• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 374 0

disinterested in delving beneath the surface of any issue. In a word, he was malleable, the most important trait from Ziegler’s point of view. Too, there was the Pyle family money to draw upon. Old man Pyle was impressed when Ziegler first broached the subject with him of his son seeking higher office, perhaps reaching for something as lofty as president. While he had always been disdainful of the way Joe Kennedy had used his wealth and power to help his sons achieve high political office, his view of that family had more to do with Kennedy politics than the process. This was different. Ziegler espoused a political viewpoint that matched that of the elder Pyle, and he eagerly signed on to the packaging and nurturing of his son, Burton Pyle, who sometimes seemed bewildered by it but who happily went along.

It worked. Through Ziegler’s careful attention to every detail, every speech, every position paper, every aspect of fundraising, he built an organization that propelled his “specimen” to the pinnacle of politics in America, the presidency of the United States.

That the first Pyle administration had botched things at almost every turn meant little to Ziegler as the drive for a second term commenced. The administration’s failures weren’t the issue, not as long as you had a candidate like Robert Colgate, whose politics were anathema to Ziegler, and whose personal life was ripe for picking, for slandering, for raising doubts about the sort of moral leadership, or lack of it, he would bring to the highest office in the land. Keeping the ineffectual Pyle in the White House for a second term had become an obsession for the obsessive Ziegler.

His surrogates had leaked reports by “knowledgeable sources within the Colgate campaign” that Colgate and his wife were close to splitting. These same “knowledgeable sources” reported late-night screaming matches between the couple, thrown objects, vile language. No matter how much Colgate denied the rumors, they had legs. One columnist, on Ziegler’s payroll, went so far as to say that a Colgate presidency would turn 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue into a house of ill-repute.

Accusations by women from Colgate’s days as governor of Maryland only fanned the flames. There were times when Deborah considered giving credence to the rumors by bailing out of both the campaign and the marriage. But to give in to personal considerations at this juncture would derail the other dimension of her partnership with Bob Colgate. She’d been as seduced by the lure of political power as he’d been, from the earliest days of their courtship and then marriage and throughout the rigors of elected office. You didn’t just walk away from being within months of occupying the White House, the wife of the most powerful leader in the world.

The flight was uneventful, as most flights are, aside from a fellow passenger wanting to engage her in conversation. He was gently, but firmly, dissuaded by the agents. At times like this, the decision to fly commercially was brought into question. She would have been justified in using one of the campaign’s two leased 737s. After all, her trip to San Francisco was to address a woman’s fundraising dinner, which she’d done successfully—the event raised three-quarters of a million dollars, not bad for a night’s work. But it had been decided that making judicious use of commercial flights would add a needed common touch to the campaign, the future first lady rubbing elbows with the masses. Of course, “the masses” sat in the rear of the aircraft, their knees crushed by the seatbacks in front of them, their so-called snack lunch barely edible.

As they began their descent, the flight attendant leaned across the vacant seat and said, “I probably shouldn’t be saying this, Mrs. Colgate, but you will be the prettiest first lady ever.”

Deborah smiled and extended her hand. “Thank you so much. That’s very kind of you.”

The flight attendant beamed. “Not only that,” she said, “I’m rooting for your husband.” She lowered her voice and leaned closer. “I don’t think President Pyle has been a very good