Designated Survivor (TV Series)

Capacity (2018)

Michael J. Fox: Ethan West

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Quotes 

• Dr. Adam Louden : That's not what I said.

  Ethan West : Those are your words on those tapes, aren't they, Doctor?

  Dr. Adam Louden : Yes, but...

  Ethan West : You didn't say the president was suffering from PTSD?

  Dr. Adam Louden : You're taking it out of context...

  Ethan West : You didn't say that the president was anxious and depressed?

  Dr. Adam Louden : The leak of my tapes has been professionally devastating for me. I'm not gonna sit here and let you compound that humiliation by mischaracterizing my conclusions. If you're not gonna let me answer, I don't need to be here.

• Dr. Adam Louden : I never said, at any time, that Tom Kirkman was not fit to be President of the United States.

  Ethan West : But your notes say he doubts he can do the job.

  Dr. Adam Louden : Self-doubt is common when we lose a loved one.

  Ethan West : Do you think his symptoms disqualify him from the presidency?

  Dr. Adam Louden : I have no expertise as to the necessary qualifications of the Oval Office.

• Kendra Daynes : Dr. Louden, has the president improved since you started treating him?

  Dr. Adam Louden : Absolutely.

  Kendra Daynes : PTSD, anxiety, depression - all normal responses to a tragedy - have they diminished in the intervening months?

  Dr. Adam Louden : Yes. The diagnoses on my tapes were provisional.

  Kendra Daynes : Is the president currently in sound mental and emotional health?

  Dr. Adam Louden : He is.

  Kendra Daynes : Thank you.

  Ethan West : You say he's improved, but he has good days and bad days, right?

  Dr. Adam Louden : Yes. Like us all.

• Ethan West : Mr. Shore, do you have an opinion as to the president's conduct of the war against Kunami?

  Aaron Shore : I'm not sure what you're asking.

  Ethan West : How did he do, Mr. Shore? How'd he do?

  Aaron Shore : Well, he brought to justice a leader of a regime that set off a dirty bomb on American soil and was about to gas its dissidents...

  Ethan West : But we didn't find out about the gas until after we declared war.

  Aaron Shore : Yes.

  Ethan West : And the justification for war, the dirty bomb, the emir wasn't behind that, was he?

  Aaron Shore : Not directly, no.

  Ethan West : So what we need to talk about is how the president made his decision to plunge this country into war.

• Ethan West : So he discarded advice. He refused to confer with his allies, and he started a war.

  Aaron Shore : Which is his constitutional perogative.

  Ethan West : To not verify facts before putting lives at risk? That's his perogative?

  Aaron Shore : Yes.

  Ethan West : And that's just irrational, yes?

  Aaron Shore : We won the war. Removed a tyrant. If that's irrational, then sign me up.

• Ethan West : Yeah, I'd like to call my next witness, please. Dr. Frost.

  Tom Kirkman : [quietly to Kendra]  She's a private citizen.

  Ethan West : She has knowledge of the president's fitness, as per the tapes.

  Tom Kirkman : [quietly to Frost as she takes the stand]  I'm sorry.

• Ethan West : Dr. Frost, are you and the president close friends?

  Dr. Andrea Frost : We're friends, yes.

  Ethan West : Does he ever discuss his job with you?

  Dr. Andrea Frost : Yes.

  Ethan West : So the President confessed doubts to you about his ability to do the job?

  [she flashes back to their conversation in the Oval Office] 

  Ethan West : Dr. Frost?

  Dr. Andrea Frost : Yes.

• Hannah Wells : Mr. West, I'm Hannah Wells. FBI. You got a second?

  Ethan West : I got half a second.

  Hannah Wells : I'm investigating possible criminal conduct by Dr. Andrea Frost.

  Ethan West : It's not my concern.

  Hannah Wells : It is if you were conspiring with her to undermine the presidency.

• Hannah Wells : I understand that Dr. Frost just testified to the contents of a private conversation her and the president had in the Oval Office. A conversation she related to you.

  Ethan West : Wow, is there nobody who doesn't know about this hearing?

  Hannah Wells : My point is if we make a case against Dr. Frost, and you aided her attack on the White House, that makes you an accessory after the fact.

  Ethan West : Let me save you some time, Agent Hannah Wells.

  [taking a letter from his coat pocket and giving it to her] 

  Ethan West : The conversation that you allude to was brought to my attention through this anonymous letter. I did not co-conspire. I did nothing wrong. I just merely received a tip.

  Hannah Wells : A tip?

  Ethan West : A tip. You know what a tip is, don't you? It's the part of the iceberg that this White House is about to slam into.

• Ethan West : Ms. Rhodes, are you loyal to the president?

  Emily Rhodes : Of course.

  Ethan West : And you follow his directives?

  Emily Rhodes : I'm his Chief of Staff. I carry them out.

  Ethan West : Let's talk about how you do that.

• Ethan West : Well, the president is obsessed with loyalty.

  Emily Rhodes : He's not obsessed.

  Ethan West : Preoccupied?

  Emily Rhodes : The president is a very loyal man. He expects it in return.

  Ethan West : And you follow his directives, right?

  Emily Rhodes : Yes, I said that.

  Ethan West : Well, if you're preoccupied with loyalty and you listen to what the president says, then the preoccupation must be his, am I right?

• Cornelius Moss : Well, Mr. West, what can I do for you?

  Ethan West : Well, sir, it's more a matter of what can you do for your country? The Cabinet is trying to remove President Kirkman, sir.

  Cornelius Moss : It's a somber occasion. I take it they have retained you?

  Ethan West : I am the humble steward charged with bringing the relevant facts to light, yeah. I was thinking you may have some. Mr. President.

