Continuity mistake: When Sydney is at her sister's apartment and they are talking, the paper goes back and forth from being pressed and vertical to distorted and wrinkled. (00:26:05)
Revealing mistake: In the opening scenes, when the President is walking with Rothschild and his other aides, he leaves the building to walk to the West Wing. In this early morning shot, one would expect the sun to be the only light, but each actor has numerous shadows. (00:03:40)
Continuity mistake: In the first scene where President Andrew Shepherd encounters his daughter practising the trombone in her room, he talks to her about a parent-teacher conference and hands her a book. In the shot where he hands her the book, it is right side up for the girl to open easily. In the shot where she receives the book, she has to turn it around to open it. (00:10:45)
Continuity mistake: When the President is asking Sydney for a date over the phone, in the first two shots the phone cord is under the President's arm and in the last shot, the phone cord is over his arm. (00:28:30)
Continuity mistake: The morning after the President and Sydney have spent the night together for the first time, while Sydney is getting dressed to leave, the collar of her turtleneck sits flat in the front (around her neck), but in the next shot the same collar is dog-eared in front, then goes back to sitting flat. (01:06:40)
Continuity mistake: The president has just given his daughter his old textbook and is asking her to read the first page. Lucy's trombone is either resting on her left shoulder in shots from her side, or on her arm in shots from the front. (00:11:40)
Continuity mistake: On the morning the film begins, the president is sporting a red tie. The way it is tied changes, most noticeably during his discussion about the Crime Bill.
Continuity mistake: When Lewis is on the phone with Congressman Jarrett, the phone Lewis is holding jumps back and forth from his left hand in the wide shots to his right hand in the close-ups. (01:27:15)
Answer: Sydney mouths the words to the note and laughs, but she doesn't say the words outloud.
ChiChi