When Russell is President, he'd better also end up with a few more Democrats in Congress to have his back, Donna thought, seething, as she plopped down on the sofa in the Vice President's office on the Hill. She couldn't believe what had just happened. The Vice President had stepped off the campaign trail to come to DC and lobby against a bill eliminating stem cell research funding – even though he couldn't even vote on it himself – and what had happened? The Republican Speaker of the House had seen how many Democrats were back in town, and pulled the vote. He would wait until the Democrats had left town to put the bill up for a vote. What a cheap stunt. Forget whether or not a majority of the nation's elected representatives favored a bill – clearly that didn't matter. What was the point of even having a vote if the Speaker could wait until opposition congress members were out of town before holding it?
She sighed and rubbed her eyes. She was exhausted. She'd barely slept the previous night. And she didn't have anywhere to be until the next morning. Maybe she could go home and actually sleep in her apartment for once. Or maybe I'll just take a quick nap here, and then go somewhere for dinner, she decided. She got up, turned off the lights in the office, and then laid down on the sofa to sleep.
She didn't know how long she'd been asleep when suddenly there was someone on top of her. Panic coursed through her body, and she let out a long scream. She threw her arms out to push the person away, felt her hand hit something, and heard a crash.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she could hear a male voice saying as he got off of her. The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but between her grogginess and the adrenaline, she couldn't quite place it.
That thing she'd knocked over – she was pretty sure it was a lamp. She reached over to the end table, got her hands around it, and turned it on. She turned to see Matt Santos kneeling by the sofa, looking almost as shaken as she was.
"I'm sorry," he repeated.
She slowly got her bearings and realized he must have accidentally sat on her, having not been able to see her lying on the sofa with all the lights turned off. What he was doing in the Vice President's office at this hour was another question. Speaking of which, what time was it, anyway? She sat up on the couch and glanced at her watch. "I didn't plan on…oh, I crashed…"
"Hey, you're Russell's chicken fighter!" he declared, recognizing her.
She rolled her eyes. Great, just want I always wanted to be known as."Donna Moss," she introduced herself. "You're Matt Santos."
"I'm running for President. And I haven't shaken your hand yet," he said as he extended his hand.
"Okay, assuming I'm not in some state of deep REM hallucination…"
"I'm hiding out. We're trying to outsmart the speaker." He explained his plan to her, which involved Democratic congress members hiding in the Vice President's office and making the Speaker think they'd left town, so he would hold the vote. Donna had to admit it was ingenious. Almost as sneaky as the stunt the Speaker had pulled.
"Does the Vice President know you're here?" She had to remember that she worked for this man's political opponent.
"This is not for the Santos campaign. It's for the President. I bet you're a fan?"
She hesitated only a moment. She knew that when you were a Presidential candidate, everything you did was political, and if Santos got credit for saving stem cell funding, it could certainly help his campaign. But the Vice President wanted the bill defeated also. What was he going to do, forbid them from using his office? She decided to leave the issue alone.
"You're not going to try it's for stem cells everywhere, are you?" she joked.
Matt sat down on the sofa next to her, appearing to settle in for what was likely to be a long night. "The others will be along as soon as they can start sneaking them up here."
"Well, if there's anything I can do to help…" Donna offered.
"If you'd really like to, we can always use another lookout in the halls. If anyone asks why you're here, you can just tell them you're getting some work done in the Vice President's office."
Donna nodded in agreement. She found herself beginning to get excited about the plan. After all the stress and negativity of the campaign trail lately, it would feel good to be a part of something that could actually make an unambiguously positive difference in the world.
She and the congressman sat in silence for awhile. Finally he spoke.
"You know…in the Marines, they taught us a lot of things, but I don't actually remember learning all that much about overhead compartments."
Donna looked at the ground in embarrassment. "I shouldn't have said that. I apologize. I just got carried away. I never meant to demean your service to our country."
"It's okay. The campaign trail – it's crazy, you know? The 'win at all costs' mentality. It makes good people say and do things they ordinarily never would."
"It shouldn't be like that," Donna found herself saying. "I mean, I'm not naïve – well, okay, I'm a little naïve, but still I know that political attacks have been a part of every campaign in probably forever. I guess because pollsters tell us that negative campaigning works, and that's all that matters. But we're choosing someone to be leader of the free world. Shouldn't our elections be about who has the best ideas, the best leadership skills, the best character? And by character, I don't mean 'did you ever smoke pot in college', I mean when push comes to shove do you have the strength to do what's right even in the face of enormous pressure to do otherwise?"
