Galahad's Quest: Can a Candidate for President Win as an Independent?

By Dixon Arnett

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 6, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465357090

Dixon Arnett

Dixon Arnett has completed over 40 years of public service in the health and human service fields and in education. He has served at local, state and federal levels – in both elected and appointed positions. He has also served as an administrator at Claremont McKenna College and at Stanford University (from which he graduated in 1960). Arnett’s prior public service includes three years as Deputy Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He also served as Legislative Director for former US Senator Pete Wilson (R-CA). During the 1970s Arnett was a member of the California State Assembly, representing southern San Mateo County. He was elected to four two-year terms. When California elected Pete Wilson as its governor, Arnett served as executive director of the Medical Board of California and, later, as the director of the California Department of Aging. During most of his public career he served on the Board (two terms as President) of the Junior Statesmen Foundation, a nationwide non-profit organization designed to encourage interest in, and knowledge of, public policy issues and politics at the high school level. Arnett currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at San Diego State University where he guest-lectures and has taught courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. He also teaches courses on national issues and politics at the Osher Institute on the SDSU campus.

Book preview

Galahad’s Quest

Can a candidate for president

win as an Independent?

Dixon Arnett

Copyright © 2011 by Dixon Arnett.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2011915273

ISBN: Hardcover    978-1-4653-5708-3

ISBN: Softcover     978-1-4653-5707-6

ISBN: Ebook          978-1-4653-5709-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Wende Dawson Chan

Douglas Wilburn

. . . And Others

Prologue: The Rationale

Two Years before Inauguration Day

The Announcement

The President

Gathering at Williamsburg

Early Going

Hansen’s Brain Trust

Press Conference

Chance Meeting

Getting Traction

Meet the Press

The President’s Gamble

The Assessment

Long Hot Summer

Diplomacy in Beirut

Doubt in Jerusalem

Bomb the Bastards

Turning of the Leaves

Defections

Fall Tour

Anguish at the White House

Slogging Through the Snow

The Republican Debates

Hansen’s Assessment

The President’s Retreat

First Results

The Iowa Caucuses

First in the Nation

On to Michigan

Picking up Steam

South Carolina

Florida

Super Tuesday

Closing the Gaps

The Russians

Gaining Ground

More Defections

And Then There Were Three

Incumbent Diplomacy

A Political War Room, a National Poll, and Vermont

ABC News Special

Events of the Summer

Over the Top

A Wider War?

The Aquifer in Darfur

Gearing Up

A Nervous Stalemate

On Stage

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

The Fall Campaign

Keeping His Word

The Debates Begin

Battlegrounds

Election Night

Epilogue

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Dedication

To my children—John, Susan, and Robert—and their mother, Mary, all of whom sustained me in my political career, through its highs and lows, and never lost faith in Pop!

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Acknowledgments

Wende Dawson Chan

Perhaps it is an axiom for writers to acknowledge their wives because no author can spend the hours to research and write without the help and support of his spouse. But in my case, I was blessed with a partner (and coauthor of a book we wrote together earlier) who struggled with me through the possibility, even plausibility, of the story line of this novel.

She helped check facts and made suggestions on the foreign affairs aspects of the story. She read and reread my work and offered editorial suggestions. Our discussions framed much of the writing as I progressed—and we laughed and cried together about some of the more poignant moments in the story. Her focus and skill come through on every page.

Douglas Wilburn

I owe much to Doug Wilburn, whose second career on the staff of a member of the House of Representatives paralleled my service in a similar post in the U.S. Senate.

We have formed a friendship that has spanned decades based on a common bond of what is meant by carrying the public trust and the solemn obligation to leave the world of the public weal better than we had found it. We have shared our values and our frustrations about the world of politics drifting toward the extremes of our two political parties.

We analyzed data and scribbled notes and letters to each other over several years, always with the question: Given the winner-take-all flavor of the Electoral College, could a person successfully run straightaway for the presidency as an Independent, not bogged down by any political party or expensive, and meaningless, conventions?

Since we met, several presidential and midterm elections have come and gone, only sharpening our earlier perception about the two parties while the number of registered Independents has grown to almost one in four voters in the nation. We agreed that any candidate for president running as an Independent had to be well known and popular as a moderate or centrist who would abandon his party affiliation in protest and either be independently wealthy or have the proven ability at a high level of political fund-raising or both.

With Doug’s encouragement, I crafted this novel. But make no mistake; I could not have done it without my friend and coconspirator, Doug Wilburn.

