"He's at Camp Lejeune. Why?", I answered.
"Get him to the Capitol tonight. This is all about theater. Get him there in a uniform, sitting with his mother and sisters."
"Huh. I had planned on letting him alone. I didn't want to prejudice things..."
"Carl, that is ridiculously naïve! You aren't a Congressman anymore. You are the President of the United States! The guys over in the Pentagon are not going to let him just slide by. If you want him to have any sort of normal life, you are going to have to take that bull by the horns and have it out with them. Now, after we hang up, you need to get your Naval Adviser to get the boy on a plane!"
I chuckled. "Yes, sir. Pardon me for saying it, sir, but you still sound like a President."
"You bet, Carl! You bet!"
"Very good, sir. I will obey that order. Please tell your family that they are in Marilyn's and my prayers, and that we hope to see them again in the future."
"Thank you, Carl, and good luck to you and your family, as well."
After I hung up, I called Josh Bolten and told him what President Bush had told me. "So, how do we get Charlie up here?", I asked.
"We get Mike Miller in here, that's how."
I felt like an idiot, but I had been cut out of so much the last few months, and there were so many people working at the place. "Okay, so who's Mike Miller?"
"He runs the White House Military Office. If he can't do it, he'll know who can."
"Well, stop talking to me and call him. Bring him on in when you find him. Thank you." I hung up and started making some notes about what I wanted to say tonight. I didn't want to talk for a long time, and it wasn't the place for anything legislative, like a State of the Union Address. I needed something uplifting and patriotic, something that would let people know we still had a functioning government and one that would keep them alive. I put out a call for Matt Scully and Mike Gerson to stop by.
Before they could come in, Josh returned with a Navy Captain, an O-6, which was much higher up the food chain than the O-3 Army Captain I had been. "Mister President, this is Captain Miller. He should be able to help you.", said Josh.
I stood and went around my desk to greet Captain Miller. I had probably seen him in passing, but couldn't swear that we had actually spoken. "Captain, I have a small problem, and maybe you can help, or at least point me in the right direction."
"Yes, sir. Whatever I can do."
"This is in the nature of a personal emergency. My son is a Marine Lance Corporal at Camp Lejeune. I haven't had a chance to even call him about this, and I don't even know what he is doing, but I need him here in Washington tonight."
Captain Miller didn't bat an eye. "Yes, sir. I'll take care of it. Where should he report to, and what is his uniform to be?"
I opened my mouth, but didn't reply for a moment. "Captain, you seem to be smarter than I am. I like that! He needs to be at the Capitol by eight this evening, for when I get sworn in. You should probably get him to the residence at the Naval Observatory. We made sure he has all the uniforms he could need there. I would think that the Blue Dress Uniform is too much?"
"That's more like a tuxedo, sir. He should wear his Service A uniform. We'll let him know."
"Okay."
"With your permission, sir?", he asked.
"Thank you, Captain. I am sure we will be talking some more. I hope you get him here on time."
"The difficult we do immediately. The impossible just takes a little longer." He turned and left.
Josh smiled. "This situation sucks, Mister President, but we are going to make it work."
I motioned him towards an armchair and moved to one opposite him. He sat down and I asked, "Are we going to be able to mesh the staffs?"
"Pretty much. Some of them really are Vice Presidential only, and will be on hold until you name somebody. Frank Stouffer will work out. He's just awfully green at this..."
"Frank's a quick study and has been with me since the campaign. Let's see how he shapes up."
Josh nodded. " ... Agreed, sir. I'm not sure about your other fellow, Carter. The VP's press guy doesn't do much, and I don't think it's in his blood." I was about to say something, but Josh held up a hand to forestall me. "That being said, he isn't dumb. If he doesn't work out in the press office, we can move him somewhere else. He's the gay guy, right?"
"Is that a problem for you, Josh?", I asked. "Carter has been a smart and loyal staffer for me, going back to when I was in Congress."
"Hey, it's not a problem to me. I'm just saying, why's he a Republican? Half the party wants to burn him on a cross!"
I snorted. "You know, I asked him that once, back when Rove wanted me to fire him. He told me that his sexuality is not what defines him, that even homosexuals can want a strong and safe government and a decent tax policy and a balanced budget."
It was Bolten's turn to snort and shrug. "I can't argue with that. It just might be better to keep him out of the public eye."
"Josh, if he can't do the job or doesn't like the job, that is one thing. I am not going to bury him in the basement to satisfy the religious right. Hell, they don't like me anyway! If we are ever going to make this party relevant to young people again, we have to be more accepting to women, gays, Hispanics, blacks, you name it! We can't remain a party of old white people. You know what happens to old white people?"
"What?"
"They become dead white people. We need some fresh blood in the Party, or I am going to be the last Republican President for a long time."
Josh gave me a wry smile. "Good luck selling that one. Maybe you're right, but we both know people who won't want to hear it."
"I ain't blaming you, Josh. I'm just saying, numbers don't lie. I know what they say about me, but you know I'm not about to start wearing a robe and praying to Lenin and Marx."
"Mister President, I understand what you are saying. On the other hand, you must have heard the old saying about the problems with remembering that you are there to drain the swamp when you are up to your butt in alligators. We have a bunch of alligators, some of which you made."
"By firing people."
"Not to be blunt about it, but yes."
"Fair enough.", I answered. "We are going to need to replace some people. Right now the important ones are going to be the FBI and the CIA. Cheney, too." Josh looked distressed at that. "Josh, the man can barely be civil with me, let alone work with me. Whatever you feel about whatever direction you think I should be going in, you know we can't work like that."
He gave me a pained look, but nodded. "I understand, sir. It won't be pretty, though."
We spent the next half hour talking about possible personnel changes. Some of the best people might be qualified in more than one spot, others I didn't know very well and he needed to get some background worked up for me. Anybody I selected would need to go through a Senate confirmation hearing, and it was a guarantee they would be scrutinized closely.
Before he left, he asked, "What about a new Vice President?"
"Add that to the list of alligators, Josh."
He left and I ordered no more appointments or meetings for a few hours. I needed to think and to make a few phone calls. I had already learned I had a bunch of personal calls backing up, and it was time to clear some of them away. Marilyn was first, and I simply gave her the latest details on the schedule for the day, and that Charlie was going to be here for the swearing in. We'd be able to see him that evening and talk before sending him back to the Marines.