DEBATE
Charlotte
I ride to the first debate with Hessler and Alison, and arrive at the event just in time to watch Matt get out of the car right in front of us, the cameras swarming him like bees to honey. I know that physicality is important in debates and speaking engagements. Matt doesn’t have any problem with that. He walks straight in, his jacket in his hand, a trail of us behind him.
“What did you do to prepare for this this morning?”
“What’s your plan—how are you going to win the debate tonight?”
“No preparing. I was born for this.” His lips curl wickedly and he then nods formally at the reporter.
We head into the debate hall for the walk-through, preparing, seeing the stage and taking in his position to the right of the center, where President Jacobs will be.
There’s excitement in the air, the vibration so charged, you can feel the anticipation. Matt looks calm, but he’s got his game face on.
I know that this is not a moment to change plans or rethink strategies; it’s a moment to feel confident, calm, and steady.
Carlisle, too, looks relaxed. He knows Matt does well in this kind of setting. He has an innate strength for connecting with audiences and voters, even reporters.
Before the debate even starts, Alison is taking pictures as if it’s her last camera.
I watch him stand there, composed and powerful, his every word measured and smooth. I know he’s improvising it all; his speeches are very conversational, frequently making people smile even when he’s not trying to be funny. He’s simply natural and charming when he meets people, treating them as equals—something many politicians pretend to do but actually don’t. Matt doesn’t have a politician’s bone in his body.
And maybe that will be what ends up making us lose this race. He doesn’t want to do things Carlisle assures us had worked for his father’s campaign, such as exchange support for future positions in the government. Matt won’t sell out. He wants people to work in high positions because of their merit, not because he needs their backing.
He’s the only candidate fully funding his own campaign. All the money from fundraisers has gone to support some of the causes he holds important—I was surprised when I got a phone call from my mother, thanking him for his donation to Women of the World.
The heat is on. Sweat beads along my brow as the candidates take their positions.
Matt is speaking about women’s rights, and looks at me briefly before the topic veers to equal rights for all. I can’t believe how turned on I get watching him talk about his vision, his plans. It stimulates me in every way—mentally, emotionally, and physically. He speaks of what I hope my country’s future will be like.
Gordon goes on and on, blaming the Democrats for our problems, blaming everyone but not really providing solutions. He talks tough, but his body language says otherwise; he keeps his shoulders to his ears and speaks in a bit of a supplicating tone.
The moderator keeps coming back to Matt.
He’s got a more confident and assertive body language, his voice firm. The alpha stance is appealing, and Matt is a very likable candidate, his voice steadier and more forceful. People want someone who takes charge, who’s going to fight for what they believe in. They also want someone who can keep his cool—someone authentic when he speaks, as if he didn’t memorize the speech.
He looks with respect at the other candidates, listening to what they argue about without rolling his eyes or sneering—like Gordon does.
Gordon listens with disdain to what Matt and President Jacobs say, openly showing his hatred. Matt doesn’t interrupt his opponents; he’s silent, eyes focused and intent as he listens, a presidential air already about him. I love how he keeps pushing back at Gordon’s sexist comments.
“How can Matt Hamilton here,” President Jacobs scoffs at the name, “be commander in chief when he never served in the military for a day, while I served four years?”
“Matt?” the moderator asks. “Would you care to respond to President Jacobs?”
Matt smiles at the president as if he hadn’t just been insulted, then he looks at the public and speaks squarely to them. “Anyone who knows me knows this is one of my biggest frustrations. My wish was to enlist in the navy, and it was my father’s request that I do so after I got a law school degree. The summer after I graduated, my father was shot, and I chose to remain here to support my mother, who feared losing me next.”
There’s complete silence.
“If you’re questioning my ability to make a hard call when it’s needed or command our military properly, I must remind you, it’s you who have had ample opportunity to retaliate against terrorist attacks and have balked—”
“Are you suggesting the United States go to war?”