  Cornelius Moss : Yes. Yes, I do.

  Ethan West : Would you be willing to share those with the Cabinet?

  Cornelius Moss : Well, as you say, Mr. West, it's about what I can do for my country.

• Ethan West : How far do your concerns about the president's mental health go back?

  Cornelius Moss : Months. At least since the death of his wife.

  Ethan West : And what was the basis of this concern?

  Cornelius Moss : I personally observed President Kirkman's growing and dangerous paranoia.

  Ethan West : And as a member of the president's Cabinet, did you also notice the mental deterioration?

  Cornelius Moss : Since the day of his wife's death, absolutely.

  Ethan West : Did you take these concerns to him?

  Cornelius Moss : Repeatedly. He was defensive. Accused me of not supporting him.

  Ethan West : What did you notice about his decision-making after his wife died?

  Cornelius Moss : Erratic. At times, dangerously impetuous. At times, crippled by indecision. You fold in the paranoia, you've got a toxic combination.

  Ethan West : So in your expert opinion, is Tom Kirkman fit to continue as president?

  Cornelius Moss : No. No, he is not.

• Tom Kirkman : A compromise?

  Ethan West : Yes, sir. You step down voluntarily and return to your post as HUD Secretary.

  Emily Rhodes : What's the president's stated reason for leaving?

  Ethan West : Pick one. He's not a politician, he doesn't like the aesthetic. No one's gonna bat an eye.

  Kendra Daynes : You have a well-deserved reputation for hardball. Why are you suddenly coming to the table?

  Ethan West : Because it's a win-win situation. I mean, do you need a better reason than that?

  Tom Kirkman : You're hedging your bets. Even though the deck's stacked against me, you're worried I might pull out an inside straight.

  Ethan West : Whatever my reasoning, it's a gift horse. Don't look it in the mouth.

  Tom Kirkman : I'm sorry, Mr. West. But if the Cabinet wants me out of this building, they're gonna have to do it the hard way.

  Ethan West : Okay, sir, but when you look back on this, remember I tried to give you a way out.

• Ethan West : Mr. Kirkman, would you do anything to protect your brother?

  Trey Kirkman : I'm not sure I know what you mean by "anything."

  Ethan West : Well, did you confront me at the White House mess earlier today?

  Trey Kirkman : I wouldn't call it a confrontation. It was a conversation.

  Ethan West : A pretty threatening conversation. I wonder, uh, did your brother put you up to it?

• Trey Kirkman : My brother didn't put me up to anything.

  Ethan West : So you confronted me of your own volition?

  Trey Kirkman : Yep.

  Ethan West : Well, considering the role I play in your brother's fate, uh, do you think that's rational?

  Trey Kirkman : I'll let you be the judge of that.

  Ethan West : It's irrational, but it's not surprising, 'cause your family has a history of mental illness.

  Trey Kirkman : We have no such history.

  Ethan West : Well, you were diagnosed with bipolar disorder and spent two weeks in the hospital in 1998.

  Trey Kirkman : I was under observation. I was going through a break-up with a long-term girlfriend.

  Ethan West : Are you still on your meds?

  Trey Kirkman : Yes. When you're diagnosed, they keep you on the medication as a precaution.

  Ethan West : And your mother was hospitalized, too, with depression in 1975.

  Trey Kirkman : She was briefly in a facility.

  Ethan West : Mental illness runs in your family.

  Trey Kirkman : No, being human does.

• Ethan West : Mr. President, you've listened to all of today's testimony, right?

  Tom Kirkman : Yes.

  Ethan West : Was any of it untrue?

  Tom Kirkman : No.

  Ethan West : When Dr. Louden testified about your problems after your wife's death, that was accurate?

  Tom Kirkman : Yes.

  Ethan West : When Aaron Shore said you attacked Kunami without heeding counsel to wait, was that not accurate?

  Tom Kirkman : Yes.

  Ethan West : When Emily Rhodes testifies that you have a preoccupation with loyalty...

  Tom Kirkman : Yes, that was accurate, as well.

• Ethan West : Mr. President. Congratulations.

  Tom Kirkman : Normally, I'd thank you. But I think I'll take a pass.

  Ethan West : That's kind of like thanking the IRS after an audit. I just wanted you to know that there was nothing personal, sir.

  Tom Kirkman : I'm afraid it was. It was as personal as it gets.

• Tom Kirkman : You should know that the flaws I listed in my testimony, personally I consider them to be assets. Am I different from my predecessors? Yes. But it doesn't mean I can't do this job. The fact is, Mr. West, you proved my point perfectly. You've had to face adversity. You're different. And I consider you to be one of the best lawyers I've ever seen. Truth is, I'm surprised. I would've expected you, of all people, to understand that simply being different doesn't necessarily equal bad. In the end, it doesn't really matter, because you lost.

  Ethan West : No, sir. No, I won.

  Tom Kirkman : How do you figure?

  Ethan West : My remit was to elicit facts so the Cabinet can make the right decision. Mission accomplished.

  Tom Kirkman : How convenient. It must be nice to live in a world where you can't lose.

  Ethan West : No, sir. It's awful.

• Ethan West : Hey, I know you. You're Trey Kirkman. You're the president's brother.

  [offering a handshake] 

  Ethan West : Ethan West.

  Trey Kirkman : I know who you are.

  Ethan West : Really? 'Cause, uh, I mean, if you read the law journals, I-I would get it, but you're not a lawyer. So that'd be just like a weird hobby.

  Trey Kirkman : Not as weird as a political witch hunt.

  Ethan West : Excuse me?

  Trey Kirkman : If you knew what my brother had been through, the type of man he is, you wouldn't be trying to bring him down. You'd be giving him a medal.