The West Wing Quotes
Toby: [to his twin newborns] I didn't realize babies come with hats. You guys crack me up. You don't have jobs, you can't walk or speak the language, you don't have a dollar in your pockets, but you got yourselves a hat, so everything's fine. I don't want to alarm you or anything, but I'm Dad. And for you, son, for you this will be the last time I pass the buck, but I think it should be clear from the get-go that it was Mom who named you Huckleberry. I guess she was feeling like life doesn't present enough challenges to overcome on its own. And honey, you've got a name now, too. Your mom and I named you after an incredibly brave, uh... An incredibly brave woman. Really not all that much older than you. Your name is Molly. Huck... and Molly. So, what do I do? Well, you're going to need food and clothes and doctors and dentists... there's that. And should you have any questions along the way... I'm going to be doing stuff like this, Huck, 'cause you're leaking a little bit out of your mouth there. You holding my finger, son? Hey Molly, your brother's holding my hand. You wanna hold my hand?
TV Show: The West Wing
Will: The President temporarily handing over power to his political enemy? I think it's a fairly stunning act of patriotism... and a fairly ordinary act of fatherhood.
TV Show: The West Wing
Josh: It's been two days since the press asked me a policy question. And I think that was about the smoking policy on the plane.
TV Show: The West Wing
Reporter: If the election were held today...
Santos: People would be surprised, because it's usually held on Election Day.
Santos: People would be surprised, because it's usually held on Election Day.
TV Show: The West Wing
Senator Framingham: We were close once, back then.
Leo: No. Senator, we just drank back then. We were never close.
Leo: No. Senator, we just drank back then. We were never close.
TV Show: The West Wing
Josh: I think we made a mistake.
Donna: What?
Josh: Letting the President step aside.
Will Bailey|Will]]: Have you been watching CNN, MSNBC? Even FOX is treating it as a seminar on the resiliency of the Constitution.
Josh: The President's daughter is probably tied up in the back of a gas station. We have no idea how this is playing.
Will: He showed he's a leader, nobly embracing his own flawed humanity.
Josh: Lincoln and Kennedy had children who died. They didn't take a sabbatical.
Toby: Who's been calling?
Josh: Congressional leadership.
Toby: Lincoln never got a ransom note from Jefferson Davis. He's putting country before family. I'd carpet bomb Mecca to get my kids back.
Josh: What if they like Walken better? What if he seems more presidential? What if they want Walken to stay?
Will: In a few days, President Bartlet turns the second letter over to Congress.
Josh: What if it doesn't take a few days? What if it takes a few weeks, a few months? What if she's never found?
Donna: What?
Josh: Letting the President step aside.
Will Bailey|Will]]: Have you been watching CNN, MSNBC? Even FOX is treating it as a seminar on the resiliency of the Constitution.
Josh: The President's daughter is probably tied up in the back of a gas station. We have no idea how this is playing.
Will: He showed he's a leader, nobly embracing his own flawed humanity.
Josh: Lincoln and Kennedy had children who died. They didn't take a sabbatical.
Toby: Who's been calling?
Josh: Congressional leadership.
Toby: Lincoln never got a ransom note from Jefferson Davis. He's putting country before family. I'd carpet bomb Mecca to get my kids back.
Josh: What if they like Walken better? What if he seems more presidential? What if they want Walken to stay?
Will: In a few days, President Bartlet turns the second letter over to Congress.
Josh: What if it doesn't take a few days? What if it takes a few weeks, a few months? What if she's never found?
TV Show: The West Wing
Walken: What are the chances Zoey Bartlet's still alive?
Casper: Hard to say, but I think yes she probably is. They'll want to milk this for all its worth.
Walken: Get your people in place, Admiral. We don't go today unless we're provoked. [to Casper] Find her and find her fast. But if Zoey Bartlet turns up dead, I'm going to blow the hell out of something, and God only knows what happens next.
Casper: Hard to say, but I think yes she probably is. They'll want to milk this for all its worth.
Walken: Get your people in place, Admiral. We don't go today unless we're provoked. [to Casper] Find her and find her fast. But if Zoey Bartlet turns up dead, I'm going to blow the hell out of something, and God only knows what happens next.
TV Show: The West Wing
Bartlet: You work for the President. He's going to need you down there.
Charlie: I work for you, sir. Someone else can show him where the Xerox paper is.
Bartlet: You do a lot more than that.
Charlie: Thank you, sir, but I'd prefer to stay here with you.
Charlie: I work for you, sir. Someone else can show him where the Xerox paper is.
Bartlet: You do a lot more than that.
Charlie: Thank you, sir, but I'd prefer to stay here with you.
TV Show: The West Wing
Democrat Speaker: You've elevated Walken and the Republicans. You've made them genuine players on the world stage.
Leo: I didn't elevate them. The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 did. And I'm not prepared to think about politics when we're under terrorist attack. The Republic comes first.
Leo: I didn't elevate them. The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 did. And I'm not prepared to think about politics when we're under terrorist attack. The Republic comes first.
