After her botched appearance on Crossfire, Suzanne is ridiculed by the press, who say that it's hard to tell if the ""flamboyant, zoftig Miss Sugarbaker"" is ""playing Miss Kitty or Miss Ellie from The Beverly Hillbillies."" They also accuse Suzanne of selling her brother's spoon-rests in the White House for a profit, which they refer to as ""Knick-KnackGate."" Natty attacks Suzanne because she publicly ""diminished all women as sexual commodities, slandered homosexuals, insulted blacks, and bragged about being rich. . ."" Suzanne turns in her resignation, but her decision is altered after a heartfelt talk with her daughter and brother who also want to return home. So she goes and speaks on the House Floor, and points out that even though she's different, that's what being an American is all about, resulting in several references to Jimmy Stewart's movie ""Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"". After over-using her time, as she's drug from the podium, she looks out into the crowd and sees Jimmy Stewart

When Sissy is thrown out of her apartment for not paying the rent (and a mattress fire), she moves in with Suzanne. Suzanne jumps at the opportunity to co-write an article with Sissy to boost her image, about the ""interracial bond"" that she and her housekeeper, Sapphire, share. Sissy seems to be in Heaven staying with the caring Sugarbaker clan, who make her stay feel more like home than anywhere she had ever been. But when Ann Gilroy, Sissy's old rival, comes to town, Suzanne tries to make her look good by insisting that the house belongs to Sissy. Though Suzanne was supposed to learn a lesson about writing, Sissy is the one who learns a lesson--about friendship.