

r wish

he would have

DOC

You

want a

crook

in the White House?

CRAWFORD

I have many years of

experience

dealing

with those

kinds

of

problems.

A beat , and the President

walks

into

the

room.

He

looks

very chipper.

S

Good

morning.

He

looks a t

them,

smiles .

They avoid his lOOK.

He

s i t s

down

casually behind his big desk.

SAM (looks them over)

Well,

see you ve

a l l

been

briefed.

A long beat as they avoid his look.

BILLY

(f inal ly)

There

i s

hardly

any

sl ippage

from

the

debate.

We

l o s t

two points .

We re

26

up.

Figure the

media

w i l l

keep rep lay ing th e

debate tape

for

72

hours: w e l l lose,

a t

the

max

four more.

Nobody

says

anything.

O (smiles)

They love you, Mr. President .

A long beat: nobody

says

anything.

SErF

(hesi tant ly)

How do you f e e l Mr.

President?

SAM

Great.

s l e p t l i k e a

baby.

They look a t him. He g r i n s .

SAM (suddenly

serious)

All

r i g h t .

We ve ~ a decis

consider ,

but

I want

to

say a

personal to you.

He get: up and

and easygoing.

a he

talkS: he

i s completely


13/125

S M

I m

just

an old count boy. you

know. What

happened

in that

barn

happens a l l the time

in

Nebraska.

I t s

l ike

going up

the water

tower

a f t e r

the

senior prom,

i t s

l ike

having a

beer with

your dad the day

you turn

18,

l ike

going to the

cemetery

with

a

picnic

basket

on

Memorial Day. I woke up in

that

barn

and

got a

l i t t l e

nostalgic,

t h a t s a l l .

(he

smiles)

Maybe I wanted to feel l i k e I was 14

again.

(a

beat: he

smiles)

Maybe I

get t ing

old.

A

long beat, and then, f i n a l l y

- -

DO (quietly)

Like

hel l

you

are ,

Sam.

Like

h e l l

you are .

A long

beat ,

and

then - -

R WFORD

(with d i s t a s t e

Is i t i l l e g a l ? Is - - what you did

i l l e g a l ?

-


14/125

13.

What

about the

raph?

O (emotionally)

So

what i f

they ve

got one

What

are they going to do with

i t ?

Who s

going to show

the President of the

United

States

in flagrante on

the

Evening

News?

LLY

Whether the networks use i t would

depend on

how

revealing i t i s . I

don t

know

about the meohanics

of

th is ,

oow-wise.

How

you .

S M

(smiles l

Very

oareful ly.

But

i f

you re an

old-style

l i b e r a l

Demoorat, with

great

feel ing.

DOC

(emotionally)

They re

bluffing

We don t even

know i f

they ve

real ly got

a

picture

A

long

beat , as they

consider

i t .

CR WFORD

What

i f

a

photograph

dues

surface?

What

i f

i t

does

become an

issue.

What

i s your defense,

Mr.

President?

That everyone

who grows up

in

Nebraska does

i t ?

O (emotionally)

Yes They

got c h i l i in

Texas,

orange juice in Florida,

maple syrup

in

Ohio,

and

cows

in Nebraska

A

long beat , as

they

look a t Doc.

ILLY

I suppose we could try

to extend our

case to

Iowa,

Kansas, Oklahoma,

Arkansas

We re never

i t

al i M l r

able to make

,El i

(suddenly)

does i t

make

what

he

h bedroom

that

the

kind

5

?

What

di rence

in pri

or his barn?

I s n t

r f we


15/125

e

DOC

You're

damn right i t

is

We can

turn i t around

on

the

bastards

and

make

i t

a civ i l

r ights issue

As they think

about that ,

the

President 's

phone RINGS.

He

picks i t up, l i s tens

then

hits

a button

his desk.

The

big TV

se t

in the back

of

the

room comes ALIVE. We

see

the

anchorman,

Tom

Martin,

on

screen

MARTIN

In

a

blister ing address to the VFW

Convention

in

St. Louis , Republican

Vice Presidential candidate

Michael

Forrester attacked

what

he referred

to

as

a long

history of

Democratic

corruption.

FORRESTER

of Wyoming

is

a

big,

beefy

man in his 50 's .

FORRESTER (on screen)

They're

not

the

party

of

Roosevelt,

they 're the

party of Wilbur Mills

and

Wayne Hays

and Gary

Hart

and

Jim

Wright and Barney Frank.

