David Palmer on Day 1

This is a description of David Palmer's actions on Day 1.

The story about Keith


Palmer sat in his hotel room after midnight with his staff, working on his speech for the next day. Martin Belkin, a photographer on a flight to Los Angeles called Patty Brooks who was working with Palmer to confirm their breakfast the next morning. Soon after, reporter Maureen Kingsley called him up for a statement on her discovery of evidence suggesting that Keith had murdered Lyle Gibson, Nicole's rapist seven years ago. Palmer warned her against airing the allegations and ended the conversation, then choosing not to discuss the phone call with Sherry. He approached her later and apologised for not involving her but still did not tell her what Kingsley said. She left for bed and Palmer left a message for Carl Webb in order to get him to look into the allegation. He noticed a news report on the crash of Flight 221, and commented that it was horrible.



Keith and Nicole got back from a rally at about 1:45am and Nicole headed off to bed. As Keith began to talk about how wonderful the rally was, Carl called Palmer back and they arranged to meet right away. He snuck out of the hotel without letting anyone know, and drove towards the meeting place; unaware that Secret Service agent Aaron Pierce and a team of agents had just arrived at the hotel to add an extra layer of security to him due to the upcoming attempt on his life. Palmer met with Carl Webb and explained the situation that arose due to Kingsley, and Webb agreed to find out the source for Palmer. Palmer arrived back at the suite and was briefed on the threat and situation by Pierce. Keith entered and spoke to Palmer, sharing a concern for his father's life, but Palmer brushed it off, saying that the Secret Service could take good care of him. Carl called back soon after with the name of the source of the rumor: George Ferragamo. Palmer recognises the name as Keith's former therapist. Palmer decided to tell Sherry about the situation, and she agreed to help stop Maureen Kingsley.

Palmer planned to tell Nicole about Kinglsey so she would be prepared if any press hassled her, but Sherry talked him out of it by saying that Carl could deal with it. At 3:20am Palmer called Maureen Kingsley and arranged to meet in ten minutes. They meet, and Palmer questions why she is doing this when they have been friends for so long. She explains her two sources: Ferragamo, and a hospital sheet for a boy with cuts and scratches, similar to those seen by Lyle Gibson, filed one hour after Gibson's death. Whilst the name was different, the handwriting matched Keith's. Soon after Palmer confronted Keith, who was asleep, as to what happened on that night. He refused to answer what happened, saying Palmer did not have the right to ask. Angered, Palmer lunged at Keith, then, realising what he was going, fell back and left the room.

Around ten minutes later Palmer called Carl and asked him to come to the hotel, where he confronted him about the night Nicole was raped. Carl told him the truth: Keith went to him after being involved in Gibson's death and, understanding that he was killed due to self defence, helped to cover it up to protect Palmer's career. Palmer was angered that Carl decided to do that, seeing as it was not his decision to make. Palmer told Carl to leave, and as he did Carl told him that Sherry was also involved in the cover-up. Palmer then confronted Sherry, who admitted to knowing abou the cover-up, and said she did it for his career. Palmer said that there was no way of stopping the story coming out, and Sherry retorted that that would result in Keith being sent to jail, and asked if he was prepared to handle that. Palmer merely left the room.

Palmer went to see his Chief of Staff Mike Novick who told him that, despite the mishaps, he could still win the race, being one of the most important Presidential candidates in a long time. He advised Palmer to come out with the story before Kingsley could; making the first thing at the breakfast the fact that he did not know about the cover-up. Palmer went to Keith, who was on a morning run with a trainer, and told him about Novick's plan, and asked him to come to the breakfast with him and Sherry so he can stand by him as his father. Keith rebuked him for always putting his career ahead of his family, then expecting Keith to help him, and he ran off with his trainer, despite Palmer's shouts. Palmer then went and spoke to Nicole about the situation, who had already been informed of what was happening by Sherry. She agreed to go to the breakfast and Palmer told her that she did not have to answer any questions she did not want to.

The breakfast


At 6:43am Palmer finished dressing for the breakfast. On the radio, a reporter said that the polls would be opening soon. Sherry approached him and said that he looked handsome. He did not comment back on the remark, and asked where Keith was. Sherry said he was still in his room. She then tried to pursuade Palmer to not come out with the story by revealing somethin from Maureen Kingsley's past that she did not want brought out. Palmer infered that she had been talking to Carl, and she replied that he had left her no choice. At 7:02am Palmer preared to go down to the breakfast. Keith arrived, now agreeing to go to the breakfast. However, he informed his father that Nicole had changed her mind and was picking some friends up from the airport. Keith angrily told his father that there was no way he would get out of going to prison, but Palmer told him to have a little faith in the system.



