After the press has got its family photo op, Matt and Helen are off to make a joint appearance at a campaign rally for a young woman that's running to fill the vacancy in the Illinois 5th. It's not very likely that the seat will flip to the Republicans, but the primary is wide open. Whoever wins now will probably win the seat. And an appearance with the President and First Lady will certainly help her chances. Amy is really excited about this candidate.
She's a little more progressive than Matt, but she's got a ton of momentum, and Josh agrees that this appearance will be good for Matt. Not a full endorsement, but it reminds the Progressive Movement that Matt's still their guy even though he's had to make some compromises along the way. And for the candidate, an appearance with the President shows she's a real contender for the seat and should be taken seriously.
From what I've read, I really like her. I hope she wins.
We've been entrusted with the kids and after we finish changing at the hotel, they launch into a campaign to convince us to experience Chicago's famous deep dish pizza. Josh tries to talk them into carrying out, but they have their hearts set on a special restaurant. At one point Peter pulls Josh to the side for a serious man to man talk.
It looks like he's begging.
But it works, because an hour later, Josh, Becky, Lulu, Miranda, and I are packed into a booth at Giordano's, while Peter and Carly are at a table for two nearby.
Becky is filling me in on the plans for next month when Conor moves to Georgetown.
"A Moss family road trip." I can't help but groan. I do not have pleasant memories of family road trips, but they are a common occurrence for mid-westerners.
Becky just laughs, insisting "It's only 13 hours."
"Plus stops! And it's going to be slower pulling a trailer with Conor's stuff."
"Yeah, but you know men. It's like a badge of honor. I bet Josh has done it."
"No, not really," Josh breaks in, before giving Lulu another bread stick, "I'm from New England. We don't really do that. Besides, Harvard was only two and half hours away. And Yale was about 30 minutes from home."
Becky looks at me a little confused, but then shrugs. "Well, he's been collecting stuff for his dorm. You know, t.v., mini-fridge, and they are putting a loft up so they can have a couch and table underneath. So we need to pull the trailer, but at least Sean decided to spring for a one way rental."
"One way fees are crazy."
"I know but who wants to pull an empty trailer home?"
Josh isn't really paying much attention to our conversation. He's actually watching Carly and Peter pretty closely, while keeping Lulu occupied.
"I think they're fine, Josh." Becky teases, her eyes sparkling. "But I'll tell Sean that you watched them like a hawk."
"I'm kind of surprised he agreed to this." Josh mutters, running a hand over Lulu's head protectively.
Becky reaches across the table and pats his arm. "It's hard, but you do have to let them grow up. Carly is very responsible. We have no reason not to trust her. And Peter's a nice kid, right? No criminal record or anything?"
"Of course not!"
"Exactly. As far as a first date goes, what parent could want more? They are out for pizza, with chaperones, and then they're going to the Field Museum of Natural History. It's a pretty tame date."
"I guess." Josh mumbles but I can tell he's just being obstinate for the sake of it. I' m going to have to break him of that before Lulu's a teenager.
. . . .
When lunch is over, Josh gives me a kiss after he gets Lulu situated in her car seat. "You guys'll be okay, right?" He asks perfunctorily, but I know that if I said no, he'd ditch the President and come with me instead.
"Yes, we'll be fine. Helen went back to the hotel to change, She's going to bring Nicole and meet us at the Field. Plus, we've still got our details."
"Okay. Have fun."
"We will. But I'm going to have Helen work the rope line a bit. See if we can drum up a little more than just B-roll."
"The kids?" Josh starts to ask, but cuts himself off. I appreciate that he's leaving this to me.
"I figure I'd send them in a side door with Becky and the Secret Service before Helen arrives. We already got first family footage, and I'm trying to keep Carly and Lulu off camera."
I see Josh relax just a bit. So I give him another quick peck on the lips before wiping the lipstick off. "You'd better get going if you want to catch up to Matt and Amy."
"Yeah, I think she's got quite a bit of time set aside for meet and greet, so I should be fine. You know how his fans are."
"Still wearing Santos underwear?"
"I hope not. Even Bram is over that."
"Alright. Love you. Be safe out there."
"You too." He leans in for one more kiss before he closes the door to the SUV.
