Fail Safe (2000 TV Movie)

Richard Dreyfuss: President

Quotes 

• President : Ground zero will be the Empire State Building. When we hear the shriek of Mr. Lentov's telephone melting, we will know that he is gone, and with him, New York.

  Buck : [under his breath]  Holy Mother of God...

  Gordon Knapp : [in the war room]  How can he do that?

  Congressman Raskob : What else can he do? Five million people. This, Mr. Knapp, is where we've always been headed.

• President : Are you married, Buck?

  Buck : No, sir. Not yet. We've gone steady for a while, but we haven't set a date or anything. Is she in the government? State Department. She's a translator like me. Spanish, French and Italian. We met in translator school. When she gets mad she can curse in four languages.

• Soviet Chairman : [on the phone]  We think we do not have much of a chance.

  President : I agree.

  Soviet Chairman : And yet, who can be blamed? Can you blame a machine?

  President : Well, men built those machines, Mr. Chairman.

  Soviet Chairman : Men are not perfect, Mr. President.

  President : Men are responsible for what they do. Men are responsible for what they make. We built those machines, your country and mine. We put them in place. Two *great* cities will be destroyed. Millions of innocent people will die because of us. What do we say to them? "Accidents will happen?" I can't accept that. What do we do, Mr. Chairman? What do we say to the dead?

  Soviet Chairman : We must say this will not happen again.