Watson Timeline: Mark 2

[Dr. Cynic]

I know it was a long time coming, so hopefully this update was an enjoyable one.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I'd be happy with either a Laxalt or Dole Presidency, though given how Conservatives are ending up in this, I doubt either will win (or even if they win will be successful), but carry on.

[Dr. Cynic]

I'd be happy with either a Laxalt or Dole Presidency, though given how Conservatives are ending up in this, I doubt either will win (or even if they win will be successful), but carry on.

I've been leaning towards a Republican victory actually. Dunno yet, I'm not 100% on what I want to do, which is why I haven't written much. (Apart from apartment hunting)

[Dr. Cynic]

Lawrence Watson's 70th Birthday Interview

Taped on February 11th, 2020

Interviewer: Describe how you grew up. What was your life like?

Watson: I spent the first few years of my life in Elliott which is one of the Pittsburgh suburbs. At the time, it was on the decline. A really really poor neighborhood. They used to call it "dog town". Everyone had a dog in that neighborhood and that's where one bit me which gave me a deep scar on my arm, which you can still see. After we left there, we moved to Carrick and then finally to the North Side. My old man worked for the B&O Railroad.

Interviewer: What did he do for the railroad? I thought everyone in that era was a steel worker?

Watson: He was an engineer. He started as a fireman in 1938 and became an engineer in 1944. He ran a lot of the gigantic steam engines. These massive engines called Alleghenies were the largest in the eastern United States. He frequently drove engine number 1650 which was scrapped when steam went out. I know diesel and electric will always be more efficient, but I was far more enamored with steam. When I was younger, I started a model railroad and today, my model is the largest in Pittsburgh.

Interviewer: They featured you in Model Railroader magazine, didn't they?

Watson: In 1992, yes.

Interviewer: What else?

Watson: In Pittsburgh, we played football. I had three brothers and a bunch of us would get together with our friends and play on the sandlots. Because I was so much bigger than everyone else, I played on offensive and defensive lines. We also played baseball and we went to boxing and wrestling matches. Everything was about competition and we all had to grow up to be tougher. Preparing for life in the mills or something like that.

Interviewer: And none of you became mill workers...

Watson: Nope.

Interviewer: So what then? You went to Pitt? How did you afford it?

Watson: Football scholarship. It was the only way at the time, but I was considered one of the top 25 Centers in the country. I was 6'3" 330lb. In my last year I played for Johnny Majors. Then won the national title a couple years after I left, which disappointed me. I was going to go to the NFL, but in the Fiesta Bowl, I had my knee broken and my pelvis twisted. So, I never made the NFL.

Interviewer: So how did you end up in Pennsylvania politics?

Watson: I really became active in 1968. We were big admirers of Hubert Humphrey and I was a junior volunteer for the Humphrey-Muskie campaign. But I really got an active start when Pete Flaherty hired me right out of college. He was looking for someone who could handle PR and communicate with the press and things of that nature for the re-election campaign. In 1973, he was facing Richard Caliguiri who was a Councilman at the time. Caliguiri was very good with the press. Of course the machines hated the both of them, but they wanted to get Pete out. So, I went to work for Pete and he got a moderate victory.


Continued....

[Dr. Cynic]

Update tomorrow probably.

[Dr. Cynic]

Present Day....

Sitting up in bed opposite his latest conquest, Scott Westman rubbed his eyes and turned to view the alarm clock that read 7:00AM. It's too early for this, he thought. The woman opposite him was flame-haired and resting peacefully. Scott got up and opened the window revealing a stark Montana morning. Big sky country looked beautiful on that wintery morning and Westman was happy to be out of Washington for a change. Screw politics today, it was time for a vacation... And what better vacation than being in Erin O'Brien's arms?

She was a young, up and coming reporter who had been charmed by Scott during his VP run in '84. Westman didn't mind losing as much because he had no desire to be second fiddle under a domineering President like Dent would undoubtedly be. Westman had come to closely see Dent's strengths and weaknesses on the campaign trail. Sure, Dent was brilliant, charismatic and made of Teflon. But he was also somewhat impulsive, thin-skinned and irascible as well as completely dominant. Dent demanded Westman's endorsement in 1988, but Scott held back at first, opening a small but bridgeable rift between the old friends.


