Lawyer: [about Vinick] He'll be bored to death and won't be able to afford the Republican lifestyle he deserves.

Leo: 'You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose'.... We run a country; we deal in abstractions.

Leo: [about a potential VP candidate] Do you want me to get the President to lean on him?
Josh: He told me that he'd kick the guy's ass all over the school yard, if it came to that.
Leo: Who is it?
Josh: You.
Season Seven

Leo: [on Marbury] You're really gonna let him loose in the White House, where there's liquor and women?
Bartlet: We can hide the women. But the man deserves a drink.

Leo: [on the phone with the New York Times] 17 across. Yes, 17 across is wrong... You're spelling his name wrong... What's my name? My name doesn't matter. I am just an ordinary citizen who relies on the Times crossword for stimulation. And I'm telling you that I met the man twice. And I recommended a pre-emptive Exocet missile strike against his air force, so I think I know how...
C.J.: Leo.
Leo: They hang up on me every time.
C.J: That's almost hard to believe.

Leo: [Signing Christmas cards] Who the hell is this guy and why would I care if he has a merry Christmas?
Margaret: Just sign the damn thing.

Leo: [to CJ] Do not get into a discussion of the President's emotional state. You have to pivot whatever you get to Commander-in-Chief...We're in control. The government is functioning. This is the most important press conference of your life.

Leo: [to Hoynes] You're a giant, John. You're a US Senator, the Vice-President of the United States, and presumptive nominee of your party. You cannot be taken down by this... cheap person and her customers huddled around Macy's window waiting for someone to turn themselves inside out.

Leo: [to Josh] This guy's walking down a street, when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep, he can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up "Hey you! Can you help me out?" The doctor writes him a prescription, throws it down the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up "Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey Joe, it's me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole! Our guy says "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here!" and the friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out." As long as I got a job, you got a job, you understand me?

Leo: [to Josh] You have to go back and tell him no. In no uncertain terms. Draw a picture if you need it. A ballot in a circle with a line through it.

Leo: A national seat-belt law is never gonna happen.
Sam: Why?
Leo: What's the most important state in the primaries?
Sam: New Hampshire.
Leo: What's the most important state in the general?
Sam: Michigan.
Leo: What's the only state without a mandatory seat-belt law?
Sam: New Hampshire.
Leo: And where do they make the cars?
Sam: Fair enough.

Leo: Alexander Hamilton didn't think we should have political parties. Neither did John Adams. He thought political parties led to divisiveness.
Toby: They do. They should. We have honest disagreements. Arguments are good.
Leo: Only if they lead to statesmanship. Or it's just theatre. And statesmanship is compromise.
Toby: What about persuasion? They're coming for us, Leo.
Leo: I know.
Toby: I mean they're coming for us now.
Leo: Toby, if you knew what it was like getting him to run the first time...
Toby: I know.
Leo: Like pushing molasses up a sandy hill. If I go and tell him it's time to run again he's going to get crazy... and frustrated. He's going to sink into his head and he's going to say he's not running.
Toby: Yeah.
Leo: Yeah.
Toby: So we've got to do it for him. We'll keep it away from this office but we've got to get real now. Leo, Ann Stark's a war time consigliere. That's why she was bumped up.
Leo: I'm a wartime consigliere too, Toby. I was just hoping it'd be peace time a little longer.
Toby: Yeah.
Leo: Shake my hand.
[Toby and Leo shake hands]
Leo: We just formed it.
Toby: Formed what?
Leo: The Committee to Reelect the President.

Leo: Andrew Jackson, in the main foyer of his White House had a big block of cheese.
Toby: Huh.
Leo: I am making a mental list of those who are snickering, and even as I speak I am preparing appropriate retribution. The block of cheese was huge - over two tons. And it was there for any and all who might be hungry.
Toby: Leo, wouldn't this time be better spent plotting a war against a country that can't possibly defend itself against us?
Leo: We can do that later, Toby. Right now I'm talking about President Andrew Jackson.
Sam Actually, right now, you're talking about a big block of cheese.
Leo: And Sam goes on my list!
Sam: What about Toby?
Leo: I'm unpredictable. Jackson wanted the White House to belong to the people, so from time to time, he opened his doors to those who wished an audience.
Mandy: And then he locked the doors behind them and made them eat two tons of cheese.
Leo: It is in that spirit...
Sam: Hang on. Mandy doesn't go on the list?
Leo: Mandy's new.
Sam: So it's just me... on the list?
Leo: Yes. It is in the spirit of Andrew Jackson that I, from time to time, ask senior staff to have face-to-face meetings with those people representing organizations who have a difficult time getting our attention. I know the more jaded among you, see this as something rather beneath you. But I assure you that listening to the voices of passionate Americans is beneath no one, and surely not the peoples' servants.
Josh: [walks in with C.J.] Sorry, we're late. Is it "Total Crackpot Day" again?
Leo: Yes, it is.
Sam: And let us please note that Josh does not go on the list.

Leo: Believe me, I love the idea of you ministering to the wayward and unwashed. I don't love you becoming a de facto spokesperson for a load of issues we can't support.
Abbey: I'm not on a lecture tour, I'm seeing patients.
Leo: 'Hello. My name is Clarissa Ponsissa. I'm 14 and sexually active. But I know it's okay, 'cause I got my condoms from the First Lady.' Fox News is throwing a party.

Leo: By the way, not for nothing, but draftees aren't nearly as well trained. It's why there were so many casualties in Vietnam.
Toby: Right. Also, the Vietcong.
Leo: Plus that.