Forging America: My Campaign Manager is Roosevelt-Chapter 61 - 48: Four Groups

Karen looked at the photo, momentarily stunned. Then she understood what Leo meant.

"Oh, I get it," she said. "The candidate is also his own campaign manager. A jack-of-all-trades who likes to compete in triathlons."

"Leo, forgive me for being blunt, but I’ve been in this business for fifteen years. I’ve seen plenty of candidates who are just as confident in themselves as you are. Without fail, every single one of them burned out by the halfway point of the election and ended up losing spectacularly."

She paused and shrugged.

"But, this is your campaign and your decision. I’m just a senior consultant sent by John to offer professional advice and carry out orders."

"As long as you pay my salary on time, I’ll show my utmost respect even if you want to make that stray cat from the construction site your campaign manager."

She put extra emphasis on the word "respect."

Ethan Hawke, on the other hand, showed no emotion.

He just gave Leo a long, hard look, as if trying to see past his calm expression to find the true source of his mysterious confidence.

As someone personally sent by Senator Sanders, his mission was to support, not to question.

He didn’t dwell on the issue of the campaign manager. Instead, he switched directly into work mode, demonstrating the incredible drive of a top Washington aide.

"Alright, Leo," Ethan began, smoothly taking the lead. "Since you’ll be handling the final strategic decisions personally, Karen’s and my task is to help you efficiently translate those strategies into tactical execution."

"I suggest we immediately establish four core working groups under this core team."

"First, a Polling and Data Analysis group. Karen, you’ll be in charge of this. You need to immediately procure a professional polling software for us and establish contact with the best polling company in Pennsylvania."

"Within three days, we need to see the first detailed report comparing our support rates against Mayor Carter Wright’s across all voter demographics."

"Second, a Policy and White Paper group. I’ll take charge of this one, with Sarah assisting me."

"Within two weeks, we need a draft of a detailed policy white paper on the future of Pittsburgh. This white paper will be the core platform of our entire campaign."

"Third, a Media and Rapid Response group. Sarah, you’ll be in charge. You need to expand your volunteer team immediately. We not only need to continue managing our main platform, ’Pittsburgh Heart,’ but we also need to build a combat team capable of 24/7 social media monitoring and rapid response."

"Finally, and most importantly," Ethan said, turning to Frank, "Mr. Frank, your Ground Mobilization and Union Liaison group is the absolute cornerstone of this entire campaign."

"You need to organize and train your volunteers into more specialized groups. We need to build the strongest door-knocking ground team in all of Pittsburgh."

"I suggest our five-person core team hold regular strategy meetings twice a week, on Monday and Thursday evenings, to ensure all our information and actions are perfectly synchronized."

Ethan’s proposal swiftly brought the meeting’s discussion back to the specifics of execution.

And just like that, a core campaign team with a much clearer division of labor was officially formed.

Karen was initially quite critical of this ragtag operation, but she had to admit that the young man, Ethan Hawke, was truly a top-tier professional.

The framework he proposed was clear, efficient, and highly actionable.

After the meeting, Karen pulled Ethan aside.

"Hey, Mr. Harvard," Karen said in a low voice. "Do you really think our young candidate is the real deal? He doesn’t even believe in a basic division of labor. He thinks running for Mayor is a one-man hero show where he can conquer the world by himself."

Ethan looked over at Leo in the distance. He was squatting with Frank in front of a huge map of Pittsburgh’s electoral districts, deep in a heated discussion.

"I don’t know if he’s the real deal or not, Karen," Ethan replied. "But I know Senator Daniel Sanders believes in him, and that’s enough for me."

"Besides, don’t you think? Someone who dares to break with political convention is either a hopeless madman or a miracle worker."

"I’m betting on the latter."

Meanwhile, in Leo’s mind, Roosevelt’s voice rang out with a hint of a smile.

"Well, my boy, the fox and the hounds have all arrived."

"Are you ready to seize the highest office in Pittsburgh?"

...

「Three months later. In the O’Malley family’s apartment, Steel Worker Third Community.」

Michael O’Malley was sitting in the same armchair he’d occupied for the last twenty years.

Three months ago, he would sit in this chair every day from morning till night, numbly watching news and television shows that had nothing to do with him.

Back then, the only sounds in the apartment were the drone of the television and the weary sighs of his wife, Sarah, when she came home from work.

The windows were always drafty. No matter how much tape he used to seal them, the cold winter wind always found a way to sneak through the cracks.

The pipe under the kitchen sink dripped constantly. Sarah had to place a plastic bucket under it, which she had to empty every night.

His ten-year-old son, Kevin, could only stay in his room and play video games after school, because Michael had strictly forbidden him from playing in the abandoned park outside, which was piled high with trash and broken glass.

He thought he would live and die in this apartment.

The change began one early morning.

A crew of workers in blue uniforms, driving several pieces of small construction equipment, entered the dead-end community.

Michael, like his neighbors, just watched curiously from his window.

He figured it was just another one of the city’s vanity projects. They’d patch a few potholes, take some pictures for the paper, and call it a day.

He’d seen it all before.

But this time, something seemed different.

The stubborn old man leading the crew, a guy named Frank, knocked on every door, one by one.

He wasn’t there to ask for opinions; he was there to hire.

"Michael O’Malley?" Frank said, looking him over. "I remember you. Used to be a good hand at the Homestead No. 3 Blast Furnace. Can you still swing a wrench?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Michael looked at the former Union leader, then glanced at the workers outside clearing away trash, and nodded.

And just like that, he joined the crew.

He became a member of the "Pittsburgh Revitalization Plan."

He personally tore down the old slide that could have hurt a child, dug out the community drainage pipe that had been clogged for decades, and installed brand-new windows in the old apartment building he’d lived in for half his life.

He worked alongside his neighbors every day. They had once been fellow workers at the steel mill; now they were comrades-in-arms, rebuilding their own neighborhood.

Sarah came home from work to find that the annoying plastic bucket under the kitchen sink was gone. The pipe was fixed.

Kevin spent every day pressed against the window, watching the abandoned park transform before his eyes.

The weeds were cleared away, new sod was laid down, and a park with a red slide and a blue basketball court was rising from the rubble.

Today was the day of the community’s reopening ceremony.

The winter sun streamed through the brand-new windows and into the apartment.

Michael was dressed in a blue work uniform with the "Pittsburgh Revitalization Plan" logo, a smile on his face that even he hadn’t noticed.

Kevin excitedly tugged at his hand, urging him to hurry out the door.

"Dad, come on! Let’s go to the park! I want to try the new slide!"

Michael took his son’s hand and walked out of the apartment building.

Outside, the pavement was smooth, and his old car was parked in a freshly painted spot.

Neighbors were also stepping out of their homes, long-absent smiles on their faces as they greeted one another.

The air no longer smelled of rust and despair, but of fresh paint and hope.

Michael led Kevin into the brand-new community park.

He watched his son go down the slide he had installed with his own hands, his clear laughter echoing through the air.

He watched his fellow workers, men just like him, proudly showing their families and the reporters all that they had accomplished with their own two hands.

He felt like he was truly alive again.