Top 20 Quotes From David Palmer

President: [During a meeting with his senior advisers] gentlemen and ladies: considering the crisis we face today, I felt it was prudent to enlist the help of ex-President Palmer
Jennie: In what capacity Sir?
President: Excuse me?
Don: Sir, everybody in this room has a title and a specific function, exactly what "position" will President Palmer be occupying?
David: I'm here "solely" as an adviser, not only to the President, but to anyone else here who requests my counsel
President: [to Don] President Palmer is outside the chain of command is what you're asking?
Don: I'm just asking for clarification Sir
President: The missile carrying the nuclear warhead was launched from a location in central Iowa, it's becoming more and more "likely" that the target is on or near one of the coasts
Jennie: It's clearly going to be New York or DC: why aren't we evacuating those two cities?
David: I disagree Jennie. It's not clear, and if you start to evacuate these two cities, then you may have unauthorized mass exodus of Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Atlanta. That's a situation the President shouldn't be dealing with
Don: [to Palmer] maybe the "President" should be telling us that himself?
President: [to Don] Mr. Speaker, I've discussed this option with a number of my domestic experts, including President Palmer and that's my assessment as well
Don: What about air defense? We're going to stand by and let the airspace over these cities remain undefended?
David: We have a limited number of F-18's intercepting jets at our disposal: they need to be augmenting the search for this missile, and not deployed in a "wait and see" mode
Don: Mr. Palmer, I'm sure we all appreciate your desire to help but the Constitution has determined who the decision maker should be at this time, I think your overstepping your bounds
David: In the first place, it's "Mr. President" Don, and it is the "content" of my statement you should be addressing...
President: [Interrupts him] David, it's true, you are to be addressed as "President", it's an expression of respect but not a functional title
David: I understand that Sir but you have to understand I've been through this crisis before
President: Yes, but "we" are here now. The appointed and lawful representatives of the people of the United States
David: Mr. President, I would... .
President: [Interrupts him] David, there will be no more discussion on this matter, your point has been taken, however, Ashton has made a good point and I want to address his concerns
David: Perhaps it's best I excuse myself?

President: [Referring to Agent Bern confessing his involvement in the raid at the Chinese Consulate, implicating Jack Bauer and the United States] damn it David, you said this would be handled
Mike: [Responding for Palmer] I'm sure the Chinese don't want war
Walt: No, but they do want to embarrass us: take the moral high ground in the court of world opinion. We need to take the least damaging course of action
Mike: Unfortunately, then there's only one option
President: Which is?
Mike: We hand Bauer over to the Chinese
David: Unacceptable
Mike: Besides if we turn him over, he'll implicate this Administration. The Chinese made Bern talk, they'll do the same with Bauer eventually
David: Jack Bauer would never compromise national security
Walt: As much as I'd like to believe that, everyone breaks
David: What you believe is irrelevant
Walt: [to Logan] there is another option Mr. President
President: Go on
Walt: Suppose something happens to Bauer? Suppose he has an "accident"?
David: That's an obscene suggestion
Walt: It solves a lot of problems
David: [to Logan] Mr. President...
President: This Administration does not condone murder and it never will, is that clear?
Walt: Yes Sir, I'm sorry Sir

Mike: I know you believe my actions during your term in Office amounted to a "personal" act of political betrayal
David: It's not something I "believe". Its fact: get to your point
Mike: If my presence here makes it more difficult for you, say the word and I'll leave
David: You're "wired" into this Administration and I have no doubt that you have this country's best interest at heart. So for now let's bygones be bygones and get to work
Mike: [Shakes his hand] thank you Mr. President, I appreciate that
David: I reviewed the briefing materials on the way here, have Army Reserves supplement the search teams looking for the warhead in Iowa and have DOT and DOD coordinating on crisis response in case it's detonated
Mike: Yes Sir
David: CTU is heading up the search for the man who stole the warhead, Habib Marwan?
Mike: Yes they recovered a damaged videotape of Marwan's last known location: they're in the process of restoring it but Marwan is not CTU's only lead on the warhead now
David: What else do they have?
Mike: CTU analyst named Chloe O'Brian secured a hard drive belonging to one of Marwan's associates. This hard drive may contain information that can lead us to the warhead