Meanwhile

The Presidential campaign was just heating up even though a winter storm froze much of the northeast. Lawrence Watson didn't mind the cold weather as much as his wife did. It took her several years to get used to the idea of snow, let alone anything else. While he stayed in Pittsburgh, his Washington office was being kept up by his senior staffers. The winter storm had turned Washington into a veritable ghost town. One of the few members of Congress who chose to show up, Ed Clark, the lone Libertarian who had slipped in during a big California election, was content to form contacts with more libertarian leaning Democrats and Republicans in Washington in hopes of gaining some respect. Clark was playing the fortunate hand he'd been dealt.

Jefferson Dent was not nearly so at ease as Scott Westman nor Lawrence Watson. His time was being spent obsessing over convention details. Dent wanted to plan ahead this time, rather than run a campaign like his impulsive 1984 effort. His mind was on a running mate, but who should he pick? He wanted Watson. But it was doubtful he'd go for it. Although while in Pittsburgh, he gave Dent the ok to vet him, he spent just as much time on the phone pushing for others. He pushed for Paul Simon and he pushed for Allen Ertel, Pennsylvania's bookish Governor whom he'd once had a blistering Senate primary fight with, but who had turned into a strong ally. He pushed for Representatives Bob Edgar and Mark Singel, both loyal lieutenants in his Pennsylvania machine. He knew neither would be considered by Dent because they were loyal to Watson in ways men such as Dale Bumpers, Claude Harris and Ben Jones (the actor who had once played a scruffy mechanic on The Dukes of Hazzard but was now a well liked junior Congressman) were to him. Indeed that was part of the reason why Dent wanted Watson. He knew Watson inspired tremendous loyalty, but he also worried that he was becoming another Pennsylvania "Boss". Pennsylvania was a state where this happened over and over, be it the Cameron family, Boies Penrose, or his Democratic predecessor, David Leo Lawrence. Dent could see some danger in that and wanted it broken. Making Lawrence Watson his running mate would be one way to do it. But Watson, completely oblivious to it and thinking mainly of his current career satisfaction, tried to deflect the job to someone else. Dent's other serious candidates were Joe Biden, John Kerry and Lloyd Bentsen.

[Dr. Cynic]

Pell-Watson Education Bill vetoed by President Reagan after passing 54-46...

[Dr. Cynic]

Lawrence Watson's 70th Birthday Interview

Continued...

Interviewer: Describe for us the world of Pittsburgh politics in the early 1970s...

Watson: Rancorous. There were different forces that had been trying to control everything ever since David Lawrence had died. On one hand you had the Democratic machine, which was filled with a bunch of old men who had been loyal to Lawrence and who had basically pushed Joe Barr around through the 60s. Then you had two camps of reformers. You had Flaherty, who I worked for and you had Richard Caliguiri with his own faction. It stirred up all kinds of trouble with the Irish and Italian communities in Pittsburgh. I never had a preference for either because I'm Scots-Cornish.

Interviewer: The 1973 Democratic Primary was the first you worked on, yes?

Watson: Yeah. Caliguiri got the machine endorsement because Flaherty had just pissed them off to no end. He also wanted to bring a world class airport to Pittsburgh, which we didn't have. It was outmoded and dated and small. He didn't get it, but he fought for it and even tried to use the budget surplus to get it. It was a no-go. So, in the meantime, I'm doing a lot of canvassing and making contacts. Pete put me out with the press corps to try to woo them because Caliguiri always had an advantage in that department. I think Caliguiri held me responsible for losing the press advantage.

Interviewer: You worked closely with Flaherty after that and you were elected to Pittsburgh City Council?

Watson: In 1974 just to fill a vacancy by a member who had died.

Interviewer: In 1976, you ran for Congress. The seat being vacated by John Heinz. Describe your thoughts on it.

Watson: A whirlwind. I don't remember a lot about the campaign, but I know my opponent was a man named Robert J. Casey. The thing about running for a House seat is that it's almost like running for Mayor. Everything is local, but you have to tailor your local politics to a national scale. It's an odd sort of thing to campaign for. Constituents have national questions rather than local ones.

Interviewer: What was your national policy at the time? What did you campaign on?

Watson: I campaigned on labor issues, which were issues I knew. I also wanted to get maybe some national funding for a new airport in Pittsburgh and I wanted to help raise the minimum wage. Apart from that, I had no real policy yet.

Interviewer: Talk about your campaign manager. I know he's been with you since the beginning.

Watson: Jimmy Lewis is brilliant. He come up with the ad spots, He tailored the message. He coordinated my office. He did almost everything himself. He's a brilliant strategist and he's got a mind for the chess of politics, but he could never make it as a politician. He doesn't have a personal touch. He's very much a manager.

