US Government [Wednesday, October 18, 4th period]

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Josh was on his cell phone when the government students began arriving. "Ron? Where are you?"

A pause.

"Okay, I should've told you about that bookstore. Sorry."

A longer pause.

"Third door on the right."

A tall man with a serious expression on his face and a buzz cut poked his head into the classroom, glanced around and then walked to the back of the room.

He had an earpiece and a dark suit. Anyone who had ever watched the news could probably guess who was going to come in after him.

Josh bounced to his feet, grinning. "Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States."

A distinguished looking man with a warm smile came into the classroom and shook Josh's hand, clearly thrilled to see him. They exchanged pleasantries before he turned towards the students.

"My name is Jed Bartlet," he said, "and I'm the President of the United States back where Josh comes from. Someone else is apparently President in this dimension?" Josh nodded, looking a bit pained and Jed paused for a moment, clearly mulling that concept over. "I understand that you are learning about the Executive Branch. Josh decided to call in a favor and get me to guest lecture."

He sat down at Josh's desk and smiled. "I'm here to answer any questions you might have about the historical powers of the presidency or my experiences with the job in particular." He looked around the room. "Don't be shy."

Comments

Re: Ask the president questions!

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Noting Naomi's own, uhhh....topical question, Chad raised his hand and asked, "Where do you stand on Mexican border control? And, uhhh...illegal immigrant workers?"

He still wasn't entirely positive his employment at Empire was entirely legal...

Re: Ask the president questions!

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Make me have to relive season 6, will you?

"People want a better life," Jed said, "and they want it here. Turning them back won't stop the problem. Building a fence certainly won't stop the problem. The Pilgrims arrived without paperwork. Tens of millions of immigrants came into this country from 1850 to 1920 before we implemented new immigration policies. America stands for freedom throughout the world and has for generations. And every generation of Americans develops a selective memory problem remembering exactly how they got to this land of ours. Diversity is good. New people are good. It makes us stronger, better, more creative. We need to make sure our immigration laws reflect our national idealism, and right now they don't."

He leaned back in the chair. "On the Statue of Liberty, it's written 'give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free'. We shouldn't be angry when they take us up on it."

Re: Ask the president questions!

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Chad wondered if President Bartlet could go back and say that to all the cops who caught him when he was younger sneaking into Texas. Chad also wondered if he would have said the same thing if the person asking the question was white.

But he was satisfied enough; he jotted a few notes. Maybe he really did believe all that, but it sounded mighty rehersed.