"You guys sure do kiss a lot." Miranda announces.
"Me too!" Lulu insists. So I give her a quick peck and ignore Miranda's observation.
. . . .
As we pull up in front of the Field Museum, I address the troops.
"Okay. Here's how this is going to happen. I'm going to get out and talk to the Press. Allen is going to drive you around to the side entrance. Secret Service will have cleared the Press but Peter, I want you and Miranda on one side of Carly's Mom and Carly, I want you on the other side. Miranda, you hold Mrs. Moss's hand. Carly, you carry Lulu. That way if there is a stray photographer, all they get is a benign shot of the family going in. We really don't want the Press in on this dating story yet. When we are inside the museum they'll clear each room before we enter it, so if you want to hold hands when it's just us, that's fine."
"Gee, how romantic." Peter grumbles.
"It's okay." Carly reassures him. "You don't want reporters on your case, right? And my Dad really doesn't want my picture in the paper either."
"Yeah. I don't need to get on your Dad's bad side." Peter agrees a little nervously.
"Okay. Once your Mom arrives and is about to come in, I'll have Nicole send you two out to meet her. That way we can get some family photos of you in front of the Museum. Just wave and smile. No big deal. Sound okay?"
"Yes, Ma'am." Peter agrees, and Becky smiles at his Texas manners.
"You good sweet pea?" I ask Miranda. She's usually more than okay with the press attention.
"Yes, but can I run up and give Mommy a hug?"
"Yes, of course." The press will eat it up, and Miranda seems to know that. She likes her picture in the paper.
. . . .
My plan goes flawless, until as Helen turns to head up the stairs, a reporter from the back calls out one more question.
"Mrs. Santos! Senator Mitchell made a statement earlier today taking credit for blocking the Nuclear Test Ban treaty during President Bartlet's second term. Is he the reason why your husband hasn't tried to pass the treaty and is that something on the agenda if he gets a second term?"
"Senator Mitchell shouldn't take credit for something he had nothing to do with." Helen is quick to retort.
Yikes. I don't like her taking the bait and giving them a sound bite, so I try to step in and cut this off.
"I'm sorry, the children are waiting."
But the reporter talks over me, shooting off a follow up question before I can steer Helen up the steps. "Mrs. Santos, in a recent poll 82% of Americans were in favor of the treaty. Don't you think the Administration should try to pass it?"
Helen pauses a moment before answering. "The complexities of a global arms treaty, the technological, the military, the diplomatic nuances, it's staggering. 82% of the people cannot possibly be expected to reach an informed decision. I think this is one best left to the experts."
Oh my god. She just insulted the intelligence of 82% of the American people. And from the look on her face, I think she knows it. She quickly glances at me for guidance.
"Thank you for your questions, even if they were a little beyond the President's support for educational opportunities provided by the Field Museum, but we need to get going. The children are excited to go see it for themselves."
Thank God Nicole saw my signal and sent them out to the porch. As I gesture at the door, Peter and Miranda wave at the crowd, which cheers for them. Helen gives me a grateful smile.
"Thank you everyone." She agrees before hustling up the stairs.
"Well, I really screwed that up, didn't I?" she murmurs once we are out of ear-shot.
"Don't worry about it. We'll deal with it. Just keep smiling."
Miranda runs up to Helen, who picks her up and spins her around once before setting her down. Then Miranda takes Helen's hand and leads her into the building, while chattering excitedly at her about seeing Sue the T-Rex.
It's a picture perfect moment, and I hope the b-roll will dominate the news cycle instead of the sound bite she just gift wrapped, but I'm not that optimistic.
Nicole is aware that Lulu is her responsibility right now, so as the group examines Sue, I find a quiet spot so I can call Josh. I'm relieved when he answers right away.
"Everything okay?" He asks in a rush instead of saying hello. I'm sure seeing my call so quickly after we parted ways has him anxious.
"Lulu and I are fine." I'm quick to assure him.
"What happened?"
"Well, Helen had a little gaffe."
"How little?"
"Maybe not so little."
"Donna?"
"A reporter gave her a chance to take a pot shot at Morgan Mitchell and she fell for it."
"Was it bad?"
