Bab 4: An American President
President Bowmore was seriously interested in what his colleauges had to say. The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State both had good arguments; some for and other against the further support of various countries. Supporting a country at war would strenghten the relationship with that particular country, but would equally definitly ruin the relationship with another. Then there were always problems with NATO and other alliences; who would hate them for supporting whom? The Secretaries were the ones who'd discuss it all, they'd argue over the phone, face to face, in long and often heated debates, and most of all, behind closed doors. The Presidents job was to listen to both sides and make a choice. And how did President Bowmore choose? Partially because of the arguments; what made more sense, partially because of his advisors opinions, and lastly, what harmonied with the Heart of America. Freedom.
"The question isn't why, or how, it's who. Who's the attacker and who's the defender. America stands for freedom. We are on the side of the defensless, on the side of the victims. We stand for equality, for justice and for the rights of souvereign countries. And we will fight alongside these countries, protecting their land, their borders, because in doing so we will show the world that freedom is the first and foremost thing." He'd said in one of his speeches as he'd been travelling from state to state. And these words had played a central part in his politics so far. Whatever he decided, he based it on the thought of freedom.
President Bowmore was educated, he was intelligent, he'd first worked in a company and he'd worked his way up hard and fast, but he was also an american patriot and a cunning man. Having studied history he knew very well that you couldn't always 'rightfully' just stand with the victims, the invaded, the ones who were on the 'good side' because often, when you looked back into the past, you'd find countless of reasons, of conflicts ect. almost no war could just be solved by creating military alliences and 'standing' for one country or another. War would be a nearly impossible problem to solve, he'd realized. So he'd went with the best option; the one the majority of Americans would support.
After hearing the Secretaries out he wished, once again, that his job could maybe be held by seven people, or at least three! Always having the last say stressed him out. He'd known it would be like this, that he'd have to make the call, and that he'd be responsible for what happened, but he hadn't guessed nearly how often that would happen. He played with his pen, it not only calmed his nerves but also gave him the ability to look at his watch. The meeting couldn't last much longer, could it?
"I propose we continue to send humanitarian aid to both countries." The Secretary of state said. The President nodded. "But we should start to think about how many more weapons we should deliver. I'm for keeping the ammount we have been, but no raise. I just don't see the point." The Secretary of Defense agreed. President Bowmore eyed them both.
"I suppose that'll be the smartest thing." He agreed. He kept his voice level, but he was a bit agitated. Perhaps it was still the lack of sleep...
***
"Honestly, honey, how does it take nine men and two and a half hours to come to the conclusion that nothing is going to change?" He said with a sigh as he unbuttoned his shirt. "We might get more things done if we only changed things when a problem surfaced or when a few months have passed, I don't get why every week we talk about the same...are you even listening to me?"
Monica Bowmore, born Monica Trembley, shrugged as she entered the bedroom. "I don't know, don't ask me. I'm not a politician. And yes, I was listening." She plucked her earrings out of her ears and lay them on the nightstand by her side of the bed. "When are you going to get me more earrings Alistair. I've been wearing the same ones for weeks, in case you haven't noticed."
"You don't need twenty sets."
"Pairs." She corrected, shooting him an annoyed look. "And I know that. But the only ones fit for a First Lady are this and another pair. Any my other pair are bright red, they don't fit to every outfit." She argued.
"Honey," Bowmore said, slipping under the sheets to join his wife in bed, "then just wear red everyday."
"What am I? Communist?" She asked, but she had to smile.
"Maybe..." He teased. "But seriously darling, if you want new earrings go buy them yourself. You still work as a history teacher part-time, don't you." He kissed her on the cheek. "And I don't want to get the reputation of buying unnecessary things."
"You're not even a year into your first term and you're already thinking of the next." She said with a sigh. "When are we going to go on vacation again, cheri, it's been so long." It had been long. For over one and a half years her husband hadn't taken more than a weekend off.
"We will soon, don't worry. And you know you can always visit your family in France, I won't hold you back from that."
"I know, and I might go in a month or two, my mother misses me a lot. But I want to go with you, after one day of living with my mother I get reminded why I left home with seventeen. She's so annoying I didn't just leave France I left Europe entirely!" She raised her arms in desperation. Her husband laughed and kissed her on the curl of her lips.
"She isn't that bad." He responded. She shrugged, unagreeingly. "Night, darling." And though his conscious mind stayed by Monica, he dreamt very, very different things.
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