 . . . And Others

For over ten years I have conversationally checked the basic premise of this novel with countless friends, many of whom are prominent in political science, the media, and/or active in political issues and campaigns. I cannot name them all, but they are legion, and their advice has helped shape my story.

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Prologue: The Rationale

California governor Major Hansen had been meeting all week with his cabinet secretaries and department heads—a seemingly endless stream of petitioners trying to get him to include their priorities in the governor’s proposed budget to be announced in January. He had made pages of notes on a legal pad and had calculations framed by his finance director.

He would have to decide over the weekend so that his proposed budget could be sent to the state printer before Christmas, but his focus was elsewhere as he anticipated what would be one of the most important days in his political life.

It was a Saturday; and he and his wife, Myra, had announced that they would not be going to their home in San Diego for the weekend, as they usually did, ostensibly to give him time in Sacramento to evaluate budget numbers. Staff would come and go at their home on tree-lined Forty-fourth Street, but the media would assume that they were briefing the governor on his budget decisions. Little would they know about the events unfolding inside.

Sam Wellington, the governor’s campaign lawyer, had asked his taxi driver to drop him at the corner of P Street and Forty-fourth so he could admire the Christmas decorations on the Forty-fourth Street homes in the upscale neighborhood as he walked to his meeting with the governor and the Hansen political brain trust. It was brisk and dry with a cold wind causing the flaps of his overcoat to flutter lightly against his cheeks. He was dressed in fashion, true to his east coast conservative style, formal and polite, but he was anything but conservative in his politics.

Not as cold and blustery as some days during his three winters in the nation’s capital, he thought, when he would wait for the bus in Arlington to take him to the Pentagon Metro Station. When he arrived in Washington, he walked three freezing blocks to his office as chairman of the Federal Elections Commission, a post he had accepted but with public service in mind in lieu of the hefty income he was accumulating in Los Angeles as one of the nation’s premier experts on elections law.

Today’s meeting, he knew, would either provide the momentum for Governor Hansen to make a decision that could alter the landscape of elective politics in America or move the governor to doubt his inclinations. He needed the Christmas decorations to buoy his spirits. But he had done his homework with an army of colleagues in each state of the nation who had exhaustively and secretly researched state elections laws and court decisions. He knew what would be required and that the governor’s purpose was plausible, if not probable. He had his own misgivings, but his task today was to be the consummate lawyer providing strictly legal advice. The decision was not his to make.

A butler answered the door and took his coat and scarf. He was ushered to the dining area where pastries, coffee, and tea on a sideboard hutch awaited those who would gather. He expected the meeting to last most of the day.

Myra Hansen, tall and statuesque with traces of the red hair of her youth, came through the kitchen door with a bowl of fruit. Sam, you’re early. Are you eager? She smiled.

Eager and a bit nervous about the day, Myra, Wellington replied. Besides, I need to set up my charts and PowerPoint. This is my day to shine. You know how that is. How many times have you made legal presentations on health care law, knowing that your advice will be a basis for decisions made by others?

In my law practice, she responded as she placed plates, utensils, and napkins near the fruit bowl, we had lots of experts, but I was not so much in the spotlight as you are in your practice. I don’t get invitations to be interviewed on the weekly TV shows like you do, and I think that honors you. You are almost unique in your field.

You flatter me, Myra.

"Major is going over budget numbers with Bob Green, but I know he’ll want to get started as soon as everyone is here. Make yourself at home, Sam.

If you need anything, I’ll be in the kitchen, but I’ll join you for the meeting."

Wellington busied himself carefully distributing five-bound copies of his report around the table and connecting the thumb drive for his PowerPoint. On an easel he attached flip charts.

In time swarthy Gerry Sommers, Hansen’s veteran campaign manager, came through the hallway to the dining area. He wore his traditional sweatshirt and blue jeans; he had always shunned wearing a tie, and his rumpled hair was testimony to oversleeping and being late. Well, Counselor, I see that your months of work are about to bear fruit. How long has it been since we asked you to go on this mission?

I recall exactly, Gerry. It was in mid-August, during the legislative recess. You all had too much time on your hands and sat around plotting and scheming like fraternity brothers in college. It was fun then, but I’m here today to tell you that it is serious business. Where’s Emerson? I have an agreement with him that he has to start the meeting.

He came with me, Sam. He had to make sure I got here when I was supposed to. Sommers turned. Professor, your presence is being demanded.