They

are

the

party

of godlessness, harlotry,

and abortion.

Are

they

the

kind

of

people

you want

leading your

America?

Sam

shuts

the

se t

OFF

a long

beat.

O (emotionally)

What

about Spiro

Agnew

gett ing paid

off

with

his

bags

fu l l

of steaks?

What

about

Rockefeller

dying in

the

saddle humping

his secretary?

What

about

that

Texas dwarf with

his

hard-on , chas ing

HEFF

(ref lect ively)

Why would they

bring

a ll that up

now?

A

long beat .

CRAWFORD

O

you

know

what

I

wish,

Mr

President? Do you know

what

desperately wish?

sn

l iberals would

be

more

conservative

r

dai

rs .

S M (after

a

beat,

smi les)

Then we WOUldn t

really

be

l iberals .

we

rk?


16/125

~

R WFORD

I v e always

believed

in

hypocrisy

.

S M

(smiles)

Not me.

DO (affect ionately)

God bless you, Sam

REFF

(af ter

a

beat ,

quietly)

They ,e set t ing

us

up. They ,e

not

bluf f ing .

They ve

got the

photograph.

S M (af ter

a beat l

I

agree.

He

looks dis turbed.

HEFF

(angry)

I want

the

e A and FB

D irectors in

my

of f ice

in

twenty minutes

SAM (calmly)

Please make

sure t y don t

abuse

t he i r

sanct ions.

HEFF (smiles)

Absolutely, Mr. President .

INT.

THE

OV L OFFICE

FTERNOON

He

s i t s .

alone, turned

away from

his

desk, s t a r ing

out

the

window

a t the se t t ing

sun.

He reaches for

his

phone, picks i t up.

SAM

Where s my wife?

(he l i s t ens)

d l i ke to come

up and

see

her .

A beat , and he

hangs the phone

up and

cont inues

to s ta re

out

the

window.

INT.

TH

LIVING

QU RTERS

UPSTAIRS FTERNOON

Sam wa

sin

Emi

in

her

e arly -6 0 s , is

watching

a

paint ing

being

hung. Three young women IDES a re with

her. The paint ing ,

consis t ing

of a few l ines , is very

t ac t .

( to

S IJIl

I t s a Pal l igo.

(she

looks

a t

the pa

ingl

I

te i t , don t

1


17/125

16.

S a f t e r

a

beat)

I

sure

do. are

you hanging

i t

up

i f

y hate

it?

~ I L Y

He s from the Third

World.

He s

coming

to the dinner for the Indian

Vice-President.

She shrugs.

S

grins)

Seat

him

next to

Nixon.

She

looks a t him, the twinkle of

a s l i g h t

smile

MILY

You re awful,

Sam.

e looks a t her ther e is a sadness between them

now.

S

smiles)

I know t

a beat)

What the

h e l l .

I v e always been

awful.

They look

a t

each other

a

beat.

S

Can I

talk

to

you

a lone , Emily?

She

looks a t him,

s u r p r i s e d .

MILY to

the Aides)

Would you

excuse

u s, please?

The women le a ve . They

look a t each o t h e r . Sam d o e s n t

know

how

to

begin.

MILY

I have a reception for

t he N atio nal

Council

o f th e Ju n io r League in 4S

minutes, Sam.

S

Emily, I m the

Pre side nt

of the

United

S t a t e s

MILY

the

F i r s t

Lady, Sam.

and I vl got

to

be

I m

got

n

VI

tei l l .

And

ve

ne.

in 4S


18/125

1 7 .

r know y o u r e the

F i r s t

ady

mily

but i f r can make time for you, you

can make time for me

too,

c a n t

you?

EMILY a f t e r

a beat,

sadly)

You

ha ve n t

made

time

for

me

in

t h i r t y

year s,

Sam.

They

look a t

each

ot he r

a long be a t .

EMILY

What

is i t ,

Sam? T e l l me.

He looks a t her

a

beat, then away.

with d i f f i c u l t y

They ve got some d i r t they re

threatening to us e

in the

campaign.

She

says

nothing:

he

looks

a t

her:

her face

i s

a mask.

EMILY

a f t e r a

long beat)

What do you want from me sympathy,

Sam?

