The Frankenstein Candidate by Vinay Kolhatkar Read Free Book Online Page A

thoughts.
    “She is only thirty-two and new at this game. But she has this way, a way of finding material and exploiting it, and I need someone to take the pressure off Larry.”
    “I see.”
    “Your role, Olivia, if you want it, is to be my understudy.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “At the end of the day, we could go too far and lose sight of the big picture. We are here for the people. And I do not know anyone who holds that dearer than you.”
    Olivia smiled.
    “What this means, though, is that you will be part of the campaign, in effect. You will be part of the strategy meetings with Larry and Katrina. You will need to accompany us on the campaign trail. We hit Iowa straight after Thanksgiving, on December second, so we fly out Monday, a week from tonight.”
    He let that float in the air before he added, “Sorry about the late notice. I don’t need an answer right now. I know you have two lovely young children, and God knows there is enough here in Washington to worry about anyway. But perhaps you could tell me by Wednesday.”
    “I’ll certainly think about it,” Olivia replied.
    There was a knock on the door. It was Larry Fox. He looked a lot older than she remembered.
    Larry had not even closed the door when Katrina Marshella made an entrance. She was strikingly beautiful, like a Hollywood A-list star. Olivia had not expected that.
    They exchanged a few trivialities and got down to business.
    “Well, it is indeed a tumultuous time in America,” Larry said. “This election is shaping up like no other. There are voters out there, in the tens of millions, harboring deep suspicions. Last election, in November 2016, the voter turnout was 44 percent of the population, the least that it has been for a very long time.
    “Now, what does this tell us? One, that voters are largely disillusioned with both the major parties. Two, that they simply do not believe there is a credible alternative. Now, the second part is actually the good part. This means that if a candidate staked out a good middle ground, neither left nor right, neither hawk nor dove, neither conservative nor liberal, he could accomplish what Barack Obama did in 2008—which is to bring new voters into the equation.
    “And if you can do that, everything is suddenly up for grabs. Even the most red of states.
    “The question is what is the message we need to get out there that will not just keep the faithful but bring new people into the fold, Mr. Spain.”
    “Colin,” he said. “Call me Colin.”
    “What’s the common theme, the common thread?” Katrina asked.
    Larry continued, “I think it is Middle America. We stand for Middle America. The middle road, the middle class. We are not ideological, we are practical. Practical, family values, that’s what America wants. But most importantly, we govern. Govern in the interests of Middle America, we compromise when we need to.”
    “I like it,” Colin said.
    “A touch too predictable,” Katrina said.
    “What do you think, Olivia?” Colin asked.
    “I don’t know,” Olivia found herself saying. Her mind was repeating what Larry had just said— practical, family values is what America wants—weren’t they supposed to think about what America needs?
    “You don’t know or you don’t like it?”
    She didn’t want to disparage the old sage. Diplomatic words slipped from her lips. “I think it does not differentiate you enough. It may be enough for the nomination, but perhaps it is not enough for the real race.”
    “I don’t mind that,” Colin said. “The first challenge is to win the nomination.”
    “You will,” Larry added, “it will be clear by Super Tuesday who you are against, and we can then adjust the bigger game plan.”
    A text message sent to Larry Fox made the four of them sit up and turn the TV on. An announcement was expected.
    It was the billionaire investor Frank Stein.
    Frank Stein had announced his candidacy, earlier than people expected. He said he would have a program