The Means (25 page)
Authors: Douglas Brunt
61
Samantha finds a few photos of Connor Marks from his time with Miami PD. She chooses the one that has his neck the thickest and his face the most thuggish. She prepares the forty-five-minute package and mentions Pauley once to say he had no connection with Connor Marks. She mentions Mason once to say she is convinced of his innocence. The rest highlights Monica Morris and Connor Marks the Fixer and it plays the video of Carol Shaw and Monica Morris in full.
Samantha introduces the forty-five-minute piece on Candace Park's nine p.m. show on UBS-24. “You may not know the name Connor Marks, but it is a name the world will come to know. The allegation of hit-and-run against President Mason was false. It was a fraud created by Connor Marks.” The piece runs then the camera cuts back to Samantha and Candace.
Candace makes a dramatic pause on camera, looking at Samantha. “Where is Connor Marks today?”
“I don't know.”
“Will charges be brought against him?”
“I expect conspiracy as a start. Maybe more once they've investigated everything.”
“Reese Kinard?”
“At this time that is still classified as a suicide but the police are reÂexamining the case.”
“And Monica Morris?”
“She's in custody and I understand is cooperating.”
The broadcast moves to a split screen to include the photo of Connor Marks. Samantha says, “He is out there and I suppose others like him are out there. People who are focused on an objective and who will leverage any perversion, use whatever means to achieve it.”
62
The day after Samantha Davis's report, the headline of the
New York Times
is “Monica Morris a Fraud, Changes Election.”
The
New York Daily News
: “The Fixer Is In.”
The
Washington Post
: “Morris Scandal Upends Washington.”
The
New York Post
: “The Lady Is a Tramp . . . and a Liar.”
There are seventy million Democrats who will never forget the faces of Monica Morris and Connor Marks, though the national outrage over the scandal is nonpartisan. While no one suggests that Pauley had any hand in the manipulation, his administration is taking incoming from all sides. His victory is legally unchallenged but is relegated to practical illegitimacy.
“I can't govern this way, Peter.”
“You can't resign and we're not going to do the election over again. You're the president of the United States. This'll pass.”
“This is a stain that won't go away. The country's just going to wait out a four-year clock to take away something it thinks I should never have had. And anytime I try to push a policy agenda, the people are going to ask me by what right.”
“It'll pass.”
“No, we need to do something.”
“There's nothing to do, Tom. We can't have copresidents.”
“Maybe a team-of-rivals gesture.”
“No. You want to make him secretary of state? That'd be an insult.”
“Of course not, but we need to change the media conversation.”
“I'll call Mason's people. Maybe he'll make some statement of support for you. The fact that you're president isn't going to change in the next four years, so getting you past this is the right thing for the country. He may decide it's a gesture that'll make him look good.”
*Â Â Â *Â Â Â *
Tom sits behind the desk of his upstairs study in the private residence of the White House. It's past midnight. Alison is asleep. His belongings are unpacked and arranged except for two cardboard boxes of old personal items that Tom has now opened up.
Tom is looking through some old photos then stops on one and puts it down on the desk.
His elbows are down on the desk and he leans forward and rubs deep into his eyes with the end digits of his fingers. He's president now, but at a price. Everything that had to happen to get him to the goal now hangs around his neck like a weight too great to carry. He's impotent because of the process. The price was too high.
He stands to go to bed and leaves the pictures where they are. Nobody goes in here but Tom.
The picture on top is faded with age. It's a group photo from the Camp Arrowhead summer camp for boys. Six boys, ten years old, are in the photo. Four standing and holding fishing rods. Two are kneeling. The last sentence of the caption reads,
Kneeling: Tom Pauley, Connor Marks.
In the actions of all men, and especially of princes,
where there is no court to appeal to, one looks to the end.
For that reason, let the prince win and maintain his state:
the means will always be judged honorable,
and he will be praised by everyone.
Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469â1527
Acknowledgments
Two people who deserve a special thanks are Dana Perino and Chris Stirewalt. Not only did they meet with me on several occasions to help with this book, but they introduced me to people well-placed to continue aspects of the research. They also read an early draft of the novel and provided great feedback. I ignored some of the corrections they offered in order to preserve pieces of the story I want to tell. If you find something you'd like to change, they probably found it too.
Many others were generous with their time and expertise, including: Joe Trippi, Charlie Hurt, Terry Holt, Marc Lampkin, John Murray, Melissa Francis, Arthur Aidala, Jared Weinstein, Tom Rooney, Pat Brosnan.
My agents, Lane Zachary and Todd Shuster, once again helped me through the process and had thoughtful suggestions for the book. I'm grateful for their hard work and friendship.
Stacy Creamer has been an early believer in my writing and has had great advice for both of my books. It has been a pleasure working with Sally Kim, a great editor and advisor. Also at Touchstone, Meredith Vilarello, Melissa Vipperman-Cohen, Courtney Brach, Jessica Roth, and Lisa Healy.
My wife Megyn is my most trusted reader, and her feedback means the most. She is kind, brilliant, funny, and strong. I know a few people who are so talented they can do anything they want, but she is the only one who can do anything she wants with excellence. I'm lucky that she's my love story. Together we've done amazing things, and the best of these we call Yates, Yardley, and our new baby Thatcher. Now everyone is here.
The Means
Douglas Brunt
Introduction
The Means
tells the story of three individuals who have one thing in common: ambition. Samantha Davis is a lawyer-turned-journalist who wants to report honest news that really matters. Tom Pauley is a successful attorney in North Carolina who gets tapped by the GOP to run for governor, and Mitchell Mason is the president of the United States, a Democrat, and a good politician with his own set of morals. When Tom Pauley decides to run against Mitchell Mason in the presidential election, the three characters become entangled in a news story that changes the outcome of the election and the future of America.
