Chapter 21

Kathleen Lehrer was awake within seconds of hearing the clock radio that she had set for 5:45 A.M. Feeling refreshed after six and a half hours of much needed sleep, she was ready to get on with the business of learning about the other issues with which she would have to contend as President. She had set the radio to National Public Radio, and sat in bed listening to it as she gathered her thoughts.

The major story, as expected, was the aftermath of the Capitol catastrophe. The most recent casualty figures included 1833 killed, including four who had earlier been listed as injured but had subsequently died from their injuries, and 36 injured. Two more people had been found alive, including the junior Senator from Ohio, in the past eighteen hours. At this point, three Senators and twelve Congressmen had survived the tragedy. Sixty seven Senators and Three hundred fifteen Congressmen had been killed, and the rest were still listed as missing. Altogether, an estimated 700 people were still missing, although no one was sure of the exact number.

Work at this point was proceeding with agonizing slowness because of the fear that what was left of the Capitol would collapse. Still, no one knew just how many people had been in the Capitol at the time of the bombing.

The infusion of Egyptian troops into Saudi Arabia had been just in time to save Riyadh. The uprising against the Saudi government itself had been quashed, but the rebels still controlled most of the northern part of the country, and had been able to start several major fires in the Saudi oil fields and had sabotaged two major desalination plants.

Severe damage had occurred at oil production facilities in several other countries as well. Kuwait, Oman, the Emirates, Iraq and Libya all reported major damage to either their oil fields, to their refineries, or to both. Just what the world needed on top of the economic chaos caused by the simultaneous inflation and depression that were occurring, another oil shortage.

Kathleen Lehrer heard that Marty and Sara were awake, so she called the Steward to have breakfast for the three of them sent to the private dining room in the residential part of the White House. She then got out of bed, and went into the bathroom as the newscaster began recapping the sports. By the time she emerged from her shower, a pot of coffee was sitting on a warmer in her bedroom. She poured herself a cup and sipped on it while she dressed, brushed her hair and put on the minimal amount of makeup that she normally used. Once she had finished, she turned off the coffee warmer and picked up her empty cup and the coffee pot and carried them into the dining room where she saw her son and daughter, topping off their cups from the pot she had in her hand.

Just as Kathy poured the last of the coffee from the pot into her son's cup, she heard someone rushing from the kitchen, and looked up to see a flustered looking Hispanic woman running into the room. "Madame President!" she exclaimed with a look of horror on her face. "You don't need to pour the coffee! I'll take care of that."

The president smiled at the woman and replied, "Don't worry about it. This is the pot that you had brought into my room while I was in the shower. It's such good coffee, I couldn't see it going to waste, so I brought it in here and poured the last of it into our cups." She then winked at the steward and said, "It's no big deal. It's not the first time I've refilled coffee cups and I'm sure it won't be the last. You'll find that we are pretty down to earth and are able to do things for ourselves when we need to."

"Yes, Madame President. You have so many things you need to do and to worry about. It's our job to do what we can to ease the burden you face as president."

Kathy smiled and said, "I do appreciate what you and the other members of the White House staff do for me, for my children and for others who come here. There are times when I enjoy doing things like pouring people's coffee for them, or making dinner, as these things keep me grounded. They also allow me to put subjects that I am trying to make a decision on or figure out onto the back burner in my mind where they will percolate for a while and make it easier for me to make the decisions I need to make."

The steward thought for a moment before replying, "I can understand that. I do the same thing myself at times." She turned to Sara and Marty, as well as their mother and asked, "Now, what can I get for your breakfasts?"

After the steward took their orders and returned to the kitchen, Kathy turned to her children and asked, "What are your agendas like today?"

"I'm going to be packing and getting ready to head back to Philly tomorrow," replied Sara. "School starts on Monday and I have a bunch of things I need to do to get ready before then."

"I need to go over to Georgetown and see if the last couple of books I need for this semester are in the bookstore yet," answered Marty. "After that, I'm going to get situated here and begin reading what we'll be learning this semester."

"You might want to contact your schools to make sure they are opening on Monday," said their mother. "I heard on the news that a number of colleges are pushing back the opening of the new semester by a couple of days because of what happened the other night. You'll both also need to talk with the Secret Service and let them know what's happening with you, as well as where your classes will be on both Temple's and Georgetown's campuses, and the routes you'll be taking between your classes. They'll also need to check out our house in Philly to make sure everything is okay there as well."

