Chapter Three
Vice President Sanders knew that he was considered by most people to be just another one of those sleazy lifelong politicians nearing the end of his public life. As he sat in his office watching the impeachment vote he hoped that the majority of Americans believed him to be one of the good guys.
He was also aware that he was one of the few men to hold his current position that most people agreed could never be elected President. He had even privately admitted as much too many of the people closest to him, in addition to the fact that he personally viewed his current public office as his last.
To him, this job was supposed to be a well-deserved pre-retirement farewell tour. It was great, he had no official job responsibilities what so ever, except to have a pulse in case the President died, quit, or was otherwise removed from office. The President was a man who was so young and healthy, that the Vice President had just assumed, like everyone else, none of those things would ever come to pass.
This office had suited him just fine. He couldn’t help but think to himself that he was getting used to not having any official job responsibilities. The day he was sworn in as Vice President he wasn’t sure he was ready to retire, now he knew he could handle it. He was even looking forward to it.
All of that relative peace and tranquility was about to come to an end.
He quickly did the math in his head, and realized he had been working in this town for more than four decades. That was more than enough for anyone.
He looked around his ornately decorated office. Pictures of his family were interspersed amongst some phenomenal pieces of Americana. He had personally ensured that former Vice Presidents actively used each and every one of the non-personal items when they had held this elected office.
He wondered who, if anyone, would take the time to collect his items.
As the voting neared completion he thought to himself that the Office of the President was never something he had aspired to hold. He had grudgingly taken the slot as Vice President on the campaign ticket as a favor to the political party he had been a loyal member of for his entire adult life.
The party leadership had somehow managed to convince him that the image of a “seasoned hand” would be brought by adding his name, and experience, to the ticket. This would help the candidate, and ultimately an administration, solve a public image problem because it was being led by a relatively young and inexperienced Presidential Candidate who was eventually elected, sworn in, and now was about to be fired from that prestigious office.
He knew right then and there that one of his first actions as President would be to pardon his predecessor from any criminal activity. It would be a precautionary step, in case there was something going on he wasn’t aware of. That would allow him put this entire thing behind the country and move on. He wanted no more distractions. He knew he would pay a political price for it, but he didn’t care. There was no future beyond this term in office, at least that he could see.
The country deserved better than what it had been given recently. The Vice President hoped that, in time, people would forget all this mess, all this partisanship, all this hatred, and move on.
Right now all that his mind would return to was that he was about to be sworn into an office that he did not want. On top of that, it would be amidst one of the largest political scandals in modern American history.
It was exhausting to think about.
All the new challenges he would have to face.
Could he do it?
He was not sure that he could.
He knew he had to keep those doubts to himself. His advisors would have enough trouble coming their way. They did not need to help him with his internal struggles on top of everything else. Those were a burden he must carry alone.
To add to his concerns, this one decision appeared to be the only thing that the two major political parties in Washington D.C. could agree upon. If experience told him anything, it was that an even larger political divide was likely to emerge as a result of this action. The divide was now so large that he had no idea how he would close it, and thereby make it so that he could accomplish anything at all.
He wondered if there was anything he wanted to try to accomplish at this point. Was any of it worth the effort? It would be harder for him than any that came before.
He knew that this whole mess would cause him to have a very hard time getting any kind of legislation through Congress. The two branches appeared to be at war with one another lately. In all likelihood he would be considered a lame duck President from the moment he was sworn into the new office.
This was not the legacy he wanted to leave behind for his family, or the country, to remember him by.
He knew that the worst was yet to come.
The worst thing was the absolute certainty with which he knew that the first question he would be asked by the first reporter to see him would be, “Will you be seeking re-election?”
The only thing he knew for sure was that he felt tired. Running for any political office took energy. Running for the office of President took a level of energy he was certain he no longer possessed. This level of politics was really a younger man’s game. Running for President, while being President, was more than he could wrap his mind around at this point.
His Chief of Staff, Roxanne Burns, was the only other person in the room at the moment, “Roxy, are you ready for a promotion? It looks like we are about to move into some better offices. They certainly boast a more prestigious address.”
Roxanne looked at affectionately. They had worked together for fifteen years and he knew she thought of him like her grandfather.
“Sir, I think the more appropriate question is, are you ready?” she asked him.
He slowly stood from behind the large oak desk, putting on his suit jacket as he spoke. He was trying, and failing to hide the melancholy in his voice, “Am I prepared to step from history’s shadow into one of the brightest spotlights in the world? When my country calls I am always ready. I shall do my best to serve with distinction and help her heal from the wounds she has suffered. Together you, I, and the American people will return her to the glory she so richly deserves.”
He felt those were the words that needed to be said. He would work on his personal belief in his abilities to achieve these things later.
Right now he didn’t have the first clue how to accomplish any of it.
AP NEWS FLASH: The President of the United States was on television immediately following the vote in the House of Representatives in favor of his impeachment. He stated that he would fight the measure in the courts, claiming they did not have sufficient evidence to reach a conclusion and that this decision is based purely on vengeful politics. Constitutional scholars say the courts have no jurisdiction in this matter and it is expected not to become an issue the courts will allow themselves to become entangled. His statement has been referred to by many as a last, and desperate attempt to cling to power.
AP ECONOMIC NEWS FLASH: Shortly after the announcement of the decision to impeach the President of the United States the Asian markets turned sharply lower. This is a clear indication of how important stability in the United States is to the intertwined global economic system. The world economies are more linked than ever in human history. This could very well be an indicator of a severe downturn for the companies traded on the American stock markets on Monday morning. As the world has only recently come out of a global recession, which was widely considered the worst in roughly a century, it is easy to believe that the decision reached today by the House of Representatives will have a global impact. If confidence in the global economic system degrades, economists from all over the world agree that a global depression could easily be the result. Some economists are calling this decision irresponsible due to what could happen to the economy. The Speaker of the House of Representatives emphatically states that economic concerns should never dictate the outcome of what is, essentially, a criminal proceeding. To quote Speaker of the House, Scott Press, “No one is above the law.”