Interviewer: Now we come to the period of your personal life that most people are undoubtedly familiar with... Your four years in the House of Representatives. This is when you met your wife, is it not?

Watson: That's right.

Interviewer: But before that, you also picked up a mentor and a few close allies. But you really picked up on partying. Did you party a lot in college?

Watson: Not really. I did some, but Pitt was not a big party school at the time and I was really deep into all things football. So I did party some, but not much.

Interviewer: What got you into the late night scene?

Watson: More like who. Scott Westman and I were both young guys and I guess because we were so close in age, it was easy to form a close friendship. We both liked to go out to the bars and we both had our fair share of drinks. He can really hold his liquor. I probably could too if I didn't down 20-25 cocktails a sitting. Bottles of wine just to myself. I had a real problem. Scott was a hit with women. Those young college girls all flocked to him. Tanned, blonde, perky, eager. They were drawn to him. Those same girls were drawn to me for different reasons. So, some nights we'd both leave with three or four women at a time. I know I couldn't have kept up that lifestyle for long. Mo Udall told me to take a trip and relax and so we got some work done at the same time. I was a junior member of the Defense committee and we used a little pretense when I went there on an "official fact finding trip". It didn't cost any taxpayer money for me to go to Australia at least.

Interviewer: Where did you meet Laura?

Watson: On a beach in Sydney. She was reading in the sun and I sat down to bother her.

Interviewer: Would you describe it as life changing?

Watson: Certainly, but not right away. I was still recovering and I was recovering until at least 1981...


Continued...

[Dr. Cynic]

BREAKING NEWS

---CHIEF JUSTICE WILLIAM REHNQUIST SHOT----SUSPECTED ASSASSIN IN CUSTODY---

Early this morning, William Rehnquist, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was shot by a masked assailant as he made his way into the Court chambers. Police and security officials quickly apprehended the suspect. Rehnquist was immediately rushed to George Washington University Hospital. We can confirm that the Chief Justice died shortly thereafter while in surgery.

The assassin remains unidentified, though sources say he was once a member of the Socialist Labor Party, a radical political party that advocates industrial unionism to replace the current government. The once active party has been generally moribund, apart from publishing a weekly newsletter. The SLP could not be reached for contact, nor could relatives of the late Justice Rehnquist.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Update or die.

[Dr. Cynic]

Update or die.

I will soon.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Update or die.

I will soon.

But which one?

[Dr. Cynic]

Update or die.

I will soon.

But which one?

Update probably... I'm just planning my wedding stuff at the moment, so give me some time.

[Dr. Cynic]

Watson's conversations with staffers and friends on the Rehnquist assassination....

Watson: No sh**t... Who are they saying did it?
Jim Lewis: Some delusional DeLeonist bent on some sort of worker's revolution.
Watson: Well, that doesn't sound good. Was he in the IWW?
Lewis: They don't know yet. Harry, have you got anything?
Harry Eckhardt, union go-between: None of my people have heard anything. The union obviously isn't going to take responsibility for this.
Watson: Politically, what kind of damage am I looking at, if any?
Lewis: Is that all you care about?! A man was just killed!
Watson: By a union activist. Unions are my biggest constituency. I can't have something like this hurting me in the future. We need to put out some press releases to nip this in the bud the minute we find anything out.
Lewis: Fine, I'll take care of it, but I don't like how cavalier you are. Even if you didn't like him. It's no more likely that you'll get along with the guy Reagan nominates.
Watson: Good point, Jimmy. How can we delay a nomination. Can we get a meeting with Dale. He's on the judiciary committee...
Lewis: Jesus Christ...

[Dr. Cynic]

Two weeks later....

Dale Bumpers sipped on his drink as he sat in the cloakroom, looking absolutely incredulous at Watson's request.

Bumpers: Well, we can delay anyone Reagan nominates, but it's almost certain they'll get through anyway. Why the paranoia?

Watson: I'm concerned about the union blow-back I'm going to get. First off, because of Rehnquist getting killed by some goof with a union card, I'm going to get hammered by Republicans back home...

Bumpers: Since when has that ever concerned you? You were mistaken to throw your lot in so strongly with any special interest group anyway...

Watson: Dale, do me this favor... I know you're not a union guy, but we can't let Reagan put someone on who's going to roll things back to the 1800s with some new archaic labor laws!

Bumpers: Well... I guess I'll see what I can do to help....

Bumpers sets his glass down and gets up to go to the chamber.

