America 1982-Chapter 593 - 129: Your True Purpose_2

Later on, Cheney became the whip of the House of Representatives, soldiering on until Reagan stepped down and Bush took office. Having gone from Reagan’s leading supporter to exchanging bitter criticisms with the former President—whom Reagan privately called a troublemaker—Cheney was suddenly appointed Secretary of Defense, and Charles became the future son-in-law of the Secretary of Defense overnight.

Although Charles hadn’t officially married Liz yet, after Cheney became Secretary of Defense, based on the noble quality of appointing capable people without avoiding relatives, he decisively arranged for his future son-in-law and Yale alum to join the Office of Management and Budget under the Executive Office of the President of the United States, earning a salary without affecting his research at the think tank, and also secured a Pentagon contractor status for his future father-in-law’s battery factory.

So, to be strict, Charles was also a young member of the President’s vast executive staff, or rather, this guy had already been branded with the political marks of Cheney and the Bush Family.

"When you say you’re sure the President won’t come jumping out, is that a guess? Or..." Charles removed his hand, leaned forward, and asked with a look of concentration.

Tommy slowly placed the cat in his hands onto the carpet. The orange cat shook its fur lazily and then strolled leisurely towards the well-lit area. Watching the cat’s receding figure, Tommy said, "Gore, Stephen, they don’t care about what the President thinks, so I never mentioned to them that I had a few private conversations with Ms. Rice before. Ms. Rice wouldn’t keep anything from the President, he’s obviously informed. But speaking of which, Ms. Rice is another one of your mentors, right? She gets paid at a Republican think tank in Washington." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Condoleezza Rice, a political science professor at Stanford University, mentor to Susan Curtis, independent director on the Actor Corporation board, co-founder of the SHP Women’s Care Foundation, the newly-minted Soviet expert at the National Security Council, and an adviser on Soviet and Eastern European Affairs in the staff of President Bush Senior—a perpetual sore spot for a segment of conservative Democrats.

Once a staunch Democrat as part of the moderate conservative faction, she left the Democratic Party because she was dissatisfied with the governing philosophy of Jim Carter, a Democrat President who had won the praise of the vast majority of African Americans. She believed that Carter emphasized democracy and freedom too much, and if the historically hawkish Democrats were becoming soft, constantly offering openness and freedom without taboo to the public, it would only allow people’s greed to grow exponentially. This would lead American society toward decay. People are greedy, she reasoned, and now they demand legal same-sex marriage—if they easily get Presidential support, before long, their demands will include wanting to marry clones. She detested that the Democrats, for the sake of votes, had abandoned their previous stand.

Rice supported the legal right for citizens to bear arms, opposed same-sex marriage, and believed that America shouldn’t just show unalloyed goodwill to the world but rather should underscore the enforcement of America’s universal values during the deteriorating phase of the Soviet Union. It was more efficient to aggressively, rather than gently, inculcate American values in the world, compelling acceptance of those values. With the Soviet Union on the brink, only America remained, leaving no choice for other nations but to embrace American values.

Moreover, despite being an African American woman, she opted out of participating in America’s racial equality movement, neither supporting nor opposing it.

Let’s put it this way, in Tommy’s view, he never really thought of Rice as an African American. If one were to find an adjective to describe her, it would be that this African American female professor, if you didn’t see her or hear her speak and only read some of her writings, would seem like a white male.

Whenever Gore spoke privately with friends about his future plans, he would curse Carter, asserting that without Carter hanging photos of black people in the Capitol and without Carter’s support for black civil rights, Rice, the "false" African American, would not have left the party. If she had remained in the Democratic Party, she would have been an ideal vice-presidential partner for a white racist running for President.

Charles shook his head slightly, "Not very familiar. We’ve attended some meetings together. And you know, Mr. Cheney doesn’t actually like her, thinks she’s too young, only abstract in theory, lacking practical experience and depth when it comes to problem-solving."

"That’s true, Mr. Cheney clearly prefers American exceptionalism." Hearing Charles mention Cheney’s dislike for Rice, Tommy understood and smiled. Cheney was an extreme conservative in the Republican Party, and there were many principles between himself and moderates like Rice that they simply could not agree on.

"I thought you wouldn’t get into too much detail with a black person." Hearing Tommy mention that he had already shared some insider information with Rice, Charles nodded knowingly, "But that’s not the main point of our conversation today. Let’s talk about your plans, Tommy. Your appetite is too large. The Fox Television Network, the John Kruger family helping you repurchase proxy holdings, Fox Film Corporation, Schlaefer arranging for France’s Vivendi to invest— you have already had a great victory. You have to share some of the spoils with others. Vultures always appear in groups before rotting flesh, how long can you keep your little schemes secret? Once revealed one day, you would be frantically torn apart by those fools who have come to their senses. But if today you distribute some of that decaying flesh, when that day comes, they might not dare make a move when they see your vulture companions."