"I didn't even think of that!" exclaimed Sara. "This is going to take some getting used to."

"It sure is," mumbled Marty.

"It is for me as well," added their mother. "When I was named Secretary of Education, the last thing I thought of was that I was now in the line of succession for president. The attack on the Capitol the other night changed everything, not just for us, but for a number of other people as well. I never in my wildest dreams ever thought I would be president, but now that I am, I am going to be the best president I can be. Knowing that the Secret Service is protecting you will take one worry off of my mind, that someone will try to get at me by attacking or trying to kidnap one of you two."

"I understand that, mom," replied Marty. "All I'm saying is that it's going to take some getting used to."

"I understand all of that too, mom," added Sara. "Neither of us blames you for what happened or for the changes in our lifestyles. This is just one of those unexpected curveballs that life throws at you once in a while. We just need to deal with it and move on from there."

Kathy smiled at her children. "I'm proud of both of you and love you both very much. By sticking together, we'll get through these next few years without too many problems."

The three of them looked up when they heard to door from the kitchen opening and saw the steward entering the room with their breakfasts. Kathy had eggs Benedict with a fruit bowl and orange juice while Marty had a ham and cheese omelet and Sara had a western omelet, with both of them having French toast, fruit and juice.

The three of them enjoyed their breakfasts, continuing their conversation about a wide range of subjects. After they finished, Kathy gave Marty and Sara hugs, then picked up her folders and walked to the Oval Office, where she found the steward just leaving after delivering fresh coffee. She poured herself a cup of coffee and picked up the overnight status report from the State Department and the C.I.A. before reading the first report that had been prepared for her by the acting Cabinet members. As she perused the reports, she was struck by how many different departments were involved with certain problems. An example of this was the problem of acid rain, which had in large part been traced to emissions from coal-powered electrical generating plants. Besides the Environmental Protection Agency, which was part of the Interior Department, the Departments of Justice, Commerce, State, Energy, Labor, Transportation, and Health and Human Services all had a role in trying to resolve this issue.

The banking crisis was another problem that affected each department. Little did she know that the banking crisis was about to deteriorate even further, and much sooner, than she or anyone else had anticipated. With her attention drawn toward the Middle East, the collapsing U.S. economy, and trying to learn about the issues with which she would have to deal as President, Kathleen Lehrer was about to be blindsided by a country that was much closer to home.

Kathleen Lehrer had learned a great deal about Latin America from her ex-husband, Ray Johnston, who taught Spanish and French in Philadelphia. They had taken four trips together to Mexico, South and Central America during their summer vacations. It helped Ray keep up with his Spanish, and it enabled the future President to learn a great deal about Latin American history, which she used to enhance her lectures to her students. Her journeys to the region gave her some keen insights into the problems facing the people there. She saw people who were severely malnourished who lived within two miles of extremely extravagant estates, surrounded by twelve foot walls topped with barbed and razor wire, patrolled by armed guards and attack dogs in order to keep out the riff-raff.

She was also too aware of the arrogant attitudes of the inhabitants of these palatial fortresses. The thing that shocked her the most was the totally callous, insensitive attitudes of most of the elites throughout the region toward the suffering around them. Of course, there were exceptions, such as Maria Velazquez, the heiress who started the Organization for Assistance to the Poor (O.A.P.).

The two women had met on one of Kathleen Lehrer's trips to Mexico City. That experience had left a lasting impression on the teacher. She had been given a tour of the barrios by Maria. She left with many pictures of such sights as rats eating next to infants, three year old children playing next to open sewers, and a six year old girl rummaging through a pile of garbage looking for something to eat. She saw a family of eight people living in a cardboard shack. She saw children, ranging in age from three months to twelve years, slowly dying the slow agonizing death of severe malnutrition, as the human body slowly consumes itself, a process that becomes progressively debilitating with severe brain damage, swollen bellies, sickeningly skinny arms and legs, ribs that protrude several inches, and the gradual loss of body functions.

Kathleen Lehrer left Mexico City determined to do something. She returned to Philadelphia and showed her slides to students in her school. The kids started a program to help the victims of the barrios. She was a guest lecturer at the Latin American Studies Semester program at Temple University, where she presented her case before several student groups and classes. She met with one of the co-founders of the L.A.S.S. program, a retired History Professor, and they were able to arrange financing for a one year fellowship, to be awarded each year to a student who would work in the barrios.

