S01.E02: Another Benghazi

[formerlyfreedom]

Elizabeth has to deal with a crisis in Yemen and there's trouble on the home front for her as well after her oldest daughter Stevie manages to make the headlines for protesting a new policy at her university.

 

[crgirl412]

I hate "Lileth's"*** hair!!  I don't expect a way too tight bun 20 years later but this is one modernization of her that went very, very wrong!

 

***What's her name again???

[Primetimer]

And other important questions Al Lowe has about the second episode of Madam Secretary.

Read the story

[XtremeOne1]

The daughter is a scary bad actress.

[crgirl412]

Again, another show that could be good if only they hired actors that could act and/or directors that could direct.  

[Morbs]

Damn, that Blackwater guy was good looking.

[mecmimi05]

It does seem like this show has a lot of good actors doing nothing and bad actors acting badly. I am going to give it one more week and if it does not improve I may scratch it off my "to watch" list.

[wonderwoman]

I thought I'd check out three episodes, but I'm out after two. As I said last week, given than Barbara Hall created both Joan of Arcadia and Judging Amy, I expected complex, layered characters. Didn't see it in these first two episodes, and from the previews, the third doesn't look much better. So, I'm gone.

[cvbear]

I realize adding a daughter is post-pilot tinkering, but to frame it as a "secret daughter" State has to deal with is just ridiculous. It wasn't going to come out at a confirmation hearing or on the news or the Internet, social media or Wikipedia that she had a third kid of college-age? It sounds more absurd than usual.

 

Željko Ivanek is still Snidely Whiplash without the mustache, Bebe Neuwirth has nothing to do, and the cast is so overpopulated with characters so early that they haven't still explained everyone away, and with the Crisis of the Week, there's always 2-3 more coming. And the sad thing is, the similar-sounding show NBC has coming with Diva Heigl as a SoS sounds worse. So a smart, network drama on government still has a vacuum, because this one is rapidly losing steam for me.

[Morbs]

They said in the pilot she had two daughters.

[cvbear]

If that's the case, I clearly missed it. :) But still, to try and frame it in the State Dept. as something surprising still seems silly. In these days of mass media, nothing escapes notice. (Except to me, obvs.)

[silverwings]

Yeah they said in the pilot that she had 2 daughters.  I thought that had been a post-pilot edit out but they forgot about the line. Glad to be proven wrong.

 

Though they are acting like people in public office have kids that don't want the spotlight as if that never happens.  That was weird.

[marsha]

 

Željko Ivanek is still Snidely Whiplash without the mustache

See, for me, what could be better? Truly.

 

I have to say that I find this show virtually perfect for a Sunday evening and a terrific lead-in to The Good Wife. Also, I didn't realize that this show was created by Barbara Hall (Joan of Arcadia and Judging Amy) but knowing that now I get the similar vibe. I really enjoyed those shows too.

[bros402]

Željko Ivanek is still Snidely Whiplash without the mustache, Bebe Neuwirth has nothing to do, and the cast is so overpopulated with characters so early that they haven't still explained everyone away, and with the Crisis of the Week, there's always 2-3 more coming. And the sad thing is, the similar-sounding show NBC has coming with Diva Heigl as a SoS sounds worse. So a smart, network drama on government still has a vacuum, because this one is rapidly losing steam for me.

 

Reviews of the Heigl show are absolutely hilarious.

 

Like it goes from "sexual harassment jokes" to "super serious threat to national security" in like 2 seconds flat, then back to joking around

[sifar]

Damn, that Blackwater guy was good looking.

 Frankly, that was the only thing I noticed in this episode since there was never going to any ending other than the one shown since Elizabeth is the bestest of them all and she would obviously never lose. He did have some chemistry with Leoni's character - hope he'll appear again.

[Big Bad Wolf]

So, I'm calling it now: Agent George isn't really dead.

 

[blackwater guy] did have some chemistry with Leoni's character - hope he'll appear again.

He really did. Can someone tell me the name of the actor who played him (aka Mercenary Boss aka Satan)? I am wracking my brains as to what I've seen him in before.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Big Bad Wolf

[Puffaroo]

So, I'm calling it now: Agent George isn't really dead.

 

He really did. Can someone tell me the name of the actor who played him (aka Mercenary Boss aka Satan)? I am wracking my brains as to what I've seen him in before.