Bumpers: Y'all comin' inside?

Watson: Not right now. (Checking his watch) I promised I'd meet with Bill Bradley at Bistro Bis.

Bumpers: Alright boy, take it easy.

[Dr. Cynic]

TIME

June Issue 1988

How Pittsburgh Became The Center of the Universe

In days gone by, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was a dirty, smoky, smoggy city. Street lights flickered on before the end of the school day. Baseball and football games were played in the dark as the sky glowed a frightening dark-orange color. It was "Hell with the lid off". It was in that depressing, Gotham-like world that Lawrence Watson began growing up. With his father often absent as a railway engineer, his homemaker mother did the best to install the Watson children with the values of the people of the city. Hard work, loyalty, family. He and his two brothers played sandlot football with a group of neighborhood kids. One of whom, James Lewis, is now his most trusted adviser. All three Watson brothers were popular among their peers. David, Lawrence and Thomas Watson were talented athletes and good students. All three had a certain level of personal charisma. David Watson was a ruggedly handsome man who at first pursued a military career, but ended up in broadcasting. Thomas, the least athletic of the brothers, found his niche working as a professional wrestling promoter in Pittsburgh, Wheeling and Philadelphia markets. Lawrence appeared destined for the NFL as an All-American center for Pitt. However, a severe back injury conspired against him and he now finds himself the most powerful man in Pennsylvania politics.

Stories like the Watson brothers are only half of it. Pittsburgh has turned around remarkably since the smoky steel mills dotted the rolling hills of the landscape. Today, Pittsburgh is first in population growth and second in green jobs. It's in the top ten in economy and although it doesn't provide the steel that drove the national economy as it used to, it's been reinvented as the place to be for educators, health care and even the film industry. A new auto manufacturer is set to open its doors and business staples such as Heinz are hiring more than ever. Politicians point to it as a shining example of success for the nation to follow. Both Senators for the state are well loved locals. Pittsburgh now exerts more control on state matters than Philadelphia. A first. But how did it happen?

Look to the two Senators. John Heinz and Lawrence Watson are both champions of Pittsburgh. Though in very different ways. Heinz and Watson are at odds on matters of economic policy, but they both brought jobs into the city. Heinz has helped to convince other companies that Pittsburgh is a good base of operations by continuing to run his business there. Heinz handled negotiations with 24 different firms to open offices in Pittsburgh. 16 did so, adding several thousand jobs.

Watson was responsible for convincing university's to lower their tuition in the city (as well as statewide) to attract more students. Watson also used foreign connections to help negotiate trade deals to help the new firms locating in Pittsburgh. Watson was also a major force in getting the new car maker, Hart Motor Company into the city thanks to his influence with labor unions allowing the fledgling company to get off the ground without difficult union negotiations.

Philadelphians need not worry. Watson and Heinz are both there frequently. Both of Pennsylvania's Senators are working on making Philadelphia a hub for clean air travel. But then, that's not what this article is focusing on. Another new feature that could be coming to Pittsburgh is a bullet train. The big snafu causing the holdup? Cost. Watson and Heinz disagree on how much federal funding should be provided as well as what cities to connect to. Governor Ertel, meanwhile is anxious to end the stalemate by offering more state funds to invest. Either way, the citizens of Pittsburgh are enjoying the prominence. They like having Presidential candidates visiting town more often. Jeff Dent and Bob Dole were both in town last week. Watson appearing with Dent and Heinz appearing with Dole.

Pittsburgh has become the center of the political universe. John Heinz is in the middle of an election himself. if Watson has his way, Heinz will be ousted. Watson is pulling out all the stops for one of his Pennsylvania lieutenants, Williamsport Congressman, Bob Edgar. Edgar is a liberal ex-minister who has been self-described as coming from the "Watson wing of Pennsylvania's Democratic Party". Note that Watson's powerful name is being used in place of "left" or "liberal". Pennsylvania still likes self-professed moderates like Heinz. Edgar is facing an uphill battle. Heinz is leading the race by a comfortable, but by no means safe, 6 points. Pittsburgh figures to play prominently down to the wire.

Truly, it's become the new center of the political universe.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Finally.

