elision
Let's talk.My Fellow Americans · 1996 — Chapter 8 of 13 · 2'06" · B1
Old Rivals Almost Bond, Explained: live in the past
Two former officeholders insist they have nothing to say. One claims "I don't miss anything. I don't live in the past," and folds as soon as the White House cook comes up. Under the jokes about dessert and famous guests sits the bruise: eighty million votes, and a week and a half spent in bed.
What happens
Two old rivals have nothing to do, so one forces a talk. They miss White House cook Rita, her cream puffs and pizza, then name famous people they were thrilled to meet. One admits eighty million votes against him and a week and a half in bed after the loss. Honesty almost lands, one cuts it off, and the reply leaves him relieved.
Listen for
live in the pastgo to hellvoted me outnot worth shit
00:00 / 02:06Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
live in the past
to keep dwelling on earlier times
被问到白宫岁月时，一位前总统硬说自己什么都不怀念，还补一句从不活在过去。
He still talks about his old firm all day; he lives in the past.
Also in this scene
- go to hell
a rude way to tell someone off
- voted me out
投票把我赶下台
- not worth shit
一文不值；一点也不好（粗俗的否定说法）
Everything marked in this scene
29 notes across 40 lines
'cause as a casual reason
Why? 'Cause I'm bored.I have nothing to say to you. Well, I have nothing to say to you.That doesn't mean we can't talk.My parents proved that conclusively.What do you miss most about the office?to keep dwelling on earlier times
I don't miss anything. I don't live in the past.Rita. What about Rita?flap
Rita. What about Rita?Greatest cook the White House ever had.You know, when I couldn't sleep,It was a cream puff with raspberry sauce--It was like a wet dream with a crust.I'll wake up screaming every night till I die.There's nothing wrong with wet dreams. Stop!I had a couple when I was a kid.Great. I'll look for that exhibit in your library.When you were in the White House, who was the person you were most excited to meet?Nelson Mandela. I'm not a reporter.Mandela was a great man, but he couldn't sing worth shit.That was a thrill.That's how many people voted against me the last time out.That's how many people didn't trust me, didn't like me, didn't...I stayed in bed for a week and a half after they voted me out.time clause with after
I stayed in bed for a week and a half after they voted me out.Let's stop talking. We're about to bond. It'll make me vomit.be about to for the immediate future
Let's stop talking. We're about to bond. It'll make me vomit.a rude way to tell someone off
Oh, why don't you go to hell?weak form
Oh, why don't you go to hell?Old Rivals Almost Bond, explained
What's really going on
Someone opens with "Let's talk" and, asked why, says "Why? 'Cause I'm bored." Someone still says "I have nothing to say to you," and that does not end it. They slip into Rita, the White House cook: a joke that she started with George Washington, cream puffs on sleepless nights, and pizza. The claim "I don't miss anything. I don't live in the past" is followed a few lines later by "Yes, I do miss Rita." The number comes after the guest list: "That's how many people voted against me the last time out" names eighty million people, and "I stayed in bed for a week and a half after they voted me out" is the part under the jokes. Food talk is easy. Tenderness is not. "Let's stop talking. We're about to bond. It'll make me vomit" treats closeness as nausea, and "Now, that's better" welcomes the insult that answers it. The old fight is where both of them know how to stand.
Theme
MemoryA claim of not living in the past collapses into Rita, the cook, and the dessert from sleepless nights.
PrideEighty million votes and a week and a half in bed come out only after the food jokes, and closeness gets cut off.
Listen for
- Let's talk — elision
- What about — flap
- go to hell — weak form
Let's stop talking. We're about to bond. It'll make me vomit.Closeness is the problem, not the chat. Stopping keeps the two of them from liking each other, and the nausea is the punch line that makes the panic sound like a joke.
I don't miss anything. I don't live in the past.A refusal to be nostalgic. It is pride, and a few lines later Rita's name pulls a confession of missing her anyway.
I stayed in bed for a week and a half after they voted me out.The loss was not brushed off. Being voted out meant a week and a half of staying in bed, said without a joke attached.
That's how many people voted against me the last time out.Eighty million is not a poll figure here. It is how many people withheld trust and liking the last time the speaker ran.
Questions about this scene
Why does the talk get shut down just as they start to get along?
Getting along is the part one of them cannot stand. "Let's stop talking. We're about to bond. It'll make me vomit" treats warmth as sickening. The insult that answers is met with "Now, that's better," so the jab works as relief.
Who is Rita?
The White House cook they keep circling. She is called the greatest the place ever had, the only one, and someone who started with George Washington. Sleepless nights meant a cream puff with raspberry sauce. Once her name comes up, "I don't miss anything" does not hold.
What is the eighty million?
How many people voted against the speaker the last time out. The next line says that many did not trust him and did not like him, before it trails into "Who knows?" It is the size of the rejection, not a policy argument.
Why bring up a week and a half in bed?
It is the private cost of being voted out, placed after the food and the famous names. "I stayed in bed for a week and a half after they voted me out" drops the jokes. Someone pulls the talk back almost at once, before the softness can turn into real closeness.
My Fellow Americans · 13 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 9shut your cake holeWayne Gets the History Wrong
Chapter 1too little too lateGolf Talk Turns Awkward
Chapter 2shift the stinkThe Missing Appointment Log
Chapter 3skedaddleTanner Summons the Presidents
Chapter 4in the middle of nowherePresidents Hijacked in the Woods
Chapter 5get away with itWalking to Ohio for Evidence
Chapter 6stick a fork inPassengers Gossip About the Presidents
Chapter 7steams my clamsPresidents Trade a Watch for a Ride
Watching · Chapter 8live in the pastOld Rivals Almost Bond
Chapter 9shut your cake holeWayne Gets the History Wrong
Chapter 10put on a spreadKramer and Douglas Find the Fix
Chapter 11up to its knees inHaney Confesses to the Cover-Up
Chapter 12the end of the worldTanner Corners Them in the Tunnel
Chapter 13a way aroundThe Presidents Confront Each OtherChapter 8 of 13 · about 14 min to go