- Charlie Young: Okay, Mr. President. I say this with all possible respect, but each of these knives cuts, you know, meat. Why is it important?
- President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: 'Cause it is something we pass on. It's something with a history, so we can say, "My father gave this to me, and his father gave it to him, and now I'm giving it to you."
- Charlie Young: Well, OK, sir. But if that's true then why don't you already have one?
- President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: I do have one.
- Charlie Young: Why do you need a new one?
- President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: I'm giving mine away.
- Charlie Young: To who?
- President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: Whom.
- Charlie Young: To whom?
- President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: Funny you should ask.
- President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: [Reaches into his desk and takes out a case]
- President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: Charlie, my father gave this to me, and his father gave it to him, and now I'm giving it to you.
- President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: [Hands Charlie the box]
- President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: Take a look.
- Charlie Young: [Opens the box]
- President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: The fully tapered bolster allows for sharpening the entire edge of the blade.
- Charlie Young: It says "PR" I thought I knew them all but I don't recognize the manufacturer.
- President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: This was made for my family by a Boston silversmith named Paul Revere. I'm proud of you, Charlie.
- Charlie Young: [overwhelmed] Thank you, sir.
- Claudia Jean 'C.J.' Cregg: That's 'cause every time we come up on a holiday you guys check out like seniors who are done with finals.
- Toby Ziegler: We are writing a very important Thanksgiving proclamation.
- Sam Seaborn: And possibly a new action-adventure series.
- Toby Ziegler: Nobody here has checked out.
- Josh Lyman: Hey, I was just flipping a nickel in my office. Sixteen times in a row it came up tails.
- C.J. Cregg: In the following days we'll be meeting with the Reverend Al Caldwell, members of Beijing's embassy and INS agents. The President has asked Josh Lyman and Sam Seaborn to run these meetings, so it's entirely possible that by week's end we will have alienated Christians, China and our own government.
- Jhin Wei: ...faith is the true shibboleth.
- President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: Yes, it is. And you, sir, just said the magic word in more ways than one.
- Josh Lyman: [Josh and Sam enter the oval office] You've heard?
- President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: About the Chinese refugees?
- Josh Lyman: They escaped.
- President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: I know, can you believe it?
- Josh Lyman: No. As a matter of fact neither one of us can believe it, sir.
- President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: That detention center was being guarded by the 22nd Division of the California National Guard. Now what does it say about our reserve army?
- Sam Seaborn: That 83 men, women, and children, who haven't eaten in two months, staged a prison break?
- Josh Lyman: Leo, do me a favor: Don't tell the President we're just watching football. He'll wanna invite us for dinner.
- Leo McGarry: Oh yes, I'm sure upon hearing the news that you're free, the President of the United States will insist that you join him for dinner.
- Josh Lyman: I'm just saying, we've been working hard, and we'd prefer to watch football rather than listen to a history of the yam in Latin.
- C.J. Cregg: They sent me two turkeys. The more photo-friendly of the two gets a Presidential pardon and a full life at a children's zoo. The runner-up gets eaten.
- President Josiah Bartlet: If the Oscars were like that, I'd watch.
- Josh Lyman: Excuse me, Mr. President, what are you going to ask the Chinese refugee?
- President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: I'm going to ask him to say "Shibboleth."
- Leo McGarry: Now, we have laws, and they are difficult and they have to be enforced and it's right that they're enforced. But we do not *strut* ever.
- [Josh and Caldwell are talking, and Toby walks by]
- Rev. Al Caldwell: Good morning, Toby.
- Toby Ziegler: Good morning, Reverend.
- Rev. Al Caldwell: You look determined.
- Toby Ziegler: I am, sir.
- Rev. Al Caldwell: Good boy.
- Mary Marsh: And the scores of millions of American Christians and Christians around the world will not stand blithely by while religious freedom is threatened.
- Sam Seaborn: Sure you will.
- Josh Lyman: [warning tone] Sam...
- Sam Seaborn: No. They will stand blithely by while religious freedom is threatened. They're just not doing it this time.
- Josh Lyman: Okay.
- Mary Marsh: This is about the play?
- Sam Seaborn: A guy writes a play called "Apostles," in which Jesus Christ is gay, and you protest. Fine. But when a guy threatens to blow up the theatre, you guys are nowhere to be heard from.
- Mary Marsh: That play was disgusting.
- Sam Seaborn: So you're committed to religious freedom for all people unless you don't like what they have to say?
- Mary Marsh: That's not what I...
- Sam Seaborn: Don't look now but I think the playwright's headed to China.
- Claudia Jean 'C.J.' Cregg: Mr. President.
- President Josiah Bartlet: Yeah.
- Claudia Jean 'C.J.' Cregg: We're all set.
- President Josiah Bartlet: What am I doing?
- Claudia Jean 'C.J.' Cregg: Pardoning a turkey.
- President Josiah Bartlet: Okay.
- Toby Ziegler: She'll get over it.
- Leo McGarry: She hasn't gotten over my making her return the stolen Milk Duds.
- Sam Seaborn: Well over three and half centuries ago, strengthened by faith and bound by a common desire for liberty, a small band of pilgrims sought out a place in the New World where they could worship according to their own beliefs - and solve crimes.
- Toby Ziegler: Sam...
- Sam Seaborn: It'd be good.
- Toby Ziegler: Read the thing.
- Sam Seaborn: By day they churn butter and worship according to their own beliefs, and by night they solve crimes.
- Toby Ziegler: Read the thing.
- Sam Seaborn: Pilgrim detectives.
- Toby Ziegler: Do you see me laughing?
- Sam Seaborn: I think you're laughing on the inside.
- Toby Ziegler: OK.
- Sam Seaborn: With the big hats.
- Toby Ziegler: Listen, I don't know what you're doing for dinner tonight but Josh and Sam and I...
- C.J. Cregg: It's about damn time you asked me! I've been sitting here for two weeks turning down all kinds of very, frankly, glamorous invitations from people I like a lot more than you! You can't ask a girl at the last minute...
- Toby Ziegler: Well, if you can't come...
- C.J. Cregg: No, I can come! I can come! I can come!
- Toby Ziegler: Good.
- C.J. Cregg: Should I bring anything?
- Toby Ziegler: Yeah. Do you know how to, you know, cook food?
- Jhin Wei: You're seeking evidence of faith, a whole-hearted acceptance of God's promise of a better world. "For we hold that man is justified by faith alone," is what Saint Paul said... Faith is the true shibboleth.
- President Josiah Bartlet: There was a while there I waned to be a chemistry professor.
- Leo McGarry: What happened?
- President Josiah Bartlet: I never actually studied chemistry.
- Leo McGarry: A lot of these college chemistry departments are really demanding that way.
- Aide #2: You can't just slip her in, Toby.
- Toby Ziegler: Slip who in?
- Aide #3: Don't be cute, Toby.
- Toby Ziegler: I can't help it.