Where did that come from? She wondered. As if she was really in a position to lecture anyone about negative campaigning, anyway.
"I couldn't agree more," Matt responded, his voice quiet but impassioned. "It's exactly what I keep trying to tell Josh – my campaign manager, I think you know him."
She nodded in confirmation, and Matt continued: "And then he tells me we didn't make the rules, but we have to play by them if I'm going to have any chance of getting elected. I don't know, maybe he's right."
Donna took a deep breath. "Josh is very good at what he does. But let me tell you something, Congressman. The reason you've come as far as you have, from near obscurity, isn't because of any brilliant political strategy. It's because of you. Your energy, your idealism, your charisma – that's what draws people in. They're hungry for it, and they're responding to it. I may work for your opponent, but believe me, I can see it too. And it doesn't hurt that you're good looking, either," she added with a smile.
"Well, I'll take that compliment whenever I can get it." He smiled modestly.
Donna turned serious again. "I hope you don't lose that. Whatever happens on the campaign trail, I hope you don't give up on trying to inspire people and bring out the best in them. Well," she laughed quietly, "I guess for the Vice President's sake, I should hope you do give up on it and decide to become just another politician, but I don't."
Just another politician. The words echoed uncomfortably in her mind. Had she been referring to the Vice President?
"Man, I wish you were on our team," Matt shook his head. "Between you and Josh, I think we'd be unbeatable."
Donna closed her eyes. She wished she didn't love that image so much: she and Josh, working side by side again, trying to get Matt Santos elected President. For a fleeting moment, she seriously considered defecting to the Santos campaign right then and there. But she forced herself to snap back to reality.
"Yeah, I'm sure Josh would love that."
"Are you kidding? He'd be over the moon. I mean, he might not admit it right away, but he would be. Let me tell you, you've gotten under that guy's skin in a big way. Whenever you're on TV, he just stares at the screen, transfixed."
"Transfixed in a good way, or transfixed with rage?"
Matt laughed. "Well, maybe a little of both. But definitely transfixed."
"Good to know, I guess."
"Anyway," Matt shifted the direction of the conversation. "Vice President Russell is a good man. I worked with him a lot when he was in the House. I can understand what you see in him."
"Yeah, he's great." Donna's voice was so flat and unconvincing, almost sarcastic, that it surprised even her.
Matt looked at her curiously. "Don't you think so?"
"Yes, of course. I mean, I don't know." She couldn't believe she was saying this to anyone, let alone Matt Santos. But against her better judgment, she continued: "Back in Iowa, a reporter asked me why Bob Russell should be President. I couldn't come up with a coherent answer. I ended up saying 'he's a good Democrat', which didn't go over too well."
"Talking to the media can be hard."
"Yes, but it was more than that. The reason I couldn't come up with a coherent answer is because I didn't have one. Why should he be President? Other than because he's a Democrat and so am I? I couldn't come up with one good reason. Now, if someone were to ask me why you should be the next President…"
Matt stared at her. Had she just said what he thought she had? "Are you thinking of leaving the campaign?"
"No. Yes. No, definitely not." Donna concluded. "And if you repeat what I just said, I'll deny it on a stack of Bibles. You're not wearing a wire, are you?" She suddenly felt sick as she realized how damaging her words would be if they ever got out. One would think I'd know better than this by now, she scolded herself miserably.
"No," he laughed. "And don't worry, none of this leaves this room."
For some reason, she believed him. "Thanks."
"But anyway, you must have seen something good in the Vice President in order to have joined his campaign in the first place," he ventured.
She sighed. "I'm not sure it was so much about him as it was about…well, it's a long story."
"I have all night. Literally."
"Okay," she managed a smile. "Well…as I'm sure you know, last spring I was injured in the attack on the CODEL in Gaza."
Matt nodded somberly. "I prayed for you every day while you were in the hospital."
"You did?" She couldn't help but be a little surprised by that. Of course, it had been a major news story, and she knew she'd been prayed for by many people who didn't even know her, but it was still strange to hear about.
He nodded. She saw the look of sadness on his face and remembered that he had lost two colleagues in the attack. She chastised herself for being so self-absorbed. "Were you close to Congressmen Korb and DeSantos?"
"We got along well. That was a hard day in the House of Representatives."
"I'm sorry."