 

IMDB.COM is your friend.  ;)  Jeff Hephner -- here's the link:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0378363/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t16

 

Oh, and of course George isn't dead.  He'll pop up later.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Puffaroo

[dubbel zout]

I watched Brooklyn 99 live so missed the middle section of this—where does the older daughter go to college that she's being so harassed? I can see that happening for a month or so, and then everyone goes back to their own lives.

 

Oh, and of course George isn't dead. He'll pop up later.

 

George probably "died" so he could investigate the plane crash of the previous SoS. They made such a big deal of George's desk being so clean there was nothing to pack up that there has to be more going on.

 

He did have some chemistry with Leoni's character - hope he'll appear again.

Hephner has more chemistry with Leoni than Daly does. Though I did like the scene with Daly and the daughter talking about how she has to get a job, and she kind of whines, "Is this coming from Mom?" and he says, "It's coming from both of us. We're a team." That might be an anvil for future problems, or it might just be to show how solid their marriage is.

 

Once again, Elizabeth spends all her time in Washington.

[Morbs]

Thanks for posting that link to his IMDB. I wanted to cyber stalk him last night but he wasn't credited yet on the site.

[txbowler]

I hate "Lileth's"*** hair!!  I don't expect a way too tight bun 20 years later but this is one modernization of her that went very, very wrong!

 

***What's her name again???

LOL - That's her real hair style and I love it.  Why are a lot of people so against naturally curly hair?  Don't get it.  I wish more women would wear their naturally curly hair instead of spending hours straightening it everyday. 

[Al Lowe]

I also have curly hair and would never be against it, but the length and ...bangs? or whatever is happening up top looks weird on her in a few shots. She's a gorgeous woman and always has great hair, so I sense that she is growing it out, possibly?

[sifar]

LOL - That's her real hair style and I love it.  Why are a lot of people so against naturally curly hair?  Don't get it.  I wish more women would wear their naturally curly hair instead of spending hours straightening it everyday. 

I love her hair. Probably because I have ruler-straight hair. Curly hair is absolutely beautiful to me.

 

Hephner has more chemistry with Leoni than Daly does.

 

 

I wonder if that is deliberate. Maybe they have been married for so long that their relationship has settled into a kind of comfortable routine where they are more best friends bringing up kids together rather than lovers. And the show will portray how they handle their new situation where they are both vulnerable to outside temptations like co-ed fangirls and hot merceneraries. Or maybe I'm giving too much credit to the showrunners.

 

I have to say this though (as mentioned in the previouslytv recap), mercernary head was showing a bit too much loyalty towards her. You would think as a mercenary, he would know better. Although it would be great if Leoni turns to him to investigate George's supposed murder. It's not as if she can do any sleuthing on her own - too visible for that.

Edited September 29, 2014 by sifar

[Kirsty]

Omg, this show is so disappointing. The family scenes are vomit-y. There are no stakes in the West Wing side of the show, very little personality, and no politics. How can you make a political show without politics? Why would you even want to.

 

It's a nice looking show about a nice professional lady, which should be on in the daytime. This is the kind of bland, unchallenging tv that's perfect viewing if you're sick. Like that Australian farm show (McLeod's Daughters!), except instead of someone falling into the grain silo, there's a protest turning nasty outside an American embassy. Oh noes! It's all very not-tense for a few minutes during the rescue operation. Then everyone has a good ole laugh on the porch/in the West Wing.

   

Bebe Neuwirth has nothing to do

 

+ 1000. Did they forget to write a character for her?

 

And I totally agree that the Blackwater guy was cute and had nice chemistry with Leoni's character. But I mean, is that really the best the show can do on Blackwater? Nice chemistry with a cutie?!

Edited September 29, 2014 by Kirsty

[Morbs]

I don't have much hope that the show will ever be exciting. It seems like the very essence of the show will be a bunch of people talking on a set about action we as viewers won't ever see because it would be too cost prohibitive to film.

[Catherinewriter]

For heaven's sake give Neuwirth and Ivanek something to do: have an affair with each other, plot to kill one another, anything expect hanging around the perimeter (calling jack bauer!).

And I deeply resent this show trying to clean up the image of Blackwater, deeply resent it.

Don't mind the daughter, or Tim Daly. And I hope whomever said George is still alive is right. The scene with Tea and her daughter talking about his terrible magic tricks was the best scene in the episode.

