House of Cards

"She squared off mano-a-mano with Petrov

to finalize the bailout deal.

Meanwhile, Secretary Durant twiddled her thumbs,

waiting without a seat at the bargaining table."

Pretty wild?

- When was that posted? - 3:00 a.m.

You should go.

- No breakfast, even? - I have work to do.

Welcome back. It's a dramatic day. Let's see where things stand.

And, Wolf, you can see the big change.

Catherine Durant now on our presidential nominating wall.

She has shifted from vice presidential hopeful

to potential presidential candidate.

And a Durant candidacy might be appealing to Democrats

who aren't enthusiastic about either Underwood or Dunbar.

And imagine this scenario if we play this out through this convention.

Heather Dunbar came out of the primaries, of course, with 46%.

It's not enough to win the nomination,

but for him to win, President Underwood, he still needs these superdelegates.

He won the popular vote when Dunbar withdrew,

but you're saying he doesn't have a technical majority.

659 superdelegates yet to weigh in,

so you see Frank Underwood drops down to 48%.

He's still in the lead, but not enough to clinch the nomination.

And you want a little bit more intrigue, like we need that?

Twenty-four states, Wolf, these 24 states highlighted,

they do not have so-called faithless delegate laws,

meaning in these 24 states, the delegates don't have to,

they are not legally bound to vote for the candidate

who won their state's primary or caucus.

- They can vote for whoever they want. - They could vote for Heather Dunbar.

They could switch over and vote for Catherine Durant.

Wolf, if they want, they could vote for you.

They're not gonna vote for me.

But if Secretary Durant siphons off enough votes

or Underwood doesn't get that majority in the first ballot,

what, all bets are off?

I think about the only sure bet today is

President Underwood must be wishing he hadn't agreed to this open convention.

Does Durant or Dunbar really have a shot at winning this thing?

Sure. You've got a president who wasn't elected to begin with.

His health is a giant question mark right now.

He's had a rocky tenure, plus you've got an open convention.

Anything could happen.

Like giving, Durant a run for her money.

Slugline, by the way, picked up the Politico story from yesterday.

It could get traction out there on the floor.

That's true, and, again, at an open convention,

Claire Underwood may suddenly be the dark horse here.

Mother.

Hello, Claire.

Why'd you move down here?

Hospice lady said I shouldn't be going up and down stairs anymore.

Besides, I like it. More light.

Who's that?

Tom, would you give us a minute, please?

Sorry.

No, no. Come here, young man.

Hi, Mrs. Hale.

My name's Tom.

It's Thomas Yates, the novelist. You've probably heard of him.

I think everything since John Cheever isn't worth readin'.

You're probably right.

Well, Claire... did you come to take stock

of everything you're gonna inherit when I die?

Well, it's convenient, isn't it,

having a dying mother when you need an excuse to skip town?

We won't disturb you.

It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Hale.

- Elizabeth. - All right. Well, then you call me Tom.

I hate "Thomas."

- Fair enough, Tom. - We have a deal.

We want a unified party, not a fractured one.

I can't play fast and loose with the rules.

This is an open convention. There are no rules.

I already gave Senator Sheer that prime-time spot that you wanted.

But this, as chair of the convention...

And I made you chair of this convention precisely for moments like this.

I have an obligation to not play favorites.

Your obligation to the party is an obligation to the leader of the party,

and as the president, that would be me.

- Correct? - Yes, sir, but...

Then this isn't about favoritism. It's about solidarity.

We've got a car waiting to take you to the convention hall, Ms. Whittaker.

I call this convention to order.

Of the Democratic National Committee and the convention chair, Patti Whittaker.

Good morning.

I was just informed that the president will travel to Washington

to meet with his national security team.

Given that key contenders for both slots on the ticket

aren't able to be on the floor today, the Rules Committee has advised that

we should wait for their return before any further votes are held.

There is a motion to postpone all votes

until the president's return.

ICO began its advance from As Suwar late last night,

and by our calculations and their current pace,

we expect them to reach the Euphrates within 72 hours.

