“Number one, he asks any question he wants. That means you have to think about the answers.”
“I do try, Arnie,” Ryan observed with a frown.
“Emphasize the fact that you’re a citizen and not a politician. It might not matter to Donner, but it will matter to the people who watch the interview tonight,” van Damm advised. “Expect a hit on the court thing.”
“Who leaked that?” Ryan demanded crossly.
“We’ll never know, and trying to find out only makes you look like Nixon.”
“Why is it that no matter what I do, somebody—damn,” Ryan sighed as Mary Abbot finished with his hair. “I told George Winston that, didn’t I?”
“You’re learning. If you help some little old lady to cross the street, some feminist will say that it was condescending. If you don’t help her, the AARP will say you’re insensitive to the needs of the elderly. Throw in every other interest group there is. They all have agendas, Jack, and those agendas are a lot more important to them than you are. The idea is to offend as few people as possible. That’s different from offending nobody. Trying to do that offends everybody,” the chief of staff explained.
Ryan’s eyes went wide. “I got it! I’ll say something to piss everybody off—and then they’ll all love me.”
Arnie wasn’t buying: “And every joke you tell will piss somebody off. Why? Humor is always cruel to someone, and some people just don’t have a sense of humor to begin with.”
“In other words, there’s people out there who want to get mad at something, and I’m the highest-profile target.”
“You’re learning,” the chief of staff observed with a grim nod. He was worried about this one.
“WE HAVE MARITIME Pre-Positioning Ships at Diego Garcia,” Jackson said, touching the proper point on the map.
“How much is there?” Bretano asked.
“We just reconfigured the TOE—”
“What’s that?” SecDef asked.
“Table of Organization and Equipment.” General Michael Moore was the Army’s chief of staff. He’d commanded a brigade of the First Armored Division in the Persian Gulf War. “The load-out is enough for a little better than a brigade, a full-sized heavy Army brigade, along with all the consumables they need for a month’s combat operations. Added to that, we have some units set in Saudi Arabia. The equipment is almost all new, M1A2 main battle tanks, Bradleys, MLRS. The new artillery tracks will be shipped out in three months. The Saudis,” he added, “have been helping on the funding side. Some of the equipment is technically theirs, supposedly reserve equipment for their army, but we maintain it, and all we have to do is fly our people over to roll it out of the warehouses.”
“Who would go first, if they ask for help?”
“Depends,” Jackson answered. “Probably the first out would be an ACR—Armored Cavalry Regiment. In a real emergency, we’d airlift the personnel from the 10th ACR in the Negev Desert. That can be done in as little as a single day. For exercises, the 3rd ACR out of Texas or the 2nd out of Louisiana.”
“An ACR, Mr. Secretary, is a well-balanced brigade-sized formation. Lots of teeth, but not much tail. It can take care of itself, and people will think twice before taking it on,” Mickey Moore explained, adding, “Before they can deploy for a lengthy stay, however, they need a combat-support battalion—supply and repair troops.”
“We still have a carrier in the Indian Ocean—she’s at Diego now with the rest of the battle group to give the crews some shore leave,” Jackson went on. Which just about covered that atoll with sailors, but it was something. At least they could have a beer or two, and stretch their legs and play softball. “We have an F-16 wing—well, most of one—in the Negev as well, as part of our commitment to Israeli security. That and the 10th Cav are pretty good. Their continuing mission is to train up the IDF, and it keeps them busy.”
“Soldiers love to train, Mr. Secretary. They’d rather do that than anything,” General Moore added.
“I need to get out and see some of this stuff,” Bretano observed. “Soon as I get the budget thing worked out—the start of it, anyway. It sounds thin, gentlemen.”
“It is, sir,” Jackson agreed. “Not enough to fight a war, but probably enough to deter one, if it comes to that.”
“WILL THERE BE another war in the Persian Gulf?” Tom Donner asked.
“I see no reason to expect it,” the President replied. The hard part was controlling his voice. The answer was wary, but his words had to sound positive and reassuring. It was yet another form of lying, though telling the truth might change the equation. That was the nature of “spin,” a game so false and artificial that it became a kind of international reality. Saying what wasn’t true in order to serve the truth. Churchill had said it once: in time of war, truth was so precious as to need a bodyguard of lies. But in peacetime?
“But our relations with Iran and Iraq have not been friendly for some time.”
“The past is the past, Tom. Nobody can change it, but we can learn from it. There is no good reason for animosity between America and the countries in that region. Why should we be enemies?” the President asked rhetorically.
“So will we be talking to the United Islamic Republic?” Donner asked.
“We are always willing to talk to people, especially in the interest of fostering friendly relations. The Persian Gulf is a region of great importance to the entire world. It is in everyone’s interest for that region to remain peaceful and stable. There’s been enough war. Iran and Iraq fought for—what?—eight years, at enormous human cost to both countries. Then all the conflicts between Israel and her neighbors. Enough is enough. Now we have a new nation being born. This new country has much work to do. Its citizens have needs, and fortunately they also have the resources to address those needs. We wish them well. If we can help them, we will. America has always been willing to extend the hand of friendship.”
