-
Such a waste of talent. He chose money over
power. In this town, a mistake nearly everyone
makes.
Money is the McMansion in
Sarasota that starts falling apart after ten
years. Power is the old stone
building
that stands for centuries. I
can
’
t respect someone who
doesn
’
t see the difference.
There
’
re two
kinds of pain. The sort of pain that makes you
strong or useless pain, the sort of
pain
that
’
s
only
suffering.
I
have
no
patience
for
useless
things.
Moments
like
this
require
someone who will act or do the
unpleasant thing or the necessary thing.
President elected Garrett
Walker. Do I like him? No. Do I believe in him?
That
’
s beside the
point. Any politician that gets 70
million votes has tapped into something larger
than himself, larger
than even me as
much as I hate to admit it. Looking that winning
smile, those trusting eyes. I clung
to
him early on, and made myself vital. After 22
years in congress, I can smell which way the wind
is
going. Jim Matthews, his right
honorably Vice President, Former Governor of
Pennsylvania. He did
his duty in
delivering the Keystone State. Bless his heart.
And now they
’
re about to put
him out to
pasture. But he looks happy,
now doesn
’
t he? For some,
it
’
s simply the size of the
chair. Linda
Vasquez,
Walker
’
s chief of staff. I
got her hired. She
’
s a
women, check. And a Latina, check. But
more
important
than
that,
she
’
s
as
tough
as
two-dollar
steak.
Check,
check,
check.
When
it
comes to the White House, you not only
need the keys
in your back pocket, you
need the gate
keeper.
As
for
me,
I
’
m
just
a
lowly
house
majority
whip.
I
keep
things
moving
in
a
Congress,
choked by pettiness, and lassitude. My
job is to clear the pipes, and keep the sludge
moving. But I
won
’
t have to be
a plumber much longer. I
’
ve
done my time. I backed the right man. Give and
take. Welcome to Washington.
Look, no offense, but I
don
’
t have time to be
anyone
’
s training wheels.
They
’
ve done us a
great favor. We
’
re no longer
bond by allegiances. We serve no one. We
live by one rule, and one rule only:
Never again will we allow ourselves to be put in
such a position.
I
almost pity him. He didn
’
t
choose to be put on my platter. When I carve him
up and toss him
to the dogs, only then
will he confront that brutal inescapable truth.
Well, you certainly have my
undivided attention.
You
might
very
well
think
that
but
I
couldn
’
t
possibly
comment.
It
’
s
late.
I
hope
you
’
ll
understand that I want to sleep on all
of this. I never make such big decision so long
after sunset
and so far from dawn.
We
are
in
the
same
boat
now.
Take
care
not
to
tip
it
over,
I
can
only
save
one
of
us
from
drowning.
Honestly, do you really
think these things just take care of themselves?
I respect your opinion and
I appreciate you sharing it with me, but I am not
going to change my
mind.
What a martyr craves more than anything
is a sword to fall on, so you sharpen the blade,
hold it
at just the right angle and
then 3, 2, 1...
You
don
’
t want to work anywhere
you
’
re not willing to fired
from. Treading water is the same
as
drowning for people like you and me.
Are you interested in my advice on this
or do you just want me to deliver the message?
I will not allow her to
sell my goods when she cuts me out of the profits.
We
don
’
t need people who follow
the rules. We need people with personality.
I would have thought
you
’
d step up when things
were difficult.
I
know there
’
s been some
tension and I am probably more to blame than you
are. But I
’
d
like
to put that behind us.
Water under the bridge.
We
’
re starting over.
I am not happy where this
conversation is going.
The
only halfway interesting thing they do is throw a
big dinner party once a year where they
pat themselves on the back and rub
shoulders with movie stars.
If you want me to be your cheerleader
and say
“
Yeah, turn it
down
”
, I
won
’
t. I would have
killed for that job when I first
started here.
How is it the
world keeps spinning and you manage to stay ahead
of it?
It
’
s so
refreshing to work with someone who will throw a
saddle on a gift horse rather than
look
it in the mouth.
He
will think you organized a coup, got cold feet,
and are making me the scapegoat.
I
am
not
interested
in
the
someone
who
’
s
flexible,
I
am
interested
in
someone
who
’
s
available.
People in this town
don
’
t go out of their way to
be nice to each other.
My
first thought was to tell you right away, but then
my second thought was to ignore my first
thought.
Friends make the worst enemies.