Hail to the Chief Read online

  Produced by Greg Weeks, Dave Lovelace, Stephen Blundelland the Online Distributed Proofreading Team athttps://www.pgdp.net

  HAIL TO THE CHIEF

  +-----------------------------+ | | | BY SAM AND | | JANET ARGO | | | | A great politician need not | | be a statesman ... but it | | is inherently futile to be | | a great statesman, and no | | politician. Except, of | | course, for a miracle ... | | | +-----------------------------+

  The tumult in Convention Hall was a hurricane of sound that lashed at asea of human beings that surged and eddied around the broad floor. Menand women, delegates and spectators, aged party wheelhorses andyoungsters who would vote for the first time that November, all losttheir identities to merge with that swirling tide. Over their heads,like agitated bits of flotsam, pennants fluttered and placards rose anddipped. Beneath their feet, discarded metal buttons that bore the namesof two or three "favorite sons" and those that had touted the onlyserious contender against the party's new candidate were trodden flat.None of them had ever really had a chance.

  The buttons that were now pinned on every lapel said: "Blast 'em WithCannon!" or "Cannon Can Do!" The placards and the box-shaped signs, witha trifle more dignity, said: WIN WITH CANNON and CANNON FOR PRESIDENTand simply JAMES H. CANNON.

  Occasionally, in the roar of noise, there were shouts of "Cannon!Cannon! Rah! Rah! Rah! Cannon! Cannon! Sis-boom-bah!" and snatches ofold popular tunes hurriedly set with new words:

  _On with Cannon, on with Cannon! White House, here we come! He's a winner, no beginner; He can get things done! (Rah! Rah! Rah!)_

  And, over in one corner, a group of college girls were enthusiasticallychanting:

  _He is handsome! He is sexy! We want J. H. C. for Prexy!_

  It was a demonstration that lasted nearly three times as long as theeighty-five-minute demonstration that had occurred when RepresentativeMatson had first proposed his name for the party's nomination.

  * * * * *

  Spatially, Senator James Harrington Cannon was four blocks away fromConvention Hall, in a suite at the Statler-Hilton, but electronically,he was no farther away than the television camera that watched thecheering multitude from above the floor of the hall.

  The hotel room was tastefully and expensively decorated, but neither thesenator nor any of the other men in the room were looking at anythingelse except the big thirty-six-inch screen that glowed and danced withcolor. The network announcer's words were almost inaudible, since thevolume had been turned way down, but his voice sounded almost as excitedas those from the convention floor.

  Senator Cannon's broad, handsome face showed a smile that indicatedpleasure, happiness, and a touch of triumph. His dark, slightly wavyhair, with the broad swathes of silver at the temples, was a littledisarrayed, and there was a splash of cigarette ash on one trouser leg,but otherwise, even sitting there in his shirt sleeves, he lookedwell-dressed. His wide shoulders tapered down to a narrow waist and leanhips, and he looked a good ten years younger than his actual fifty-two.

  He lit another cigarette, but a careful scrutiny of his face would haverevealed that, though his eyes were on the screen, his thoughts were notin Convention Hall.

  Representative Matson, looking like an amazed bulldog, managed to chewand puff on his cigar simultaneously and still speak understandableEnglish. "Never saw anything like it. Never. First ballot and you hadit, Jim. I know Texas was going to put up Perez as a favorite son on thefirst ballot, but they couldn't do anything except jump on the bandwagonby the time the vote reached them. Unanimous on the first ballot."

  Governor Spanding, a lantern-jawed, lean man sitting on the other sideof Senator Cannon, gave a short chuckle and said, "Came close not t'being unanimous. The delegate from Alabama looked as though he was goingto stick to his 'One vote for Byron Beauregarde Cadwallader' untilCadwallader himself went over to make him change his vote before thefirst ballot was complete."

  The door opened, and a man came in from the other room. He bounced in onthe balls of his feet, clapped his hands together, and dry-washed thembriskly. "We're in!" he said, with businesslike glee. "Image, gentlemen!That's what does it: Image!" He was a tall, rather bony-faced man in hisearly forties, and his manner was that of the self-satisfied businessmanwho is quite certain that he knows all of the answers and all of thequestions. "Create an image that the public goes for, and you're in!"

  Senator Cannon turned his head around and grinned. "Thanks, Horvin, butlet's remember that we still have an election to win."

  "We'll win it," Horvin said confidently. "A properly projected imageattracts the public--"

  "Oh, crud," said Representative Matson in a growly voice. "Theopposition has just as good a staff of PR men as we do. If we beat 'em,it'll be because we've got a better man, not because we've got betterpublic relations."

  "Of course," said Horvin, unabashed. "We can project a better imagebecause we've got better material to work with. We--"

  "Jim managed to get elected to the Senate without any of your help, andhe went in with an avalanche. If there's any 'image projecting' donearound here, Jim is the one who does it."

  Horvin nodded his head as though he were in complete agreement withMatson. "Exactly. His natural ability plus the scientific application ofmass psychology make an unbeatable team."

  Matson started to say something, but Senator Cannon cut in first. "He'sright, Ed. We've got to use every weapon we have to win this election.Another four years of the present policies, and the Sino-Russian Blocwill be able to start unilateral disarmament. They won't have to start awar to bury us."

  Horvin looked nervous. "Uh ... Senator--"

  Cannon made a motion in the air. "I know, I know. Our policy during thecampaign will be to run down the opposition, not the United States. Weare still in a strong position, but _if this goes on_--Don't worry,Horvin; the whole thing will be handled properly."

  Before any of them could say anything, Senator Cannon turned toRepresentative Matson and said: "Ed, will you get Matthew Fisher on thephone? And the Governor of Pennsylvania and ... let's see ... SenatorHidekai and Joe Vitelli."

  "I didn't even know Fisher was here," Matson said. "What do you want himfor?"

  "I just want to talk to him, Ed. Get him up here, with the others, willyou?"

  "Sure, Jim; sure." He got up and walked over to the phone.

  Horvin, the PR man, said: "Well, Senator, now that you're the party'scandidate for the Presidency of the United States, who are you going topick for your running mate? Vollinger was the only one who came evenclose to giving you a run for your money, and it would be good publicrelations if you chose him. He's got the kind of personality that wouldmake a good image."

  "Horvin," the senator said kindly, "I'll pick the men; you build theimage from the raw material I give you. You're the only man I know whocan convince the public that a sow's ear is really a silk purse, and youmay have to do just that.

  "You can start right now. Go down and get hold of the news boys andtell them that the announcement of my running mate will be made as soonas this demonstration is over.

  "Tell them you can't give them any information other than that, but givethem the impression that you already know. Since you _don't_ know, don'ttry to guess; that way you won't let any cats out of the wrong bags. Butyou _do_ know that he's a fine man, and you're pleased as all hell thatI made such a good choice. Got that?"

  Horvin grinned. "Got it. You pick the man; I'll build the image." Hewent out the door.

  * * * * *

  When the door had closed, Governor Spanding said: "So it's going
to beFisher, is it?"

  "You know too much, Harry," said Senator Cannon, grinning. "Remind me toappoint you ambassador to Patagonia after Inauguration Day."

  "If I lose the election at home, I may take you up on it. But whyMatthew Fisher?"

  "He's a good man, Harry."

  "Hell yes, he is," the governor said. "Tops. I've seen his record asState Attorney General and as Lieutenant Governor. And when GovernorDinsmore died three years ago, Fisher did a fine job filling out hislast year. But--"

  "But he couldn't get re-elected two years ago," Senator