Don t

you think that re ally is

asking

too

much? I feared the

d a y -

would

come when

one

of your

adventures

would

I v e

learned

to

seal

myself of f ,

Sam

The

c hild re n a re

grown. They ve

known

about your l i t t l e sweetmeats

for

years. Connie,

I m

a f r a i d,

has

become as promiscuous as you are.

I m

sorry,

Sam

I m

sorry

for

you an d

I m sorry

for me

an d

I m sorry for what

i t s

going to do

to

the

country i f

i t gets out.

But

t h a t s the best I can do.

I know.

advance

S a fte r

a long

beat)

I just wanted to give you

warning.

EMILY sadly)

I

got my

advance

warning t h i r t y

seven years ago, the

f i r s t

time

discovered you were

u n f a i t h f u l

me.

Although

I m

sure th at i f I ha d

been discerning, I would have

r i t e a r l

A

a t

EMILY

l e s l

00 y remember t h a t l i t t l e

lived in in

Chevy h ~ e

f i r s t

came here?


19/125

e

He says nothing, looks

a t

her .

EMILY smiles)

We were

happy

there,

we re n t

we

Sam I t ha d

t h a t

l i t t l e

yard in

the

back

the kids were

l i t t l e -

you d come

home

from work e a r l y ,

we d cook in the back yard . . .

She t r a i l s o f f .

S quietly)

I remember

EMILY

a f t e r

a beat)

d o n t

know

whatever made

me

think

of i t .

she looks a t her watch)

I

have

to

go,

Sam

He looks

a t

her , nods.

EMILY

Who is i t t h a t l i t t l e t e l e v i s i o n

r e p o r t e r ,

Sam?

Sam looks

a t

her

a b e a t , then shakes

h is

head.

EMILY

Don t

l i e to me Sam

a t l e a s t

we ve had t h a t .

You ve

never l ie d

to

me

~ o t a small

thing in

WaShington.

S M

I t s not her.

She looks

a t

him a

long b e a t .

EMILY

a f t e r a beat)

I s

ther e anything

e l s e

I d o n t know

about?

S M a f t e r a beat)

What do you

me n

ny

with?

EMILY

e l s e

they

can d i r t y you

ing

ll

j liit c a n t

S M

uncomf or table th n

t o t e l l


20/125

1 9.

~ ~ Y a f t e r a b est)

You look t i r e d .

Sam. Try

to

r e s t .

You may

not

bel i eve

i t , but

y o u r e

not a

spring

chicken anymore.

She

sm i l e s

a t him with f eelin g - - a b eat, and

then

he

smiles a t her. She turns

to

walk

o u t.

S

q u i e t l y )

Thank

you,

Emily.

She d o e s n t hear

i t ;

but

t he n,

he

sa i d

i t

so

s o f t l y he

d i d n t

want her

to

hear

i t .

EXT

THE

TRUMAN

BALCONY OF THE ~ t t T HOUSE - NIGHT

He

s i t s

out on the balcony, a

drink

in h is hand, a

phone

next to him. He s t a r e s . He piCKS

the

phone

up.

He looks

very

t i r e d .

S

Can you g e t my son

fo r

me p lease?

A long b e a t , as

he

waits - -

INTERCUT

- - And we

s ee SAM PARR JR.,

a

good-looking, easy - g o in 9

man in

h is

4 0 s on the phone in h is r an ch -s ty le house 1n

Denver.

SAM

ve r y t i r e d )

How s the i nsur a nc e

b u sin ess?

His

smile

i s forced.

SAM JR. s m i l es )

Hey Dad did you g e t my wire

a f t e r the debate? I thought

yo u

were

g r e a t ,

Dad.

SAM

stunk up

the

j o i n t and yo u know

t

SAM

JR.

New

yo u

were

j u s t

a

l i t t l e

t i r e d ,

t h a t s a l l .

SAM

am

t i

SAM JR. a f t e r

a

Dad - - a re okay?


21/125

20 .

S

(with

diff icul ty)

No

I m

not okay. r want to

talk

to

you

about sOmething.

A

long beat - -

he doesn t

know

what to say.

S

JR.

Lighten up,

Dad

- -

i t can t

that

bad.

At

that

moment Sam s grandchildren, MILLIE 6, and JOEY

8, grab the phone

from Sam J r .

MILLIE

Hi,

Grandpa We saw you on

the

TV

You

were good,

Grandpa

S (with d i f f i c u l t y

Why thank you,

darl ing.

MILLIE

You

want

to

talk

to

Joey? Joey

got

a

new

goldfish. He murdered the

other

one.

