Advise & Consent

Thank you.

- Morning, son. - Good morning, senator.

Thank you.

Taxi!

Sheraton Rark Hotel.

- Good morning, Senator Danta. - Good morning, Willoughby.

Hold it.

Why wasn't I let in on this?

- May I help you? - Dot, Senator Munson.

Oh, just a moment, senator.

Good morning, Bobby. How are you this morning?

You know how I am this morning, Mr. President.

I guess I'm in for it, aren't I?

That's a hell of a thing to do without talking to me.

Bobby, it's been over two weeks since Shepherd died.

We couldn't go on forever without a secretary of state. I had to get it done.

What was the matter with the list of men we agreed on?

No, not one of them can really fill the bill.

Robert Leffingwell can.

You know how valuable he's been to me.

Sure, he's great. But the man's got more enemies in Congress than anybody.

He's never played ball with us, not even the most ordinary, political-courtesy kind.

Well, maybe that's the reason I want him. He doesn't waste his time on trifles.

Mr. President, a United States senator is not a trifle.

That's a joke, Bobby.

Fine. But Leffingwell's no joke.

And I have to stuff him down the Senate's throat.

Now, look, I knew we were running a risk, but I want him.

He can give us some creative statesmanship, and God knows we need it.

Oh, come on, now. What's our toughest problem?

You want me to talk to Warren Strickland?

There's no point talking to the minority leader.

Our troubles are coming from our own party.

Seab Cooley.

We can work out a deal with old Seab.

He says we can work out a deal with Seab.

- Who's with you? - Stanley Danta.

Stan's always right there on the job, isn't he?

He's the best whip ever in the Senate. Tell him I said so.

He says you're the best whip we've ever had.

Tell him the best whip we've ever had says Seab Cooley will trade for one thing:

Leffingwell's head.

What'd he say, Bob?

That Seab won't trade on this, and he's right.

We've licked Cooley before. We can do it again.

Then we'd better get at it. Suppose you start with Tom August.

- When did Tom become a Cooley man? - He isn't. He's not a Leffingwell man either.

Since he's chair of Foreign Relations we have to sweeten him up.

I'll call him in right away. Good luck, Bobby.

- Oh, boy. - You want off this one?

I'm with you, Bob.

There's no doubt he's made a wild pitch...

but I'd like to back him up all I can right now.

Sure, I know.

Hello, Bob, Stan.

- Good morning, senator. - Come on in.

About 5'8", blond, a little cleft in the chin, black dress, mink stole.

Sorry. Didn't see anybody answer to that description.

Why don't you get married, Lafe?

A United States senator should stabilize with a good, solid marriage.

If I did, I couldn't get elected.

It's the unmarried mothers who put me in office.

Why don't you stabilize yourself?

There's a difference between widowers and bachelors.

Widowers have more dignity.

- How do you feel about this lollapalooza? - I think the president's nuts to name him.

But I'll vote for him.

What about your friend Brig Anderson? Think he'll jump the whale?

- Leffingwell scuttled his power bill. - Brig won't be influenced by that.

- Not on this. - I'm trying to count a few noses.

- Suppose you give Brig a ring to make sure. - If you like.

- Hello. - Hello, Warren? Good morning. Bob Munson.

- Beating the bushes early, aren't you, Bob? - I have a lot of bushes.

It's your garden, friend, not ours.

How many votes against Leffingwell on your side of the aisle?

Somewhere between 17 and 20. That's giving him the benefit of the doubt.

With the president's right to name his cabinet?

Try that line on the members of your own party. Say, Seab Cooley.

- Hello, Brig? How's the boy? - Right in the middle of breakfast.

What's on your mind, Lafe?

Just wondered what you think about the appointment. Crazy, huh?

- Think so? - Well, it's gonna be a rough one.

I wouldn't be surprised.

- I thought you might be upset about it. - Why would I be upset?

The trouble he gave you on your power bill.

- That's right. He did, didn't he? - You mean it's okay?

- Is that what Bob Munson wants to know? - You got television on your phone?

Just a second, Lafe.

- You going, baby? - Yeah.

- You still love me? - Yeah.

- How much? - That much.

Time for her bus, Brig.

Have a nice time in school today, honey.

- Lafe? - Yeah.

Look, I'm not grinding an ax for Leffingwell...

but I'm not gonna commit myself right now either.

I'd like to wait and hear what he has to say at the committee hearing.

Apart from that, I'm just gonna sit back and watch Seab Cooley light up the sky.

Had your fire and brimstone this morning, Seab?

Yes, sir, Mr. Majority Leader.

Laced with hot bourbon and branch water.

I expect you can see the flames coming out of my ears.

Can we have a little talk?

If you mean about Mr. Robert A. Leffingwell...

- it'd be a fruitless conversation. - The president, the party and I...

would take it as a favor if you'd lay off.