Emerson Hartnett had been Hansen’s political guru since he had convinced then-San Diego mayor Hansen to come to the San Diego State University to be a guest lecturer in his Poli Sci 101 course. The two had become friends and had spent many evenings together crafting conversations on political theory which had become the basis for Hartnett’s two books. He looked the part of a professor who spanned the academic sprawl in San Diego, teaching at both San Diego State and the University of California, enlarged by his PhD from his favorite alma mater, Stanford University. Slacks, loafers, a neutral-colored sport shirt, and jacket—it was all a forty-something academic needed.

Sam, it’s damn cold out there, Hartnett observed. Not good for southern California beachgoers like us. Who the hell ever put California’s capital in Sacramento anyhow?

It wasn’t ‘who’; it was ‘what,’ Sommers chimed in. Remember that little bit of dust, called gold. It was discovered about forty miles east of here, and the man who discovered it, John Marshall, was from a little town called Lambertville in New Jersey. He was a stranger in these parts. He brought the gold to John Sutter, a tradesman here in Sacramento. Sutter knew what it was, and the race was on—not to LA or San Diego. They were tiny dust towns in those days. Besides I’m glad that Sacramento became the state capital. The first capitals were around the swampy San Francisco Bay.

Well, a history lesson from the PhD of campaigning, Hartnett acknowledged.

And he’s correct, Major Hansen said with a smile as he entered the room. Hansen was tall and trim with thinning hair that was mostly gray. He wore slacks, an open sport shirt, a sweater, and tennis shoes—almost a throwback to an earlier day. He shook hands all the way around entreating his guests to help themselves to the food and drink that Myra had laid out.

Bob Green, Hansen’s chief of staff, had followed his boss into the room. His role was familiar inasmuch as he had been the governor’s chief aide since Hansen had been mayor of San Diego and his director of public relations at SanDTech, the water quality biotech firm Hansen had founded over twenty years before. He and Hansen had met when Green was president of the SDSU Student Association and volunteered, after graduation, in Hansen’s campaign. Green was Hansen’s buffer, his consummate staff aide—youthful, tightly organized, a facilitator.

I think it’s time to start, Green announced. I’ll inform Myra.

Finally, Hansen’s brain trust was assembled around the dining table. The governor began, Emerson, I understand that you will provide your professorial wisdom first and then Sam will give us the law.

Right, Hartnett agreed. "My part is a discourse designed to have us all understand what underlies the prospect of you running for president as an Independent. There are four principal elements and a huge impact on the nature of politics and government in this country to what’s at stake here.

"First, the prospect of winning the presidency as an Independent is based on a candidate who is already famous, as a politician, or otherwise, and who consistently measures in polls as a popular figure well known to the public. Second, that candidate has got to have plenty of money and/or access to it to cover the extensive costs of a nationwide campaign without the base of a political party. Third, the segment of registered voters who are Independents, nationwide, has grown exponentially over the last three decades to almost a fourth of the voters, signaling significant disenchantment with Republicans and Democrats. Fourth, it is axiomatic that voters registered as Independents are not organized (and probably don’t want to be), meaning that you, Governor, would be giving a voice to those who feel dispossessed by the Democrats and Republicans, but you, per force, will not be the leader of a political party with an organization with powerful alliances and fund-raising power.

"The ‘impact’ I refer to is that you will be using the very institution designed to perpetuate the two-party system to defeat them—the Electoral

College. I could go on to add the impact of a whole new type of governing, should you be successful, not unlike multiparty parliamentary systems elsewhere in the world. Is that what we intend? And if so, what would be the benefits and the consequences? Thus, the prospect of you running for the presidency is not just a protest. It’s not just a statement in the negative, probably coddled by an intrigued, but flakey, media. It is the prospect of a sea change, not experienced before in the history of the nation."

But Hansen became firm. "I know I will have to craft separate coalitions on

each major initiative I suggest to Congress. That’ll take a lot of analysis, hard work, and patience, but I also know that if the voters elect an Independent as president, the impact of that election will be huge on incumbent Democrats and Republicans in Congress. My hope is, of course, that many will set aside partisan bickering and realize that their own political self-interest lies in being part of the solution, not part of the problem."

Governor, is that a dream or could it become reality? Sam Wellington questioned. Please remember that elections laws are, in effect, compacts between the several states and the federal government. The Constitution prescribes legislative and executive federal offices—and, in Article II, Section I and the Twelfth Amendment, it lays out a prescription for electors for president and vice president, but the laws that govern the details are up to the states. Senators and congressmen know that and they know the politics of their own states and districts. You may think they have reason to be jolted out of traditional partisanship, but that may not be so as a general rule.

