by Paul Cwalina
We talked for a while about the race, about his career, and his plans now that his career was over. As we talked, I felt a wave of shame wash over and cut through me. This man was no Neanderthal, nor was he backward or an extremist or any of the terms I attached to him for political gain. The man sitting before was intellectual, impressive and a genuinely good and decent person. I could only feel ashamed for the things I wrote and said in the heat of the campaign.
“Sir, I must ask you. Why did you make that speech? You are an astute and experienced politician. You must have known what the reaction would be. If I may be so bold, it struck me as suicidal,” I said nervously.
“It was a few days before I received your package…well, your wife’s package. I was huddling with my wife and my campaign director, whom I’ve known since our college days. We were poring over the numbers. We saw the same thing your team must have seen. It was North Carolina, Ohio and New Jersey, and we had to win all three. After a marathon session of calling donors, whom we had already tapped for so much, the writing was on the wall. We simply didn’t have the resources to run three races. Then when you guys bought up all of North Carolina and drove up the price for even the worst media, we knew it was over. We sliced the numbers a million ways. It just wasn’t going to happen and we had to accept it. Obviously, we kept it from the campaign staff and I put my all into the rest of the campaign, but the three of us knew we were headed for defeat.
“Then I got your package and read it. I knew right away that I had to give the speech. Son, that speech was the speech I have longed to give ever since I got into politics. It was exactly what I’ve always wanted to say, but obviously couldn’t while I was in office, and I also got to deliver the gospel message to eighty million people. Even Billy Graham didn’t do that in one night. I can’t thank you enough for allowing me to use it. Well, I guess I should really thank your wife. I would enjoy the opportunity to meet her someday. She seems like quite a woman.”
“She certainly is and I am well aware, now, of how lucky I am.”
We talked politics and economics some more, then parted company around one-forty-five. I was home by seven o’clock that night.
I was changing the month on the wall calendar from November to December when I received a call from Greg. He was upbeat and settling into his role as future deputy chief of staff. “Well,” he said, “This is the official phone call, the one you’ve been waiting for, I’m sure.”
“Perhaps,“ I said coyly.
“President-elect Roman would like to officially offer you the position of White House Director of Communications. The salary is $172,000,” he said somewhat matter-of-factly. As I let that sink in, I thought about the late night sessions, the calls at all hours and the unimaginable stress to which I’d be subjecting myself. Then I thought of the potential number of times I’d be needed to cover up one of Rick’s trysts or make excuses for Vicki’s alcoholism. It occurred to me that I’d be spending a lot of time sitting on pins and needles waiting for the next crisis. Then I thought about writing speeches that I just didn’t believe anymore.
I watched Jennifer as she was holding Adam and rubbing noses with him. I was holding Eve on my knee when she looked at me and suddenly smiled, which she rarely had done up to that point. I took a deep breath and exhaled. “Greg, I cannot thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me, not just this past year, but throughout my term as mayor. You need to know that you mean a lot to me. That being said, please tell the president-elect that I appreciate the offer, but I’m going to pass. I have more important things that I need to do.”
“Like what?” he said incredulously.
“I have no idea. All I know is that whatever it is, it starts right here with my family.”
THE END
Please see next page
I sincerely hope you enjoyed the book. I would love to hear your thoughts about it through a review on amazon.com.
Also, I love connecting with my readers on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paul-Cwalina-Author/595776780544985?ref=hl
and on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PKC1963.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for taking the time to read ‘Kingmaker’.
Sincerely,
Paul K. Cwalina, Author