The Means
explores the face of contemporary politics and raises the question of whether the ends do justify the means.
1. “The production reminds her of the image of a duck on water. On the surface, calm and beautiful, while beneath the surface the bony, orange legs are thrashing like mad” (12). Discuss this introduction to Samantha Davis and her new career as a high-profile news reporter. How would you characterize her? How does this image foreshadow events in the story? Do you think the duck working hard but retaining a certain kind of decorum is a metaphor for the job of the president of the United States?
2. On page 23, Samantha notes, “when meeting other female on-air talent, she always gets an up-and-down from them the way she would from a drunk guy in a bar.” Comment on the male/female dynamics in the novel, paying particular attention to Samantha's interactions. Do the women treat Samantha more harshly than her male counterparts? Does her femininity inform her reporting style? Consider Samantha's relationship with Connor Marks.
3. Discuss the ways in which conservative and liberal ideas are represented. Is Tom Pauley the archetype of a Republican? Is Mitchell Mason a typical Democrat?
4. On page 65, Pauley recounts a childhood memory of his Uncle Neil telling him from behind the glass partition in jail: “when each of us is born we're all given a big shit pie. And every once in a while we have to cut off a slice and eat it.” Do you think Tom agrees with his uncle's idea about life and fairness? Would you characterize Tom as a fair man? Why or why not?
5. Revisit the scene, beginning on page 107, when Samantha runs into the police officer who first introduced her to Connor Marks. What do you think he means when he says “it's called journalism . . . with a big J” (108)? Does this scene act as a hinge for Samantha and her career? Is it because of this brief conversation that Samantha has a revelation about Connor Marks?
6. Mason is not portrayed as an upstanding citizen. How would you characterize him? Are his flaws a detriment to his presidency, or are they what make him human? Do you think that Mason's character comments on our larger cultural obsession with the private affairs of heads of state? Ultimately, do you think questionable morals affect the ability of leaders to govern fairly and justly? Why or why not?
7. Do you agree that the pursuit of ambition is a theme of
The Means
? Is ambition the end goal for these characters? Consider Davis, Pauley, and Mason in your response.
8. On page 149, one of Mason's staffers thinks to himself “things are changing here”âan echo of a sentiment uttered earlier by Pauley and his wife Allison after he wins the governor's race in North Carolina. What sort of change do you detect in the novel? Which character changed the most? Is this change good, bad, or both?
9. At the beginning of Part Two there is an epigraph from Winston Churchill: “He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire” (163). Epigraphs and quotations play an interesting role in
The Means
. Not only do they provide a framework for the novel, they also suggest a larger conversation about politics in western culture. To which character(s) do you think this Churchill quotation is directed? Do you think this quotation also participates in a bigger discussion about how we view our politicians?
10. “Do you think humans are basically good or basically bad?” (231). Answer Reese Kinard's question, using Davis, Pauley, Mason, Monica Morris, and Connor Marks as examples. What reasons do you think Reese had for believing human beings are inherently evil?
11. Is Monica Morris to blame for Mason losing the election? What did Samantha mean when she rhetorically asked Connor “Was Monica Morris real . . . Or was she just real enough?” (309). In what ways is Monica “real”? In what ways is she “real enough”?
12. Although to varying degrees, both Mason and Pauley are described as easily tempted by women who are not their wives. And even First Lady Evelyn Mason cheats on her husband, however discreetly. Are the characters in
The Means
especially flawed, or are they just human?
13. In what way(s) is this novel the story of Samantha Davis's success? In what way(s) is it the story of Tom Pauley's demise? Ultimately, whose story is this?
14. What is Samantha's motivation for tricking Monica Morris into a confession? Do you think she righted her wrong? Is it possible to fix mistakes of this size? Why or why not?
15. What is the price that Pauley mentions on the last page of the book? Do you agree, “the price was too high” (332)? Did his means justify his end?
The Means
is your second novel and the first set in Washington, D.C. What was the difference between writing the first book and this new novel? Do you think the two speak to one another in terms of theme? Did
Ghosts of Manhattan
inform
The Means
, either in terms of content or craft choices?
The first difference is that when I wrote
Ghosts of Manhattan
, I was still running a software company and writing only in spare moments. When I wrote
The Means
, I was a full-time writer. Writing full time is a luxury, though the risk is complacency.
The second significant difference is that I did much more primary research for
The Means
. I interviewed a number of people who have worked in the Oval Office, on national campaigns, on Capitol Hill, for super PACs. This helped to inform the story. I did some research for
Ghosts of Manhattan
as well, but much more was a result of my knowledge of Wall Street, having lived in New York so long and with so many friends working in that industry.
Both books speak to the essential nature of mankind. Both observe complex characters inside a framework, in these cases the professional environments of finance and politics, and explore how characters respond when faced with competition, temptation, consequences of their actions. Both books are cynical but not without hope
The first book didn't inform the second in any conscious way. The books are different ways to observe human traits play out in a story.
Describe the research that went into the making of this novel.
I did a lot of interviews for the book, both one-on-one interviews and group interviews, usually over dinner and drinks. For the one-on-one interviews, I would begin with a lot of prepared questions, then the interview would evolve into a casual conversation. For the group interviews, I asked very few questions. I tried to become invisible after a time so people would relax and forget I was there. I wanted to listen to how they talked as much as what they talked about.
Were there any particular challenges writing as a man from a woman's point of view? How did you put yourself in Samantha's shoes, so to speak?