David: [to Mike] let the Joints Chiefs know of the situation but tell them this should be limited to the intelligence community only
Mike: Sir, if a nuclear missile's been launched, we have to assume Washington is its target
President: What are our options?
Mike: We don't have many: first priority is to establish a continuity of the government and start a quiet evacuation of government personnel in the city
David: [to Mike] bring the Cabinet members and the Speaker of the House to the bunker. Congress and Pentagon should be taken to the mountain safety facility
Mike: Right
David: [Before Mike leaves the room] let them know this is a Category One emergency: tell them nothing more. We can't afford an information leak
President: The public needs to be warned, cities needs to be evacuated
David: Not yet, let's see what Bauer comes up with first

Tony: [Over the speakerphone] what've you got?
Bill: The second satellite pass is complete: we were unable to detect the missile with thermal imaging, there's just too much radiant heat from ground sources
David: This is President Palmer, is there a chance another satellite pass will find the missile?
Bill: The more data we have Mr. President, the better but a more intensive pass will take two to three hours
David: And we expect the missile to find its target before then?
Bill: Yes Sir, we do
David: Alright make sure FBI is on a real time link with all local emergency channels
Bill: Yes Sir, I'll get that done right now
David: I also want you to compile disaster scenarios for the urban centers within range of the missile
Bill: Sir, that's twenty of the largest cities in this country
David: I'm aware of that. I want death rates, fallout patterns, and emergency response predictions for all of them
Bill: Yes Sir, I'll take care of that right now

David: [Over the phone] has the Premier responded to the President's request to have Lee turned over to us?
Su: The Consul is dead
David: [Stunned] what?
Su: He was shot: when armed men broke into this building and took Mr. Lee with them by force
David: I am shocked and deeply saddened. Please convey that to your country on the behalf of mine
Su: Is it your position that you have no knowledge of this operation? The timing of your call and this abduction is entirely coincidental?
David: The Consulate is sovereign territory of The People's Republic of China. I can't believe anyone in this country had a "hand in it"
Su: I'm sure you understand the political ramifications if you are incorrect
David: And I'm sure you understand the ramifications of unproven accusations
Su: No accusations have been made but I can assure you, there will be an investigation
David: Your government will have my complete cooperation
Su: [Before hanging up] thank you, I'm sure you'll be hearing from us very soon

Mike: President Logan will provide Lee with a written guarantee: as long as it remains covert
Mike: [after his silent] Sir? What's wrong?
David: Koo Yin was killed during the course of the abduction
Mike: My God, by one of our own people?
David: No, it must've been friendly fire but it doesn't really matter. If their able to find proof, that we were involved, in the long run the repercussions will be as serious as those we are facing from the terrorists

David: [Over the phone] I assume Bill told you about Lee Jong?
Jack: Yes Sir
David: I'm about to call the Chinese Consulate and explain the situation, I'd like it if you personally took Lee into custody and brought him back to CTU for interrogation
Jack: And you think the Consul will be cooperative?
David: His a reasonable man
Jack: What if the political approach doesn't work?
David: I'll leave it to you to make the necessary preparations: whatever it takes, we need this man Lee in custody
Jack: I understand Mr. President

President: [Over the speakerphone] I've just been told there's a cruise missile containing a nuclear warhead?
Jack: Yes Sir, that's correct: our military's tracking device is doing everything they can to find the trajectory of the missile but we don't have a lot to go on
David: What about Marwan? You think he'll break?
Jack: That won't be easy Sir: his planned and organized everything's that happened today. His committed to his cause, his prepared to die
David: I know you'll do your best, keep us posted
Jack: [Before hanging up] yes Sir I will

David: [Over the phone, relived to be hearing from him, implying he just made it out alive] "You thread at the eye of the needle"
David: I had some help Sir, I wanted to thank you for advising me of the situation: you saved my life
David: I'm really sorry it came to this
Jack: Me too Sir, I just wanted to let you know I was out
David: I'm glad
David: [sighs] this is probably the last time we'll ever speak. You do understand after you hang up: for all intents and purposes, Jack Bauer is dead?
Jack: I understand that. It's been an honor
David: Same for me, my friend