[Kromm]

Another episode filled with moments where the Chief of Staff Jackson acts like he's above the Secretary of State in terms of authority--and in her specific area of expertise to boot. Even if it was more subtle than last episode--him naysaying her in front of the President rather than shutting her down in private meetings--it really makes zero sense that the CoS would be spitting out strategy suggestions about troop movements and diplomatic responses.  It's the specific jobs of the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State to do those.  In fact, where the hell IS the Secretary of Defense?  This needs to be a key character in any show of this type far more than Mr. Chief Bureaucrat of the White House.

 

Another one that bugged the shit out of me.  I could maybe see the CoS being in that strategy meeting where they met the Pseudo-Blackwater guy. But even with the President there, HE was the one who seemed to be running the meeting.  Even at the end, it was Jackson who told the Ambassador that they'd get him home.  No.  Just no.  Emergency transportation in a situation like that would be coming from the Military.  The Secretary of Defense.  Again, not the guy who helps decide which place settings to use for the White House Dinners and what kind of raise the cleaning staff gets that year.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Kromm

[redsox7819]

IMDB.COM is your friend.  ;)  Jeff Hephner -- here's the link:

http://www.imdb.com/...=ttfc_fc_cl_t16

 

Thank you. It was driving me nuts on what show I know him from, Chicago Fire!

[Catherinewriter]

Secretary of Defense! Where the hell is the VP? Or is this show trying to demonstrate how unimportant the VP is?

[Kromm]

The daughter is a scary bad actress.

Bad-ish, yes.

 

I think in part she maybe got the job because she actually looks like she could be Leoni's daughter.  Which is weird for TV, I guess (they often don't care about that aspect).

[tinapova]

it's bad that it's only been two episodes and this show already feels repetitive. I didn't find the daughter to necessarily be a bad actress but I found the character to be incredibly annoying and not necessary. Actually, that's how I feel about most of the characters on this show. Guess I'm out.

[crgirl412]

LOL - That's her real hair style and I love it.  Why are a lot of people so against naturally curly hair?  Don't get it.  I wish more women would wear their naturally curly hair instead of spending hours straightening it everyday. 

 

I also have curly hair and would never be against it, but the length and ...bangs? or whatever is happening up top looks weird on her in a few shots. She's a gorgeous woman and always has great hair, so I sense that she is growing it out, possibly?

 

I love her hair. Probably because I have ruler-straight hair. Curly hair is absolutely beautiful to me.

 

I love naturally curly hair and used to pay $$$$ to get perms in lame attempts! 

 

I don't like the bangs most of all and the length isn't that great either.  I hope they fix it!!

[Aethera]

So they straight up mention Benghazi - very odd. I guess that means they acknowledge Hillary Clinton as a real person, somehow?  Like this is the administration directly after Obama's? I find it interesting, with political shows, where they diverge on continuity with current events.  Like, West Wing acknowledged everyone through Nixon, and then some made up guys instead.  You have to have some distance to make a show like that work, it feels like, or you'll be hamstrung too much by recent events.  Seems like coming so close to the present could cause problems.

 

This episode was...not great.  I too cannot believe BeBe still has nothing to do.  Very, very odd, even if she is the bad guy.  An affair between her and Ivanek would be a great improvement.

 

The daughter was meh.  I didn't think she was awful, but again, so contrived. 

[dr pepper]

So, I'm calling it now: Agent George isn't really dead.

 

Dang! Beat me to it.

[ShellSeeker]

This was just so-so for me. I did like Elizabeth and her husband (Tim Daly -- can't remember his character's name) telling the daughter that she had to get a job if she wasn't going to be in college. I found it to be a typical clueless kid's reaction, because clearly she had the idea that she'd be able to sit around for a year and "work on her novel" while living at home for free, and was shocked that she had to get a job. I liked how it was put to her -- that college is a 4 year reprieve from having to start your real life, and since she's choosing not to be in college, that reprieve is now over.

 

I also liked that her interviewer shot her down by telling her that having a degree was a requirement for being hired. Then it got all self-righteous and nauseating when the daughter played the "my mom is Secretary of State" card, and then thought better of it. It would have been much better if the interviewer had smacked her down and said, "I don't care who your mother is. You still need a college degree to be considered for a job here." 