There was a brief break, which probably denoted a commercial. The interview would run this evening at nine o’clock. Then Donner turned to his senior colleague, John Plumber, who took the next segment.
“So, how do you like being President?”
Ryan tilted his head and smiled. “I keep telling myself that I wasn’t elected, I was sentenced. Honestly? The hours are long, the work is hard, much harder than I ever appreciated, but I’ve been pretty lucky. Arnie van Damm is a genius at organization. The staff here at the White House is just outstanding. I’ve gotten tens of thousands of letters of support from the people outside the Beltway, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them, and to let them know that it really helps.”
“Mr. Ryan” Jack supposed that his Ph.D. didn’t count anymore—“what things are you going to try and change?” Plumber asked.
“John, that depends on what you mean by ‘change.’ My foremost task is to keep the government operating. So, not ‘change,’ but ‘restore,’ is what I’m trying to do. We still don’t really have a Congress yet—not until the House of Representatives is reestablished—and so I cannot submit a budget. I’ve tried to pick good people to take over the major Cabinet departments. Their job is to run those departments efficiently.”
“Your Secretary of the Treasury, George Winston, has been criticized for his rather abrupt desire to change the federal tax code,” Plumber said.
“All I can say is that I support Secretary Winston fully. The tax code is unconscionably complicated, and that is fundamentally unfair. What he wants to do will be revenue-neutral. Actually, that may be overly pessimistic. The net effect will be to enhance government revenues because of administrative savings in other areas.”
“But there has been a lot of adverse comment about the regressive nature—”
Ryan held up his hand. “Wait a minute, John, one of the problems in this town is that the language used by people has been warped. Charging everyone the same is not regressive. That word means a backward step, charging the poor more than the rich. We will not be doing that. When you
use that word in the incorrect way, you’re misleading people.”
“But that’s the way people have described the tax system for years.” Plumber hadn’t had his grammar challenged in years.
“That doesn’t make it right,” Jack pointed out. “In any case, as I keep saying, I am not a politician, John. I only know how to talk straight. Charging everyone the same tax rate fulfills the dictionary’s definition of ‘fair.’ Come on, John, you know how the game is played. You and Tom make a lot of money—far more than I do—and every year your lawyer and accountant go over everything. You probably have investments that are designed to reduce your tax payments, right? How did those loop-holes happen? Easy, lobbyists talked Congress into changing the law a little. Why? Because rich people paid them to do so. So what happens? The supposedly ‘progressive’ system is manipulated in such a way that the increased rates for the rich don’t actually apply, because their lawyers and accountants tell them how to beat the system, and they do beat the system, for a fee. So, the increased rates they pay are a lie, aren’t they? Politicians know all this when they pass the laws.
“You see where all this takes us? Nowhere, John. It takes us nowhere. It’s a great big game, that’s all. Just a game that wastes time, misleads the public, and makes a lot of money for people who work the system—and where does the money come from? The citizens, the people who pay for everything that happens. So George Winston wants to change the system—and we agreed on that—and what happens? The people who play the game and work the system use the same misleading words to make it look as though we’re doing something unfair. These insiders are the most dangerous and pernicious special-interest group there is.”
“And you don’t like that.” John smiled.
“Every job I’ve ever had, stock broker, history teacher, everything else, I’ve had to tell the truth as best I could. I’m not going to stop that now. Maybe some things do need changing, and I’ll tell you what one of them is:
“Every parent in America sooner or later tells every child that politics is a dirty business, a rough business, a nasty business. Your dad told you. My dad told me—and we accept that as though it makes sense, as though it’s normal and right and proper. But it’s not, John. For years we’ve accepted the fact that politics—wait, let’s define terms, shall we? The political system is the way we govern the country, pass the laws we all have to follow, levy taxes. These are important things, aren’t they? But at the same time we accept people into that system whom we would not willingly invite into our homes, whom we would not trust to baby-sit our children. Does this strike you as just a little odd, John?
“We allow people into the political system who routinely distort facts, who twist laws in order to suit patrons who give them campaign money. Some of whom just plain lie. And we accept this. You people in the media do. You would not accept that sort of behavior in your own profession, would you? Or in medicine, or in science, or in business, or in law enforcement.
“There’s something wrong here,” the President went on, leaning forward and talking passionately for the first time. “This is our country we’re talking about, and the standards of behavior we demand of our representatives shouldn’t be lower—they should be higher. We should demand intelligence and integrity. That’s why I’ve been giving speeches around the country. John, I’m a registered independent. I don’t have a party affiliation. I don’t have an agenda except for wanting to make things work for everyone. I swore an oath to do that, and I take my oaths seriously. Well, I’ve learned that this upsets people, and I’m sorry about that, but I will not compromise my beliefs to accommodate every special group with an army of paid lobbyists. I’m here to serve everybody, not just to serve the people who make the most noise and offer the most money.”
Plumber didn’t show his pleasure at the outburst. “Okay, Mr. President, for starters, then, what about civil rights?”