[Dr. Cynic]

July, 1988

The Republicans

By virtue of holding their convention first, the Republican Party (and President Reagan) dominated the first and second week news cycle in July. The biggest issue going into their convention being held in sunny San Diego was the fact that the party did not have a Vice Presidential nominee. Bob Dole and Paul Laxalt had done battle in the primaries when Vice President Bush refused to be a candidate leaving the door ajar for someone new. Because the primary battle had gone into mid-June, Dole had gotten almost no time to pick a running mate, though both he and Laxalt had been vetting potential prospects since April. Paul Laxalt was leaning towards picking Thomas Kean, the moderate New Jersey Governor who would provide a good balance in most areas of need. Kean was not averse to running for the spot, but played coy with Laxalt because he was also being talked to by Dole. Not knowing Dole or Laxalt well, Kean saw no reason to discourage either.

Of course, Kean didn't realize that he wasn't the top man on Dole's list. Dole's first choice was his Senate colleague John Heinz, whom he thought to be dynamic and who came from important Pennsylvania. Heinz was popular in the state, excepting the heavily Democratic Philadelphia, but did not provide executive experience balance. Lamar Alexander, the Governor of Tennessee was being touted as well.

On the convention's second day, President Reagan electrified the faithful with his address condemning such things as the Democratic education plan, recent union extremism, lack of compromise during the global recession and also veiled but harsh condemnations of foreign influences in American elections (A slap which was only detected by those close in the know). Reagan warned that a President Dent would be a corrupt, slimy, weak leader who could easily be bought and influenced.

"Having dealt with Jefferson Dent over the course of my Presidency, I can assure you all at home something that most of us here at the convention already know. There is no issue Jefferson Dent has ever endorsed without seeing a specific benefit in it for himself".

Of course, hyperbole like this ran rampant in San Diego, but the unity and cheerful feelings among the delegates was replaced on the last two days by a long nomination wrangle for both offices. At least long in today's terms. It took 10 roll calls before a choice was made for President and almost 30 for Vice President. Bob Dole went into the convention with a small lead in the delegate count. Meanwhile, the convention bounced back and forth between the first choices of Kean and Heinz. Alexander was also touted, but quickly removed his name when he sensed a protracted fight that he wouldn't have a spot in. Kean came close, but the Heinz group cut a deal with both Dole and Laxalt that allowed him to finally be the choice. Kean was furious at this and he left San Diego perplexed over his loss.

The Presidential nomination process for the Republicans was a shorter affair. Although it took some time to dispense of the pledges, there was little doubt that eventually Dole would be the nominee as his total increased on each ballot. Dole's acceptance speech was well received but on the whole dry. He kept his remarks fairly short, only 19 minutes. In that time he made the case for unity, even though the nomination had been a fight, he urged the delegates and Republicans to remember the unity they had shared earlier in the week as well as drawing a deep contrast between his image and that of Dent's.

[Dr. Cynic]

Jim Lewis calls from his law office in Richmond, VA to the Watson's Pittsburgh home.

Watson: Hello?
Lewis: Hey, it's Jimmy. I just got a call from Dent's managers. They wanna know if you'd be willing to be vetted.
Watson: Is it worth it to be?
Lewis: Yeah, there's no harm in it. You'd be a longshot to be picked. Everyone says he's leaning toward Biden.
Watson: Well, if they wanna talk to me, I don't see any harm in it. We could go for it.


Watson calls Scott Westman, who is back in Montana.

Watson: (To himself) Damn long distance charges. You'd think Scott would have found someplace closer with more women to stay the whole damn summer in...
Laura: Well, he's got his whole family up there.

Westman: Yeah?
Watson: You were chosen by the Dent people last time. How do they vet? Cause they asked me if I was willing. I was wondering if you had any advice?
Westman: Aw hell, his people were all over me because of my personal life. They figured that everyone knew anyway so it wasn't a big deal. You got anything to hide?
Watson: Ummm... Well, there was the drinking....
Westman: It wasn't the best kept secret in the beltway, bro. Anything else?... Come on, you're the King of Pennsylvania. How the hell did you get the throne? Were you really honest in everything that you did?

Watson pauses for a long while. Thinking back to any moment that might have been.

Westman: Well, okay fine. Be silent....
Watson: Oh no, it's not that I'm ignoring you... I was just trying to think.
Westman: Well, Dent's got some top notch people there. They'll find out whatever they need to.
Watson: Well, it's not like I'm going to be picked anyway. He wants Joe Biden.
Westman: (laughing) Who told you that line of bullsh**t?!