TV Show: The West Wing
Walken: You know I'm not the enemy. The things that unite us are far greater than things that divide us. We both believe in democracy, preservation of American values, protection of our citizens in a sometimes hostile world.
C.J.: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness?
Walken: Yeah.
C.J.: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness?
Walken: Yeah.
TV Show: The West Wing
Josh: You're campaigning in the middle of a national tragedy....
Atwood: You don't get it, do you? The Republicans are in awe of Bartlet. He recused himself in the only way he could. In the way envisioned by the Constitution... The whole notion of the 25th Amendment is that the institution matters more than the man. Bartlet's decision was even more self-sacrificing because he willingly gave power to his opposition.
Josh: The institution may matter more, but it's your guy protecting it, not ours.
Atwood: A truly self-sacrificing act usually involves some sacrifice.
Josh: So, now you're going to nail us to the cross.
Atwood: No. You beat the terrorists at their own game. We're not stupid, Josh. We try to use this to our advantage, it will blow up in our faces. We'd seem callous and unfeeling. In contrast to Bartlet's extraordinary gesture of courage and patriotism. And anyone who thinks otherwise has a particularly craven way of looking at politics."
Atwood: You don't get it, do you? The Republicans are in awe of Bartlet. He recused himself in the only way he could. In the way envisioned by the Constitution... The whole notion of the 25th Amendment is that the institution matters more than the man. Bartlet's decision was even more self-sacrificing because he willingly gave power to his opposition.
Josh: The institution may matter more, but it's your guy protecting it, not ours.
Atwood: A truly self-sacrificing act usually involves some sacrifice.
Josh: So, now you're going to nail us to the cross.
Atwood: No. You beat the terrorists at their own game. We're not stupid, Josh. We try to use this to our advantage, it will blow up in our faces. We'd seem callous and unfeeling. In contrast to Bartlet's extraordinary gesture of courage and patriotism. And anyone who thinks otherwise has a particularly craven way of looking at politics."
TV Show: The West Wing
Bartlet: 'The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral. Returning violence with violence only multiplies violence adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.'
Leo: Dr. King.
Bartlet: I'm part of that darkness now, Leo. When did that happen?
Leo: Dr. King wasn't wrong. He just didn't have your job.
Leo: Dr. King.
Bartlet: I'm part of that darkness now, Leo. When did that happen?
Leo: Dr. King wasn't wrong. He just didn't have your job.
TV Show: The West Wing
Leo: Everyone's walking around here like we're finished. We have 365 more days.... For both of us, sir, this is our last game. Let's leave it all out on the field.
TV Show: The West Wing
Walken: This is a weird-looking room.
Debbie: Truman called it the crown jewel of the federal penal system.
Walken: You a Truman fan?
Debbie: Yes, sir.
Walken: Me, too.... If Truman were alive today, he'd be a Republican.
Debbie: Oh, I doubt that very much.
Debbie: Truman called it the crown jewel of the federal penal system.
Walken: You a Truman fan?
Debbie: Yes, sir.
Walken: Me, too.... If Truman were alive today, he'd be a Republican.
Debbie: Oh, I doubt that very much.
TV Show: The West Wing
Toby: If we go two lines without using the phrase 'unimaginably large military arsenal' we're out of our minds.
TV Show: The West Wing
Bartlet: The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Words I did not fully understand until our daughter was taken from us three days ago. But now we can rejoice and be glad, for that which was lost has been found. That my child is back in her mother's arms is serendipity and grace, a second chance that will not slip through our fingers again. I wish I could tell you there is some new policy, some new weapons system, a silver bullet perhaps that could meet this moment, that could keep us safe from the terror that is now among us. But if I were to say that I'd be lying. All I can promise you is that I will fight with every fiber of my being, with every weapon in our arsenal, and with every ounce of God's grace to keep us strong, and free, and safe.
TV Show: The West Wing
Will: Diane Frost is a serious name.
Josh: Diane is a serious loon of the left.
Toby: I love Diane Frost. I'd marry Diane Frost if I were a member of her stated sexual preference, but Diane is the definition of unelectable.
Josh: Diane is a serious loon of the left.
Toby: I love Diane Frost. I'd marry Diane Frost if I were a member of her stated sexual preference, but Diane is the definition of unelectable.
TV Show: The West Wing
Will: We're having trouble with the Democrats.
CJ: Wow, along with the Republicans. That's kind of everyone.
CJ: Wow, along with the Republicans. That's kind of everyone.
TV Show: The West Wing
Debbie: Mrs. Bartlet, I can't tell you how hard I prayed for you.
Abbey: I appreciate that.
Debbie: Well, you shouldn't. I'm not very religious. So there's the risk that my praying could be taken as insincere or even an affront, which, if it's a vengeful God, could have made matters worse.
Abbey: Well, it didn't, so maybe there's a clue.
Abbey: I appreciate that.