I honor the president, I love my party...

and I admire you, Mr. Majority Leader, except where it crosses with my convictions.

I believe Mr. Robert A. Leffingwell will lead us straight to perdition.

Come on, we know what's eating you.

Leffingwell made a liar out of you in a hearing five years ago.

- It's a long time to carry a grudge, Seab. - Maybe for a young fellow like you.

In my table of time, it happened just like yesterday. Good day, gentlemen.

Scares you, doesn't it? All that 40 years in the Senate.

Good morning, Seab.

- I was just gonna call your office. - On the run, Fred.

I know. We've all gotta hop for this one, but we'll put Leffingwell over.

Boy, he is it, Bob. He's really it. He's a great man, a great talent.

- I'm throwing my organization behind this. - You got an organization?

Are you kidding?

Eight chapters in eight cities, my peace organization.

Who you making peace with? The Kickapoo Indians?

You find peace amusing?

It's just that Stan's on the Indian Affairs subcommittee, isn't it, Stan?

I'll be with you in a minute.

Fred, what do those guys do besides strew roses in your path?

Just my brain trust.

You can't hold a senator's job by kissing babies...

and shaking hands, you know. Bob...

The hearing will go to a subcommittee, right?

I haven't any word from Tom August yet. I don't know his plan.

Well, if it does... I say, if it does, I don't wanna push...

Whoever's made subcommittee chair should be pro-Leffingwell, right?

Possibly.

Well, I've done my share of the hack work. I ought to be in line for a spot like this.

Fred, right now I'm just trying to get the situation in hand.

I know, but I wanted to get my bid in early.

I've gotta fly to New York for the afternoon and meet my eastern group.

- Suppose I call you later on? - Yeah. Do that. Call me.

- Van Ackerman's looking for a horse to ride. - He won't get it from me.

He won't care. He doesn't belong here, Bob.

- You'll have to cut him off the vine. - He'll fall off.

- Morning, Bess. - Morning, senator. Your calls.

- First, see if you can get me Leffingwell. - Yes, sir.

Sir, 219 telegrams so far.

- Most of them favorable to Leffingwell. - Good.

- Good morning, senator. - Morning.

- Leffingwell residence. - Senator Munson calling Mr. Leffingwell.

Senator Munson? Wait a minute.

- Dad, it's Senator Munson on the phone. - What?

The phone. It's Senator Munson.

- Tell him I've gone out. - Why?

Because he'll want me to do things that might obligate me.

Why do you want me to lie? If you're in, you're in. If you're out, you're out.

Son, this is a Washington, D.C. kind of lie.

That's when the other person knows you're lying, and also knows you know he knows.

- Follow? - No.

- Senator Munson will understand. - Okay, if you say so.

He's not here. He went out.

- Do you know where I might reach him? - No, ma'am.

- He didn't leave a forwarding address. - Oh, I see. Well, thank you.

- I can't reach Mr. Leffingwell, senator. - All right, Bess.

- I'll take these calls down the line. - Yes, sir.

Wouldn't you think he'd know we'd know he's dodging us?

He might become the best secretary of state we'll ever have.

Want me to make you one of these?

- Thanks just the same. - It's good.

- Don't you wanna be secretary of state? - Think I should want to?

- Big job. - That's a fact.

- I think you ought to want it. - Why?

Well, you know. All that trouble, and war and stuff like that.

Maybe you could do something about it.

- I'd like to try. - That's the way I'd figure it.

It's worth a try.

As you get to the top of the stairway, look at the painting on the right.

This painting portrays one of the worst conflicts of the Mexican War.

In this painting, it's interesting to note...

that Lieutenants Lee and Grant fought side by side.

They were classmates at West Point, as you know.

The skylight came from Philadelphia. It was placed there in 1859.

The medallions in the skylight are hand-painted.

They were done by Gibson and Company and placed there in 1859.

- Good morning, Max. - Miss Harrison, Lady Maudulayne.

- Good morning, Maxwell. - Max, this is Madame Barre.

Her husband is the new French ambassador.

- Welcome to the Senate, madame. - Thank you.

- Good morning, Lady Maudulayne. - Good morning.

- Good morning. - Good morning.

Bob. How are you?

Good morning, Orrin. Everything all right?

Bob, it's going around the Leffingwell hearing might be set for tomorrow.

That's rushing things, isn't it?

As we need a secretary of state, I wouldn't say it's rushing.

Senator Strickland, wouldn't you say that's sudden?

Senator Munson's party is going to be strongly divided on Leffingwell.

Perhaps the senator would push it through before that division ruptures.

I wonder if the minority leader is qualified to speak for the majority party.

On the right of that aisle is the minority, and on the left is the majority.

All of those are left?

- Does America have so many leftists? - Oh, no, darling. It's purely geographical.