Balance of Power

more sympathy out there than the SSA may think. And potentially a lot more anger.'

    'Sympathy?' Lara cut in. 'Not from the media. I'm imagining The O'Reilly Factor amplified by a thousand right-wing talk shows. Unless I tell the truth—that Kerry never wanted an abortion—we'll be portrayed as a ruthless and ambitious couple who'd do anything to claw our way to power.' Briefly, her eyes clouded. 'They'll say that we've exploited the murder of my own family for cheap sympathy, but didn't hesitate to murder our own child. That we lied our way into office. That we're morally unfit to stay here. That no child in America can see us as fit role models for private conduct or public integrity.'

    'Even,' Kit ventured quietly, 'if you did tell the truth about Kerry?'

    Lara glanced at her husband. 'I'm more than willing to do that. But perhaps Kerry's right that they'd accuse me of trying to pin a rose on an adulterer by lying for him. And accuse him of using me to hide behind.

    'But you're right about the anger. The country will become an endless echo chamber of attacks and recriminations, until Kerry and I can never go anywhere without everyone else's thought bubble being about abortion.' Her voice grew husky. 'I know that his marriage failed because Meg didn't want children, and that he'd have given all this up to have our child. But public life is not a place to look for sym pathy. The hard-line social conservatives will be demanding that people like Fasano prove their devotion to family values by making Kerry a moral object lesson. They'll use me to ruin his Presidency, any way they can.'

    Lara felt depressed, exhausted by the weight of her own guilt. Both Kit and Clayton gazed at their laps. At length, Kit said, 'I grant you that abortion's an incendiary topic. Coupled with the gun issue, the right will use it to rip open the whole culture gap—'the Kilcannons don't share our values.' But it only gets as bad as you've imagined if we let the SSA control the means and timing of disclosure.'

    'What 'means of disclosure,' ' Kerry asked, 'do you suggest? Because Lara and I are not going on Barbara Walters.'

    'Put this in the hands of the New York Times,' Kit urged him. 'Or, better, the Post: given that Lara covered you for the Times when you first became involved, they might be a little touchy about her ethics. We could grant the Post an exclusive interview with strict ground rules—no asking Pat Robertson for his reaction; print the entire transcript verbatim . . .'

    'What reason do we give for this confessional? 'We just thought that you should know'? If that were true, we'd have said so during the campaign.'

    'And cost yourself the election? Or the Masters nomination? You didn't owe anyone that.' Kit spoke slowly, balancing entreaty with firmness. 'The two of you are married now, and you've both suffered too much already. The American public is far more compassionate—and sensible—than the extremists on either side would have them be. They'll understand if someone is trying to blackmail you and that you have to divulge on principle that which, in principle, you believe too private to disclose.' Pausing, Kit finished flatly, 'That's the other thing, Mr. President. If you don't expose this, you're arguably complicit in your own blackmail.'

    'If I veto gun immunity,' Kerry shot back, 'I'm not giving into blackmail, am I?'

    'You're not being candid, either. You need to speak to the American people without a filter. The Washington Post aside, Barbara Walters is not such a terrible idea. If you can tell the public what you've gone through, with the appropriate references to human infallibility and your own belief in God, they'll hear you . . .'

    Clayton turned to her. 'The media age,' he interjected, 'is so permeated with bad taste that we're forgetting what good taste is. No matter how they say it, how do the President and First Lady keep their audience from cringing? How do they keep from cringing?

    'We'd need an identifiable enemy to redirect the focus. An interview might work if we had enough evidence to blame the SSA. But without proof we'd only be making the SSA look like the victim of two maudlin demagogues slandering American patriots—in this case, to cover their own immorality.' He turned to Kerry. 'Then consider the Senate. You know how hard this fight over guns has been on swing-state Democrats. For the people who've stuck with you against their better judgment, it may not be enough to criticize your morals. They may feel the need to override your veto.'

    'And so?'

    'A lot of people hate the media. They won't like whoever puts this out. Once they do, we answer with a brief and dignified statement, then hope the story starves for lack of oxygen.'

    'They won't let it die,' Kit demurred. 'The right wing or the media.'

    'Then let them wallow in their own shit until the American people turn away in boredom and disgust. What else is there to do once the President acknowledges the truth, and regrets the environment in which such a private matter is fodder for the press.' Facing the Kilcannons, Clayton spoke softly. 'I'm truly sorry for what you'll have to go through. I know it's easier for us to tell you what to do than for you to do it. But Lara is one of the most admired First Ladies in recent history, and you're both objects of great sympathy. You'll receive more sympathy for handling this with grace, and for drawing the line.' Clayton paused, eyes glinting. 'I think this story will damn whoever touches it. If I were President, I'd consider leaking the story to Fasano, then blaming him when it comes out.'

    'There's a certain appeal in that,' Kerry answered with the flicker of a smile. 'But when does it ever end?'

    Clayton shrugged. 'I suppose,' Kit ventured gamely, 'that the announcement of a pregnancy is way too much to hope for.'

    No one answered. Kit hesitated, and then faced Kerry again. 'There's one more option,' she said bluntly, 'and someone has to raise it.

    'I agree with Clayton: guns are a hard issue, even with all that's happened. Gun immunity's an even harder issue, especially when it's mixed with tort reform—a lot of people don't like lawsuits, and Democrats pay the price.' Pausing, Kit appeared to steel herself once more. 'As of now, you've got a single vote in the Senate standing between you and a veto override. We need to ask: is this the issue, and the time, that we want to risk a scandal in exchange for a 'victory' against tort reform that a lot of Democratic senators never wanted in the first place?'

    'In other words,' Kerry said, 'give in to blackmail for the good of the party. Not to mention my own.'

    'I understand, Mr. President,' Kit responded evenly. 'But you are President, with a responsibility to look beyond your own feelings, to facts. The facts are different than they were this morning.'

    The room fell silent. Taking Lara's hand, Kerry asked her, 'Do we have anything else to add?'

    His wife gazed at him, weary but unwavering. 'Only that if you decide to give in to blackmail, there'll be no end to this.'

    The President turned to Kit and Clayton. 'Thank you,' he said. 'We'll let you know what we decide.'

FIVE

After a few hours of fitful sleep, Lara called her sister.

    It was five-thirty in San Francisco. 'What's wrong?' Mary asked in a voice slurry with sleepiness and anxiety.

    With as much dispassion as she could muster, Lara told her.

    Finishing, she awaited a response. 'You had an abortion?' Mary said in obvious wonder. 'I didn't