Debbie: Well, you shouldn't. I'm not very religious. So there's the risk that my praying could be taken as insincere or even an affront, which, if it's a vengeful God, could have made matters worse.
Abbey: Well, it didn't, so maybe there's a clue.
TV Show: The West Wing
Bartlet: Are you a horseman Bob? I'm looking at your boots.
Russell: Oh, I love to ride.... No, I wear these boots, um, Oh, I could give you some crap about remembering my roots, but I wear these because I've got flat feet and they don't hurt my arches...
Russell: Oh, I love to ride.... No, I wear these boots, um, Oh, I could give you some crap about remembering my roots, but I wear these because I've got flat feet and they don't hurt my arches...
TV Show: The West Wing
Toby: In a triumph of the middling, a nod to mediocrity, and with gorge rising, it gives me great nausea to announce Robert Russell — Bingo Bob, himself — as your new Vice President.
Will: This lapdog of the mining interests is as dull as he is unremarkable...
Toby: ...as lackluster as he is soporific. This reversion to the mean...
Will: ...this rebuke to the exemplary...
Toby: ...gives hope to the millions unfavored by the exceptional... Bob Russell: not the worst, not the best, just what we're stuck with.
Will: This lapdog of the mining interests is as dull as he is unremarkable...
Toby: ...as lackluster as he is soporific. This reversion to the mean...
Will: ...this rebuke to the exemplary...
Toby: ...gives hope to the millions unfavored by the exceptional... Bob Russell: not the worst, not the best, just what we're stuck with.
TV Show: The West Wing
CJ: We've certainly come a long way from "Give me your tired, your poor." If we don't allow this defection, if we blithely exploit this young man's ignorance, then I don't know who we are any more.
TV Show: The West Wing
Josh: By refusing to put language to it, we pretend it does not exist. But it's something. Even if we don't know what to call it. I just think it's time to start working on a language plan for whatever it is we're doing, too.
TV Show: The West Wing
Leo: He's a Democrat from Idaho. They use Democrats for target practice up there. Sometimes he's got to lean to the right.
TV Show: The West Wing
Josh: You're leaving the party because of me?
Carrick: I'm not leaving the party because of you - but you made it a whole lot easier.
Carrick: I'm not leaving the party because of you - but you made it a whole lot easier.
TV Show: The West Wing
Russell: I admire speech writers. They have to have the tendency to doubt and the capacity to believe in equal measure.... I'm playing with a handicap.... Spare tire on the automobile of government. Heartbeat away from having a heartbeat.... I may need more help than that dead guy you got elected in Orange County, Will. I may need some political life support myself.... I'd like you to be my Communications Director.... I know I'm not the best politician, but here I am Vice President of the United States.
Will: Sir, I'm a special assistant to the President.
Russell: Chief strategist and senior counselor to the Vice President.
Will: Are we playing poker?
Russell: I'm showing you my hand.
Will: You're looking for your own Toby Ziegler.
Russell: I'm looking for someone who can beat Toby....
Will: Thank you, sir, but I'm not interested.
Russell: I like loyalty, Will. I respect loyalty. But you can run out the clock on a Bartlet Presidency that in effect is over. You can finish something that you never started in the first place.... Or you can shape the next presidency from the ground up. Total access. Coach of the team.
Will: Sir, I'm a special assistant to the President.
Russell: Chief strategist and senior counselor to the Vice President.
Will: Are we playing poker?
Russell: I'm showing you my hand.
Will: You're looking for your own Toby Ziegler.
Russell: I'm looking for someone who can beat Toby....
Will: Thank you, sir, but I'm not interested.
Russell: I like loyalty, Will. I respect loyalty. But you can run out the clock on a Bartlet Presidency that in effect is over. You can finish something that you never started in the first place.... Or you can shape the next presidency from the ground up. Total access. Coach of the team.
TV Show: The West Wing
Josh: It's a missile defense system that can't hit missiles.... when were you promised---?
Carrick: Seven years ago.
Josh: Under the last President?
Carrick: Right.
Josh: Okay, a bunch of things have fallen by the wayside since then, like Communism....
Carrick: Seven years ago.
Josh: Under the last President?
Carrick: Right.
Josh: Okay, a bunch of things have fallen by the wayside since then, like Communism....
TV Show: The West Wing
Donna: Schadenfreude?
CJ: You know, enjoying the suffering of others. The whole rationale behind the House of Representatives.
CJ: You know, enjoying the suffering of others. The whole rationale behind the House of Representatives.
TV Show: The West Wing
Josh: When I write my political memoir, this will be the character building funny part.
Donna: I thought I was the character building funny part.
Donna: I thought I was the character building funny part.
TV Show: The West Wing
Will: He hates me.
CJ: Oh, yeah. The way you hate the girl you ask to the prom who says, 'No thanks, I already have a date.' You made a choice. Now own it.
CJ: Oh, yeah. The way you hate the girl you ask to the prom who says, 'No thanks, I already have a date.' You made a choice. Now own it.
TV Show: The West Wing