The Best White House Aide Thomas Lee Quotes

General: Moscow police found six members of a Russian TV news crew murdered. The same crew that was cleared to fly on Air Force One.
White: Jesus.
Vice: Oh, please tell me it's not that easy.
White: No. You would have to generate fake ID, photo, fingerprints.
General: Could be with a little help from Moscow.
Vice: How would they get the weapons on board the plane?
Defense: There's no way to get weapons aboard Air Force One. It's impossible.
Vice: Well, there are enough weapons already on board to take Panama, but who has access to them?
Defense: You think someone on the plane helped them?
Vice: What if somebody did and they're still on the plane? Who do they trust up there? Who do we trust?

Vice: Can't we release him today and pick up the pieces tomorrow? We caught him before, we catch him again.
Defense: If Petrov releases Radek, his government will fall. I promise you that. Then who's gonna stand up to Radek? You go to catch him again, you're gonna find him in Moscow.
White: With all respect, Mr. Secretary, we don't need more dramatics. We need options.
Defense: It's not an option.
White: We need a decision.
Defense: It's not her decision.
Vice: No?
Defense: This is a military situation. I'm the Secretary of Defense. Check your regs. In the absence of the president, the buck stops here.
Vice: Get the Attorney General with a copy of the Constitution. We have...
[checking their watches]
Vice: Oh, my god! 19 minutes. I'm gonna consult with President Petrov.

Vice: What does the psych profile say? How far do they say he'll go?
Defense: He's a Radek loyalist. That tells us all we need to know, doesn't it?
White: He'll see this thing through to the last hostage or his own death.
Defense: You release this bastard, and all of Central Asia will go up in flames!
Vice: I'm well aware of that.
Defense: Bring back the old Soviet empire under a flag of genocide? Radek with a nuclear arsenal? I hate to say this, but 50 people is a small price to pay to stop that from happening.
White: Even if one of them is the president?
Defense: The presidency is bigger than any one man. Didn't they teach you that at Yale?

Defense: We found the escape pod. It's empty.
Vice: So where's the president?
Defense: I think we have to acknowledge the possibility that the president may be dead.
White: Why wouldn't they tell us?
Defense: Diversion. Try to buy some time. It could've happened in a crossfire, and they're afraid we'll retaliate.
General: Damn right we'll retaliate. We'll release General Radek into the god damn atmosphere.
Vice: It doesn't add up. That terrorist knew that we'd recover the pod in short order. He expected that we'd be talking to Marshall.
White: Let's not bury him yet. He could still be alive on that plane. Let's not forget this president is a Medal of Honor winner. In Vietnam, he flew more helicopter rescue missions than any man in my command. He knows how to fight.
Vice: Then he's taking a terrible chance with his life.
White: The element of surprise is a formidable advantage in combat. If he's up there, he's the best chance that we have.
Vice: That pod was designed for a reason, General. He has no right to take chances with his life.