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Authors: Joel C. Rosenberg
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hadnât.
MacPherson took Corsettiâs advice. He helped Paine raise more than $2.5 million in less than six months, as Paine was too cheap to spend his own money. Unfortunately, Paine went on to lose the Senate raceâthough he soon was named U.S. ambassador to the U.N.âbut MacPherson picked up a boatload of goodwill and a pocket full of chits. A few years later, he went on to win the GOP nomination for governor without opposition, winning Paineâs much-desired endorsement along the way. And in the process heâd laid the groundwork for two successful terms in the governorâs mansion, and a storybook run for the White House in 2008 after two Bush terms.
Paine wasnât MacPhersonâs first choice to be the Secretary of State, nor his second, though thankfully the press hadnât ever picked up on the behind-the-scenes intrigue surrounding the selection process. Paine didnât have Colin Powellâs military experience or international stature. But with several years at the U.N. under his belt, he was certainly a safe choice, and MacPherson knew he wasnât going to run foreign policy out of the State Department anyway. He and the VP and Marsha Kirkpatrick would take the lead from the White House.
Paine chafed at the arrangement from the beginning. But he wanted the job and didnât want to be left out of the administration. Heâd tried to negotiate for more power. But MacPherson never budged. The president wanted a Rockefeller Republican at State for political cover. But he simply didnât trust the bureaucrats at Foggy Bottom, and he certainly had no intention of giving them free rein over the future of U.S. relations with a rapidly changing world.
Still, despite their sometime prickly alliance, Paine and his wife, Claudia, had just spent Christmas Day at Camp David with the First Family. MacPherson smoked a cigar. The secretary smoked his pipe. The two talked about Bennettâs âoil for peaceâ strategy and reviewed the blowout theyâd had over going to war with Iraq. Now he was gone.
Â
Agent Sinclair stood on the porch of the Residence.
Agents were positioned around the lead limousine, in the lead Suburban and the two that would follow. Vice President Bill Oaks was still inside on the phone with Israeli prime minister David Doron. The motorcade would wait, as would the NSC meeting, if need be. Doron had just ordered the IDF to prepare for a massive ground invasion of Gaza and the West Bank. It would take a few hours to get all the men and machinery in place. But the Israelis were offering to rescue the Americans and begin to restore order. All they wanted was a green light from Washington. Would they get it?
Oaks was an old Washington hand. Heâd risen through the ranks of naval intelligence, then got out, made some money, and got into politics. Heâd once been the governor of Virginia, then served four terms in the U.S. Senate from the Old Dominion, much of that time as the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He knew the game. He knew what Doron wanted. He just wasnât convinced the United States should say yes.
Â
MacPherson took off his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes.
The phone rang. It was Kirkpatrick again.
âMr. President, weâre picking up indications that the Syrians are going on full military alert. Air raid sirens are going off in Damascus. One of our Keyhole satellites is showing all kinds of activity at their forward air bases. Military radio traffic is picking up. Iâll have transcripts of some of our intercepts soon.â
âWhat are the Israelis doing?â
âTheyâre mobilizing as well, sir. The VP just got off the phone with the prime minister. Theyâre putting their forces along the northern borders with Syria and Lebanon on full alert. Theyâre also preparing for a massive ground invasion into the West Bank and Gaza. Theyâre offering to rescue our people.
MacPherson took Corsettiâs advice. He helped Paine raise more than $2.5 million in less than six months, as Paine was too cheap to spend his own money. Unfortunately, Paine went on to lose the Senate raceâthough he soon was named U.S. ambassador to the U.N.âbut MacPherson picked up a boatload of goodwill and a pocket full of chits. A few years later, he went on to win the GOP nomination for governor without opposition, winning Paineâs much-desired endorsement along the way. And in the process heâd laid the groundwork for two successful terms in the governorâs mansion, and a storybook run for the White House in 2008 after two Bush terms.
Paine wasnât MacPhersonâs first choice to be the Secretary of State, nor his second, though thankfully the press hadnât ever picked up on the behind-the-scenes intrigue surrounding the selection process. Paine didnât have Colin Powellâs military experience or international stature. But with several years at the U.N. under his belt, he was certainly a safe choice, and MacPherson knew he wasnât going to run foreign policy out of the State Department anyway. He and the VP and Marsha Kirkpatrick would take the lead from the White House.
Paine chafed at the arrangement from the beginning. But he wanted the job and didnât want to be left out of the administration. Heâd tried to negotiate for more power. But MacPherson never budged. The president wanted a Rockefeller Republican at State for political cover. But he simply didnât trust the bureaucrats at Foggy Bottom, and he certainly had no intention of giving them free rein over the future of U.S. relations with a rapidly changing world.
Still, despite their sometime prickly alliance, Paine and his wife, Claudia, had just spent Christmas Day at Camp David with the First Family. MacPherson smoked a cigar. The secretary smoked his pipe. The two talked about Bennettâs âoil for peaceâ strategy and reviewed the blowout theyâd had over going to war with Iraq. Now he was gone.
Â
Agent Sinclair stood on the porch of the Residence.
Agents were positioned around the lead limousine, in the lead Suburban and the two that would follow. Vice President Bill Oaks was still inside on the phone with Israeli prime minister David Doron. The motorcade would wait, as would the NSC meeting, if need be. Doron had just ordered the IDF to prepare for a massive ground invasion of Gaza and the West Bank. It would take a few hours to get all the men and machinery in place. But the Israelis were offering to rescue the Americans and begin to restore order. All they wanted was a green light from Washington. Would they get it?
Oaks was an old Washington hand. Heâd risen through the ranks of naval intelligence, then got out, made some money, and got into politics. Heâd once been the governor of Virginia, then served four terms in the U.S. Senate from the Old Dominion, much of that time as the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He knew the game. He knew what Doron wanted. He just wasnât convinced the United States should say yes.
Â
MacPherson took off his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes.
The phone rang. It was Kirkpatrick again.
âMr. President, weâre picking up indications that the Syrians are going on full military alert. Air raid sirens are going off in Damascus. One of our Keyhole satellites is showing all kinds of activity at their forward air bases. Military radio traffic is picking up. Iâll have transcripts of some of our intercepts soon.â
âWhat are the Israelis doing?â
âTheyâre mobilizing as well, sir. The VP just got off the phone with the prime minister. Theyâre putting their forces along the northern borders with Syria and Lebanon on full alert. Theyâre also preparing for a massive ground invasion into the West Bank and Gaza. Theyâre offering to rescue our people.
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