Now, this could disrupt highway and river traffic,

but more importantly,

could give them the opportunity to destroy vital dams in the region.

And as a result, I am heading to Washington right now

so that we can decide exactly how we should stop this ICO advance.

Is this sudden change of plans

a result of your meeting with Governor Conway yesterday?

Well, it wouldn't surprise me if ICO accelerated their plans,

because of the governor's comments.

They certainly know how to take advantage of media attention.

But whether that's the truth or not,

this is an imminent threat which we must deal with immediately.

I'm glad the president heard me

and finally took General Brockhart's advice to heart.

Now we'll just have to wait and see if it actually results in anything.

I just hope it's not too little, too late.

What are your plans now, Governor? Remain in Atlanta?

No, Hannah and I are heading back on the trail.

We accomplished what we needed to here in Georgia,

and we're heading off to Arizona today and then Utah.

Mr. President. Mr. President.

Why Washington and not here?

This issue is too sensitive for a mobile White House.

I need to be in the Situation Room

with my entire staff and team of advisors around me.

Yes, Adam.

Mr. President, is this a way to silence Secretary Durant

after Louisiana put her in the running for president?

I don't use national security matters for political purposes.

You know that, Adam.

You have any other further questions, please direct them to Seth.

Thank you all very much.

- You want me to come with? - No, you stay behind.

- Keep everything under control. - Yes, sir.

There are reports that she's left Atlanta.

The First Lady left earlier this morning.

Her mother's health has deteriorated in the past few days.

- Seth! - Adam.

Does this mean she's out of the running for VP?

The First Lady was never in the running.

She and the president continue to support Catherine Durant...

Father of four, sailor...

staph infection from stepping on a rusty fish hook.

Heavens!

And this one, yeah, you were a fruit fly.

- A fruit fly. - Yes.

You were a consort to Rasputin and his 14-inch...

No, don't say it.

I don't have to say it because you're already imagining it.

I looked it over.

I'll meet you outside.

Gonna leave all this to Vi and the girls if you're not interested.

Grandmother's jewelry?

She'd turn over in her grave if I didn't at least offer it to you.

- She had great taste. - Where do you think I got it from?

What's this?

Look at it. Open it up.

Must be worth somethin', baby teeth of the First Lady.

I like that boy.

Makes me laugh.

Like your father used to.

Can't imagine Daddy dressed up as a fortune teller.

You'd be surprised. He had a silly side to him.

Not that I ever saw.

Well, there were certain things that he only did with me.

You see, laughter is good for the pain.

Even better than this morphine.

- Let me help you. - No, no, I can do it.

You just go.

Go!

You crossed everything out.

- It wasn't good. - I know.

Is that what you're gonna do here, after she dies?

Cross everything out... because it wasn't good?

You're not going to get me to talk about my mother.

I hope not.

Hatred's ugly.

It's too beautiful a day for that.

Back to the salt mines.

Please, sit.

Sir, these are the current ICO positions.

We're still drafting action items, but we can give you a rough sense...

Well, before we discuss any military options,

I'd like to put a call in to Damascus and see what they'll allow.

Madam Secretary, won't you join me?

So you had to call a national security meeting just to get us in the same room?

And to keep you off the phone with Conway.

All I needed was one call to him. I don't need to make another.

You don't actually think he's gonna make you Secretary of State, do you?

Probably not, but I would've paid good money

just to see your face when he told you.

I never promised you the ticket. I promised you I'd try.

You pretended to try.

Claire's support didn't just happen on its own,

and you had the gall to take my hand, look me in the eye and lie to my face.

- You're mistaken, Cathy. - Come on, Frank.

I've had a front row seat to everything since the day Walker took office,

all the lies and betrayals, and I helped you.

My mistake was I assumed you wouldn't stab me in the back.

Your mistake is that it backfired.

This is all personal, isn't it?

This is about how Claire treated you when I was in the hospital.

Give me more credit than that. This is business.