David: [Talking privately] Sir, I have reason to believe your security chief may preempting your decision to hand Jack Bauer over to the Chinese
President: Preempting me, how?
David: By killing him before they can take custody
President: [Amused] oh for God's sake David, Cummings was just speaking hypothetically: you can't take that at face value. Besides, I told him it wasn't an option
David: All I'm asking Sir if for you to talk to Cummings and make sure he understands your order
President: I can't indulge some half baked conspiracy...
David: [Interrupts him] I think I've earned the "privilege" of having my concerns taken seriously
President: You have: it's also no secret your Presidency was "infected" with a certain level of paranoia and scandal. I won't allow that in my Administration. Questioning my security chief would not only undermine his authority, it would compromise mine as well
David: "Hear no evil"
President: I beg your pardon?
David: [Sternly] you heard me
President: [Before Palmer leaves without saying a word] thank you for your assistance today but it's time for you to go back to civilian life and let me do my job

David: [Over the phone] CTU tells me you got something from Lee?
Jack: We have a location on Habib Marwan, we're on route with tactical teams now. We're hopeful we can put an end to this soon.
David: I hope you're right, this warhead can detonate at any moment.
Jack: We all know that sir.
David: Tell me about the representative from the Chinese consulate, is he still at CTU?
Jack: He was there when we left.
David: Are we 'OK" there?
Jack: They have a surveillance photo of one of my team members. We told him the photo wasn't clear enough to be conclusive evidence. It's going to hold them off for a while.
David: I see, Thanks Jack.
Jack: Thank you Mr. President.

David: We're going to need you to advise the President that Cheng has to leave CTU now
Mike: President Logan was clear he wanted Cheng to have full access there
David: And he has. Now Cheng's slowing them down. His got to go, CTU needs to be to do their job without the added pressure of a cover up. You think Logan will sign off on that?
Mike: I'll see what I can do

Mike: [Over a speakerphone] we're all here: go ahead
Bill: I'm afraid Marwan's associate, the woman we hoped would help us locate the missile, has killed herself and one of our agents
President: Oh my God
David: Did she leave behind any physical evidence that could help us?
Bill: It doesn't appear so
President: So what is CTU going to do now to find the missile?
Bill: Mr. President, at this point, CTU no longer has any reasonable expectation of finding the missile before it reaches its target
President: This is it: it's going to happen. What do we do?
David: At this point, we have no choice but to alert all state and federal agencies and focusing all of our resources on managing the aftermath
President: [to David] but we don't even know the missile's target
David: No, we can "assume" it will be a major city but no matter what the target is, there will be wide spread panic across this country: we need to mobilize the Army and the National Guard in every state and draw a declaration of Martial law
President: Yes, we need to do that
Mike: Bill, all federal agencies need to prepare for the aftermath of a nuclear attack. CTU's priority should be "disaster management." Redeploy your people now
Bill: [Before hanging up] understood

Consul: [Over the phone] I didn't expect to hear from you quite so soon
David: Has the Premier made aware of the situation?
Consul: Yes, his considering it very carefully
David: There's no time for that. I've just learned the terrorists may detonate a nuclear device within the next two hours
Consul: I understand the urgency of the situation, without making any promises, I have every expectation of giving you a favorable answer
David: When?
Consul: I know I'll be speaking to him again in two to three hours
David: I told you that's not soon enough
Consul: I'm sorry, it's the best I can do

Wayne: [Referring to David's memoir] everything works for me up until the chapter on your first campaign. I'm sorry but I think it's a little long winded, I think we can cut that down by half so why don't we start with the paragraph...
Wayne: [after noticing David respond] you didn't hear a word I just said did you?
David: Yeah, I was listening
Wayne: No, you weren't
David: Your right, I'm sorry
Wayne: Are you ok?
David: I could use a break
Wayne: What's going on?
David: What'd you mean?
Wayne: I mean you've been distracted since you got to Los Angeles. I don't know: it's like your somewhere else?
David: Writing my memoirs, maybe it's put me in a melancholy mood?
Wayne: Is it all that is?
David: [Nods] yeah
Wayne: I'm your brother, whatever it is, you can tell me
David: [Rubs his neck] it's alright

