The Newsroom (TV Series)

Willie Pete (2013)

Jeff Daniels: Will McAvoy

Photos 

Quotes 

• Will McAvoy : Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann thinks our troops are the best.

  [Bachmann clip] 

  Will McAvoy : Presidential candidate Herman Cain wil not apologize for having the biggest, baddest, greatest military on the planet.

  [Cain clip] 

  Will McAvoy : Presidential candidate Mitt Romney would like the rest of us to support the troops even more than we already do.

  [Romney clip] 

  Will McAvoy : And presidential candidate Rick Santorum marvels, as we all do, at the selfless act of volunteering to serve in a time of war.

  [Santorum clip] 

  Will McAvoy : Stephen Hill is a decorated captain in the US Army, where he's been a reservist for twenty years. He is, this very night, serving in combat in Iraq, as he was last night, when he asked this question via YouTube at the GOP debate in Orlando, Florida:

  Capt. Stephen Hill : [clip]  In 2010 when I was deployed to Iraq, I had to lie about who I was because I'm a gay soldier and I didn't want to lose my job. My question is, under one of your presidencies, do you intend to circumvent the progress that's been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?

  [boos from crowd at debate] 

  Will McAvoy : That was a big room full of Republican primary voters booing an American combat soldier who, as he was speaking, was in combat. The audience members who were booing were in Orlando. Soon, they'll surely be in hell, though not soon enough. Not everyone was booing: there were people in the audience who heard Captain Hill say that when he was deployed to Iraq, he was worried that if his sexuality was discovered, they might not let him go, as opposed to most of us, who, if told we were being deployed to Iraq, would go Corporal Klinger faster than you could pull on a yellow taffeta picnic dress. I'm sure there were even some people in the building who stood up for Captain Hill, people who had the simple strength of character to turn to the fraction of a human in the seat next to them and say, "How many different kinds of disgusting do you have to be to boo a man who volunteered to fight and die for you?" I'm sure those people were there. I'm sure there were many of them. But unfortunately, none of them were on the stage. Not one of these would-be Commanders-in-Chief took a moment to stand with a line officer. They let him stand alone. Soldiers never do that. Leaders never do that. Witless bullies and hapless punks do it all the time. The only President on the stage last night was Stephen Hill. Godspeed, Captain Hill, and come home soon. A grateful nation is waiting to say, "Thank you." That's News Night for September twenty-third. Terry Smith is up next with the Capitol Report. I'm Will McAvoy. Good night.

• Nina Howard : The message said...

  Will McAvoy : You don't have to say what it said.

  Nina Howard : It said...

  Will McAvoy : It's all right.

  Nina Howard : It said, "Hey Mac, it's me. Look, I'm not just saying this because I'm high. I've never stopped loving you. You were spectacular tonight." Then there's a pause, and you say, "Can you believe we got Obama?"

• MacKenzie McHale : Don't stare at guests who are wearing toupees.

  Will McAvoy : I know, I couldn't help it.

  MacKenzie McHale : Help it!

  Will McAvoy : I was mesmerized, and a little bored.

• Will McAvoy : I sit down with her.

  Charlie Skinner : No.

  Will McAvoy : I tell her exactly what happened.

  Charlie Skinner : No.

  Will McAvoy : And I appeal...

  Charlie Skinner : To what?

  Will McAvoy : To her God-given humanity.

  Charlie Skinner : God didn't give her humanity. That's why she's a gossip columnist.