“Mr. Ryan”–Jack supposed that his Ph.D. didn’t count anymore–“what things are you going to try and change?” Plumber asked.
“John, that depends on what you mean by ‘change.’ My foremost task is to keep the government operating. So, not ‘change,’ but ‘restore,’ is what I’m trying to do. We still don’t really have a Congress yet–not until the House of Representatives is reestablished–and so I cannot submit a budget. I’ve tried to pick good people to take over the major Cabinet departments. Their job is to run those departments efficiently.”
“Your Secretary of the Treasury, George Winston, has been criticized for his rather abrupt desire to change the federal tax code,” Plumber said.
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“All I can say is that I support Secretary Winston fully. The tax code is unconscionably complicated, and that is fundamentally unfair. What he wants to do will be revenue-neutral. Actually, that may be overly pessimistic. The net effect will be to enhance government revenues because of administrative savings in other areas.”
“But there has been a lot of adverse comment about the regressive nature–”
Ryan held up his hand. “Wait a minute. John, one of the problems in this town is that the language used by people has been warped. Charging everyone the same is not regressive. That word means a backward step, charging the poor more than the rich. We will not be doing that. When you use that word in the incorrect way, you’re misleading people.”
“But that’s the way people have described the tax system for years.” Plumber hadn’t had his grammar challenged in years.
“That doesn’t make it right,” Jack pointed out. “In any case, as I keep saying, I am not a politician, John. I only know how to talk straight. Charging everyone the same tax rate fulfills the dictionary’s definition of ‘fair.’ Come on, John, you know how the game is played. You and Tom make a lot of money–far more than I do–and eyery year your lawyer and accountant go over everything. You probably have investments that are designed to reduce your tax payments, right? How did those loopholes happen? Easy, lobbyists talked Congress into changing the law a little. Why? Because rich people paid them to do so. So what happens? The supposedly ‘progressive’ system is manipulated in such a way that the increased rates for the rich don’t actually apply, because their lawyers and accountants tell them how to beat the system, and they do beat the system, for a fee. So, the increased rates they pay are a lie, aren’t they? Politicians know all this when they pass the laws.
“You see where all this takes us? Nowhere, John. It takes us nowhere. It’s a great big game, that’s all. Just a game that wastes time, misleads the public, and makes a lot of money for people who work the system–and where
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does the money come from? The citizens, the people who pay for everything that happens. So George Winston wants to change the system–and we agreed on that–and what happens? The people who play the game and work the system use the same misleading words to make it look as though we’re doing something unfair. These insiders are the most dangerous and pernicious special-interest group there is.”
“And you don’t like that.” John smiled.
“Every job I’ve ever had, stock broker, history teacher, everything else, I’ve had to tell the truth as best I could. I’m not going to stop that now. Maybe some things do need changing, and I’ll tell you what one of them is:
“Every parent in America sooner or later tells every child that politics is a dirty business, a rough business, a nasty business. Your dad told you. My dad told me–and we accept that as though it makes sense, as though it’s normal and right and proper. But it’s not, John. For years we’ve accepted the fact that politics–wait, let’s define terms, shall we? The political system is the way we govern the country, pass the laws we all have to follow, levy taxes. These are important things, aren’t they? But at the same time we accept people into that system whom we would not willingly invite into our homes, whom we would not trust to baby-sit our children. Does this strike you as just a little odd, John?
“We allow people into the political system who routinely distort facts, who twist laws in order to suit patrons who give them campaign money. Some of whom just plain lie. And we accept this. You people in the media do. You would not accept that sort of behavior in your own profession, would you? Or in medicine, or in science, or in business, or in law enforcement.
“There’s something wrong here,” the President went on, leaning forward and talking passionately for the first time. “This is our country we’re talking about, and the standards of behavior we demand of our representatives shouldn’t be lower–they should be higher. We should demand intelligence and integrity. That’s why I’ve been giving speeches around the country. John, I’m a regis-
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tered independent. I don’t have a party affiliation. I don’t have an agenda except for wanting to make things work for everyone. I swore an oath to do that, and I take my oaths seriously. Well, I’ve learned that this upsets people, and I’m sorry about that, but I will not compromise my beliefs to accommodate every special group with an army of paid lobbyists. I’m here to serve everybody, not just to serve the people who make the most noise and offer the most money.”
Plumber didn’t show his pleasure at the outburst. “Okay, Mr. President, for starters, then, what about civil rights?”
“The Constitution is color-blind as far as I am concerned. Discrimination against people because of how they look, how they sound, what church they go to, or the country their ancestors came from is against the laws of our country. Those laws will be enforced. We are all supposed to be equal in the eyes of the law, whether we obey them or break them. In the latter case, those people will have the Department of Justice to worry about.”
“Isn’t that idealistic?”
“What’s wrong with idealism?” Ryan asked in return. “At the same time, what about a little common sense once in a while? Instead of a lot of people chiseling for advantages for themselves or whatever small group they represent, why can’t we all work together? Aren’t we all Americans before we’re anything else? Why can’t we all try a little harder to work together and find reasonable solutions to problems? This country wasn’t set up to have every group at the throat of every other group.”
“Some would say that’s the way we fight things out to make sure that everyone gets a fair share,” Plumber observed.
“And along the way, we corrupt the political system.”
They had to stop for the crew to change tapes on their cameras. Jack looked longingly at the door to the secretaries’ office, wishing for a smoke. He rubbed his hands together, trying to look relaxed, but though he’d been given the chance to say things he’d wanted to say for years, the opportunity to do so only made him more tense.
“The cameras are off,” Tom Donner said, settling back
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in his seat a little. “Do you really think you can bring any of this off?”
“If I don’t try, what does that make me?” Jack sighed. “The government’s a mess. We all know that. If nobody tries to fix it, then it’ll just get worse.”
Donner almost felt sympathy for his subject at that point. This Ryan guy’s sincerity was manifest, as though his heart were beating right there on the sleeve of his jacket. But he just didn’t get it. It wasn’t that Ryan was a bad guy. He was just out of his depth, just as everyone else said. Kealty was right, and because he was right, Donner had his job to do.
“Ready,” the producer said.
“The Supreme Court,” Donner said, taking up the questioning from his colleague. “It’s been reported that you are now looking over a list of prospective justices for submission to the Senate.”
“Yes, I am,” Ryan replied.
“What can you tell us about them?”
“I instructed the Justice Department to send me a list of experienced appeals-court judges. That’s been done. I’m looking over the list now.”
“What exactly are you looking for?” Donner asked next.
“I’m looking for good judges. The Supreme Court is our nation’s primary custodian of the Constitution. We need people who understand that responsibility, and who will interpret the laws fairly.”
“Strict-constructionists?”
“Tom, the Constitution says that the Congress makes the law, the Executive Branch enforces the law, and the courts explain the law. That’s called checks and balances.”
“But historically the Supreme Court has been an important force for change in our country,” Donner said.
“And not all of those changes have been good ones. Dred Scott started the Civil War. Plessy v. Ferguson was a disgrace that set our country back seventy years. Please, you need to remember that as far as the law is concerned, I’m a layman–“