"Not really, he just pointed out Mitchell's statement on the Test Ban Treaty and Helen said he shouldn't take credit for keeping it from passing. For that I'd say let it lie. Trying to walk it back might just keep it in the news cycle."
"Sounds about right. I'll let Matt know just so he's not blindsided if it comes up. He's still doing grip and grin right now."
"There's something else."
"What? Didn't you cut it off after that?"
"I tried but he had a follow up. Pointed out the polling data, that most Americans support the ban. And asked if it would be on the agenda if Matt won a second term."
"And Helen responded that our platform is fully explained on our website and that she and the kids needed to go inside?" Josh offers hopefully.
"Not exactly."
He sighs dramatically. "Okay, let's hear it."
"She said that 82% of American's couldn't really grasp the complexity of the treaty and that it was a subject best left to the experts."
"Shit." He exclaims. Then he laughs sardonically. "She's been talking to Jed. What did you do?"
"I managed to cut it off. I tried to redirect them back to education, talking about the Field, then we got some great footage of Miranda and Peter. Helen knows that she messed up. I don't think she really meant to insult the public."
"Well she's not wrong. But I don't think we can just hope for the best."
"No. I don't think so. I was thinking about releasing a clarification of her remarks, That Mrs. Santos was speaking for herself, that the test ban treaty is not her area of expertise and that she finds it complex? But I need to clear that with her. It makes her sound a little like a dilettante and I don't want to act prematurely, if the press doesn't actually run with it."
"Do you really think they'll let it slide?"
"No."
"Me neither, but I like your plan. If we get asked to comment on her statement we'll walk it back as gently as possible. Thanks for the heads up."
"Alright. I'd better let you get back to work."
"You too. Good job, Donna. Love you."
"Love you too."
. . . . . .
"What did King Tut say when he had a nightmare?" Miranda asks Helen, waiting only a microsecond before bursting out- "I want my mummy!"
"Good one, honey." Helen responds smiling, but I can tell she's distracted.
Miranda laughs and skips toward Peter and Carly on the other side of the room to share her joke with them, I'm sure. Becky's not far behind them, showing Lulu a collection of Cat statues that would give CJ nightmares. I might need to check out the gift shop to see if I can find a replica of Bast.
Helen and I move on to the next sarcophagus. She stands in front of the placard, like she's reading it while I examine the details of the box. But I can see the wheels turning in her head.
"You called Josh?" She asks softly.
"Yes."
"It's going to be that bad?"
"No. It's a gaffe. You don't make many of them, and we'll get over it, but they needed a head's up."
"Okay." She agrees a bit dejectedly. I feel really bad for her. She hates being the weak link. I totally get it.
"Really. It's fine. While I wouldn't have put it quite like you did, it's not that bad to remind the public that Mitchell's position is at odds with most of the country. And if he wants to take credit for the Senate blocking a measure that most of the country would approve of, well, I'm sure Josh and Amy can spin that to our favor."
Helen gives me a bit of a smile. "But Pennsylvania . . ."
"Really isn't that much different than the rest of the country on this. Mitchell got his seat by scaring them over this issue. He barely mentioned it when he ran for reelection. Really he's just lucky that instead of trying to get his seat back, Tony Marino spent time stumping for us. And Baker is still very popular in Pennsylvania. The PA numbers are going to bounce back."
She still looks a bit uncertain but I see the spark coming back into her eyes. "Trust me, Helen. It's going to be fine."
Helen gives me a quick nod, and I feel pretty confident that I've gotten through to her, but I'll make sure that Amy takes on it easy around her, and that Matt and Josh give her a pep talk tonight. I want her at one hundred percent for tomorrow's event in Baltimore.
"Where do mummies go swimming?" Miranda sings as she rejoins us. This time she waits to see if we answer.
"I don't know." Helen admits.
"The Dead Sea!" Miranda giggles, completely enjoying herself.
"Why couldn't the mummy answer the phone?" I inquire, joining in the fun.
"She was all tied up!" Miranda replies. "That's a good one!"
Obviously she prepared for our visit today, immediately launching into another riddle.
"What did one pyramid say to the other?"
"I don't know."
"How's your mummy?!"
Miranda and Helen both laugh. And Helen takes Miranda's hand as we start to move on to the next exhibit.
How's your mummy? Indeed