Power Page #2

The only thing I know for sure...

...is that Pete St. John will milk

this thing for all it's worth.

- Milk it?

- Exploit. Use.

An incident like this

is tailor-made for St. John.

He managed the Cepeda campaign

brilliantly.

He'll probably manipulate him

into the presidency.

That is what I fear.

We have spent considerable

amounts of money down there.

His Majesty will not be pleased,

Mr. Billings.

Nor am I, Excellency.

These have been

difficult years for us.

Prices keep falling.

Populists like Cepeda keep...

...nationalizing their oil

and entering the market.

Here, we have senators

and congressmen talking of...

...solar generation and

electrical wind generators...

...and other such--

impractical ideas.

Your upcoming elections are

important to us, Mr. Billings.

We're well prepared.

I feel completely secure

about Senator Hastings.

And the man who will be

replacing him in...

- ...Oheeo?

- Ohio.

Thank you, Mr. Billings.

A superb candidate,

Your Excellency.

Who will be in charge

of his campaign?

Well, we have one of the

top campaign consultants.

Why not... Pete St. John?

He may be too close

to Senator Hastings.

He may have

conflicting loyalties.

From what I know of St. John,

he has no loyalties.

His candidates seem to be on the left,

on the right, in the center--

He seems to be loyal

only to money.

And we have money.

- I want to think about it.

- Is he the best?

- Yes, certainly one of the best.

- Then, please, Billings...

...do think about it.

I don't want His Majesty upset

with another failure,

mine...

...or yours.

...We can't afford you

anymore, Pete.

Naah, you don't have to, Senator.

I'm like Mother Teresa.

My work's only

for the truly needy.

I ran into Phil Healston.

He said he saw you...

...at the Aspen conference

last month.

How's Phil doing?

Great, absolutely great.

He said he was very impressed...

...with the paper you gave him

on solar generation.

- He showed it to you?

- Mm-hm.

What do you think?

What else?

If that new design works...

...shake-out will be

absolutely incredible.

I mean, if this gets funded,

actually worked...

My God!

We're talking, ten,

fifteen years?

Just the Sun Belt alone, what,

That's it for the utilities.

Gone.

This is the fuel oil,

electric, gas, everything...

...right down the tubes.

This must've leaked out by now.

You and your committee must be

getting squeezed like hell.

God!

When I talked

with Syd,

naturally, given

the timing, she, uh,

...she assumed--

I'm not running again,

I've made the decision. It's done.

I'm not feeling well.

I'm ill.

That's what'll come out.

Sam, I didn't know.

It's over, Pete.

I'm sorry about the campaign,

but-- it's over.

F*** the campaign.

Just tell me how're you

going to be.

I'll be all right.

Is it terminal?

No, it's, uh--

After a while, when we have

some time, we'll talk.

I asked you down here, well,

first, to tell you.

Then, to ask you to help me

with the statement.

I don't want to get

into specifics, but,

it must be unequivocal.

I've thought you'd be

the guy to write it.

When do you want

this thing?

I asked my press secretary to...

...call a news conference,

Tomorrow?

Sam, you know you can

postpone this a couple of days--

No!

Okay.

There's a few calls you're

gonna have to make tonight...

...to let people know before

they hear it on the news.

Yes, I forgot.

You're right.

The Majority Leader,

the... State Party Chairman...

Sam, I'm really sorry.

You're one of the three or four guys

who made a difference up there.

- Yeah.

- Mr. St. John?

Who are you?

Arnold Billings. I'm calling

on behalf of Jerome Cade.

- Never heard of him.

- Yes, I know.

I'd like to arrange

an introduction.

Mr. Cade will be running

for Senator Hastings' seat.

- How did you find out?

- We just heard.

He'll be entering

the primary?

Yes, but I expect

he'll be unopposed.

I seriously doubt that,

Mr. Billings.

Nonetheless, that's the opinion here.

The filing deadline's the 1st.

We already organized

to collect signatures.

Mr. Cade is well-known

within Ohio and...

...the Senate seat is something

he's giving serious thought to.

You know my price?

$25,000 a month plus expenses,

Tell me more

about Mr. Cade.

Senator, how are you, sir?

How are you? It's good

to see you again.

Madam.

I got one for you.

Why did they put windshield wipers

on a Polish airline...

- ...on the inside?

- Why?

- Hey! How're you doing?

- Wilfred, you old reprobate!

I hear you're gonna resign

from the paper and finally...

- ...do some good in the world.

- Oh, God.

- Good to see you.

- Nice seeing you.

- My Goodness.

- Good morning.

I was worried for a while

I was gonna break our string.

Oh, no, I got your message.

You were in London last week.

Yes, Leonard and I were summoned

by our news editor for some...

...in-depth preplanning of our--

let's see, of our--

American election coverage.

- Wilfred?

- Yes?

What have you heard about, um,

about Sam Hastings?

Oh! Nothing yet.

He's supposed to be sick.

Hm! No ideas, huh?

Are you writing this down,

Ellen, honey?

No, no, no.

I'm just curious.

All I know is he--

- Have you decided?

Oh, uh, yes.

Have you got any freshly

squeezed orange juice?

- You didn't have any the last time.

- We have.

Right. I'll have

a large glass and...

...and English muffin.

I'll have that juice, too,

with a little vodka and ice.

- Anything else, Mr. Buckley?

- A doughnut plain.

All I know is, I ran into him

three weeks ago...

...at the Gridiron thing,

and everything was great.

He looks great,

like usual.

He feels good, just had

his physical at Walter Reed,

everything cheked out

just fine,

and, all of a sudden,

he's walking away from

the U.S. Senate. Mmm?

This means that

Mr. St. John loses...

...one of his "A" clients.

How's our boy?

Have you seen him lately?

I called him,

he's in South America.

He was doing the...

...presidential campaign

last week, there.

Are you two getting

back together?

- Are you?

- No.

Let's get right to it, shall we?

Did he screw you

as good as he did me?

- Have you seen him?

- No.

You're doing the New Mexico

gubernatorial race, uh...

- ...Frank McKusker, right?

- Yeah.

You'll be seeing him

very soon.

- He got Wallace Furman.

- Yeah, I heard he signed on.

Well, why not? Get the best

money can buy, right?

That's what he is, isn't he?

I mean, he's the very best.

It doesn't matter what or who

gets hurt in the process.

Sometimes I look at him

and he seems the same.

You were married to him,

so tell me,

when did it happen?

I keep thinking back and

I can't figure it out.

When did he start thinking

it didn't matter anymore?

I never heard of this guy.

He's got me on the phone...

...one hour, 55 minutes

after you'd made the calls.

I'm not surprised.

We knew it would get around.

Who is he?

- Billings or Cade?

- Either one.

Well, I've met Billings once.

He's in Washington.

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