MILLIE (grabbing

phone)

Bye, Grandpa Love you

I did notl

Grandpa

JOEY (grabs phone)

I did not murder i t ,

JOEY (grabbing

phone)

Bye,

Grandpa

Love you

S

(emotionally)

I

love you, too,

goodbye.

S

JR .

(gets phone

back)

Sorry. What

i s i t

you

wanted

to

talk to me

about, Dad?

Sam

r z s

- -

how

can

he talk to him

S (af ter a beat)

Never mind. Listen,

r v e got

to

go. r v e got Gorbachev

on the

other

l i n e .

ad

i

Wait

a

i

SAM

JR. (suddenly upset )

minute, Dad There s

on the

Russ

Good

eer.

SAM

ght, kiddo.

ll talk to you


22/125

And he

hangs

up

and just s i t s there, staring out

into the

darkness

EXT

THE

ROSE GARDEN NIGHT

w l s

there are

Secret

Servicemen

a l love r

the

place

trying to

be unobtrusive.

NOTE:

The

Secret

Servicemen

wear

sunglasses

whenever

they

appear,

even at

night.

Doc Barley see s

him

as

he

is getting into his car. Doc

goes over to him.

DOC

What are you doing out here, Sam?

SAM (looks disturbed)

I

jus t

wanted to get

some

air

Doc.

Doc walks with him

as they

head toward the White House

gates

with

t his b atta lio n

of Secret

Servicemen

t rying

to

blend

into the

darkness.

SAM

You

know

something,

Doc? Sometimes

I think I

never should

have

l l

the

darn

farm

DOC

Well, just think

what

shape this

country d

be

in

i f

you

never

would ve lived here.

He

gestures

toward

the

White House.

SAM

(smiles I

This country s

in great

shape no

matter what happens. Vietnam.

Watergate.

Irangate. Contragate.

Assassinations. AIDS. We re

s t i l l

t ickin9

DOC

I t we got through a l l

that ,

we

can

get

through

Cowgate,

too.

looks

a t

h and

grins.

They

keep

walking.

MOREl

Now you

whored

1c

ye.u: l

here,

DOC

l h t en

to

Sam. I v e

a t

the

town

when

you rs t


23/125

O

CONT DI

~ were so

poor,

you used to to

every cocktai l party in town to f i l l

your pockets with hors d oeuvre so

you d

have

some

dinner.

You

remember that? You never took a

penny in your l i f e you

always

had

one considerat ion: the people . .

and

maybe

pussy.

I

don t

care

i f

you hump

hummingbirds,

hamsters, and

one-eyed

rhinos. I m

not going

to

l e t

you

drop

out of this race.

A long beat, as they walk.

S

love

t h i s country.

don t want

to do anything to hurt i t .

O

You p u l l o u t Sam

- - y o u l l

hurt

i t .

That

ni twi t

Vice-President

of

yours with

his ladi-dah

West Coast

ideas doesn t stand a chance

against

Jim Taylor and you know

i t .

You

think Jim Taylor cares about the

people? He

cares about Texas Oil

and

Boeing and the

defense budget

and the

suburbs. Jim

Taylor

l iving

here

would make

Nixon

look l i k e

OR

and

Reagan

look l i k e

Abe

Lincoln

Think

about

i t

Saml You

want Jim

and Tammy Bakker lying there

together

doing Christ knows what on

that

horsehair

mattress

in the

Lincoln

bedroom? Never mind you and

your

cow, t h a t s

obscene

A long

beat as

they

keep walk ing

toward the g a t e .

S

(quiet ly)

This c ou ntry s lik e

a

big bus,

Doc.

nd

a l l the people in i t

want

to

make sure t h a t the

man

a t

the

wheel

i s n t

going

to go

off

the c l i f f .

What are they

going

to think i f

t h i s

s t u f f comes out?

and Doc look

a t

each other a beat , and then t h e y

keep

walking.

nd the

Touris ts

who

are

down a t the White House

a t 1 times during the day

and

night see

t h e P re s i-

now s t a r t Secret Servicemen r

as he stands re

waves

as

h

Sam leoks a t him.


24/125

23 .

INT.

HIS

EDROOM -

He walks in . He looks t i red. The room is dark.

L CY

Su r p r ise;

He puts the l ights on, s ees her under the

s h e e t s .

She

wears blacK

l inger ie .

