Talk Elections

I come before you tonight, full with the spirit of the hour, jaw-set in the knowledge of what lies ahead, to announce my candidacy for the presidency of Atlasia in the coming election.

It is sixteen months passed since last I placed my name before the nation in contest of the highest office. In those months, I have many a time being asked to make the fight once more; each time, I resisted. I had other work to do, in other quarters where I was more useful to my country and my fellow citizens; I did not wish to abandon this work in order to seek promotion when there were other wise and capable men and women ready to make the charge. I have, you see, always believed that it is the service one gives to one’s country, and not the grandness of the titles one receives in return, that are the true mark of statesmanship; I can only hope that I have lived up to this principle in my time here.

Yet now, as I observe the affairs of state, and consider my place in them, I am convinced the time has come to make the fight again. Our nation and the world with it now stand precariously balanced on the cliff of possibility; it is indispensable that we have in this hour a chief executive who is not only capable and active, but who knows intimately the rigors and hardships of leadership; who has weathered the storm, fought the battle against longest odds, and again and again survived the killing fires to fly forth reborn, stronger and wiser.

For two years — two long, trying, joyful, heartbreaking years — have I been employed in the service of my country. I was there in 2015 when apathy on the one hand and malice on the other threatened to destroy our republic from within. I was there in 2016 when partisan bloodlust and bad laws put our constitution to the test. I was there in 2017, when the western states were plunged into lawless anarchy by the thoughtless neglect of their representatives. Time and again, in the hour of crisis, I have stood on the front lines, upheld against the odds the principles of our republic with stoic competence. As a legislator for my region; as senator for the nation at-large; as president of the Constitutional Convention; as an officer of the cabinet; as prime minister of the western commonwealth; and indeed, as President of the Republic of Atlasia; I have shown time and again that I possess the courage to make hard choices, the vision to guide a nation, and the ability to see it through that are absolutely indispensable in a head of state. Popularity and pretty words are easy to come by; I offer something more — the unshakable, loyal company of results.

As senator and presiding office of the Constitutional Convention, I promised to renew our national institutions and rebuild the republic from the ground up — and I did. As Secretary of State, I promised to make foreign policy matter and confront challenges before they became crises — and I did. As president, I pledged to reform the executive branch, fight for activity at all levels of government, and uphold the integrity of the constitution — and I did. As Prime Minister for Fremont, I promised to restore activity and prosperity to the western region — and I did. Never once have I broken a promise, and never once have I gone back on my word. I have shown myself consistently committed to the principles of good governance, bipartisan leadership, and honest administration. These are the principles and experience that I will take with me into the White House on November 3.

What, then, will a Truman presidency look like? Upon this foundation of active, honest, and capable leadership, I make you the following solemn promises:


We are going to make foreign policy matter again. That it took the threat of all-out nuclear armageddon to rouse Nyman from its stupor is a disgrace and an embarrassment to our country. Thankfully, the State Department has now acted to address the crisis, and fondly do we hope that their efforts may be successful; but in truth, it should never have come to this. This emergency was completely unnecessary; it is the result of months of neglect and deliberate ignorance by politicians at every level of government, and it must be torn up by the roots at first expediency.

From my tenure as Secretary of State, which was described by Laborites and Federalists alike as among the most successful in recent memory, I know how to lead effectively on the world stage. My administration will address threats to our national interest proactively, and head on, rather than waiting for manageable difficulties to grow exponentially before acting. We will work closely with our allies, with the Russians, and with the Chinese to restore stability to the Pacific. We will rebuild our foreign policy apparatus by reinstating the National Security Council and finally completing the foreign policy review. We will negotiate a common market with Canada along the lines of the ABCMA adopted during my tenure in the State Department. We will support congressional legislation to address the humanitarian crisis in Iraq and Syria by the admission of (vetted) refugees from war-torn nations.


We are going to build an economy that works for everyone. Under my leadership, Fremont has seen a veritable explosion of economic growth, even as unemployment continues to rise in the rest of the nation. As president, I will bring the politics of prosperity to Nyman by supporting sensible and aggressive policies to put our nation back to work. I will introduce legislation to provide federal matching funds for a national high-speed rail network (AtlasRail). I will introduce legislation to implement a living wage based around the needs and resources of local communities, on the model of Fremont’s RWPA. I will fight for a progressive, pro-growth budget that cuts taxes for small businesses and middle class families while investing in education, job training, and infrastructure.


We are going to make Nyman work again. Since I left the White House, the executive branch — and especially the cabinet — has become a burial ground for good intentions. There have been good presidents and cabinet officers in that time, to be sure : Fhtagn was an exceptional Secretary of Internal Affairs, for instance, and I’m encouraged by the recent activity of Secretary of State Snowguy. In general, however, the cabinet is a mess. The National Archivist effectively ceased to exist months ago. The previous SoIA did absolutely nothing beyond starting an office thread. Meanwhile, the Department of Federal Elections continues to be burdened by the legislative catastrophe that is the Federal Elections Act, which is quite possibly the worst law ever signed by a president as far as rhetorical coherence is concerned. Some in Nyman seem to believe that we can solve this problem by rearranging the deck chairs and issuing a few vague comments about “activity;” but I, and I believe the nation, know that much more is necessary. We need a president who will overhaul the entire executive branch, purge failed policies and bad habits, and establish once and for all that the cabinet is more than just a bunch of people “writing fanfiction about their heroic efforts for Middle East peace.”


In the days and weeks to come, I will lay out my platform in greater detail — not only what policies I will (and will not) support, but a blueprint for how my administration will operate. Until then, may the liberty of our republic never perish in the face of adversity.

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