The American President (1995)

David Paymer: Leon Kodak

Photos 

Quotes 

• Lewis Rothschild : But we're not gonna stay at 41. The numbers are gonna go back up.

  [listens] 

  Lewis Rothschild : But they're gonna go back up.

  [listens] 

  Lewis Rothschild : All right George...

  [listens] 

  Lewis Rothschild : Congressman...

  [listens] 

  Lewis Rothschild : Congressman Jarrett...

  [listens] 

  Lewis Rothschild : Look George, listen to me... it's crunch time. It's personal. This is one of those moments. It's just you and the President. Now what's it gonna be? Yeah.

  [listens] 

  Lewis Rothschild : Yeah.

  [shakes his head as he listens] 

  Lewis Rothschild : All right George, can I tell you something? We're gonna win this thing. We're gonna get the votes we need and we're gonna win this thing. And you know what I'm gonna do after that, I mean that very night, I'm gonna go to Sam & Harry's, I'm gonna order a big steak, and I'm gonna make a list of everybody who tried to *fuck*

  [smacks pop can off his desk with a fist] 

  Lewis Rothschild : us this week!

  Robin McCall : Lewis!

  Lewis Rothschild : [into phone]  Well just vote your conscience, you chicken-shit, lame-ass...

  [slams the phone down] 

  Lewis Rothschild : [continuing to Robin and Leon]  We lost Jarrett.

  Leon Kodak : [beat]  I hope so. 'Cause, you know, if that was an "undecided," then we need to work on our people skills.

• President Andrew Shepherd : [in the Oval Office]  What I did tonight was not about political gain.

  Leon Kodak : Yes sir. But it can be, sir. What you did tonight was very Presidential.

  President Andrew Shepherd : Leon, somewhere in Libya right now, a janitor's working the night shift at Libyan Intelligence Headquarters. He's going about doing his job... because he has no idea, in about an hour he's going to die in a massive explosion. He's just going about his job, because he has no idea that about an hour ago I gave an order to have him killed. You've just seen me do the least Presidential thing I do.

• [after President Shepherd's speech] 

  Leon Kodak : Well, you don't see that every day of the week.

  Lewis Rothschild : He's got the whole White House press corps asking each other how to spell "erudite"!

  A.J. : Better call the printer, Lewis.

  Lewis Rothschild : I know, we gotta rewrite the State of the Union.

  A.J. : Every word, kid. It's a whole new ballgame. You have exactly 35 minutes.

  Lewis Rothschild : [sarcastically, jokingly]  Oh, good, I thought I was gonna be rushed!

• Leon Kodak : [cut to conversation in progress]  You see, the country has mood swings.

  Lewis Rothschild : Mood swings? Nineteen post-graduate degrees in mathematics, and your best explanation for going from a 63 to a 46 percent approval rating in five weeks is mood swings?

  Leon Kodak : Well, I could explain it better, but I'd need charts, and graphs, and an easel.

• Robin McCall : It's Christmas.

  Lewis Rothschild : It's Christmas?

  Leon Kodak : [sarcastically, jokingly]  Yeah. You didn't get the memo?

• A. J. MacInerney : Oh, and Leon, don't be the nice, sweet guy from Brooklyn on this one. Do what the NRA does.

  Leon Kodak : [sarcastically, jokingly]  What, scare the shit out of them?

  A. J. MacInerney : Exactly.

  Leon Kodak : I can do that.