King of the Mountain:
Part 14


Lynn Jepsen


Carol and Diana are in the middle of a conference call with CJ and Toby
when Margaret and I descend on the state offices. I have a whole new
appreciation for the weather out here after twelve days in New Hampshire.
I'm never moving to New England. Blizzards and igloos just don't have
that appeal I'm looking for - it's ranking right up their with Alaska on
my list of least favorite states.

Margaret bustles off, and I know she's got a list. She and Josh started
working on it after the debate. I'm a little frightened by it because
they failed to mention its exact contents to me - I have an inkling
though. That will be the list of Sam-watch 2010 guidelines. Josh is
convinced Sam's either going to morph into the professional,
well-educated, politically courageous, idealist that he usually is....
either that or he's going to follow the trend of the last ten months and
have a nervous breakdown on national television. There's a pool. There's
a pool on when Sam falls apart. I put in my ten bucks. Now, I'm just
hoping to win. After all, once they're done passing the plate, the pool's
going to be huge.

"Lisa!" Damn. I was just thinking I could escape too. "Are we completely
dedicated or dedicated completely?" This is one of those things I'm going
to regret getting involved in, isn't it? Someone want to tell me what
we're dedicated to? "Middle income tax cuts in the FY 2011 budget."
Excuse me? Not only are we not dedicated to that in any way, shape, or
form, but I'm pretty sure we put out a statement last month threatening
to veto all tax cuts in favor of education reform. "I know, but Leigh
thought it would send out a message to conservative voters." We are not
advocating tax cuts. Leigh can jump off a bridge for all I care.

"Ma'am, please." No. If you want outside help on the State of the State,
call Toby, call CJ, hell, get Josh and Leo on the phone, but can we at
least not act like hypocrites over the tax proposals? Diana stares at her
laptop for a long moment, and I'm starting to wonder what's really going
on with her. "Mrs. Seaborn, am I really a horrid speechwriter?" No,
absolutely not. Why? No, wait, let me guess.... Toby? The lines of her
face relax then, and I wonder if Toby's taken to telling blond jokes, or
if this is just the Toby-ish love-hate thing he always has with
speechwriters, particularly talented ones he's forced to work with.

Carol leans across the desk and hits speed dial. Rachel's voice answers
the phone on the other end, and I stick around just long enough to say hi
to Josh and Toby before slipping out of the office. The last thing I see
before the door swings shut behind me is Diana closing her laptop and
pulling out a sheet of paper... with a pencil, you can't forget the
pencil.

"Lisa!" I barely have time to duck before Zoey runs into me. I think I
was just mauled. Next time Sam complains about Brutus, I'm going to sic
Zoey on him. So Ms. Young, how can I help you? "I just wanted to
contribute. Now, granted, Charlie's got all the experience, but I did
work for the CBO." Zoey, the CBO is hell on earth. Everyone once worked
for the CBO. She makes a face at me then, and mutters something about
people cutting me breaks back when I was twenty-eight. "Zoe, wait. I
could use a Chief of Staff or something."

Hey, can you get my Paul on the phone? "Paul's on line with Charlie,
should I get Leigh, or...." No, not that Paul, the other Paul. "There's
another Paul?" My brother Paul. "Have I mentioned I never knew how Mrs.
Landingham could keep tract of people?" You and me both, and just out of
curiosity, do you always keep track of Charlie's phone calls? "I like to
know what's going on." Me too. This is going to be a wonderful
partnership.

*

Just let me make something clear. Sam just shifted into the right gear,
and he's finally trying to get into the proper mindset for the next
eleven months. The only problem with that? We're five days away from the
primary in New Hampshire and the straw poll in Iowa, and we're parked in
California getting ready for the State of the State. It makes sense on an
intellectual level - we've set up the election machinery, we've debated.
With the Bartlet's, in New Hampshire, we won't lose there, and we can't
win in Iowa. Josh is already closing up shop in New Hampshire and sending
people out to start working the next round of primaries. We're in
California. I don't think Sam's doing too well with that.

"You think Toby and CJ are in this for the duration?" Okay, Sam. Out of
all the thing's you have to worry about.... Toby might get to write
whatever he wants for Robert Laurence, but there's not enough posturing,
yelling, and grumbling. Face it, British politics haven't been fun since
the Iron Lady left office, and CJ, I wouldn't worry about her. She's
having more fun here than working on, and I quote, stuffy ad campaigns.
Now, can we not talk about the campaign tonight?

King of the Mountain: Part 15

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