President Lehrer knew that she would have to deal with problems such as those she had seen in Mexico City. But, she had other crises that had to be dealt with first. She would feel that way about the situation in Mexico for another ten and one half hours.

Kathleen Lehrer had several things going for her as she set out to overcome the handicap of being the least prepared President to take office in U.S. history. Besides her intellect, she was blessed with an insatiable curiosity about people whose backgrounds were different than hers. She was also a natural speed reader, which would be invaluable as she poured over the reports from the various departments

Kathleen Lehrer was a student of history, having read such books as The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire and Crane Brinton's Anatomy of Revolution by the time she had graduated from high school. She saw too many similarities between the conditions that were present in the United States of the late 1990s and the pre-Revolutionary regimes of the past. That thought scared the shit out of her.

Her Master's thesis traced the development of the United States along the path outlined in The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire of founding, rise to power, apex as a world leader, bureaucratization, stagnation, decline, and fall. She had been a high school student when President Kennedy had been assassinated, the Great Society programs were being legislated, and the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. She could see the United States becoming mired in Vietnam even then. She began researching her thesis during Watergate and her conclusion that the United States had passed the apex of its power and was beginning its decline created a small stir in the academic community. She was determined that her predictions that political and economic crises would beset the United States in the next several decades, and would eventually lead to its downfall would not come to pass.

As she had predicted over twenty five years before, the United States government had fallen, although it had been because of an act of foreign terrorism rather than from within as she had foreseen. Now, it was up to her to pick up the pieces. The challenge was immense. She had to rebuild the U.S. government, correcting systemic deficiencies while trying to establish enough of a power base that would enable her to make genuine reforms. And she had to do this while fighting the largest war that the world had seen in a half century, without blowing up the planet and its six billion inhabitants. It was the greatest challenge ever faced by a U.S. President. And the challenge would be faced by a President who, only forty eight hours before, had had no idea that she would be President and would be subject to the incredible pressures of learning what the job entailed. It was not an easy task.

She sat at the desk in the Oval Office reading the reports from each department, making notes in the margins as she went. The problems were astounding. It became clear to her that her administration, no matter how short it turned out to be, could not be a caretaker presidency. Too many things had to be done or else the whole system could very easily fall apart.

By 8:00, the President had finished reading the reports, put them in a folder, and she called Fred Valentine in to see her

"Good morning Fred."

"Good morning, Madame President. Did you sleep well?"

"Like a bear in winter."

"Well, I hope you're not in the same mood that a bear is in when he awakens," he joked.

"No," she laughed. "I feel pretty good. I was up at quarter of six and read all of the reports from the Cabinet Secretaries, and now I think I'm ready for the meeting. First, I would like to ask you if you would be interested in being the White House Chief of Staff. I need someone who knows his way around here and can keep me on track. You have already shown me that you can do both. What do you say?"

"I would be honored."

"I appreciate that. Okay. What's the latest?"

"Our bombers have been bombing the hell out of various targets in southern and western Iran for the past twenty eight hours. There have been three attempted suicide plane attacks against our carriers in the Indian Ocean, but they have all been repelled."

"That's good to hear. What about the Russians?"

"We have reached an informal agreement with them about where we are going to bomb from the air, so that we don't accidentally shoot down one another's planes. They're pounding the hell out of northern Iran with artillery and a number of other areas with their bombers since yesterday afternoon. The Ayatollah Makhtol has bitten off more than he can chew. If he wants to become a martyr, he will have his wish. It's a shame that so many innocent civilians will have to suffer because of that madman."

"But, one thing that we must remember," said the President, "that insane murderer could not have come to power without the support of the Iranian people. Any leader, even the most ruthless dictator, can only govern as long as he or she has the consent of the governed. That's what we fought our own Revolution about. That idea is spelled out in that most radical of documents, our own Declaration of Independence."

"You know, Fred," continued the President, "I think that a good part of the problem in this country is that we have gotten too far away from the ideals upon which this government was founded. We must begin transferring power back to the people and away from the government. Too many people seem to believe that the government will take care of everything for them. We must allow them to make more decisions about things that affect them."

"You sound a lot like Reagan when he was always talking about getting government off of people's backs."