At 7:20am he arrived at the Santa Clarita Power Plant, the location of the breakfast. As he walked through the procession of applause he exchanged his first look with Jack Bauer, a later friend, who had been sent there by Ira Gaines to assassinate Palmer. He also met the Jonathan Matijevich, the man posing as the photographer Martin Belkin. Aaron Pierce informed Palmer that he had recieved word that Jack was a possible threat from CTU, and advised him to leave. Palmer said that he needed to say the speech as there was something important he needed to say. Pierce agreed, and told all other Secret Service agents that Jack Bauer needed to be found and apprehended. Soon after it was discovered that Matijevich was going to try to shoot Palmer, but Jack was the one who was apprehended. Palmer was rushed out of the room before he could finish his speech and inform everyone of what Keith had done.

He arrived back at the campaign headquarters and was informed that Keith had left and not said where he wad. Sherry advised Palmer to tell Secret Service, which he did. Sherry then said that Palmer should try to call Maureen Kingsley to tell her to sit on the story, but Palmer said there was no point. Keith returned safely, saying that he just went for a walk. Palmer told him he had his best lawyers working to stop Keith from going to jail. Soon after, Mike Novick approached Palmer and told him that Kingsley had called him and said she would not air the story on that day. Palmer was not as happy as Novick, wanting to know Kinglsey's motives for not airing the story. Sherry questioned why he would not just leave it, and Palmer became suspicious of her.

George Ferragamo


Palmer then went to Grant Street Elementary School to make a public appearance. He arrived just after 9:00am. In the limo, Sherry argued that they should leave the fact that Kingsley was not releasing the story alone, but Palmer and Novick argued that they should control when and how the story was released. At the school, Palmer entertained children for over half an hour with stories of his former basketball career. However, one young student turned the questions to Palmer's political career, stating that his father said that there would never be a black President. Palmer responded, "Could you give your daddy a message? Tell him; I understand where he's coming from, but he's wrong. And I'm gonna prove it". The young boy nodded in agreement. Novick approached Palmer said said that Frank Ames, one of his biggest contributors was on the phone, and it was urgent. Palmer reluctantly accepted the call, and Frank told him that he was leaving Palmer as a contributor after being a meeting with Carl Webb regarding George Ferragamo and the murder allogation. He hung up, and Palmer told Novick that he needed to talk to Carl.

Carl phoned a short while later whilst Palmer was talking to the Principle of the school, and he agreed to come down to the school by 11:00am. Palmer spoke to Sherry, asking if she had spoke to Carl since he fired him. She admitted to doing so, saying that Carl agreed to get rid of the evidence against Keith. He walked away and was approached by Mike Novick who told Palmer that he had checked up on Jack Bauer as Palmer had asked him to. He explained that he was a government agent with many gaps in his career. Palmer asked if one of the gaps occured two years ago in the Summer. Novick was surprised Palmer knew of the event, but Palmer said they would get into it later. Carl arrived at the school before 11, and denied saying anything about murdering George Ferragamo, but Palmer said he had not denied the allogation. Palmer said in anger that he could not believe Carl used to work for him, but Carl said they both used to work for "them". Palmer shrugged off the comment and walked away. He called an operator, and asked for the number for Ferragamo. However, he was unable to get through, so left a message.



Palmer left the school just after 11am, and in the car with Novick he explained his conversation with Carl. He also said that he had tried to call Ferragamo, and Mike rebuked him for making an unwise move. Soon, Ferragamo called back and Palmer tried to warn him of the threat Carl posed, but he twised Palmer's words and hung up. Palmer decided to go and see Ferragamo, but when they arrived they found the building burnt down, an apparent gas pipe explosion. Palmer said it was arson, and angrily went back to his car. He told Novick he wanted to call Kingsley, explain what happened, then talk to the D.A. Novick said he should wait and talk to Sherry, as it would affect her life too.

Back at the Campaign Headquarters, Palmer explained the situation to Sherry. She thought that he should not come out with the story, especially as he had no hard evidence of what happened. Palmer said the police would find evidence, but Sherry said that was unlikely because Carl and his associates would twist the system to their their result. She said he should wait, and when he becomes President he would have to power to deal with people like them.

