Madam Secretary

Oh. Morning.

Morning.

Don't miss the trade agreement. Page three.

It's finally happening.

Uh-oh.

More than three of you.

It's not bad news.

We just have a few things to discuss with you.

For your trip to Myanmar.

You're only the third secretary of state to visit in 50 years,

you know.

And the first who gets to sign the Pacific Rim Trade Agreement.

Boom.

I'm just experimenting with that.

"Boom" is over, man. You missed it.

Daisy, what's up with page three?

Why isn't it bigger news than that?

Believe me, when you sign the agreement,

it'll be front page, above the fold.

There is just one small fly in the ointment.

I can't believe I kicked that football.

The meet and greet at the elevator...

always bad news.

Who's the fly?

Ambassador Arlen Maxwell.

In my office?

No, in Myanmar.

He's called a few times today.

He has some ethical concerns about the trade agreement.

He does?

Yes. The U.S. ambassador to Myanmar,

whose job it is to represent U.S. interests in Myanmar,

has some ethical concerns about the landmark trade agreement.

Upon which everyone has agreed.

You know, I've spoken to him a few times.

He seems reasonable enough.

- What's going on? - I think the ambassador might have

something referred to as clientitis.

He's identifying closely

with the culture and its people.

Let's nip it in the bud, and...

Blake, get me the ambassador, will you?

So, is there anything else that I should know?

Yes. He and President Dalton have been friends since college.

Maxwell inherited a large sum of money

and invested it in some high-risk enterprises.

One of them paid off.

A very deep gold mine in Argentina.

Now, word is, he got lucky.

His wife divorced him two years ago.

No prenup. Talk about a very deep gold mine.

So when the ambassadorship came up, he called his old friend

the president and asked to be sent to Myanmar.

- Maybe for a change of scenery? - I'm guessing to escape

the tabloids. Their divorce was

a splashy story.

To be fair to the president,

a number of candidates turned down the post.

Myanmar is a very poor country a long way from anything.

- Unless you're a fan of temples. - Look, there's no way

this rube is gonna mess up the trade agreement.

I had to rewrite an entire Billy Joel song

- just to make it happen. - Yeah. And we had to sing it.

- Don't you mean you got to sing it? - Don't worry, Matt.

It won't be for naught.

This agreement is going to go through.

Ambassador Maxwell.

Great.

Thanks, everybody.

- Thank you. - Ma'am.

Ambassador, I'm looking forward

to meeting you in person in the next couple of days.

And I you, Madam Secretary.

Uh, now, may I ask, have you...

have you read, uh, this report

put out by your State Department?

Well, I-I have to be honest with you.

The State Department puts out thousands of documents,

feels like every day.

Well, this is called

The World in 2030, and I just...

I have to tell you, it's not a pretty world,

particularly for Myanmar, after we sign this trade agreement.

What in particular about the trade agreement bothers you?

Elimination of tariffs on hydro-power turbines.

Let's start there.

Yes. So that hydroelectric dams can be built,

leading to the modernization of Myanmar's power grid.

At the cost of displacing whole villages of people.

People who have been farmers all their lives.

It's... it is all right in here.

But with the modernization to the cities, industry can thrive.

And it will help close the enormous wealth gap

and, in turn, raise the standard of living for everyone.

We're talking about generations of people

who have only lived close to the land.

Ambassador Maxwell, I understand.

This agreement, it isn't perfect,

but at the end of the day,

the positive effects clearly outweighed the negative.

Well, I can tell you, there is a large segment of people

who live here who do not agree.

Even President Shwe, even he has concerns.

Concerns that have been resolved through hours of conversation

and reviewing the data.

President Shwe got on board for a very good reason.

If Conrad would call me back...

President Dalton has entrusted me with this agreement,

but I assure you that he is fully committed to it.

And I promise you that this

is an agreement that you can represent

to the people of Myanmar proudly.

See you then.

I don't know how we missed this.

We didn't.

I read it when it came out.

But probably just before I read the joint CIA and FBI projection

of the ten most imminent terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.

I do have to prioritize

my end of the world documents, you know.

It's somebody's job in every department

to game out worst-case scenarios.

It's not supposed to be taken as hard science.

Water is featured as a megatrend starting on page 380.

See, that's good. Write that down.

We just... we just need to remind the ambassador

of the counterpoints.

Why are we humoring this guy?

Because these big trade agreements are very fragile

when you have so many countries involved.

And the last thing we need is a skittish ambassador.

If his concerns get out and they're taken as a sign

that the United States has doubts,

it could make others reevaluate,

not to mention embarrass the hell out of us.

No kidding.

"2030, nearly half the world's population

will live in areas of severe water stress."

The trade agreement is going to allow us to send in scientists

to help shore up erosion.

It's all in the speech I wrote for the ceremony.

It's solid.

We just need talking points

to ease the ambassador's mind.

Sure. No problem.

I love that answer.

Spider monkeys

will be extinct?

Somebody take that away from Blake.

Hi, it's me.

Uh, I called before, but I didn't leave a message.

Um, maybe you didn't recognize the number.

So, it looks like

I'm going to be in your neck of the woods... soon.

And, um, it would be very nice to see you.

Anyway, I'll be there, uh, day after tomorrow.

And...

I-I look forward to seeing you.

Okay. Um... bye.

Damn it.

Oh, Madam Secretary!

Listen, I'm just heading home.

I need those, uh, talking points e-mailed to me.

But, um, or Jay can bring them tomorrow.

Uh, that's what I wanted to talk to you about.

I'll be joining you on your trip to Myanmar instead of Jay.

Oh. Okay. But everything all right?

Oh, it's fine.

I just thought he could use a break from all the traveling.

The baby's teething... incisors.

- It's painful. - Yeah, those are the tough ones.

- Yeah. - What's the real reason?

I recently found out that my son

has been living in Myanmar for the last few months.

Your son?

From a very brief affair when I was

touring Europe with a dance troupe.

Dance troupe?

Before law school.

Anyway, he quit Juilliard years ago

and has been traveling around

and wound up in Myanmar, as luck would have it.

You know, you and I really should have

gone out for a drink at some point.

I like to keep my private life private, ma'am.

You've done a superb job.

Um, I'm glad you're coming.

That'll be great, and I look forward

- to maybe meeting your son. - Oh, thank you.

Be honored to introduce you to him if I can coax him out.

He's an artist, so he's anti everything we stand for.

Oh.

I've got a budding one of those myself.

See you tomorrow, Madam Secretary.

Okay.

I am off to the treaty signing in Myanmar.

Okay. Cool.

Sounds good.

What's the time difference there?

11 and a half hours.