Murder Inside the Beltway - Margaret Truman [124]
“Do you think being a separated and soon-to-be-divorced man will hurt your chances to win in November?”
“It didn’t hurt Ronald Reagan,” he responded. “He was the first divorced man to win the presidency, and I intend to be the second.”
Questions about the tape on which he was captured with a prostitute were nimbly skirted and quickly turned to what he intended to say about his policies versus those of his opponent. “I’m a human being,” he said, “one who had a momentary human weakness. But what’s important to the American people is that they have a president who understands their concerns and needs, a president who…”
Pyle’s surrogates wasted no time, of course, in jumping on the bandwagon and piling it on. They made the rounds of talk shows, denouncing Colgate for being a brazen philanderer and law-breaker. “Is this the sort of man the American people want to lead them through these perilous times?” they asked, always adding, “Our hearts go out to the family of Governor Colgate at a time like this.”
Conservative spiritual leaders were also quick to chime in from their pulpits, delivering fiery sermons bemoaning the lack of moral values in the nation and calling for a cleansing of America’s soul.
Naturally, the fact that the woman in the tape, an acknowledged prostitute, had been murdered came up tangentially, but no one attempted to create a direct link between Colgate and the crime except for a rabid publisher of a right-wing newspaper, who demanded that the Washington MPD conduct a thorough investigation. “We’ve had a variety of scoundrels in the White House,” he editorialized, “but having a murderer place his hand on the Holy Bible and swear to uphold the Constitution would be a first, as well as a travesty.”
Many Americans followed the tale of the tape, but eventually even those with the most prurient interests tired of seeing it and returned to their less real reality shows.
Although overt harassment at MPD of Jackson and Hall had abated by October, he announced to her that he was resigning from MPD to return to pursue an advanced degree at the University of Chicago. She tried to dissuade him but knew his mind was made up.
“I don’t think I was ever cut out to be a cop,” he said.
“I think you were a great cop,” she said. “I’ll miss you.”
“I’d like you to meet my folks,” he said. “You’d like them.”
“I’m sure I will. Just say the word and I’ll be there.”
As Election Day approached, polls showed that Colgate trailed Pyle. Although the tape’s importance had faded, Pyle’s people worked hard to keep it front-and-center, and succeeded to some extent with sympathetic bloggers and talk show hosts. Jerry Rollins continued to advise the Colgate campaign but found his importance waning as the days went by. His role abruptly ended on a rainy Sunday afternoon when the Porsche he was driving slammed into a bridge abutment. Police estimated he was traveling at close to 100 miles an hour. His obituary was long and glowing, a fitting tribute to one of Washington’s most influential power brokers. Although the insurance company that had written his multi-million dollar life insurance policy initially questioned whether it was an accident or a deliberate crash, they eventually, albeit reluctantly, paid up.
Mae Hatcher sold the house in which she and her husband, Walter, had spent so many years together and in which they brought up their children. While cleaning out the garage in preparation for the move to Florida, she discovered $250,000 in cash hidden behind old tires, oil cans, and other paraphernalia. There was a moment when she considered reporting it to someone, but quickly scotched that idea. Her husband’s frugality had paid off. He’d always provided for them when he was alive, and had done the same after his death. She said a silent prayer in praise of him right there in the garage, and took the cash on the drive to her new life.
And on the November Wednesday after Election Day, headlines proclaimed:
Colgate Bests Pyle in Squeaker
Challenger Closes Gap in the Final Days
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