She was quiet for a moment, and then took a deep breath and continued. "Anyway, after the bombing – well, even before that really, but especially afterwards, I knew I needed to make a change in my life. I liked going to work because I liked being around – I liked the people I worked with. But I wasn't being challenged. I didn't see any real chance for growth in the position I was in, and besides, it wasn't like that job was even going to be around all that much longer, anyway. And I thought it made sense to go work for the Vice President, who might well be the next President of the United States. So I quit."
Matt nodded.
Donna sighed miserably. "But I did it all wrong. Josh and I had known each other for so long. I meant to have a long conversation with him, thank him for all he'd done for me, make him understand why I needed to move on, and maintain our friendship. But things kept getting busy, and he kept rescheduling our talk. Not that that's an excuse. It's always busy at the White House, and I could have insisted that he make the time if I'd really tried. But I think truth be known I was so nervous about it that I let him keep putting it off, and then – I just left, no notice or anything. Literally, 'oh, by the way, I quit.' I didn't even really say goodbye. I think he actually thought I was joking until the next day when he saw the temp at my desk – well, I'm sure Josh has probably told you the story."
"Yeah, he may have mentioned it once or twice."
"I wanted career advancement so much. But now I've been asking myself why I wanted it. Was it just to get a bigger paycheck and a more prestigious job title? Or was it to do work that matters, work that will make a difference in the world? And if it's the latter, is that what I've actually been doing? I don't know. I'm not sure I'm very good at this whole self-improvement thing. I decide I need to quit my job, and I end up acting like an irresponsible teenager when I do. And now I have this fantastic job, a job that people would kill for, working on a Presidential campaign that I'm not sure I believe in." She paused. "You must think I'm a complete mess."
Matt shook his head. "Six months ago, I fully intended to leave congress when my term expired, go back home to Houston, open health clinics, and spend lots of time with my kids – a plan that my wife was pretty happy about, by the way. Then Josh showed up at my doorstep with this crazy idea about running for President, and I don't know – it sounded right. So now, here I am. I hardly ever get to see my kids these days, not to mention my wife. I think I made the right decision, but not a day goes by that I don't worry about what price my children are paying for this – I guess it can only be called an exercise in hubris? – of running for President." He paused for a moment. "I guess my point is that the path to self-improvement, or whatever you want to call it, isn't easy. If you don't make a lot of mistakes, you're probably not really trying. The right choices aren't always clear." Then he let out a laugh. "It must be getting late. I think I'm starting to sound like Oprah."
"You watch Oprah?"
"Well, actually I don't, but you know – what I imagine Oprah would sound like."
Donna giggled. "No, too late to backtrack! I'm getting the press release ready now: Matt Santos never misses an episode of Oprah! What'll that do to your manly image, huh?"
"I have a manly image?"
They were both startled by a knock at the door.
"I think our company is starting to arrive," Matt got up from the sofa and started toward the door.
Donna nodded and followed him. "Well, I'm glad I got to talk to you a little bit – you know, before this place turns into a zoo. I just hope you don't think I'm too much of a nutcase."
"Not at all. Ms. Moss?"
"Please. Donna."
He turned to look at her. "I was serious about what I said before. Just say the word, and there's a place for you on my campaign."
"Thanks, I – well, thanks." She knew she wouldn't take him up on it – well, she was pretty sure she wouldn't – but somehow she wasn't ready to turn it down quite yet.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Donna glanced at her watch. It was a little past midnight. The Vice President's office was full of sleeping House members. Matt Santos, however, was awake and speaking quietly with a young congressman from Arkansas who wasn't yet sold on the ethics of stem cell research. Their conversation had been going on for well over an hour now.
"If it's a moral call, and I agree, it is," she heard Congressman Santos say, "What about the morality of dragging our heels when we could be alleviating suffering?"
She almost wished she could pull up a chair and watch, although she supposed that would look a bit strange. She was beyond impressed with Matt Santos. And not just because he was so persuasive in explaining his support of stem cell research, or because he was working so hard to lobby the Arkansas congressman. When the young congressman had told the other Democrats that he thought he might support the Speaker's position on the bill, most of them had been ready to boo him out of the room. But Congressman Santos had asked the Arkansas congressman to elaborate on his concerns about stem cell research. He had engaged him in an intense but respectful dialogue about the issue, a discussion which the two men were continuing into the night. As she listened to him talk, she couldn't help but think that Matt Santos sounded like a leader, someone with strong convictions who could still listen carefully and honestly to those with opposing viewpoints.
He sounded like a President.