[Kromm]

This was just so-so for me. I did like Elizabeth and her husband (Tim Daly -- can't remember his character's name) telling the daughter that she had to get a job if she wasn't going to be in college. I found it to be a typical clueless kid's reaction, because clearly she had the idea that she'd be able to sit around for a year and "work on her novel" while living at home for free, and was shocked that she had to get a job. I liked how it was put to her -- that college is a 4 year reprieve from having to start your real life, and since she's choosing not to be in college, that reprieve is now over.

 

I also liked that her interviewer shot her down by telling her that having a degree was a requirement for being hired. Then it got all self-righteous and nauseating when the daughter played the "my mom is Secretary of State" card, and then thought better of it. It would have been much better if the interviewer had smacked her down and said, "I don't care who your mother is. You still need a college degree to be considered for a job here." 

I think the best scenario probably would have been Option C.  Interviewer gets a queasy look on his face, offers her the job, she takes it, and it only becomes an issue when her MOM finds out about it and throws a fit over how bad it might look.  The kid herself being the barrier did indeed come off as smug and self-righteous TV "idealistic kid" writing.

[sifar]

The kid herself being the barrier did indeed come off as smug and self-righteous TV "idealistic kid" writing.

 

I think it just showed that she was not desperate enough. It was only her first rejection and not her 10th. She has a very comfortable, safe roof over her head and food on her table. She's really not in any hurry to get a job and from Elizabeth's reaction later, her parents are not exactly breathing down her neck to get a job RIGHT AWAY. She could afford to hold onto her ideals for the time being.

[JasmineFlower]

They said in the pilot she had two daughters.

 

Indeed they did, she clearly said that and she had 3 children. It made the "secret daughter" staff storyline that much more ridiculous. 

 

I want to like the show more than I do and mostly agree with the so-so sentiment. One problem for me for sure is that it feels like the foreign affairs issues that she's dealing with that are important and complex are seeming like they are very simplified and uncomplicated and although I understand that in theory is trying to fit this into a weekly procedural, I'm not sure this is a format that can really work for the way this show is being written. I'm not saying this has to be completely serialized but they are making these things seem very easily resolved, so the general portrayal feels very off to me.

 

I loved loved loved Judging Amy and Joan of Arcadia so while I clearly appreciate Barbara Hall's work, I don't know that it will necessarily translate well to this show. I didn't think it before but it's what I'm thinking now. I think it translates in the form of the characterization of Tea Leoni's role, which I like a lot, but the show overall, the storylines, the pacing, the dynamics, feel a bit off and I think some of that is those other shows were more suited to the procedural and developing the professional life while juggling the personal life. There are more moving parts here because of the importance of the SoS role so simplifying this in the same manner is starting to seem extremely problematic.

 

I liked the parenting though I'm wary of giving too much screen time to the daughter. I'll ride that out, I certainly liked that they told her to get a job and no college meant entering the real world. She's a bit too privileged to be so idealistic, and at the same time looking to coast and do what she wants, but that stuff does tend to go hand in hand not realizing that she can have her views and morals because her parents are there to help her, just hope it doesn't get to the annoying phase.

 

The most realistic thing that happened in the hour was the employer saying they could work something out when she whipped out that she was the SoS's daughter. Cause that is most definitely DC for you, connections and favors get you positions more often than qualifications so at least they were keeping it real and even though she backtracked, I'm glad that was shown.

 

I could easily see bailing on this on a night with a really good Sunday night NFL game and opting not to tape this and that's that. And that's always a problem. If I care enough, I'll figure it out. This show isn't inspiring that extra effort at this point. I'll give it another week or two but was hoping for more.

 

I'd have to think for a while to come up with a show that seemed to waste such elite talent as this show does (Bebe and Zeljko have been mentioned but also Carradine and Tony Award winner Patina Miller, among others). Now, I by no means thought Political Animals was flawless, far from it, but I don't think I gave it enough credit after watching this because I think the set up of that and the mix of the personal and professional is much closer to what this show should be but isn't.

[Tim McD]

I think referencing a real-life event like Benghazi while it's still in the news cycles is a dumb idea. It breaks the suspension of disbelief and the show becomes a kind of Philip K. Dickesque alternate-universe presidency. Why not start introducing actual cabinet members into the storylines while they're at it? Tea can have terse phone conversations with VP Biden. Same goes for using actual CBS News personnel in the fake news coverage, I hate that.