[Dr. Cynic]

The Watsons and Jim Lewis entered the meeting with Dent's vetting team with a certain degree of ambivalence. The Senator wanted the job. Laura didn't want to go on a national campaign. Jim Lewis was anxious to raise his profile among top Democratic Party activists. He was well known with the Irish Catholics, but completely unknown to other operatives. Jeff Dent sat off in the corner. He listened mostly and said little while drinking a vodka tonic. The vetters were an odd looking trio. Henry Bolt, a well known Beltway operator who was known to have dirt on just about ever politician in the country. Tom Girardi, a lawyer from Chicago who Dent often called for legal advice, and finally Barry Obama, a Harvard Law graduate who worked for Girardi.

Girardi: Senator... Mrs. Watson... I believe you know Henry Bolt, and this is my assistant, Barry.
Watson: Hiya.
Obama: Good to meet you, Senator. You have a very pretty wife.

Laura blushes slightly and thanks him for the compliment. Lewis leans in to speak to Lawrence.

Lewis: Be very careful what you tell Bolt.
Watson: It'll be alright...
Girardi: So, who's this with you?
Watson: Jimmy Lewis. He's my top guy.
Girardi: Oh okay. How long have you worked for Senator Watson?
Lewis: 14 years.
Girardi: So, you won all the campaigns you've managed for him?
Lewis: Undefeated.
Girardi: How nice. What would you say his greatest strength and weakness are? I take it you know him better than most people.
Lewis: His greatest strength as a candidate is charisma and ability to connect with the average voter. I've seen Lawrence do incredible things as a campaigner.... His greatest weakness I'd say is his temper. He can get very angry. I've seen him explode before.

Laura shifts in her seat uncomfortably. Lawrence is poker-faced.

Obama: Explode? Like how?
Bolt: Like starting barroom brawls! How about screaming at a protester at a campaign rally?... How about the time you attempted to choke a fellow member of the House in 1977?
Watson: I don't deny I have a temper. But I've mellowed out a lot since my sobriety.
Girardi: Mr. Lewis, that's all the questions I have for you for the moment... Could you be kind enough to wait over by Senator Dent?...
Obama: Mrs. Watson, you were born overseas?
Laura: Yeah.
Obama: I spent a lot of my childhood overseas. I was born in Hawaii... Where were you born?
Laura: Brisbane, Australia. But I lived in Sydney most of my young life.
Obama: What did you do in Australia? What was your occupation?
Laura: I was an aeronautical engineer. I designed aircraft, more specifically helicopters for the Australian military.
Bolt: Were you aware that the trip your husband took to Sydney was paid for by the taxpayer? It was all a ruse set up by Congressman Udall and Senator Kennedy to help him "take a vacation" to recover from his drinking problem. To get him out of the beltway.
Laura: No, I wasn't aware. He sat on the Defense Committee, I thought it was perfectly legitimate for him to be there.
Bolt: Not many people know the truth of it, but it could get out and damage Senator Dent's campaign.
Laura: I don't believe it's an issue. My husband was in Australia for legitimate reasons...
Bolt: So you would think. What about the issue of yourself? He's been attacked before for marrying you, hasn't he?
Watson: My wife is not the one being vetted!
Obama: Mrs. Watson... Do you have any children?
Laura: Yes.
Bolt: One of them born in Australia?...
Watson: Yes, our daughter was born in Australia.... These are really piddly sh**t issues, if you ask me.
Girardi: We just need to cover our bases. You all want to live in Blair House, don't you?
Laura: I don't. I don't want my children growing up there, either....

[Dr. Cynic]

Later.... After the Interview...

Girardi: Well, that was an interesting interview... Well, who do you like so far, Jeff?
Dent: I'm not sure. I want Watson. He's got PA's fat votes and he's good with policy and with people generally. But then, so is Biden, I guess.
Bolt: That wife of his would be a problem, though. She's an introvert. She's smarter than most voters with that fancy engineering degree... And she's foreign. So is one of their children and that's open to subtle attack.
Obama: I like them. He seems like a good running mate for you, Jeff. Biden is too gaffe prone and Delaware isn't a big vote bloc.
Girardi: I'm not sure. My gut says Biden's the right choice in all ways except electoral math.
Dent: I'll think on it...

Dent took a drink and Girardi took a drag off his cigarette. Having finished his job, Bolt left his folders on the table and left. No doubt off to some dark corner of the Beltway. Obama also took his leave given that he was a junior partner. Dent and Girardi would lay out all the folders and discuss the options further.

[Dr. Cynic]

Ring!

Watson: Hello?
Dent: Hey Lawrence... How'd you like to be my running mate?
Watson: Could be fun.
Dent: Now THAT'S what I wanna hear, boy! Good job.