The American President Page #2

Synopsis: Andrew Shepherd is approaching the end of his first term as President of the United States. He's a widower with a young daughter and has proved to be popular with the public. His election seems assured. That is until he meets Sydney Ellen Wade, a paid political activist working for an environmental lobby group. He's immediately smitten with her and after several amusing attempts, they finally manage to go on a date (which happens to be a State dinner for the visiting President of France). His relationship with Wade opens the door for his prime political opponent, Senator Bob Rumson, to launch an attack on the President's character, something he could not do in the previous election as Shepherd's wife had only recently died.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director(s): Rob Reiner
Production: Columbia Pictures
  Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 9 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.8
Metacritic:
67
Rotten Tomatoes:
90%
PG-13
Year:
1995
114 min
1,975 Views


Oh, and don't be the sweet,

nice guy from Brooklyn on this one.

- Do what the N.R.A. does.

- Scare the sh*t out of them?

- Exactly.

- I can do that.

We want you to be legislative liaison.

You're gonna run the show on the Hill.

Can I just say, to return

to the subject for one moment...

that it might be easier to fight drugs

if we weren't arming drug dealers?

We gotta fight the fights

we can win, Lewis.

- Yes, sir.

- We want to announce the crime bill...

at the State of the Union,

which is 72 days from today.

Last count put us

18 votes short.

Eighteen votes in 72 days.

Thank you, everyone.

- What's next?

- Security briefing, sir.

"Global Defense Council"

Good morning. Global Defense Council.

You wanted to see me?

- I just spoke with A.J. Maclnerney.

- Did the president read the letter?

The president's pissed as hell.

That letter was a stupid move.

It was aggressive, and I think

we should stand by every word--

This isn't the guy who needed our help.

He's incredibly popular.

He's gonna win reelection, and

he could give a sh*t what we stand by!

If the president passes history's most

important environmental legislation...

despite our negative endorsement,

our future political weight...

will rank somewhere below

the Save the Spotted Owl Society.

I'm bringin' in some help.

We don't need another environmental

expert to confirm what every other--

Not an environmental expert.

A professional political strategist.

We're playing hardball with Andrew

Shepherd, and we need a heavy bat.

- Who?

- Syndey Ellen Wade.

Christ, Leo! That woman doesn't know

anything about the environmental lobby!

She's a closer, Susan.

She gets the job done.

- What if I lose this?

- Then move this up here.

David Sasser from the Times wants to

know what you think is a great society.

-What did you tell him?

-That I can't speak for the president...

but for my money, Bermuda.

- Perfect.

- Your cousin Judith has the flu...

and won't be able

to join you Thursday night.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Remind me to call her later today.

- Yes, sir.

- You gonna go stag?

- Is that a problem?

- No, we've never gone wrong...

parading you around

as the lonely widower.

I can't believe I said that. That was

an incredibly thoughtless remark.

I would never dream of insulting you

with the memory of your wife.

That's okay. Forget it.

What time is it?

It's 3:
30, sir.

I'm gonna go up

and say hi to Lucy.

You have the attorney general at 4:00

and the trade rep at 4:30.

- And you promised N.P.R. five minutes.

- Mr. President?

Robin, don't worry about it.

Don't stop. It sounds great.

What is it?

Scales.

Rate this script:4.5 / 2 votes

Aaron Sorkin

Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter, producer, and playwright. His works include the Broadway plays A Few Good Men and The Farnsworth Invention; the television series Sports Night, The West Wing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and The Newsroom; and the films A Few Good Men, The American President, Charlie Wilson's War, The Social Network, Moneyball, and Steve Jobs. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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