Palmer went to Maureen Kingsley's hotel room at 12.30pm, demanding to be let in. Eventually she came to the door, and Palmer explained that he wanted her to air the story about Keith. She said that she had left the network, and did want anything to do with the story. Palmer infered that they had threatened her, and offered protection, but she told him to leave.

Palmer went ahead to see the D.A., but Carl Webb was there. He spoke to him, and Carl said in a year he could either be in the White House or visiting Keith in prison for killing Ferragamo. Palmer lunged at Carl, asking if he had put something there to suggest that is what happened. Carl said that he should not talk to the D.A., and walked away. Novick approached and asked what happened. Palmer said to tell the D.A. that he was sorry and had nothing to say.

Back at his headquarters, Palmer asked if any prelimary projections had come through yet, but staffer Elizabeth Nash said it would be a few hours yet. Palmer said he wanted to know as soon as possible if the incident at the breakfast hurt the campaign. He then went and spoke to Sherry, explaining that Carl blackmailed him with threats of Keith being responsible for Ferragamo's death. Sherry said it was preposterious, but Palmer said that there was nothing they could do beause the people responsible were determined to see him in the White House.

Keith heard Palmer mention something about Dr. Ferragamo, and Palmer decided to tell him of his death. Keith worked out that something suspicious had happened to Ferragamo, and asked what they were going to do. Palmer said they would do nothing for now, and Keith accused him of covering something up. Palmer retorted that there was nothing to cover up, but Keith said that someone did not want Ferragamo to talk as it would hurt Palmer's campaign, and stormed off. Palmer told him that he was doing what was best for Keith, and Keith demanded that they should go to the police because Ferragamo meant something to him, and helped him through a hard time. Palmer replied that he would investigate, and if there was foul play he would go to the police.

Soon after Palmer approached Sherry and Keith who were having a heated discussion and told them to pack their things as they were being moved to Nevada; the threat level had been raised and someone else was planning to get Palmer. He said after talking with Mike, they had agreed that Secret Service would not have stipulated the move unless absoutely necessary. Sherry and Keith agreed, and they all proceeded to pack up their things.

Operation Nightfall
In the limo ride to the airport, Novick told Palmer that he had just spoken to the Pentagon about Jack Bauer. He told Palmer that he used to be in Special Forces and led a team of six men into Kosovo two years ago. Palmer sighed in rememberance; "That's what it was - the Drazen mission". Palmer infered out that Jack was blaming him for the loss of his team after Nightfall, as he was the only one who survived the mission. Palmer decided to go to CTU to talk to Jack Bauer himself, and at 1:59pm he arrived and told Tony Almeida to take him to Jack.

Palmer waited impatiently at CTU, being stalled by Tony. Palmer called a man named Alan Optican, and asked for the clearance that Ryan Chappelle was saying that he needed. Alan agreed to gain the clearance, and Palmer said that he owed him one. Soon Chappelle came into the room himself and apologized for the wait. As he did so Opticon called and told him that Palmer should be given anything he wanted, and Chappelle told Tony to bring Jack to the room. Palmer said that he wanted all recording equiptment turned off in the room as he planned to have a private conversation.

Jack arrived in the room and was shocked to see Palmer there. He accused Jack of holding Palmer responsible for the death of his men in Kosovo during Operation Nightfall, but Jack said that was not true, and he was stopping the people who wanted Palmer dead, but they tried to manipulate him by kidnapping his family. Palmer was shocked to hear this news, and Jack inferred that no-one had told him about the kidnapping when he arrived.

Jack and Palmer worked out their connection to Robert Ellis who engineered the mission to take out Victor Drazen because of war crimes. They decided to call him, realising that he would be at risk as well if someone had managed to connect the two of them. In New Orleans, Ellis was shocked to hear David Palmer's voice on the phone, and even more shocked to hear Jack Bauer was there with him. They explained the situation, and after eliminating anyone from CTU being involved in the assassination attempt Ellis summerized that it must be someone from Victor Drazen's group. He said he would find the secure files on Nightfall, and would call them back soon.

When Ellis did call them back, he brought up a list of names and tried to see which ones Palmer and Jack recognized. After doing this they called in Milo Pressman who gave his login I.D. and password so that Ellis could send the files for Palmer and Jack to look over. Whilst they worked, Palmer mused on the fact that none of what was happening was to do with his running for President or being black, just because of his involvement in Nightfall. Palmer then confided in Jack that he felt bad about not being there for Keith, especially after he had always been there for him. He then asked if Jack's family was alright, but he said that he did not know, and that he hoped so.