“War, no. I don’t believe in an entire race paying for the wrongdoings of a few. But I do believe we have more muscles to wield than what we’ve wielded so far.”
They speak about immigration, taxes, and then, of course, the issue of Matt’s lack of a First Lady is addressed.
“You’re breaking with tradition! The White House dignitaries need a hostess,” President Jacobs rants.
“Who will I be to deny them?” Matt grins, and the audience laughs. Once the laughter subsides, Matt sobers up and he leans into the microphone. “Throughout our presidencies, there have been a number of formidable women who have served as First Lady without being married to the president. Harriet Lane acted as First Lady during the presidency of her uncle, James Buchanan, and there have been at least twelve others who have served in a similar fashion. In that capacity, I have incredible women on my team, ladies with class and passion and more humanity than many of us put together.”
He looks into the center camera.
“I also happen to have a living mother, who not only served as First Lady before, but continues to this day to be one of the most beloved.”
There’s applause.
“So you’d have a nontraditional First Lady? In such a modern age?” Jacobs asks.
He shoots Jacobs a look. “First you criticize me for not having one, now you criticize because I think there are advantages to having one? The First Lady is meant to be more than a pretty hostess on the president’s arm. I’d rather surround myself with capable people who deserve the part.”
People fall silent as they absorb that, but the tension is high.
Carlisle is frowning at me as if he hadn’t expected this part of the debate at all.
He quickly recovers when he sees the reaction in the room.
Soon, the candidates deliver their closing statements, with Matt’s statement last.
“Debates are about divisions, about differing points of views, but there are some universal truths that cannot be denied. The universal truth of cycles—spring, summer, winter, fall; the universal truth of gravity; and a universal truth that we’ve discovered from the first moment our ancestors appeared on earth six million years ago—man adapts.
“Man has used his brain to outwit predators who are stronger, faster, more numerous. Man has learned to tame some of those predators: wolves became our friends, animals were bred for food. Man learned to farm, feeding millions where before they would feed less than a fourth of that; man invented shelter, clothing, weapons, writing, trade, architecture that defied their physical capabilities, and now, a network and infrastructure that connects us all. Planes, translation, the internet. We’re more interlaced than we’ve ever been.
“So why are we still divided?
“We live in a world where there is still racism and poverty. We live in a country where there is still unequal opportunity for us all . . . a world where millions of our children continue to go uneducated. I’m for the possibility of every American finding fulfilment in his or her life—making a difference for others and for themselves.”
I can’t get my oxygen back. The statements from Gordon and President Jacobs seem lame now. Focused simply on little pieces of what Matt just reminded us is actually a whole living, breathing world.
* * *
We’re in Matt’s hotel suite in Dayton, Ohio. The good news is that not only is the first debate over with, but Carlisle is thrilled. The media coverage influencing voters really seems pro-Matt.
“I’m too old for all this excitement,” Carlisle says, sighing exhaustedly but happily.
I bring him a hot coffee. “At your age, most men run for president.” I smile and chance a glance at Matt, noticing he felt the quip coming his way and is smiling to himself.
The press has speculated endlessly on whether he’s too young to be president. And yet tonight he was the only man on that stage.
Carlisle chuckles at my jab at Matt’s age. “I already put one in the seat and I’d be happily at my consulting firm if it weren’t for this one.” He jabs a thumb at Matt as he heads to the window.
“He lured you out,” I say.
“He lured you out,” Carlisle counters.
I smile.
“He’s the one,” he says with firm conviction. “If I can’t get him to the White House . . .”
“He’ll run again.”
“Girl, I’ve got a heart condition. One more is all I can take.” He pats his stomach as if his weight is to blame for his heart problem, which could be right, and waves me off with his hand.
I head toward Matt and stand next to him, and we stare out the window for a moment. I don’t know that we’ll ever get close enough again that his breath mingles with mine. So I just stand as close to him as I can without getting burned.