But, Sam, that’s why I say there must be separate coalitions on each big issue. I know that counting votes in Congress will become an art form. And besides, Emerson, this kind of government may approximate ‘multiparty,’ as you put it, but I would have a four-year term of office, not subject to a vote of confidence midstream. Congressmen would have to deal with me every bit as much as I would have to deal with them.

There seemed to be a discernable pause in the room. The governor’s answer to Wellington’s question didn’t seem to satisfy the assembled brain trust, but that could wait for another meeting where each major issue of the day could be weighed against Hansen’s overarching suggestion.

The so-called Electoral College, Hartnett continued, isn’t given that name in the Constitution. It isn’t a college in reality; it’s fifty of them. Rules can vary in each state on how the electors are named just like rules can vary on qualifications for the ballot, campaign reporting laws and how ballots are counted. But we are required to have electors and there are provisions on what happens if no one achieves a majority of electors.

Yeah, throwing the election into the House of Representatives where majority rules in each state delegation and states cast one vote—a prescription for raw politics at its worst, Bob Green argued.

Yes, but it’s happened, Hartnett responded. "And you can bet that, should that happen in this case, we all would be quickly dispatched back here to California. The founding fathers knew that the states were suspicious of a central government and that newly independent Americans who had just overthrown the British were just as suspicious of politicians. They thought political parties were evil and that the ‘office should seek the candidate, not the candidate seek the office.’

"Most people forget that the founding fathers did consider having the president and vice president elected by popular vote, but they decided against it not because they distrusted the voters, but because they thought the voters would vote for ‘favorite sons.’ After all, there was 1,000 miles of the eastern coastline and not much transportation or communication. They knew that voters would not think nationally, but regionally, and that would be a formula for deadlock.

They toyed with Congress electing the president, but they weren’t dummies. They knew that was a prescription for corruption and influence from foreign powers. They thought about having state legislatures doing the choosing, but that meant that the balance of power would tip too much to the states. So they came up with a system of electors, roughly paralleling the composition of the House and the Senate. The rest they left to the states—and that’s where the idea of ‘winner-take-all’ came in. ‘Winner-take-all’ is a creation of the states, not the federal government.

Emerson, I know I studied this at SDSU, Bob Green said, but I’ll be damned if I remember. How is it that all the states but two chose ‘winner-take-all’ even though eight states, including us, have changed that to awarding the electoral votes on the basis of the national popular vote?

"It was done less than two decades after the Constitution was ratified beginning in 1804 with the Twelfth Amendment. That’s the one that meant that candidates for president and vice president would be voted on by the electors as a team instead of the top vote-getter becoming president and the runner-up being vice president. Politics being what it is, those in power, particularly in the states, wanted to align themselves with parties and be more organized. That even included some of the founding fathers.

"So they formed parties and the Twelfth Amendment reflects that. And then the states began to follow each other by enacting ‘winner-take-all’ so that in the final analysis, win or lose, one party would take the prize, which, of course, each thought they could do. And they thought that this would perpetuate a two-party system. Minor parties could come and go, but they would never achieve a plurality in a state and even if they did, it would not amount to a majority of electors.

Only Maine and Nebraska have chosen differently but they’re really not that different. They allocate two electors statewide (to reflect their two senators) and one each to their congressional districts—two in Maine and three in Nebraska. The rest are ‘winner-take-all’ and all it takes is a plurality of the popular vote (not a majority) to win all the electors’ votes. Will that change? As we all know, eight states have changed their system to align their electoral votes with the national popular vote. That’s in direct reaction to the Bush-Gore race in 2000 when Bush lost the popular vote but won by the winner-take-all system in the states, particularly Florida. Those eight states account for 132 electoral votes, but those changes won’t take effect until enough states totaling 270 electoral votes make the same change. That’s still mathematically possible, but it’s not probable legislatively. I’m sure ‘popular vote’ bills will be introduced all over this year, but 28 states have failed to pass the change in previous years. So, we’ll be on the winner-take-all system, state-by-state, as we have been for over 200 years.