Milo came in with a series of documents about Nightfall from Ellis, and Jack and Palmer scanned over them. He said that a document was missing from the file, and Ellis was looking into it. As they read through the pages, they saw that Drazen's wife and daughter were in the explosion that killed Drazen as well. They deduced that whoever was carrying out the attacks wanted to directly affect Jack by killing his wife and daughter. Palmer called for Chappelle to come in and told him to add extra security to the safe house that Teri and Kim were staying in.

Palmer recieved a call from Mike Novick and told Jack that he had to leave. Palmer managed to talk Chappelle into giving Jack provisional status as Special Agent in Charge of CTU Los Angeles for the rest of the day. As Palmer was leaving, he apologized to Jack for misjudging him, and they shook hands.

The tape of Carl Webb
Palmer arrived back at the Campaign Headquarters just as Aaron Pierce was giving a talk about the suspected shooters. When the image of Alexis Drazen appeared in the screen, Elizabeth Nash was physically distraught and left the area. Palmer went after her, asking what was wrong. After she explained that she was in an initmate relationship with Alexis, Palmer called Jack and explained the situation. Jack said he would send over a chopper so she could be questioned at CTU. Palmer asked about Ellis, and Jack said that he had lost contact with him, and they should assume he was dead. They hung up.

Palmer arrived in Alexis' hotel room whilst Elizabeth was being prepped for her operation to place a tracker on Alexis and said to Jack Bauer that it was not fair for Jack to put someone at risk because there was a threat against him. Jack explained that she was not at risk, and Palmer accused him of letting a sense of revenge cloud his judgement. Palmer told Jack that if anything happened to Elizabeth, he would hold Jack personally responsible. When Elizabeth stabbed Alexis later on, Palmer stormed into the room, angered by Jack's handling of the situation. He told Jack that Elizabeth could not be held responsible for her actions, but Jack said that they had a video tape of her stabbing Alexis that suggested otherwise. Palmer left in an outrage. Later, Palmer called Jack with information about an address that was in Drazen's file that did not relate to the rest of the information. Jack recognised the city, Saugus, and thanked the Senator.

Keith entered Palmer's room, who was on the phone. He hung up and explained what was going on to Keith. Keith said that everything was okay between the two of them, but when Palmer could not explain the staff security breach Keith became angered, explaining that he needed his father now, and stormed out. Keith came in to see Palmer later on, and showed him a taped coversation he had with Carl Webb that proved he had tried to frame Keith for the murder of George Ferragamo. Palmer took the tape from Keith, who told him to give it to the police.

He showed the tape to Sherry and Novick, who both agreed that Palmer should not show the tape to anyone, as he should focus on winning the primaries. Sherry told him to destroy the tape, saying that it would destroy the Democratic Party's name. Novick said he should keep the tape and use it against Carl and his associates to stop them from controlling him when he gets to the White House.

Whilst Palmer stood outside contemplating the situation, Keith approached him, saying that Patty told him Palmer wanted to speak to him. Palmer said that, if they went to the press with the story, information about Keith's part in Lyle Gibson's death would come out, and the attention would be shifted to him. Palmer asked if Keith could handle the press attention, television coverage and media field day that would occur if the evidence was released. Keith said he had been living with it for the last seven years, always regretting not coming forward with the story. Palmer said it was okay to be scared, and agreed to help him through the tough time. Keith said that he regretted what he said the night before about Palmer not being there for him. Palmer said there was some truth to what he had said, but the thing that mattered was that he was there for Keith now.

Palmer gave the tape to Patty, who put it in a safe for him whilst he went down to a conference room with Mike Novick to meet with a publicist for later that night. Palmer arrived back soon after, and entered the safe. Sherry was in the room, and he told her to speak to Keith as they were putting him in a tough position. He opened the safe and found that the tape was gone. He turned to Sherry, who admitted to destroying the tape, saying that it was for the best. "It breaks my heart that I was right," responded Palmer who showed Sherry that he had given her a decoy tape, revealing the real tape from his pocket. Palmer stormed out of the room and told Novick that he wanted a press conference within the hour, wanting nothing to interfere with what he had to say. Palmer later gave the tape to one of his staffers, telling them to "take care of that".