 

I too am annoyed at the misunderstanding at what the CoS can and can't do. Reminds me of the Patricia Arquette show Medium where the district-attorney was being bossed around by the mayor.

[thewhiteowl]

I said before that Tea lacked gravitas and I do stand by that however I am liking her in this role. It was my false assumption that a SoS would need gravitas. lol

So far it's entertaining me.

[dubbel zout]

It would have been much better if the interviewer had smacked her down and said, "I don't care who your mother is. You still need a college degree to be considered for a job here."

 

I thought the fact the interviewer was interested after learning about Elizabeth was more true to life. The daughter's connections could be incredibly valuable to the organization.

 

What I thought was unrealistic was the daughter thinking that she would get hired without a college degree for any job that requires one without dropping her mom's name.

 

But let's face it, a college degree doesn't necessarily mean she would still be the best candidate. It's not as if NBC hired Luke Russert and Chelsea Clinton on achievement alone.

Edited September 30, 2014 by dubbel zout

[Moose135]

I too am annoyed at the misunderstanding at what the CoS can and can't do.

 

It depends on the CoS - Leo McGarry ran the country - and certainly wasn't afraid to put VPOTUS in his place.

[HurricaneVal]

I kind of like the chemistry between Tea Leoni and Tim Daley.  I like that their marriage is being portrayed as a strong and supportive union, with its quirks and bumps.  I also think Tea Leoni had chemistry with the actor playing the spawn of satan, and I think their characters had some nice moments.  What I don't want to see is the Madame Secretary character and the Blackwater character acting on those nice moments and having an affair.  I am pleased that Elizabeth--who is feeling a bit disrespected in her new role as Secretary of State--found and appreciated the respect she got from the guy who's profession she had raked so passionately over the coals.  I think she also respected his professionalism about that.  Sure, he got some digs in, but not what he could have, and he and his company did their jobs well.  So they have this nice little mutual admiration society going on there.  Just leave it there.  Please, no affair.  Can we just have one marriage on TV with normal family stresses and dramas, and not immediately go to the seedy?

[cam3150]

Damn, that Blackwater guy was good looking.

Good lord, yes.  I mean, he just had "it"...whatever "it" is.  I also thought he and Tea had good chemistry.  I don't want to see an affair either but I'd sure like to see him again. I guess it's not terribly likely unless they use his company again.

 

I like this show but it's nothing spectacular or different. I like it enough to keep watching it at this point. I didn't mind the daughter but I didn't care for Bebe's curly hair. It just didn't seem to fit her character or her position. Not the curliness but just the fact that it didn't seem to be styled. I appeared like she walked out of the house with wet hair and it air dried by the time she got to work.  This works in college or a job of lesser importance / professionalism. I would think it wouldn't work at the White House.

 

I totally agree she needs more to do though. What a total waste of a great actress!

Edited September 30, 2014 by cam3150

[ToukieSmith]

 

I could maybe see the CoS being in that strategy meeting where they met the Pseudo-Blackwater guy. But even with the President there, HE was the one who seemed to be running the meeting.  Even at the end, it was Jackson who told the Ambassador that they'd get him home.  No.  Just no.  Emergency transportation in a situation like that would be coming from the Military.  The Secretary of Defense.  Again, not the guy who helps decide which place settings to use for the White House Dinners and what kind of raise the cleaning staff gets that year.

 

I believe the person that selects place settings is the White House Usher.  The Chief of Staff pushes the President's agenda.  To your point, the CoS does not have the time to get into the business of the SoS because he is too busy herding Senators and Representatives.

Edited October 1, 2014 by ToukieSmith

[I-Kare]

As soon as the plot hit the Embassy destruction, I knew Vesuvian couldn't be at fault because Mr. Vesuvian was too attractive for that. 

 

Can we keep Mr. Vesuvian?

[dubbel zout]

I believe the person that selects place settings is the White House Usher.

 

I think the first lady has some say in that, as well as the protocol office. The usher keeps the White House itself running—maintenance, housekeeping, supplies, etc. He's like a butler--head of the "downstairs."