"The big difference between us is that Reagan wanted to get government off of the backs of big business by easing the regulations on work place safety, environmental safeguards, and other rules that had been designed to protect people while enacting and enforcing rules that infringed on individuals' rights. I believe that the people should have the freedom to decide what is best for themselves, as long as what they do does not hurt others. That is the direction in which I would like to move this government."

"You're going to encounter a lot of opposition," warned Valentine. "The mood in this country is still pretty conservative and people don't like to upset the status quo. How are you going to do it?"

"Well, the first thing I would like to do is go on television tonight. I would like the chief speech writer to sit in on the Cabinet meeting this morning, and I would like to meet with him or her after the meeting is over. We must keep the people informed about what we are doing. Our political system has gotten to the point where it no longer works nearly as well as it should. There is a lot of bureaucratic fat there and action must be taken now before it completely smothers us. We must give people back their freedom, as long as their actions don't hurt others."

"What time do you want to go on the air?"

"9:00."

"How do you plan to get the message that you just expressed to me across to the people?"

"I think I'll expand upon what I said when I was sworn in yesterday. I said that I would not infringe upon the rights that had been guaranteed to the people under the Constitution. I feel that the United States must move away from the omnipotence of the government and that the people have to take more responsibilities for their own actions or inactions. They must get more involved in the political process. That is my primary challenge - To get the people to begin participating again in the political process so that we can truly make our democracy work. That is what I must communicate tonight."

"Good luck. You have your work cut out for you. I'll send word to the networks about your speech tonight and then I'll get in touch with Gary Wilson to meet with you in order to start getting that speech together."

"Is Mr. Wilson at the White House now?"

"I haven't seen him yet, but I'll call his office and see."

"Thanks. If he's here, have him come up as soon as possible. I would like him to sit in on the meeting this morning so that he can get an idea of how I think and the messages I want to get across tonight."

Fred picked up the phone and placed two calls, one to the speech writer's office, and one to the White House Press Office, passing along the appropriate messages to each. He then turned to the President and said, "Wilson will be there and the Press Secretary said that he'll contact the networks."

The new Chief of Staff looked at his watch. "We'd better get going. the Cabinet meeting starts in five minutes."

"Good morning," said the President as she greeted her Cabinet, "I've read your reports and I would like to thank each of you for being concise as you outlined the major challenges facing your departments."

"I would like to announce that I have appointed Fred Valentine as my Chief of Staff. As White House Counsel, he probably knows the workings of the White House as well as anyone who did not perish Thursday night, and I will be depending on him to help me learn the ropes of the White House as well as the rest of the federal bureaucracy."

"I have requested air time for 9:00 tonight in order to address the nation about what we face in the days and weeks ahead. For that reason, I have asked Gary Wilson, who served President Ruskin so ably as his chief speech writer, to sit in on this meeting. I would like him to get a feel for the problems that we face, some of the ideas that we come up with for dealing with them, as well as get a better idea of my thinking regarding these problems."

"Because of the events of Thursday night, we will be operating outside of the Constitution until a new Congress can be elected. We will use the Constitution as a guide for our actions, but we will be temporarily combining the powers of Congress with my powers as President. Therefore, any actions that I enact by Executive Order during this State of Emergency that would normally require an Act of Congress will be considered as temporary measures and will become permanent laws only upon the approval of the new Congress and upon my signature. These bills must be voted on by Congress by the end of the next congressional session or they will automatically expire. Are there any comments?"

Acting Attorney General Allen Leary lifted his hand off of the table and looked around the Cabinet Room.

"It is very important that we do not usurp more powers than are absolutely necessary because of the possibility of a backlash later on. Many scholars feel that the impeachment of Andrew Johnson was a direct backlash against the immense powers taken on by Lincoln in dealing with the Civil War. I like the idea of requiring legislative review before any of the emergency measures that would normally require Congressional action are made permanent. We must have the powers necessary to deal with this crisis, but we should make sure that the rights and powers that have been reserved for the states and the people remain with them. Therefore, as you said, we must use the Constitution as our guide during this emergency."

"Can we legally require that Congress address our initiatives?" asked acting Commerce Secretary Kent Rosenstein.

"Kathleen Lehrer is the legal President of the United States and is the legal head of the United States government under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947," answered Leary. "She has the legal authority to issue Executive Orders. Article II, Section 2-3 states that 'the President shall have the power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate by granting commissions, which shall expire at the end of their next session.' We can use that as the legal basis for the temporary nature of any legislation that we enact during this State of Emergency, citing that any actions that are taken by President Lehrer, that would normally be considered outside of the powers of the President, would be subject to review by Congress during its first session."