At 6:15pm, The Palmers sat down for dinner. They got into an argument about each of their actions over their situation until Nicole had a panic attack. The argument broke up and Palmer took Nicole and layed her down on a sofa. She apologized to him, saying that it was all her fault, but he assured her that it was not. After making sure Nicole was alright, Palmer went down to talk at his press conference. He began to speak about Carl Webb and his fellow buisnessmen who backed his campaign, and how they had led to a series of events that involved Keith and Nicole.

Palmer finally finished the press conference to a flurry of questions, all of which he left unanswered. As he came out of the conference he saw Keith waiting for him, who told Palmer that he loved him. Palmer replied in kind, and they walked away together. They arrived back at the hotel room. Nicole embraced Palmer, and Sherry merely walked away.

At 7:08pm he arrived in his bedroom and found Nicole there. She said that she thought things would be better now the secret was out. Sherry entered the room and Palmer asked Nicole for a moment alone with her. As Nicole left, Sherry rebuked him for "giving his concession speech", referring to the press conference. She told him that she hoped his conscience would comfort him when he realized everything was over. Palmer asked, "You mean the campaign, or us?" Sherry simply left the room. Soon after Mike Novick came into his room, and turned on the television, where a CNB news broadcast showed that votes for Palmer was not decreasing in most areas of the country, and were even increasing in some areas.

Victory in California
Palmer recieved a call from Jack, who informed him that he was at a detention facility where a prisoner was being held that he needed to speak to. Palmer agreed to try to get him access. Soon after, a party was lauched to celebrate the latest polls, but Palmer did not attend, choosing to stay in his room. Sherry came to see him, asking what was wrong. Palmer said that he could never trust her again after what happened with Keith and Nicole, but she said that there was no way he would ever leave her, and come January, she would be standing by his side when he was sworn into office. She left the room, and soon Palmer joined the celebrating crowds.

Palmer turned on CNB and watched their America's Choice broadcast, which said that Palmer had officially won the Californian vote. As he celebrated, he was approached by Mike Novick who told him that FOX News had just done an instant poll in which 83% of votes approved of the way he handled the George Ferragamo situation. Palmer was pleased, and made a speech to everyone in the room, thanking them for their continued support, and said that he would give a speech later on in the night to the country. During the celebrations, Palmer found that his assistant Patty Brooks was not present. He found her making corrections to his speech, and after he helped her finish off, she told him that she admired him, and the country would be better off with him leading it. By 8:40pm, Palmer was relaxing and watching the news. Patty came in with his speech revisions, of which he approved. She felt sorrow that his day had been tainted, but he said that it was Keith and Nicole who suffered. She said that Palmer worried too much about others; who was left to take care of him? He told her that everyone did, but she replied that writing speeches was not taking care of someone. She saw that he had some tension in his shoulders, and began to massage them. Palmer realized what was happening and stopped Patty, saying that he could not get too comfortable. She awkwardly left the room to prepare a briefing with Mike Novick, and he smiled as she went.

As Palmer prepared to go and make his speech, Mike assured him that everything would be alright. Palmer reminded him about the sitauation with Sherry, to which Novick responded that if his marriage did not work, it would not matter once he was in the White House. He saw Patty, and thanked her for all her help over the day. She congratulated him, and he went to give his press conference, in which he thanked his supporters for their help, and said that it was their victory, as well as his, making several glances in the direction of Patty throughout the speech.

As he was talking to guests, he recieved a call from Nina Myers at CTU, informing him that Jack had been captured by Victor Drazen, who was alive despite the actions of Operation Nightfall. He agreed to contact George Mason after a few calls he had to make to try to make the trade, Jack for Alexis Drazen, go ahead. At 9:25pm Palmer called Mason and told him to go ahead with the trade. Mason said that he did not have the authority to do so, and Palmer said that he should go ahead with the trade, because if he did so Palmer would promote him to a high position in his administration when he became President. Palmer finished making calls and, putting on a smile, went back to the party. Sherry rebuked him for leaving the party, but he brushed off her concerns and walked away. He went to see Patty, who told him that she had begun to write notes on possible questions he could be asked about Keith. They agreed to meet up in five minutes to go through them. Whilst talking over the questions, the two appeared to flirt. They decided to go back down to the party, as more face time would help the campaign.

On this day, David won all eleven states involved in Super Tuesday, including California, Ohio, and New York. This was part of the Califonia Presidential Primary.