Lacy Morrow

is

a

very

b e a u t i f u l

woman. He s t ands th er e, looking a t her.

S M a

sl ight

smile)

I m t i red

honey.

L CY big sm ileI

Well, g et in here , Sam ll f r e she n

you

up.

He s i t s down on the sid e of the bed, lOOKS a t

h e r .

S M gent l y)

Don t

you

ever

worry

t h a t

this

might go p u b l i c somehow?

L CY

People woul dn t mind with you.

Everybody knew about JFK. God

am

I m

so so r r y I missed

JFK,

I

w s

jus t a baby.

S M a l i t t l e jealo u s)

JaCK ha d a

ba d

baCK.

A beat

up .

L CY

He ha d

to

move

ve ry, very

s l owl y.

he s m i l es a t

her

so r t

of s adl y

an d th e n g e ts

Good

n i g h t .

couch.

S M

I m

going to

f in d a

L CY

re

yo u ser io u s? What s t ma t t e r,

Sam? Something s th e ma t t e r, Sam.

I jus t know i t .

S M

s

thlll

matter.

L CY

can

was

in

Cleve

r

an d

kiss

s under

the

cover

gen t l y on

r a


25/125

24.

S

You said

r was

flaccid

imagine

t h a t on nationwide

TV

you

cal led

me

f lacc id .

You. Of a l l people.

That s a helluva thing to say

about

a man.

His

hand i s under

the

sheet; we can t e l l he i s fondling

her

breast .

L CY (smiles)

You re

not

f laccid now Sam. You re

the

President

of the-Dnited

States .

You don t want

to

sleep

on

the

couch,

Sam.

S (to

himself. quietly)

Oh

boy.

L CY

You re

the

most loving man I know

Sam. I

sleep better

knowing

you re

in

the White

House.

She is gUiding his hand.

S

I m the horniest man I know. I t s

always

been

my curse.

She

guides his hand lower,

s t a r t s

breathing deeper.

L CY

nd

my

and America s blessing.

S

I guess

I m too

old for

the

couch.

L CY

Yes,

you are.

nd he

moves

onto the

bed

next to her.

INT. HIS

EDROOM

MORNING

He i s asleep; Lacy

i s curled

around him.

Heff

and Doc

come storming into the

room.

HErr

{very agitatedj

Mr. Ptll sidentl

S

Jesus,

esff ,

i s n t

a

damn

peep


26/125

25.

H F

I t s a matter of national securi ty ,

Mr. President

L CY

(getting excited)

Oh

my God

I t s the Libyans

again,

i s n t i t ?

H F

Out, Lacy

Now

Lacy gets

out

of bed, half-covered with

the sheet .

Doc

ogles

her.

L CY

r

c a n t go, Sam. r t s my .

They l l

f i r e

me.

Sam s i t s up on the side of

the

bed in his pajamas, rubs

his eyes.

L CY

Please l e t me stay, Sam.

S M

Go

on,

honey.

Don t worry,

i f

i t s

Khadafi

again, ll

give ~

your

scoop.

She moves toward the door hesi tant ly , turns baCK.

L CY

Do you promise, Sam?

S M

I

do.

L CY

Is

i t

a firm promise?

S M

Unequivocal.

nd Lacy t r a i l i n g the sheet, is gone. Doc

watches

her

leavt

DO

(admiringly)

You ve s t i l l got the

eye,

Sam

lookll a t Heff, who lookS

a g i t a t e d .

A

be.n:,

a

we t

puts it

stands

up, st : . ret

in brown envelope.

opens i t a t

rllph - -

beat, and then

Sam

i s

head

the

envelope.

They watch him.

He

goes to

a window looks

out.


27/125


28/125

O

r checked

Jimbc out

the day a f t e r

his nomination.

S M s t a r t l e d j

You

did?

DOC

He s

olean.

HEFF

Nobody s olean except

maybe

George

McGovern and he s

dead

S M

No, he i s n

t

HEFF

Yes, he

i s .

He

died in November of

7 2

DOC

Jimbo

jacks-off a l l

the

time.

That s i t .

S M (smiles)

I t f igures.

A beat.

HEFF

They want an answer, Mr.

President .

What do we

t e l l them?

S M

(nervous)

I need a c i g a r e t t e .

HEFr

(very

upset)

I f you s t a r t smoking again, t s

going

to

be more controversial

than

E l s i e l

S M

(upset)

George Bush

got

away

with

no

broccol i

DOC

(s tern)

He s

r ight ,

Sam.

