"That was one of our best crowds yet," Donna observed as she and Will returned to the campaign headquarters that evening after a campaign rally in Pittsburgh. "I mean, we're still not matching Santos' crowds, but it seems like enthusiasm is growing, don't you think?"
"Yeah. I think the local news estimated the crowd at around 3000." Will nodded. "And hey – attracting crowds is Santos' thing. Young people like him, and they're the ones who are most likely to show up at campaign rallies. And, God forgive me for saying this, but let's face it – Santos is a much more exciting speaker than Bob Russell."
Donna laughed. "Yeah, just a little."
"But unfortunately for Santos, crowd size doesn't determine who wins the election," Will concluded. "Voters do that. And older voters are the ones who actually turn out at the polls."
Will's phone rang.
"Will Bailey," he answered as they walked. Suddenly he stopped walking and touched Donna's arm. "Yes, we're aware of the rumor…no….no, we don't have any comment…it's an independent blog, it's in no way affiliated with our campaign….as I said, no comment. No….So can I ask, are you planning on broadcasting the story?...okay….Thank you." He hung up the phone.
"That was someone from FIX News. They asked me about the videotape rumor," he announced, sounding almost giddy. "I think they're going to go with the story."
They walked into the office and turned the TV to FIX News – not usually their favorite cable news network, but they wanted to see if the story would be mentioned. The network was covering a Santos rally that would get be getting underway soon.
"Lot of people there, and it hasn't even started yet," Donna observed, looking at the images on the television. Not that she was an expert at estimating crowd size, but it looked like a whole lot more than 3000.
"This just in," the FIX News anchor announced, "In a somewhat unusual move, Santos campaign manager Josh Lyman has let us know he will be taking questions from the press momentarily, before the rally gets underway."
Donna and Will exchanged glances. If FIX News had called them for comment on the story, they had certainly also called the Santos campaign. Was Josh planning to respond publicly to the rumors now that it appeared a major cable news network was considering broadcasting them?
"It will be interesting to see what Lyman has to say," the anchor continued. "There is an internet rumor – and we have to be careful what we say because so far we've found no independent evidence to support it, but there is a story being reported on a website called RussellisReady that a videotape exists and is in Republican hands which shows Matt Santos waving a Mexican flag and cheering anti-American sentiments at an immigration rights rally about ten years ago. According to the website, if Santos is the Democratic nominee, the RNC will release the videotape after the Democratic Convention in order to seriously damage him in the general election. Again, we have to emphasize that at this time this is only a rumor, but it certainly seems possible that Lyman might want to respond to that."
Will let out a low whistle. "Well, if he wasn't planning on responding before, he is now."
Donna nodded with a grimace. "I think Josh's Blackberry might be getting thrown across the room right about now."
Within about five minutes, Josh's impromptu press conference had begun. He got several routine questions about the campaign, poll numbers, etc., before the question came:
"Josh, a blog called RussellisReady claims to have sources that are telling them the Republican National Committee has a videotape of Matt Santos waving a Mexican flag at an immigration rights rally, and cheering as speakers at the rally denounced the United States. And we've actually just gotten word that the story has just been mentioned on a major cable news network, which takes it out of the realm of simply being an internet rumor. Can you confirm or deny that any such videotape exists, or whether one might exist?"
"The story is a lie," Josh cut in, his voice angry, almost before the reporter had finished asking the question. "The videotape does not exist because Matt Santos has never attended any such rally. He served in the Marines. He has risked his life in service to his country. He loves the United States of America as much as anybody I know. This is a cruel, racially charged rumor, and those who are spreading it should be ashamed." Josh was almost yelling by the time he finished.
Donna knew Josh well enough to know that this wasn't just a show for the cameras. He really was as angry as he sounded.
"He wouldn't have denied it so forcefully if he wasn't sure the tape didn't exist," she observed.
Will nodded in agreement.
"Josh," came a follow-up question. "You were asked about the rumor yesterday by a blogger, and you declined to comment. Why was that? If the story is so obviously and unequivocally false, why did you need to wait a day and a half before you could deny it?"
Josh was quiet for a minute, clearly trying to decide exactly how to answer the question.
"You guys all know exactly why," he began. His voice was quieter, but no less angry. "Because I had to check it out first. I had to go to Congressman Santos, this man I deeply respect and admire, and grill him about whether he'd ever attended an anti-American rally. I had to see the hurt on his face when he realized his own campaign manager thought there was a chance the rumor might be true. And the reason I had to ask him about it wasn't because I had any doubt whatsoever about him, his character, or his patriotism. It was because as you all know, in politics you don't dare flatly deny anything until you're 100% sure you have all your ducks in a row. So just…just remember when hear these sensational rumors and you think you should put them on the air without any fact-checking, that there are actual human beings involved. Thank you all."