Are the two major parties losing relevancy? Aren’t they each becoming their own worst political enemy by crafting districts that protect incumbents, by catering to their extremists in the primaries, by never-ending fund-raising and campaigning and by increasingly harsh bickering designed to appeal to the same extremes? Voters are increasingly rejecting Republicans and Democrats in droves. Independents are now the deciding factor in statewide elections. They split their tickets. Isn’t that our point here? Can the governor become their voice? How much will Independents vote for an Independent?

The professor had finished his lesson. I don’t know whether to applaud you, Emerson, or pummel you with questions about history, Myra broke in. What you’ve done is confirm the essential questions and the thesis of this adventure, should Major decide to go this way. But questions are one thing; answers are another.

Again, the room fell silent. Myra was looking for answers; there weren’t any—at least not yet. Professor, Hansen said, You’re tough. But you’re good. Yet you and I both know that even if my instinct is to run just to make a statement and try to jolt the system, then that will have been worth the effort. There’s no question but that this is a state-by-state ballgame and I’m already feeling the stress of campaigning endlessly, but there’s only one way to do this, if it’s to be respected, and that’s to go to the states and ask people for their votes. How do I do that if I’m going to skip the primaries?

Now the group broke into several simultaneous conversations deliberating what had been bluntly said. In a few minutes the governor offered the floor to Sam Wellington.

"Governor, you asked a valid question about the primaries. The answer I offer is that you aren’t going to skip the primaries. You should go to each one of them and mount a write-in campaign on all the ballots, including Republican and Democratic. That’s the way you will gain recognition and believability, even momentum.

The rules for write-in voting vary from state to state, but I’ve been around long enough to know that winning can’t be done unless you ask people for their vote and that can’t just be done with annoying television ads that always sound too negative. With this in mind, I had called Gerry to ask his advice on researching each state’s write-in rules. Thus, that information is included in my report for those states that hold primaries, which is almost all of them.

There’s no easy way to do this, Sommers said. And it shouldn’t be easy. We’re talking here about the highest office in the land and we’re talking about changing our political system. It’s one thing for me to be a campaign manager. It’s one thing for Sam to be a legal expert. It’s one thing for Bob to promise to run the California government while you’re crisscrossing the country. And it’s one thing for Emerson to be the expert political analyst. But what really holds true here for both you and Myra, Governor, is the fire in the belly, not just the ego, but the passion to bring change to a declining system.

Hansen paused in thought for a moment. Gerry, why are you always so direct? It’s good that you are, but why is it that when you talk about ‘fire in the belly,’ I get jitters in the belly.

Sommers saw another opening. If you go for it, Governor, the fire needs to be nothing short of the lava flowing from a volcano. It will sustain you through the highs and the lows. Let me be direct on another point. You’ve never lost an election and losing is no fun, especially when you’re having fun. And the chances are you will lose this one. But you will have had an impact on the politics of this country, win or lose.

Hansen summed, So I have to be prepared to have fire in my belly, have fun and lose—all in an adventure where some will call me a dreamer, some will argue that I’m destroying a system that has existed for over 200 years, etcetera, etcetera. Gerry, you have such a sweet disposition.

I’m just doing my job, Governor. Remember I was a reporter once. Note I said ‘reporter,’ not ‘journalist.’

Sam Wellington took the next two hours going through his research for each of the states and the District of Columbia. He reviewed write-in laws, laws for qualifications for the ballot, petition signature requirements, filing fees and state laws on how electors are named and their duties. Next he reviewed, in brief, several lawsuits with an impact on all states. To the disbelief of his audience, he pointed out that it wasn’t until a comparatively recent Supreme Court ruling that states had to even count write-ins. The case involved a candidate in Maine where elections officials did not count write-ins because they were always minor percentages and had to be hand counted, which cost more of the budget than Maine’s lawmakers wanted to allocate. Now write-in ballots had to be counted everywhere.

He concluded, Governor, we have teams of lawyers now in each state. Invariably, as we go through this, there will be challenges and lawsuits, if for no other reason than to disrupt and cause us to use resources. But the courts are used to this and they recognize that challenges must be adjudicated timely so as not to disrupt the election cycle. But I think it safe to say, as a matter of law, you have access to write-in procedures and the ballot in all fifty states. And of course, you will be on the printed ballot in the General Election, presumably simply listed as Governor of California, Independent."

Not to be confused with ‘The Independent Party’ as it is known in some states, Bob Green added.

True, Wellington responded. But that doesn’t mean that voters won’t be confused.

