Term Limits by Vince Flynn Page A

because as long as the president was confused, he would continue to seek counsel from his national security adviser.
    â€œMr. President, it is an unnecessary risk to come out and commit to a stance immediately. Do you remember when the USS Vincennes shot down the Iranian Airbus? President Reagan got on national television and told the world that the Vincennes was under attack by Iranian gunboats when it fired on the Airbus. He took a firm position that it was the Iranians’ fault. He painted himself into a corner and spent months trying to defend the wrong side of the argument. Our side screwed up and killed three hundred innocent people. We ended up looking like fools. Now, obviously, this situation is different, but all I’m asking is that we wait until the FBI provides us with some reliable information.” Nance continued to speak in his even, nonconfrontational tone. “Then we can formulate a coherent plan of action.… Besides, thinking we can quash this thing right now is like thinking we can turn back a tidal wave. The public’s distrust of politicians is at an all-time high. The demands listed in that letter are exactly what voters have been screaming for. If we’re going to come out winners on this, we’re going to have to be a little more crafty.”
    Hopkinson was shaking his head in agreement, but instead of addressing the president, he looked at Garret. “I agree. I would also like to wait until we get some of the results from these public opinion polls. It makes no sense to rush into this until weknow exactly where we stand. Besides, I think Mike is right. This thing is like a tidal wave coming towards shore, and the smart thing to do is to get the hell out of the way and sit the storm out.”
    Garret leaned back and tapped his fingers on the side table next to the couch as his crossed leg bounced up and down. The president, Nance, and Hopkinson were used to Garret’s mulling over an idea.
    After a full minute of silence, the president became impatient and asked, “Stu, what do you think?”
    Garret chattered his teeth several times and responded, “All right, you guys win. For tonight’s address we’ll play it safe. We’ll go with somber and mournful.” Garret jotted down a note to himself on his yellow notepad. “You can talk about the grief you feel over the loss of these good friends. We’ll make it seem real personal. You can list some of their achievements and talk them up as real heroes of democracy.”
    â€œLet’s not build them up too much,” Nance said cautiously. “One of our deceased friends has quite a few skeletons in his closet that could come back to haunt us. Let the press make the first move on that one.… Let’s just state the obvious and say these assassinations are a threat to our national security, and then you can make some comments about how these men gave their entire lives to the service of their country. Most importantly, we should keep it short.”
    Garret shook his head in agreement. “You’re right. These guys are dead now. We don’t owe them any more favors. If the press wants to turn theminto martyrs, we can wait and jump on that bandwagon during the funerals next week.”
    Everyone nodded his head in agreement while Garret continued writing himself a note. When he was finished, he looked up at Hopkinson. “Ted, why don’t you go tell Moncur what time we will be addressing the nation and get the speechwriters focused on the issues we’ve discussed. When I’m finished, I’ll stop by your office to work on the details.” Hopkinson stood and started for the door.
    As soon as he was gone, Garret leaned forward and spoke in a low tone. “I am really pissed off with the way that meeting went this morning, and not just because that no-name agent got in my face. I’m pissed because here we are in the middle of a crisis and we can’t