- Leslie: I'm very angry. I'm angry that Bobby Newport would hold this town hostage and threaten to leave if you don't give him what he wants. It's despicable. Corporations are not allowed to dictate what a city needs. That power belongs to the people. Bobby Newport and his daddy would like you to think it belongs to them. I love this town, and when you love something you don't threaten it. You don't punish it. You fight for it, you take care of it, you put it first. As your City Councilor, I'll make sure that no one takes advantage of Pawnee. If I seem too passionate, it's because I care. If I come on strong, it's because I feel strongly, and if I push too hard, it's because things aren't moving fast enough. This is my home, you are my family, and I promise you, I'm not going anywhere.
It is time for the City Council candidates to debate. Leslie's team has their assignments: Ann, Tom, and Chris, the "spin team", will address questions from the press, while April and Andy will have several of Leslie's donors at their house to watch the debate.
The debate begins, and the crowd – and moderators Perd Hapley and Joan Callamezzo – are in favor of Bobby (the debate is sponsored by his father's company), with Bobby acting innocent, naive, but good-intentioned. When Leslie tries to point out Bobby's lack of experience, Joan warns Leslie to back off and stop bullying him. Moreover, the fact that local porn star and competing candidate Brandi Maxxx agrees with all of Leslie's statements makes Leslie seem unremarkable, while the other two candidates, local gun shop owner Fester Trim and animal rights activist Manrico Della Rosa, are just absurd.
At April and Andy's house, the guests are gathered in front of the television, but the cable is out because April and Andy didn't pay the bill. Andy entertains the donors by acting out scenes from his favorite movies, while Ron climbs a telephone pole to illegally obtain cable for the house.
Ann and Chris make a good spin team, and Tom, with whom Ann recently broke up, is jealous at seeing their rapport. When Chris tells Ann that he wants to give their relationship another chance, this further upsets Tom, resulting in him lashing out at the reporters.
Bobby's broad and unoffensive prepared answers continues to generate applause, but Leslie slowly wins more support from the crowd with her knowledge of the issues affecting the people. Jennifer reveals Bobby has a secret weapon: he soon announces that if Leslie is elected, his father will move the Sweetums factory to Mexico, therefore eliminating Pawnee's biggest employer. Bobby wins the full support of the crowd, sending Ben into a panic. Leslie convinces Ben to let her improvise her closing statements, insisting she can win the debate.
Ron finally gets the cable working, just in time for the donors to see the candidates' closing remarks. In her closing remarks, Leslie reprimands Bobby for holding Pawnee hostage for votes in a stirring speech that wins over the crowd, the moderators, and even Bobby himself.
Ann considers Chris' offer to give things another shot, but ultimately decides to remain single, which saddens Chris but makes Tom upbeat, believing he can eventually win her back. Leslie and Ben celebrate their victory, and a jubilant Bobby, who is happy that the debate is over, invites them to his lake house for a party.
Tropes
- Animal Wrongs Group: Manrico Della Rosa.Della Rosa: And anyone who even rubs their hands on a leather jacket should be tried for murder.
- Comically Missing the Point: Bobby doesn't seem to quite understand that this is a competition, and congratulates Leslie on her speech.
- Friendly Enemy: Despite competing with her in the election, Bobby invites Leslie to his debate after-party.
- Gun Nut: One of Leslie's competitors, Fester Trim, is the owner of a local gun shop and his whole platform is about guns.
- Indy Ploy: Leslie's closing statement.
- Preppy Name: Subverted — the best rich people names Andy can think of on the fly are "Dottie, Tom, and Rick". Ben is a little confused.
- Running Gag: Andy destroys the television after the cable has been fixed.
- Shout-Out: While the cable is out Andy entertains the guests by doing exciting recaps of his favorite movies, including Point Break (1991) and Road House (1989). The guests are quite entertained, especially Donna.
- Tender Tears: Donna sheds these while Andy is recapping Babe.
- Tranquil Fury: Leslie's closing statement expresses anger at how the Newports are threatening to pull the Sweetums factory out of Pawnee, costing hundreds of people their jobs, if Bobby doesn't win the election.
- Upper-Class Twit: Being about as serious about Leslie's fundraiser dinner as anything else, April and Andy affect posh New England accents in front of Leslie's campaign contributors.
