The D section
BARTLET Toby!
TOBY Sir.
BARTLET What’d you think?
TOBY I thought my work was outstanding, Mr. President.
BARTLET I thought you would.
TOBY Thanks for asking.
[pause]
Couldn’t help but notice you got a little extemporaneous there in the D section.
BARTLET Oh, you noticed that, did you?
TOBY Yes sir, I did.
BARTLET Yes. I did a little polish right up there on my feet.
TOBY Yes indeed.
BARTLET Right in front of everybody. I looked to the side at one point, you know. I half expected to see you coming at me with a salad fork.
TOBY Well, but for the secret service agents restraining me, sir.
BARTLET Yup. Thank God for the secret service.
TOBY Bless their hearts…
[sees a couple getting friendly in the hall]
BARTLET Hey there, fella. She deserves a nice room and some supper.
TOBY You like doing that, don’t you sir?
BARTLET [smiles] Yeah. [Toby laughs.] Hey, Charlie!
CHARLIE [comes forward] Yes, sir?
BARTLET What’d you think of the speech?
CHARLIE Me?
BARTLET Yes, you.
CHARLIE Uh, I thought it was-
TOBY He means the text of the speech, Charlie, discounting the little improv in the D section.
BARTLET I mean the entire speech, Charlie, and in particular the delivery.
CHARLIE I thought it was excellent.
BARTLET and TOBY See!
Toby laughs again.
BARTLET See, I think what Charlie’s trying to say is that in this case the singer outdistanced the song.
TOBY Really. Well, what I heard Charlie say was that the text was user-proof, although you did your level best to disprove that in the D section.
BARTLET You know what, Toby?
TOBY Sir.
BARTLET You’re what my mother calls a pain in the ass.
TOBY Well, that’s what my mother calls it too, sir.
