board, Michael, I can guarantee that you’ll go a long way in politics.” Stevens paused to give O’Rourke some time to think of the ways the President of the United States could help his career. “What do you say, Michael? Can I count on your vote tomorrow?” There was a long, awkward silence as O’Rourke sat in his office and cursed himself for taking the call. He did not want to get into a debate with the
President right now. So, true to his typical form, he cut straight to the heart of the matter.
“Mr. President, there is very little that I like about your budget. My vote will be no tomorrow, an there is nothing that will change that. I’m sorry to have wasted your time by accepting this call.”
Without waiting for a response, O’Rourke hung up. THE PRESIDENT sat IN
DISBELIEF BEHIND HIS DESK, STARING AT THE phone. He looked over at Garret and asked, “Did he just hang up on me?”
“The guy must be an idiot. He’s definitely not going to be around this town for long.
Don’t let it bother you. I’ll have Koslowski take care of him.” Garret rose and started to walk toward the door. “I’ll be right back. I have to get something from my office. Mark, get him started on the calls to Dreyer and Hampton. Jim, all they want is a verbal guarantee from you that you won’t back their opponents in next year’s election. I’ll be back in five minutes.” Garret walked down the hallway, ignoring all in his path. He entered his office, closed the door, and headed straight for his desk.
Before grabbing the phone, he picked up a pack of Marlboro 100s and shoved one in his mouth. After lighting it, he took two deep drags and filled his lungs. The President wouldn’t allow Garret to smoke in the Oval Office, so he tended to find an excuse about every hour to sneak away to his office. He picked up the handset of his phone and
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punched in the number for the direct line to Jack Koslowski’s office. A gruff voice answered the phone on the other end. “Yeah.”
“Jack, Stu here. How are things going?”
“We’re holding the line. No one is going to break ranks on this one.
All we need is for you boys and Tom to come through.”
“We both know Tom will have Moore delivered to us by noon, but we need some people to jump ship from the other side.”
“Who do you have in mind?”
“For starters I need you to lean on this O’Rourke clown. The President just tried to give him the soft shoe and it went over like a lead balloon. Stevens gave him a five—
minute speech and then O’Rourke hung up on him.”
“You’re shitting me. He hung up on Stevens?” Koslowski started to laugh.
Garret did not think it was funny. “Lean on him hard, and if there’s anyone else you can think of, we need them by noon.”
“I’ll put my boys on the street and see what I can do. I’ll let you know as soon as I find anything out.” Both men hung up. Congressman O’Rourke was sitting at his desk, reading over some documents and dictating notes, when the door to his office burst open. A
slender, well-dressed man, who looked vaguely familiar, pushed his way past Susan and approached Michael’s desk. In an irritated voice Susan said, “I’m sorry, sir, but I told this man that you weren’t taking visitors this morning.”
The man stepped forward. “I apologize for the intrusion, Congressman O’Rourke, but
I’m one of Chairman Koslowski’s aides. He has a proposal he would like you to consider, and he needs an answer immediately.”
Michael leaned back in his chair and realized where he’d seen the dark-haired man before. Michael’s gaze turned from the aide to his secretary. “Thank you, Susan, I’ll see the gentleman.” Susan retreated from the office and closed the door. The chairman’s aide stepped forward and extended his hand across the desk. O’Rourke remained seated and took the man’s hand.
“Congressman O’Rourke, my name is Anthony Vanelli.” O’Rourke placed his
Dictaphone on the desk behind several stacks of files and said, “Please take a seat, Mr.
Vanelli.” O’Rourke had heard several stories about the aide and doubted this would be a friendly visit. Vanelli sat down in one of the chairs in front of O’Rourke’s desk and crossed his legs.
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“Congressman O’Rourke, I’ve been sent here to find out if you’re still going to vote against the President’s budget, and if you are, what we can do to change your mind.”
“Mr. Vanelli, I assume you know I spoke to the President this morning.”
“I am fully aware of that, Congressman O’Rourke, but time is running short and we need to know who is standing with us and who is standing against us.” O’Rourke leaned forward and placed his elbows on the desk.
“Well, Mr. Vanelli, I have made my position very clear from the start.
I will vote no for the budget unless the President cuts all funding for the Rural
Electrification Administration.”
“All right, Congressman, let’s cut to the chase. We live in the real world, and in the real world, the Rural Electrification Administration is going to continue to exist. It’s just the way things operate around here. You have to try to get over the little things and concentrate on the big picture. You can’t damn the whole budget just because you don’t like one little part of it.”