Going the write-in route, Wellington advised, is going to mean that we will have to spend significant resources on TV, radio, Internet, and mail to teach voters in each state how to do a correct write-in so that it will count. Some states allow self-adhesive stickers; some accept a write-in that is printed, not script; all require that the write-in be legible; some require ink; some don’t want ink. We’ve got all sizes when it comes to elections laws.

The group broke for a late deli luncheon. Animated discussion dominated the atmosphere. All the while, Major Hansen kept his innermost thoughts to himself. Those thoughts would be for him and Myra to discuss after the brain trust had left. There would be no firm answers from the governor today and, satisfied that that was so, the visitors left with the appreciation of Governor and Mrs. Hansen, who repaired to the den where the fire in the fireplace offered warmth and relaxation and the overstuffed chairs were a welcomed change from the more rigid dining room chairs.

For a long time they said nothing, preferring to glow of the fire. Finally, Myra broke in. They laid out a bigger mountain for you to climb, if you do this, it seems. They are the finest close advisors you could have and they all did their jobs well. What’s rolling around in your mind right now?

Myra, it’s not doubt about the mission or the purpose. It’s not my willingness (and yours, I might add) to put forth the energy; it’s not the procedures or the winning or the losing and I have no doubt about this team of people. I do doubt how much ‘fire’ I have ‘in the belly,’ however, because even if we do all that we can do and against the odds, I win a plurality in enough states to command an electoral vote majority, how will I govern? I know I have an answer for that for those who will inquire, but the truth is I really don’t know. It’s one thing to campaign for two years. But then you win and you’ve got four more years in a different kind of campaign in office. I wish I had a better sense of that.

But, Major, you didn’t have all the i’s dotted and the t’s crossed when you took office as mayor or governor. You had to feel your way and you’ve been very good at it. You are a man of good political instinct, but, more important, you are someone dedicated to the public trust—and you and I know what that means. Of course, you take your chances. You always have.

You know how they always used to remark on the seeming everlasting love between Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Well, that’s you and me. If I decide to do this, you will be an abiding strength. I can’t do this without you.

Well, Major, I’m ready if you are, and it sounds to me like you are.

Hansen arose from his chair and walked over to his wife. She stood and they hugged each other for a minute. Finally, he drew back, smiled and kissed her.

Merry Christmas, Myra.

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Two Years before Inauguration Day

The Announcement

Do you think you are Sir Galahad, Governor? Hansen’s campaign manager cynically offered.

People may think I am, Gerry. Maybe it is all the same. After all, I have a mission, some would say to save the republic. Maybe that’s what I want people to believe, Governor Hansen responded softly as if to muse.

The California governor was about to take the long walk to the steps of the old Capitol where gubernatorial inaugurations were staged and where he had been twice before, only this time it was to announce that he would be a candidate for President of the United States.

Hansen and his small coterie of advisors were waiting for the appointed hour in his conference room. On the wall were portraits of a selection of former governors, most prominently that of Ronald Reagan. Conversations among aides seemed nervously muted; they knew this was a big risk for him and for them. Yet they knew he was determined without doubt. He was a man of conviction.

Outside a band was playing Souza marches and the buzz of anticipation by several thousands of onlookers and well-wishers on the Capitol lawn could be heard increasing in volume as the time neared. The media were primed; they had been reporting the rumors for days. But true to form, reporters were gathered and TV cameras were set up on a platform. The governor’s words would beam around the world.

California’s first lady, dressed in a powder blue suit accented with a designer scarf, edged to the governor’s side. Almost to no one and yet to everyone she asked, It’s only about five minutes until we go out to the steps. Do you mind if the two of us step inside?

She took Hansen’s arm and ushered him into the private office of the governor just off the conference room and closed the door.

We both know that what you are about to do is profound. The audience and the media know you’re going to announce, but they don’t know your mission or your game plan. Major, it’s the best speech you will have given throughout your career. I know you are deeply committed to every word. I just thought I would say to you, with a kiss, that, as a citizen of this country, your actions are bold and I could not love you more than at this moment.

I can’t try to top that; you know that I will make you proud of me. When all of this is said and done, it’ll be you and me sitting in rockers on a back porch somewhere looking at each other. I love you.

She kissed him and then wiped her fingers over his lips. It’s time, she said.

She opened the door; and the aides in the conference room burst into applause as the governor and his wife made their way around the table to the door leading to the small hallway that would take them to the Capitol corridor, into the rotunda, passed the statue of Queen Isabella toward the old Capitol steps. Encased displays from California’s various counties lined the walls, and