“The Constitution is color-blind as far as I am concerned. Discrimination against people because of how they look, how they sound, what church they go to, or the country their ancestors came from is against the laws of our country. Those laws will be enforced. We are all supposed to be equal in the eyes of the law, whether we obey them or break them. In the latter case, those people will have the Department of Justice to worry about.”
“Isn’t that idealistic?”
“What’s wrong with idealism?” Ryan asked in return. “At the same time, what about a little common sense once in a while? Instead of a lot of people chiseling for advantages for themselves or whatever small group they represent, why can’t we all work together? Aren’t we all Americans before we’re anything else? Why can’t we all try a little harder to work together and find reasonable solutions to problems? This country wasn’t set up to have every group at the throat of every other group.”
“Some would say that’s the way we fight things out to make sure that everyone gets a fair share,” Plumber observed.
“And along the way, we corrupt the political system.”
They had to stop for the crew to change tapes on their cameras. Jack looked longingly at the door to the secretaries’ office, wishing for a smoke. He rubbed his hands together, trying to look relaxed, but though he’d been given the chance to say things he’d wanted to say for years, the opportunity to do so only made him more tense.
“The cameras are off,” Tom Donner said, settling back in his seat a little. “Do you really think you can bring any of this off?”
“If I don’t try, what does that make me?” Jack sighed. “The government’s a mess. We all know that. If nobody tries to fix it, then it’ll just get worse.”
Donner almost felt sympathy for his subject at that point. This Ryan guy’s sincerity was manifest, as though his heart were beating right there on the sleeve of his jacket. But he just didn’t get it. It wasn’t that Ryan was a bad guy. He was just out of his depth, just as everyone else said. Kealty was right, and because he was right, Donner had his job to do.
“Ready,” the producer said.
“The Supreme Court,” Donner said, taking up the questioning from his colleague. “It’s been reported that you are now looking over a list of prospective justices for submission to the Senate.”
“Yes, I am,” Ryan replied.
“What can you tell us about them?”
“I instructed the Justice Department to send me a list of experienced appeals-court judges. That’s been done. I’m looking over the list now.”
“What exactly are you looking for?” Donner asked next.
“I’m looking for good judges. The Supreme Court is our nation’s primary custodian of the Constitution. We need people who understand that responsibility, and who will interpret the laws fairly.”
“Strict-constructionists?”
“Tom, the Constitution says that the Congress makes the law, the Executive Branch enforces the law, and the courts explain the law. That’s called checks and balances.”
“But historically the Supreme Court has been an important force for change in our country,” Donner said.
“And not all of those changes have been good ones. Dred Scott started the Civil War. Plessy v. Ferguson was a disgrace that set our country back seventy years. Please, you need to remember that as far as the law is concerned, I’m a layman—”
“That’s why the American Bar Association routinely goes over judicial appointments. Will you submit your list to the ABA?”
“No.” Ryan shook his head. “First, all of these judges have already passed that hurdle in order to get where they are. Second, the ABA is also an interest group, isn’t it? Fine, they have a right to look out for the interests of their members, but the Supreme Court is the body of government which decides the law for everybody, and the ABA is the organization of people who use the law to make a living. Isn’t it a conflict of interest for the group which makes use of the law to select the people who define the law? It would be in any other field, wouldn’t it?”
“Not ever
yone will see it that way.”
“Yes, and the ABA has a big office here in Washington, and it’s full of lobbyists,” the President agreed. “Tom, my job isn’t to serve the interest groups. My job is to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution to the best of my ability. To help me do that, I’m trying to find people who think the same way I do, that the oath means what it says, without any game-playing under the table.”
Donner turned. “John?”
“You spent many years at the Central Intelligence Agency,” Plumber said.
“Yes, I did,” Jack agreed.
“Doing what?” Plumber asked.
“Mainly I worked in the Directorate of Intelligence, going over information that came in through various means, trying to figure out what it meant, and then passing it on to others. Eventually I headed the Intelligence Directorate, then under President Fowler I became Deputy Director. Then, as you know, I became National Security Advisor to President Durling,” Jack answered, trying to steer the talk forward rather than backward.
“Along the way, did you ever go out into the field?” Plumber asked.
“Well, I advised the arms-control negotiations team, and I went off to a lot of conferences,” the President replied.
“Mr. Ryan, there are reports that you did more than that, that you participated in operations that resulted in the deaths of, well, the deaths of Soviet citizens.”
Jack hesitated for a moment, long enough that he knew the impression he’d be giving to the viewers for this “special.” “John, it’s been a principle of our government for many years that we never comment on intelligence operations. I will not change that principle.”
“The American people have a right and a need to know what sort of man sits in this office,” Plumber insisted.
“This administration will never discuss intelligence operations. As far as what sort of person I am, that’s the purpose of this interview. Our country has to keep some secrets. So do you, John,” Ryan said with a level gaze into the commentator’s eyes. “If you reveal sources, you’re out of business. If America does the same thing, people get hurt.”