A U.S. submarine has "gone quiet" off North Korea, putting the President into crisis mode. And he's not pleased to have to deal with a cantankerous State Department veteran (Hal Holbrook). Meanwhile, Sam and Bruno (Ron Silver) clash over soft money; Babish (Oliver Platt) questions Abbey about past malpractice suits against her; and C.J. is delighted with a majority leader's response to a TV reporter's question about his Presidential ambitions.