THE POWERS THAT BE could not have ended on a higher note; if ever an episode left the audience wanting more! (this was the last to be rescued by the USA Network). President Clinton asks Senator Powers to cut down his staff by 10% while practicing golf in his office ("I'm afraid everything in this office still has a tendency to break to the right!"). Bradley delights in providing a 'welcome wagon' for the bountiful women populating the new administration (Sophie: "it's just what this town needs, one more horny patriot!"). Jordan decides to terminate Bradley for leaving all the work to everyone else, and the Senator is forced to back her up, but Margaret knows just the thing to make her husband feel better: a day of filibustering in the Senate (Bill: "I don't mean to brag, but Sam Nunn says that I can go on and on about nothing better than anybody in the Senate!"). Meantime, Caitlyn decides to follow Hillary Clinton's lead by working in her husband's office, despite her mother's disapproval (Margaret: "I've tried it, in my father's office, for one day, and only till noon!"). The lure of big headlines is enough for Margaret to try replacing Bradley in her husband's office, until the unexpected arrival of acid-dripping columnist Walt 'Killer' Stevens (Dan Butler, soon to play Bulldog on FRASIER), inquiring about the Senator's position on the President's health care bill. Jordan is unable to disengage Margaret from making a complete fool of herself, leaving Bill no choice but to have her bring Bradley back to handle the sharks in the press as he always did (Margaret: "well, I'll be back around two martinis!" Sophie: "I don't know how she's gonna down those martinis with that big foot in her mouth!"). When Margaret tells Caitlyn about her experiences as a civil servant, her daughter balks at the idea of being a 'servant,' delighting Theodore by quitting (Pierce: "Mother you never even started!" Caitlyn: "one more word out of you mister and you can kiss that snare drum goodbye!"). She sends all her new 'work' clothes back to the store, but keeps one item to give to Pierce, a Gucci lunchbox! (Caitlyn: "this will make the other kids at school incredibly jealous!" Pierce: "oh, Gucci! This should really help my inferiority complex!"). Bradley has succeeded in finding work at a Colonel Sanders-type place (Bradley: "got a new job, big job, doing a little lobbying for the poultry industry!" Sophie: "I heard you was workin' the counter at Bucket O'Clucks!"). He walks in carrying a little sack ("don't touch that, it's Dianne Feinstein's Cajun thighs!"), then gloats at Jordan's expense when they couldn't do without him. During dinner at home, Bill and Margaret share kind thoughts about working together, which leaves Margaret getting the distinct impression that she's being fired (Bill: "no, darling, you're quitting!"). It all concludes with Charlotte bringing in the tequila, and the series comes to an abrupt end. It's true that Democrats hated the show just as Marin County hated the movie "Serial," but it's a wonder that the series was ever made, and every bit as good as any other show that Norman Lear was involved in. Sadly, John Forsythe did mostly voice-over work in later years, while the rest of the exceptional cast has remained quite busy.
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