The Girls on the Bus

- Life on the campaign trail isn't exactly glamorous.

- Why are we still sitting here?

- Yeah, why haven't we left yet?

- Being away from home for months at a time,

living out of a suitcase, chasing sources,

and writing stories

half the country won't believe anyway--

it can be a grind.

But there are some days

that make it all worthwhile.

Because just when you think you know the whole story,

it changes.

Holy...

shit.

- What is she doing? - Oh, my God.

- Look what was holding up traffic.

Is that Felicity Walker?

Felicity Walker.

What the hell is she doing here?

Felicity Walker?

Oh, my God.

Felicity Walker--

the woman who haunted my past

and would ultimately derail my entire future.

Of course, I didn't know that yet.

- It was three years ago when my editor

asked me to cover the first woman

with a real shot at the White House...

- I'm an only child raised by a single mom...

- A respected senator who reached

across the aisle to pass paid family leave

and a sweeping climate change bill.

She was scrappy and blunt

and made curtain bangs look good.

Now, as a reporter,

my job is to remain objective, detached.

But somewhere along the way,

I found myself rooting for Walker.

Yeah!

And I wasn't alone.

Everywhere we went,

she seemed to be capturing hearts and minds.

crowd: Walker, Walker, Walker!

- According to Nate Silver's statistical needle,

she was a shoo-in to become the first woman president

and my career-defining front-page story.

See, that's the thing about being a campaign reporter.

Pick the right horse, and you can ride that baby

all the way to the White House,

TV, book deals, Pulitzers.

But then...

she lost.

No one saw it coming.

In the end, it didn't matter how it happened or why.

It happened, and I was devastated.

- That's the end of the era of...

I woke up the next morning

to find that my meltdown

went viral,

thanks to Liberty Direct News.

- At the time, I thought it was

the worst thing to happen

to a political reporter.

What a difference three years can make.

And remember...

- Yes, I know she was at the hotel.

The whole world saw her show up at the hotel.

But why? Why is she here?

Where's Walker now? What--

Oh, hang on.

That's--that's my editor. I'll call you back in five.

Bruce, I got three minutes. What do you need?

- Your latest on Caroline feels like a clip job.

I mean, it's all sex, no substance.

Just the way our readers like it.

- No, dig deeper, dig deeper. - Uh-huh.

- How many donors has she lost?

Is her party pressuring her to drop out before the caucuses?

- Yeah. - Do we know who

her super PAC is now gonna get behind?

- Yeah. - Are you even listening to me?

Of course I'm listening.

- You're obsessing about Walker being in Iowa, aren't you?

I'm not obsessing.

I am investigating, which is my job.

- No, your job is to follow Caroline Bennett.

Now, you begged me to put you on her bus.

- I mean, you chose her. - I--

I--to be fair, I chose her before we found out

she starred in "Eyes Wide Shut" the docuseries.

The fact that Felicity Walker is in Iowa--

- Is not the story on your beat.

You have a sex scandal involving produce.

- Walker is still the better story.

What is the story?

Why is she in town?

I--

I don't know.

- She's taken you down once, Sadie.

Do not let her do it again.

- You know, I'm gonna find out why Walker's in Iowa,

and when I do, you're gonna front that shit on page one.

Bye.

- It's so good having you here, Senator.

And since we've known each other for a long time,

let's just cut to the chase.

Now that Caroline Bennett's all but out of the race,

who are you planning to endorse?

Don't answer him, Haskin.

You're better than that.

Look at you,

watching two old white guys like they matter anymore.

You're right.

The Supreme Court is clearly swayed by social media,

which is why everything

is going so well for us in this country.

- Yeah, they'll die off soon enough.

Who's that guy? - Tim Haskin, Iowa senator.

He decides who wins the caucus.

- What do you mean Haskin decides?

The caucus is tomorrow night.

Before it starts, Senator Haskin will go on TV

and shake hands with one of the Democratic candidates.

That's his way of signaling to his constituents

who he wants to win.

The sheep will follow.

My job is to find out whose hand he's shaking

before he shakes it.

That's what you think

your job is as a journalist? - Mm-hmm.

That's so sad.

Breaking news, yes.

Also, voters are not sheep.

- And--and you know that why?

Because of your many years of experience

on the campaign trail?

- I'm sorry that you had to wear Spanx

just to be taken seriously.

I'd be pressed, too, if my insides

had been cinched for a century.

But I have news for you.

The establishment no longer decides for us.

Young people are engaged.

The world is changing.

You wanna bet?

Folks, I'm gonna ask you

to pray with me in just a minute.

Unbelievable.

This is unbelievable. Gary, are you seeing this?

- Sorry, one second, just confirming

you prefer orchids to petunias.

- Is Eric's mother still bothering you

with wedding stuff?

I told her you are not my assistant;

you're my embed.

But orchids. - Yeah, uh, not sure

she's fully grasping that distinction.

- I will call Eric and tell him to try to wrangle his mother.

But I need you to put your phone down and look at this.

That's right, Rick.

In response to the sickening revelations

inside the Bennett campaign, the president...

- How many is that? - Three.

Three in the last 12 hours,

and it's always the same statement.

He's disgusted. She's disgusting.

Variations on a theme.

- This is supposed to be our story, Gary.

We're the ones on Caroline's bus.

We should be the ones covering her scandal.

- Caroline is talking right now,

and we're not filming it, so--

The woman inserted a mango

into her own nether regions

and allowed a man to eat it out of her in public.

- And mangoes can be so stringy.

They're calling this a sex club,

but there's gotta be more to the story.

Does it need more?

- Maybe not, but if this is gonna be the thing

that takes her out of the race,

let's make sure it's for a good reason.

- Like you getting on TV instead of Nellie Creamsicle?

Exactly.

Okay, grab your gear. - All right.

- Accountability and atonement are my responsibility...

- Hey. Did I miss anything good?

- If you did, do you think I'd tell you?

- And I know some of you folks thought,

well, she's just gonna run away.

She's just gonna go home after that vicious attack.

crowd: No! - Well, no, no, to be perfectly

honest with you, that thought did cross my mind

more than once last night.

But then I got a call from a friend,

a friend who believes in what it is

I'm trying to do here,

a friend who reminded me

that when the going gets tough...

The tough stay put!