Who'd have thought that this job would be so stressful? I feel like the
weight of the world is on my shoulders. Oh, wait. It is. Never mind.

Man, I've got a good staff. I saw Sam today hopping around the White
House, trying to maintain his cheerfulness while at the same time getting his
work done with a pained grin. I've got CJ tantalizing the press with every
word, holding them at bay and keeping them as happy as possible, and
sometimes she keeps them happier than that. It's an amazing skill that she's
got there. Toby, with his amazing abilities to piece words together into
speeches like poetry, and then just the witty, sarcastic, dry,
sometimes-civil-sometimes-not personality that he's got. I'm glad he's on my
staff. That's a mistake I almost made, and glad I didn't. Then there's Josh,
the kid that keeps me going sometimes. He's always thinking, always trying.
Hell, they all keep me going. It's almost like I've got two familes, one at
home and one at work. Sometimes they even blend together.

Busy days go by so fast. I'm so happy around here. Ever since we decided
to stand up and fight for a better country, I've felt so good about myself.
Not just as a president but as a person. The people got me here, and it took
too damn long before I fought for their rights. I'm surprised they stood by
me for so long. I've got an approval rating of 64% and I got people saying
it's gonna go higher. But a while ago, only 42% of the people were happy with
what I was doing, or what I wasn't doing. I'm glad I managed . . . no. I'm
glad *we* managed to get them back. It took a while, but now we must be doing
something right.

Hey, Leo. Getting ready for the Forbes address? What do you mean,
slightly postponed? Toby got what? Oh, wow. Is he going to be okay? What do
you mean you don't know? You didn't check? Leo, what's gotten into you? You
don't look so good. Maybe you should go home and lie down. Okay, okay, calm
down. I was just saying. Geeze, Leo, don't make me get Abbey in here. Find
out about Toby, I'll talk to Sam and Josh about the Forbes stuff and you just
sit here and relax.

I think he gets more and more stressed everyday. Let's see. I used to
know my way around this damn place. Was it down this hallway and to the left
or down that one and a double right? Goddamn it, if they weren't already
dead, I'd kill the people that designed this place. I'm the leader of the
free world. Why can't they just install a moving sidewalk or something? FDR
was lucky. He had a damn wheelchair. I gotta walk everywhere. Course, he
probably didn't think he was lucky.

Josh, there you are. Yes, I am in your office. No, I just need to talk to
you about Forbes. Where do we stand now that Toby's at the hospital? By the
way, how is Toby? Why doesn't anyone know??? Doesn't anyone care? I'm about
ready to believe otherwise. No, I'm okay, Josh. Just worried. No, not about
the damn Forbes speech!! What are you doing hiding in your office anyway?
Tell you what. The rest of my day is free, for once. Call everyone together
and we're gonna have another staff meeting. Yes, you heard me correctly.
Josh, come here for a second. Let's pretend that this is the White House and
that I'm the President. Okay? Think about that for a second. Thought about
it? Okay, now. Call everyone together and we're gonna have a brief staff
meeting as soon as everyone can get there. Thattaboy. God, some people need
it spelled out for them.

Now where was I going? Back to the office. Man in black ahead of me, one
behind of me. Good afternoon, Mrs. Landingham. No I did not eat my salad. I
got a sandwich. Steak, dripping with lots of fatty additions. Yes, ma'm. Yes,
I ate my salad; you got me. Listen, could you find out what hospital Toby is
in and find out how he's doing? Yeah, he was hit by a car. Thanks Mrs.
Landingham.

Damn this office is big. Daunting sometimes.