Candidate of the Apocalypse: Episode 15

There was still two months to the election and Charles was in trouble. Again. This time it was about education. Charles was being interviewed at a local cafe by a reporter in Des Moines. The reporter asked. "What are your thoughts on No Child Left Behind."

Charles replied, "The federal government should get out of the education game. Not the least because our Constitution does not give the government power to educate. We all know that education is a privilege, not a right. There is one and only one group responsible for educating children. Parents."

 

As a result of that quip the major teachers unions came out against him, but those of his own party were not pleased either. Especially since they were in power when this program was voted in. But Charles was not willing to back down on this issue. In order to win the common voter he knew that he would have to come down hard on government overspending. Of all kinds. He also held the view 'there are more of us than them'. In other words, even though a particular union or interest group might campaign against him, these same groups were composed of relatively few people compared to the general public.

 

In a couple of days a new ad appeared. This was part of a speech he made at a local gathering in the little town of Ames. "Let's talk about a little program the government initiated called 'no child left behind.' It's been in place long enough for us to know it's effectiveness. So is it a success? Absolutely not. It's a dismal failure, by every measure. So what are we to do? Keep supporting a bad program? You've got to be kidding! If we are serious about cutting the size and scope of government, we will have to consider every program, regardless of its origin. All programs must be scrutinized. All inefficiencies must be rooted out and eliminated. We no longer have the money to simply fund everything. By the way, isn't this your money too? Do you really want your money spent on failure?"

 

In spite of the controversy generated over his statement, Charles ultimately came out ahead. People appreciated that he spoke his mind. Also, they knew deep down that he was right.

 

All the while, on the outside it seemed his candidacy was rolling along and gathering momentum. Charles was all smiles and graciousness. But behind the scenes things were less so. Besides the daily grind of the campaign. From inside the national party there were indications that all was not well. His manager knew this explicitly. The party made promises that it didn't keep. Funding mysteriously disappeared. Support for his directives waned. No good reason was given. It just happened. These machinations took precious resources from working toward his election, and were a source of constant frustration.

But there was something else.

 

The threats had returned.

Candidate of the Apocalypse: Episode 14

“I’m the candidate.”

 

Charles’ unexpected win sent shock waves through the political world.  With it came a measure of fame, and a ton of money.  It’s amazing how much is spent on a national election.  But money comes at a price, in the form of staff from the party.  These were people whom Charles did not know, and had not developed trust.  Some were gung ho about him while others had a more stand-offish attitude.  Their resources were invaluable though.  Otherwise Charles wouldn’t stand a chance..  His core people knew this and had discussed it at length in the run up to Iowa.  Some administrative tasks would be moved over to his campaign manager and others.  They would be Charles’ eyes and ears as everything went forward.  He would be kept apprised of developments and make the final decisions.  

From this point on Charles was in what they called ‘Presidential Mode’.  It is well known that any head of state does not do anything himself.  This isn’t saying they are lazy, it means that all actions are delegated.  The head guy makes the decision and says, ‘make it so’’ and it gets done by whatever means possible.  So the lines of communication went like this, from Charles, to his personal staff, to the national party and back.  A simple arrangement that would allow some time for everyone to get used to each other.  Charles would concentrate exclusively on appearances and preparation.  The most important part was to hit the ground running.  There was precious little time until the election, and he was up against an incumbent.  

It proved to be another shock when, just three weeks later Charles had a meeting with the agency which was coordinating all his ads, and matter-of-factly fired them.  
 

While party spokesmen downplayed the firing as a simple difference of opinion.  The internal fireworks were quite spectacular.  The top party hacks held a meeting with Charles and told him he couldn’t fire them.  Charles said, “That’s not true, I’ve already done that.”  They replied something about long-term contracts but Charles interrupted them.  “I’m the candidate, aren’t I?  As the candidate I am also the de-facto head of the party.  I make the final decision. They are out.  Period.”  
 

It was more than just a difference of opinion.  It was a difference in worldview.  The party agency wanted to create pat, negative ads like they had done many times before.  Charles was vehemently opposed to such things, having watched them for years.  He knew how unpopular and ineffective they were.  His plan was overwhelmingly positive.  He wanted to use snippets from speeches and interviews to explain the current wrongs perpetrated by government and offer sound, practical solutions.  These snippets would put his face in front of the American public, and hopefully capture some of his personal charisma as he handled the press.  Further, he wanted to focus on the top two issues, the economy, and governmental overreach.  If these two were not brought under control, the rest would be more or less a moot point.  His tag line was a single word:  Freedom.  However, the old agency fought this tooth and nail.  They never want a candidate to offer concrete suggestions.  This sets him up for criticism or ridicule from the other side.  In their mind it was obvious that Charles knew nothing about running an ad campaign.  Their condescending attitude became too much for the candidate.  He chose an agency which could do better.    

From that point on there was conflict with the national party.