The new White House Chief of Staff replied, "I think that is a sound legal basis for any actions we will have to take during this emergency and will still preserve the separation of powers principle of the Constitution."

The President looked at her notes for a moment before she began to speak again.

"As you know, we are at a critical point in the life of this nation. We are under attack from a foreign enemy who despises everything for which we stand. Our government has been trapped in a gridlock for the past decade. Because of that, our federal debt is still astronomical and is on the verge of ruining not only our own economy, but the entire international economic system as well. We also face many other serious challenges."

"This crisis in which we find ourselves presents us with a unique opportunity to break the gridlock that has been plaguing the United States for the past decade or so. If we cannot begin resolving some of these problems now, it could mean the complete collapse of our system and the end of one of the most wonderful experiments in self-government in history. This is probably the last chance that the United States government will have before the people will say, and rightly so, that the system cannot work and let's scrap it. History will judge how well we were able to meet the challenges before us and how well we were able to deal with the most serious crisis ever to have befallen this great country. If we are successful, we will have preserved and re energized the most successful experiment in democratic self-government in world history. If we fail, history will record our efforts as the death throes of a system that was too inefficient and cumbersome to deal with the problems of the modern world."

"Our job is to meet the challenges before us. We have all sworn to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. I intend to preserve our system and to make it work again. We don't have a lot of time. Elections for the new Congress will probably take place within the next four to six weeks. I would like to lay the groundwork for the new government and to start gathering the momentum that we need in order to successfully resolve our problems."

"I want each of you to examine your departments very carefully and determine both the major goals and the minor goals of your departments. Then, I want you to assess how well or how poorly you are meeting those goals and why. I want to know which programs are being duplicated, not only within your own departments, but in other parts of the federal government as well. I also want to know which programs and goals can be better dealt with by the private sector. I would like these reports by a week from Monday. Are there any questions?"

There was a look of shock on almost everyone's faces.

Finally, Dr. Jesse King, acting Secretary of Health and Human Services broke the silence. "You want the report a week from Monday? I don't see how a full comprehensive report like that can possibly be ready in a week. Do you know how many programs we have in H.H.S.? I don't see how we could possibly have a report like that completed within a week!"

The President turned toward Mitchell Stroach from the Office of Management and Budget.

"Mitch, I want you to be doing the same thing for each department and have those reports ready for me at the same time. Whichever departments do not have their reports ready for me on time, will just have to take the consequences of me just relying on the Office of Management and Budget report for their departments. I would prefer to have input from the departments when I decide which programs will need to be cut, but, if necessary, I will rely on O.M.B. alone. As I said, we do not have a lot of time to start getting things moving. Do I make myself clear?"

The tone of the President's voice made it clear that she would not take kindly to any more complaints from her Cabinet about the amount of time that she had allowed.

President Lehrer then turned to the next item on her agenda. "Ted, can you fill everyone in on the latest developments regarding the situation with Iran and our new relationship with Russia?"

The acting Secretary of State looked at his notes and began.

"As you probably know, Russia and other republics of the former Soviet Union have been the subject of attacks by radical Islamic forces under the control of the Ayatollah Makhtol. We are having negotiations with them regarding joint actions that we can take against Makhtol and for coordinating our forces. We have not come to any agreements beyond the need for coordinated air attacks to begin immediately and that both sides will refrain from an actual invasion until we agree upon the other issues. Bombing runs by the Russian Air Force and the U.S. Navy and Air Force have begun and will continue for the foreseeable future."

"The situation throughout most of the Middle East is still in a state of flux, with the radicals showing more strength than we had initially thought. Severe damage has been reported to oil fields and refineries in several of those countries. It looks as though we will be faced with an oil shortage for the foreseeable future. We think that the shortage could be quite severe, although our information is not complete yet."

The President then turned to her acting Secretary of Energy.

"Elaine, what is the state of the Strategic Petroleum Reserves?"

Elaine Washington replied, "We have been building the reserves for the past five years while the prices were falling. We can probably hold off a real shortage for about six to nine months, although it could be a bit more or less, depending upon the severity of the shortage. We have been a bit slack regarding renewable sources of energy, which would have been helpful in easing the effects of a cut off of oil."