Mike: [Over the phone] I'm sorry to disturb you so late
David: No, I've been up all night following the news: this is a tragic day for our country
Mike: Yes, may I ask when you received your last intelligence briefing?
David: Three hours ago why?
Mike: Since then, the terrorists behind today's events, Habib Marwan has taken possession of a nuclear warhead
David: [Stands up] my God, how?
Mike: Well, he recovered the football in the wreckage of Air Force One and he used it to track and steal a warhead. President Logan feels he needs "help"
David: What kind of help?
Mike: Substantial
David: I'm not sure what you're asking me to do
Mike: President Logan is requesting you run the effort to recover the stolen weapon: you'll be in place to make whatever decisions you need to be made. A crisis is looming, hard choices need to be made, by the President's own admission, he feels he may not be up to the task. This country is very possibly facing the worst terrorist act in its history. We need your leadership
David: Before I do anything, I want to speak to President Logan face to face
Mike: Fair enough I'll notify your Secret Service detail to bring you to the White House

Mike: How long are going to keep the President "in the dark"? Eventually his going to find out you authorized the raid on the Chinese Consulate
David: We have to keep it from him as long as we can: were you able to find Jack?
Mike: Yes, his back to CTU. The man they grabbed at the Consulate lee Jong, is still in surgery
David: Was he able to tell us anything about the missing warhead?
Mike: No
David: What did Jack have to say about the Chinese consul's death?
Mike: It wasn't our people that fired the shot
David: The Chinese won't care: he died as a result of our trespass. We have to start constructing a "scenario" that doesn't implicate the United States government
Mike: They must know we did this. We called the Consulate about Lee Jong half an hour before the abduction
David: The Chinese don't want a confrontation anymore than we do. If we can create a "scenario" of plausible deniability, they may play along
Mike: How do we do that?
David: Call CTU: have them find out which anti-Chinese factions have attacked their embassies or Consulates in the last five years
Mike: Most of these groups you're talking about Asian extremists. I'm sure Bauer's team is predominately American
David: Bauer's team was masked. No one saw their faces

Mike: CTU just sent this over: these five groups have all made attempts to attack or sabotage Chinese targets around the globe in the last two year, this group here
David: The People's Freedom Coalition
Mike: They've actually made speeches where they've referenced Lee Jong's involvement with the Chinese nuclear program
David: So an attack on the Consulate and the grab of Lee Jong by this group would be plausible?
Mike: It would allow the Chinese to save face
David: And if the Chinese can't provide proof that we entered the Consulate saving face would be all they need?
Mike: If you want I can start leaking it to the media
David: Do it
President: [after entering the room] David, what've you done?
David: Excuse me Sir?
President: I just got a call from the Secretary of State telling me about a covert action against the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles?
David: That's correct, I sanctioned it
President: Why would you have done such a thing?
David: It was the only option at the time
President: Don't you know how fragile our relationship with China is right now? You authorized an attack on their Consulate: that's a military engagement
David: A covert not dissimilar to those carried out by countries on a routine basis around the world
President: Don't give me a social studies lesson, we marched onto Chinese soil, we kidnapped one of their nationals, and in the process the Chinese consul was killed
Mike: We were unlucky Sir
President: Unlucky? Yeah I would say we were unlucky, that's the kind of thing that could start a war. Now how am I supposed to be able to find terrorists while I'm provoking a nuclear superpower?
David: I would advise you to calm down if we are going to get through this day. We didn't bring this crisis on ourselves but we're going to be the ones to settle it, this is a dirty business and we're to have to get our hands dirty to clean it up. Now please Mr. President, you brought me here to help you: let me do it

Mike: We may have a problem
President: What is it?
Mike: Don Ashton has been asking a number of questions and raising concerns as to President Palmer's "role" here
President: That's too bad: we have more important things to worry about at the moment
Mike: Sir, as Speaker of the House, he can create problems you don't need right now
David: Mike's right, Don's very ambitious. Now that his next in line to the Presidency, he'll look to exploit any angle he can
President: He won't put his ambition in front of national security
Mike: He won't see it in those terms Sir. In his eyes, national security and his personal ambition are one in the same
President: [sighs] what'd we do?
David: Show him who's in charge