27.

them

c a n t

thl Y ever

r ight?

get the damn order

He s t a r t s goi

RINGING

on


29/125

HEFF

Oh shi t I t s the hot

l ine

O

That s a l l

we needed

- -

what does he

want?

Sam

goes

the phone

wari ly,

picks

i t

up.

S

Hello?

(he l i s tens)

Yes,

Mike.

How are you?

(he

l i s tens)

Well, appreciate that , Mike.

(he

l i s tens)

Well, sometimes

th ese th in gs

happen

in our

campaigns.

Heff

and Doc look a t each other.

S (on

the

phone)

just got

the

photograph

a

couple

minutes

ago myself.

HEFF (to Doc, angrily)

Goddamnitl

O

(angri ly)

knew i t l I knew i t l

S

(on

phone)

That s nice

of

you, Mike. I t real ly

i s . Thank you, I appreciate i t .

He

hangs up. They s ta re

a t him.

S

He

got i t

l a s t

night

already.

O

they

were

behind

th i s .

S

ome on, Doc - -

nix

on that

HEFr

(upset)

Nixon?

What

about

Nixon?

S

- -

We re

a l ibe ra l administration.

in glasnost.

O

I m

a

l ibe ra l l I m

a

JFK-LBJ-Scoop

Jackson l ibe ra l

How

the he l l did

they

get i t

did i f they re

not behi i t ?

28.


30/125


31/125

30.

S MPSON

They re c a l l i n g us the same

we re c a l l i n g them,

to see

what

we re

going

to do

with

i t an d What

t h e y r e

going to

do with

i t .

KOHNER

We re

having i t

analyzed - - i t s

a

waste

of

time

- - nooody s

got

th e

negat i ve.

M RTIN

Well,

i t

c e r t a i n l y

looks l i k e Sam

S MPSON

P l eas e. I am not even

going

to

consider the

p o s s i b i l i t y

t h a t t h i s

i s the Pr esid en t of the

United

St a t e s engaged in - - in - - wi t hout

t o t a l , a bsol ut e , s c i e n t i f i c

v e r i f i c a t i o n .

M RTIN in n o cen tly )

Where d id you grow up,

Ar t hur ?

S MPSON

Where d id grow up? What does t h a t

have

to

do with i t ? grew up in

Boston.

Where did you

grow

up?

M RTIN s l i g h t smile)

grew

up

in E st e s, Iowa.

S MPSON

d o n t

understand

th e re le va nc e

M RTIN

wiping s m i l e o f f )

Never

mind.

They

walk

i nt o a

small, c u b i c l e - l i k e

o f f i c e .

Lacy

Morrow

s i t s t h e r e .

L Y

smiles)

Arthur, E l l i o t

- -

h i,

what a

pl e a sa nt s u r p r i s e - -

E l l i o t tak es a

photograph

out o f an envel ope, p u t s

in

front o f

her - -

we

d o n t

see the

phot ogr a ph.

Lacy looks a t i t and breaks out in wi , u n c o n t r o l

l a u g h t e r .


32/125

L Y

What

am

I

l augh ing about ?

I t s

sick

t h i s

i s supposed to be the

President of the

United States

doing

i t

t o

a cow?

S MPSON

Yes i s .

She s t a r t s

to laugh again.

KO N R

Please take a close look

a t

the

photograph,

Lacy.

She

laughs again and

then her

laugh

freezes.

L Y

Are you serious?

M RTIN

We re

serious.

L Y

But you

c a n t

be

- -

t h i s

i s supposed

to be

She t r a i l s

o f f

s t a r e s i t .

M RTIN

Is

i t him?

She

looks a t Martin.

S MPSON

Is i t

M RTIN

Sorry.

Iowa.

She

stares a t them.

31.

ome on.

ome

on,

L Y

ome

on

you guyS

I mean

- - really

Are you nuts?

M RTIN

Look

a t

ths

photograph,

Lacy

She looks a t a l l

three

of

them.

L Y

does tha t mean?


33/125

32.

KOHNER

(hard)

You

know

what means. I t

means

we

knew

about the Pres ident s

p r o c l i v i t i e s .

That s

one of the

reasons you re covering the

White

House.

L CY (offended)

I f

I

told

my

f rie nd G lo ria

Steinem

what you j u s t

said to

me

KOttNER

I

said

i t was

one of the factors

- -

a

very minor, almost negligible, though

not comple te ly i r re levant

factor .