[Kromm]

I believe the person that selects place settings is the White House Usher.  The Chief of Staff pushes the President's agenda.  To your point, the CoS does not have the time to get into the business of the SoS because he is too busy herding Senators and Representatives.

That's true. But he's the Usher's direct boss (I was kind of alluding to that).  Basically the CoS is the head bureaucrat, the 4 or 8 year appointed one, who the lifetime bureaucrats in the Executive Branch report to under that president.  Operating budgets, overall staffing policies, all that stuff it takes to run an "office" with several thousand employees.

[sifar]

Good lord, yes.  I mean, he just had "it"...whatever "it" is.

 

 

I think "it" was the suit and the scary reputation.

[eclarke1981]

I kinda want to see McCord and Bishop have a full-blown, extremely ill-advised affair. (says in a small voice and gets ready to dive back into lurkdom to avoid tomatoes.)

 

That might be the only thing that will get me to tune in next week. Otherwise the pilot was so bland and boring that I actually forgot to watch the second episode and let it just sit on my DVR for days. It was only after going through the discussion here about the hot mercenary that I finally sat down and made myself watch the episode (yes, I happen to be very shallow)

And everyone here was right. The actor is extremely attractive (the salt and pepper hair was a great touch) and has great chemistry with Leoni. They played off each other very well.

 

Apart from that, the storyline was predictable and tension-free. Nothing surprising happened in Mccord's office or her home. Everything was so damned by the numbers. The villainous CoS who causes her just enough trouble to make the audience want to root for her, the case of the week which gets a happy ending at the very last minute and troublesome kids who cause her just the right amount of discomfort in an effort to make her home life look interesting.

 

Not that any of it works and the end result is just mediocre. Even Bishop at the end capitulates in the face of her awesomeness and confesses how her one article made his company grow a conscience. Of course that's so realistic because it's not as if any other member of the academia or the press have ever spoken out about the terrible atrocities some of those PMCs have carried out in the recent past.(/sarcasm)

 

Wouldn't it be great if it had turned out that Bishop had that golf-playing politician in his pocket and it was at Bishop's behest, he refused to send it troops to Yemen. After that Bishop just sat back to see what the woman who had criticized him in the national press would do. He could still have taken some pointers from the article but as the head of a mercenary corporation, he has to be seriously ruthless and cunning. If she hadn't done anything, then she would have had another Benghazi in her hands. But she instead had surprised him by buying his help and thereby won his admiration. And he himself wins in turn by getting her to compromise her ideals publicly and  whitewashing his company's reputation by saving the American ambassador. That way McCord still remains awesome with all her thinking outside of the box but the sickly sweet ending about how her one article changed him and his corporation isn't so sweet anymore. Now how's that for a conspiracy?

 

So, come on show and embrace your tawdry, conspiracy-loving inner Scandal (because The West Wing you aren't) and give Olitz a run for their money since I actually love Tea Leoni in her role and would absolutely love to see Isaac Bishop on my screen every week.

 

(Ends rant and scurried back into the shadows of Lurkdom.)

Edited October 3, 2014 by eclarke1981

[Ursula Parrott]

I had modest hopes for this one, but after two eps, I'm not even sure it's worthy of a hate watch.

 

Bebe Neuwirth should be playing the Secretary of State, instead of the vaguely defined whatever position – she's criminally underused.

 

Tea Leoni wanders about looking like an overmedicated chipmunk, her one expression. She looked like a badly dressed Secret Service agent and I hate that they made this a plot point.

 

Then it's time to cue the conspiracy plot, the rebellious daughter plot, the underestimated woman plot.

 

Of many implausibilities, the non-presidential state dinner was hilarious. In some crappy dining room is apparently next to her office, we have Leoni (minus saintly husband) and her entire staff, plus the King of Swaziland and his many wives, and multiple tv and press reporters taking in the whole event. While the cameras are rolling, Leoni schools the King about polygamy and doing more on the AIDS epidemic, right there in public. Now that's diplomacy, folks. 

And I can't even with the notion that the Chief of Staff outranks the Secretary of State in every way. 

If the showrunners are of a mind to fix, I hope they point their compass toward the Good Wife and not Scandal. But I fear some combo of Deadwood: President Carradine will draw aces and eights and after he's dead and everybody shuffles by his body, the showrunners continue to ignore the rest of the Constitution and House of Madam Secretary Cards - she's in the Oval Office. 

Blech.