Chapter 62

62
THE WHITE HOUSE

"I got five hours of sleep on Air Force One on the way home from Cairo. I haven't looked at morning polls, but nothing in them could possibly surprise me. I can tell you that the National Committee to Reelect Chairman was on the phone twice. Damn! I was only gone a day and a half. He's telling me that this administration is taking the full hit from the Fundamentalists and getting next to nothing from the Neo-Apostolics. Approval rating dropped eight points in one day and I wasn't even in town. I didn't do or say anything and I lost eight points in one day! We're bleeding, General. We're bleeding!"

"Granted. This guy was tearing us a new butt while He was still in Brazil. So now we got Him here without going to war. The plan is to use Him to limit the violence, to diffuse this nightmare. I can assure you, General Veemer, if there is no lessening of the violence and if there is no diffusing effect, then there will be no more Haskill Administration after the next election. I don't know how far down the ranks we'll hear that death rattle, but I assume that four stars will get you invited to the party. I'm ready to hear a plan. First of all, where are we?" President Haskill was in a cynical mood after a week of chaotic diplomatic brinkmanship. "General Veemer, what's the report?"

"The Fundies and the Neo-Apostolics are now rioting in shifts. Who ever heard of riots that started at seven o'clock in the morning? Smith-Abner Poll for yesterday shows that forty-one percent of the people who normally watch television are now out rioting. On the down side, Smith-Abner is showing Buck Stratton Ministries with the highest listenership in the nation. And, by that I mean that he is beating out the soap operas, the evening news and first run movies. The only television market that is paying its own way right now is MTV. The kids are vegetating as usual."

"Thank God for the youth of this great country! I knew we could count on them. They're America's future, you know." The President broke in insipidly.

General Veemer continued, "Their parents are rioting. Smith-Abner shows a fifty-eight percent disapproval rating when they asked kids about their parents being involved in demonstrations and rioting, nineteen percent didn't care as long as they were out of the house and twelve percent didn't know if their parents were rioting or not." General Veemer could not be faulted for failing to feel the pulse of the country. "The hot button is Jesus. That same poll shows thirty-four percent of the general population are completely convinced He is the anti-Christ. Thirty-nine percent think He is controlling the government. Forty-four percent think He is Jesus Christ and that this is the Second Coming. I think we should both probably assume that those folks are expecting either the Tribulation or the end of world shortly. You can divide those two groups right down the middle between the Fundamentalists and the Neo-Apostolics. The Neo-Apostolics, within sampling errors, have just now pulled ahead. This poll is the first time they actually carried population over Stratton's bunch. That sounds promising, but FBI intelligence places Neo-Apostolics as probable instigators in over half the incidences of civil violence."

"Nationally, the average daily casualties for the last week are one hundred sixty-three injured per day, twenty-eight dead per day, roughly sixty percent inflicted by gun shot." General Veemer floated his intelligence report down onto the President's desk.

"Where do you plan to go from here, General? Bear in mind, we can run our own polls by proxy. We can also release any results we want to." President Haskill was well within his moral boundaries with fake poll results. He had done it before. He knew that changing the perception of reality could, in time, change reality.

"Right now, Stratton Ministries owns the airwaves. There is no one else saying anything else about Jesus. The Neo-Apostolics are complete underdogs in terms of public position, and that makes them a little defensive. Even their statistical advantage doesn't seem to allay their fear. They are a poorly organized opposition with a slight majority. They desperately need something to work with. I think the first order of business is to put Jesus in the public light. Let the people see Him for what He is. He's damned sure not the ogre Stratton is painting Him out to be." General Veemer wanted to reveal his plan gradually. Give the President a chance to react favorably or not to the small pieces before he trotted out the big pieces.

"General, I think it serves our interest to give some kind of boost to the Neo-Apostolics. The Fundies are acting like a bunch a damned thugs because they think they own public opinion. They're acting like a bunch of Brown Shirts for Chrissakes!" The President was more than ready to see some progress in quieting the country. He was even more ready to see his approval rating start rising. "Put Him on television, but control where He goes. I suppose He will want to deliver sermons or something. I know this is crafty, General, but you need to control the content of those speeches."

"Sir, General Tower has spoken to Him about this although not much. Tower has only met with Him for a few minutes. He seems rather ambivalent about delivering sermons -- something about how badly it turned out last time. There's also one other thing. You've heard of that thing He does about speaking Portuguese and everyone hearing Him in English? Well, we need to run tests on just how that will come across on television. We need to have every aspect of that covered before we put Him in front of millions of voters only to have it come out in Portuguese."

"I would actually like to meet Him as soon as the spin doctors tell me its safe. I'm not completely sure what we would talk about, but it would be interesting as hell. I guess I wouldn't be able to swear around Him, huh?" President Haskill was musing with an imaginary photo shoot of Jesus and himself.

"Actually, Tower tells me that He's very easy to talk to, Mr. President. Disarmingly easy. You have to remember that He's basically just a farm boy here from the middle of nowhere. But, He's not allowed in here, anywhere near you, Mr. President. He can do this thing when He wants to. He can just change your mind. He's already done it several times. I don't think its dangerous, but Secret Service won't let Him close to you. I agree with that precaution."

"According to Tower, He's so damned pleasant to be around, you just gradually get to really like Him. You get so you want to help Him do whatever He's is working on. Tower says He just grows on you. He thinks the world of Him. In fact General Tower said he'd let Jesus marry his daughter if he had one."