She s t a r e s

a t them.

M RTIN

(quiet ly)

Look

a t

the

photograph,

Lacy.

Please.

A long beat ,

and

then she looks

a t

the

photograph fo r a

long

beat.

L Y (quietly)

Oh

my God.

She

s t a r e s

a t i t .

S MPSON

How do you know my dear?

L Y

( in a whisper)

I v e

seen

that

smile.

She

keeps

star ing

a t

the

photograph.

S MPSON

I

see.

INT.

A V ST COWFERENCE ROOM D Y

I t i s

a

meeting

of

the National Security Counci1.

VICE-

PRESIDENT PETER R H M

chairs

the

meeting and t

a t the

head

of the

long,

beautifully-burnished mahogany confer

ence t a b l e . He i s 44, a

good-looking,

d a r k - h a i r e d you

n

9

looking

man.

S i t t i n g around

t h e

t a b l e

of

them, are:

GENER L BENJAMIN

Chairman of the

RO ERT

RASTINGS almost

s k e l e t a l

in

h i s

50 l ,

wl i u i

s w i re r im m e d glass s, r e c t o r


34/125

33 .

NDREW M RLEY

- -

t h i n .

almost sK eletal

in his

5 0 s

wear

ing

gold wire-rimmed g l a s s e s

the

CIA D ir e otor .

JOSTIN NDERSON - - s h o r t bald

pr ies t ly ,

th e S ec re ta ry

of

Sta.te.

JOE C RSON

- - broad-shouldered

in

h is

4 0 s bla c k

the

Attorney General.

DON LD Y NUCCI - - horn-rimmed g l a s s e s very

tr im 5 0 s

the S ec re ta ry o f Defense.

E GOLDM N - - 5 0 s

f iery , a

pepper-pot

of

a man the

Se c r e ta r y o f th e In ter ior .

VICE PRESIDENT GR H M

I v e asked you to come here to th i s

s p e c i a l

meeting o f

th e c o un cil in

th e utmost se c r e c y to disc u s s the

g r a v e s t

ma tte r

o f n a t i o n a l

s e c u r i t y :

th e

competence

o f

the

P re sid en t o f

th e

United

S t a t e s

to

govern.

s

he

speaKs

we

see

t h a t most of th e men i n th i s room

d o n t

l ike him. .- -

VICE PRESIDENT

GR H M

W i l l you p lease p a s s thes e down?

We se e a stack of photographs - - we d o n t s e e th e photo

i t s e l f . s they p ass the m down

we

se e the i r

fac ia l

r e a c

t i o n s :

some a r e

open-mouthed

some cough some

shOW no

response some turn i t

upside

down

an d

back.

The

V ic e - Pr e side nt

an d

S e c r e t a r y of

S t a t e

Anderson

g i v e

each o th er a smug

v i c t o r i o u s

look as

th e o t h e r s

look a t

their photo.

INT.

THE CONFERENCE ROOM

L TER

Everyone

jus t s i t s thece

the i r

photograph in f ron t o f

them. A long b e a t .

VICE PRESIDENT

GR H M

Who

would

l ike

to begin?

GENER L WOODS

Does

Sam

know

yo u

c a l l e d

th i s

meeting?

VICE PRESIDENT

GR H M

idering th e

matter

a t

hand

an d

cons

ing

own c o n s t i

i o n a l

respons t l i t es

an d

our

possible

c our se s of action

I thought

i t

b e s t

not

to a dvise the

President.

GENER L

WOODS

5 kick r l


35/125

34.

SECRET RY OF

ST TE NDERSON

nervous)

want

to make c lea r th a t

we

are not

here

to

pass

on

the a u t h e n t i c i t y o f

t h i s a ll eg ed i nc id en t.

We are

here

to co nsid er

t domestic an d

global

national s e c u r i t y

implications

posed

by the p o t e n t i a l

i n t e r n a t i o n a l

dissemination

of these a l l e g a t i o n s .

GENER L W S

t Graham

Sam s s t i l l

gonna kick

your

ass.

A long

beat.

GENER L W S

d o n t

see

what

the big

whoop-de

doo

is .

Sam s alw ays stuck

i t into

~ n y t h i n g

t h a t

walks.

He

t ied one

on

an d i t happens.

TTORNEY

GENER L

C RSON

You

mean he was

drunk?

