THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE
Augusta, Maine
The cheers that rang through the Maine state house were almost deafening. Benjamin Franklin Pierce waited until they died down and rested his hands on the Speaker's podium.
"You know, when I first got this gig, an old friend of mine told me, 'you'd better keep your day job.'" The crowd laughed; Pierce's humor was legendary here. "Well, now I'm off to a new gig. I have just been informed that my chief rival for the Republican nomination, Governor Griswold II of Massachusetts, has dropped out and plans to endorse my candidacy. So thank you, Charles Emerson Winchester, wherever you are." After more laughter, Pierce added: "Maine has been a huge part of my life. I love this state and its people. I like to think I've been a good governor, even though I know some people didn't think so." Chuckles rippled through the room. "So now I'm off to the Republican Convention in Minneapolis where I hope all of our hard work will pay off. I leave you with my sincerest thanks, my heartfelt gratitude, and to work to become the next President of the United States."
The cheers rose up again as Pierce shook hands and waved, wondering if this really would be the last time he would see his beloved state.
National Republican Convention
"Great speech, Hawkeye," John McIntyre said as he shook Pierce's hand. My God, he'd changed, Pierce thought as they were followed by ever-watchful Secret Service agents. The beard and the belly he'd grown made him look so much like Charles it was scary.
"Thanks. I just said some things I thought needed to be said."
"Well, you were never afraid of speaking your mind," B.J. Hunnicut slapped Pierce on the shoulder. "You know, if you had told me…"
"Or me," McIntyre added.
"…Back in Korea that Hawkeye Pierce would have become a politician, let alone a Republican, let alone run for President of the United States…"
"And winning, too-we hope!" Margaret, who was still called "Hot Lips" by her friends, joined them, taking Pierce's arm in hers.
"Well, we've still got a long way to go," Pierce reminded her. "Senator Jones has proven to be a formidable opponent. Even worse, I like the guy, even though he's on the 'Other side.'"
"I wonder what Spearchucker would have thought of you running against his son," Trapper John replied.
"He probably would have told me to go long." Pierce smiled at the memory of their old friend. "He probably had the right idea-he stayed in medicine longer than any of us." Oliver Wendell Jones II had earned a national reputation with his eloquent speeches and charismatic features. Whatever happened in November, that kid had a big future ahead of him.
"You have always wanted to be where you thought you could do the most good," John Patrick Francis Mulchahy, better known as the Archbishop of Philadelphia, said. "I always thought He had a higher purpose for you. May the wind be at your back, my son."
"Careful, Mulchahy, some people will accuse you of mixing politics and religion." Pierce shook his hand.
"I only wish Colonel Potter could have lived to see this," Margaret said as they began making the walk out to their waiting motorcade.
"Don't worry, honey. I think the Old Man would have liked the way things are going-especially with us. You know, I still can't believe we've been married for more than fifty years now."
"They've been fifty of the best years of my life," Margaret said. "Whatever else happens, we'll still be together-along with the rest of our extended family."
Family-it as a word that Pierce had heard politicians on both sides use so often, and so few of them seemed to understand what it really meant-the people you could count on when times were tough; the people you could go to when you needed them. That's what those he'd gotten to know and love since Korea were to him. Margaret was right-that would never change.