The press conference over, he turned and headed toward some of the campaign staff who had been listening from a distance.
"Okay, so I think the rumor's not true," Will sighed.
"Disappointed?"
"A little," Will shrugged, not picking up on the slight sarcasm in Donna's voice.
Donna sat down at the computer and, out of curiosity, went to RussellisReady. Not surprisingly, they were standing by their story.
"Josh Lyman's angry, defensive temper tantrum only proves he knows the tape is out there!" the site declared. "The Santos campaign is running scared. Our sources are standing by their information. Democrats, nominate Matt Santos at your own risk."
She shook her head. "They'll never give up on it, will they?"
"Probably not," Will shrugged.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the next President of the United States, Matt Santos!"
Donna glanced back at the television and watched as Santos strode onto the stage to a rock star's greeting from the crowd. She knew the rumors had to be hurtful to him, but he gave no indication of it as he beamed at the crowd and began his stump speech.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"And now, with polls having been closed in Pennsylvania for approximately two and a half hours, we are ready to make a projection. Congressman Matt Santos will carry the state of Pennsylvania and its 178 delegates in the race for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States..."
Donna and Will sighed. They'd known this was probably coming for a few hours now. Based on the exit polls, it looked like the final margin would be somewhere around 3%. It had been close. But close didn't count. They were at a venue near Scranton where the Vice President would be addressing supporters shortly. When it had become clear that the news wouldn't be good, a lot of their volunteers and staff people had gone home for the night. Donna and Will were watching the returns quietly from a small room outside the main hall.
"So what does the Santos victory mean for the Democratic race?" A news anchor asked the network's political consultant.
"Well, look at this map of states that have yet to vote," the consultant pointed to a color-coded electronic map. "The states in light blue are states where Russell is favored to win. The states in dark blue are states where Santos is favored. The states in white are toss-ups, states where the race is too close to call. Even if either Santos or Russell were to win all of the states they're currently favored in, plus all of the toss-up states, they still wouldn't have enough delegates to secure the nomination. So unless either candidate can somehow manage to upset the other in several – and it would probably take several -- of his opponent's 'safe' states, it now looks very likely that the Democratic nomination will be decided at a brokered convention.
He wasn't saying anything that Donna and Will weren't well aware of.
"A brokered convention," Will shook his head. "You know, as a campaign manager, I wish it wasn't happening to us. As a Democrat, I wish it was happening to the Republicans. But as just a guy who's loved politics my whole life, I have to admit there's a part of me that thinks it's pretty damn exciting."
Donna looked at Will for a moment.
"You once made fun of Josh for taking up a lost cause like Matt Santos."
"Yeah, yeah, go ahead and throw that in my face the rest of my life. You're entitled."
"No – well, don't worry, I will, but that's not my point. My point is that when we all first heard about you, you were working on a campaign for a dead guy. Your candidate died and you wouldn't quit. You said it was a 'campaign of ideas'."
Will nodded. That race for the California 47th seemed so long ago, even though it had only been a few years.
"What I'm asking is this," Donna drew a deep breath. "Is that what we're running now? A campaign of ideas? Or..."
"Did we just get behind the obvious choice for Jed Bartlet's successor because we figured he was practically the presumptive nominee?" Will finished her question.
"That's pretty much what I'm asking." She prayed he wouldn't think she was being disloyal to the campaign.
"I don't know, Donna. I mean, I tried to tell myself that Leo and the President wouldn't have picked Russell for Vice President if they didn't think he was Presidential material. But I know they also had to pick someone they could get an opposition congress to confirm. And yes, I wanted to help elect the next President, and I figured the Democratic nominee for that position was going to be Vice President Russell."
Donna hesitated for only a moment before asking her next question. "Do you ever feel like we're on the wrong side in this primary?"
"Only in my darker moments."
"Does it ever bother you?"
He shook his head. "Not really. At this point, I figure we fight like hell for Russell, Josh and his people fight like hell for Santos, and whichever one comes out on top…well, maybe that's the guy who will be most electable against Vinick in the fall."
Donna nodded. Maybe he was right. Maybe she'd been overthinking all of this. Santos had Josh on his team, which meant he had access to the best political advice he could want. It was their job to make sure Russell had the same advantage. Beyond that – well, it was simply in the hands of the voters. Or, more accurately at this point, in the hands of the convention delegates.