The

P re sid en t o f the

United

S tates was

drunk?

SECRET RY

OF INTERIOR GOLDM N

Well, I d have

to be p r e t t y damn

drunk to

do

i t

SECRET RY

OF DEFENSE Y NUCCI

How much is the Pr esident drinking?

FBI

DIRECTOR H S ~ I N S

He s always lik e d h is Jack D ~ n i e l s

a t

the

end

o f

th e day. H e s

not

joyr iding

around

th e

ranch

l i k e L

d id

with

a six-pack

or crawling

around

on

h is hands and

knees with

Kissinger

l ike Nixon d i d .

SECRET RY

OF INTERIOR GOLDM N

His

drinking has always

be e na .

p a r t

of h is pol i t ica l s t r a t e g y . When he

was in the S e n a t ~ he voted w ith the

North and

drank with

the

Soutb,

and

every

bi l l he cared about got

through.

TTORNEY GENER L C RSON

What about th e black

box?

Nukes and

s

d o n t

mix.

GENER L

W S

t worry th e box. No

President

I v e ever known even knows

to

open

it

That stuns

everyone

a beat.


36/125

35.

ATTORNEY GENERAL

CARSON

There s

no evidence t h a t the

man

in

t h i s photograph is the

P res ident

of

the

United S t a t e s .

There s

no

ev id en ce of

any

kind even t h a t t h i s

photograph

i s r e a l .

GENERAL WOO S

laughs)

Are

you

kidding?

That S

Sam.

How

much do you want to bet t h a t s

Sam

CIA DIRECTOR MARLEY

We

are already analyzi the

photograph - - the glossy i t s e l f . We

d o n t

have

the

negative,

of

co u rse,

,but we

are

c ov er tl y a c ti ve

in

determining

the photo

lab

where

i t

was processed.

FBI DIRECTOR HASTINGS

We

a re o ve rtly

covertly a c t i v e

in

making

t h a t

determination.

ATTORNEY

GENERAL CARSON

What does o v er tl y c ov er tl y mean?

FBI DIRECTOR HASTINGS

I t

means

we

are not doing

what

w e r e

doing.

To put i t another way - - w e r e

doing

what

w e re

not doing.

ATTORNEY GENERAL CARSON a f t e r a

beat)

Observe

your

sanctions.

MARLEY

N

HASTINGS

t o g e t h e r )

Of

cours e.

VICE PRESIDENT

GRAHAM

The New York Times, the Washington

P o s t , an d

the

networks were

aerrv ered copies t h i s morning.

That s t u n s everyone. A long b e a t .

SECRETARY OF

INTERIOR

GOLDM N

Who the

h e l l

delivered em?

FBI

DIRECTOR HASTINGS

active

in

making t h a t

nat

e

I

t

l e t l y )


37/125

e

36.

Vice-President Graham looks l ike he is despera te ly t ry ing

to hide

a

secret

smile.

SECRET RY

OF

INTERIOR GOLDMAN

Are you

crazy?

In the final month

of

the

campaign?

We'd be handing

over the White House to them

SECRET RY OF

ST TE NDERSON

The

Vice-President

wi

GENER L WOODS

(to Graham)

The Vice-President s going

cO

get

reamed

worse than that COw

VICE PRESIDENT GRAHAM

(angrily)

resent

that I ve served in the

Senate,

in

the

sta te legis lature

GENER L

WOODS

In

California


My

personal l i f e

is

clean.

SECRET RY

OF

INTERIOR

GOLDM N

Aw, bullshi

t


(offended)

I beg

your

pardon?

SECRET RY

OF

INTERIOR GOLDM N

You re from California

You

think

anybody

in America thinks

Cal iforni ans a re

clean?

They

think

you re

from

outer

space.

VICE PRESIDENT GRAHAM (eaken aback)

President Reagan

was from

California

GENER L

WOODS

(angri ly)

ae

was from

Notre Dame

FBI DIRECTOR

H STINGS

( a f t e r

a

beat)

Perhaps

we re

overstating

the

potent ial

pub lic react ion to

th is .

DIRECTOR

/A l\ RLE l

perhaps

we re not.

VICE PRESIDENT

GRAHAM

is

ranl:

I:'i

SECRET RY

re

the

Californian,

0 t on tha t

INTERIOR r;CILLJN,1:

Sacred Cows by Joe Eszterhas

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Transcript of Sacred Cows by Joe Eszterhas