Forging America: My Campaign Manager is Roosevelt-Chapter 64 - 50: The Elephant in the Room

"This means our momentum is incredibly strong, and we have an absolute chance to win this election."

Ethan Hawke then distributed his policy white paper, which had now grown to over a hundred pages.

"Our policy team has finished designing policies for all sectors," Ethan said. "Starting next week, we’ll release a policy explainer video on the Pittsburgh Heart every day to systematically present Leo’s complete blueprint for running this city to the public."

Frank and Sarah also reported on their respective progress with ground mobilization and media outreach.

The whole team was immersed in an optimistic mood.

But Leo shattered their optimism.

He stood up, walked to the whiteboard, picked up a marker, and wrote a name on it in heavy strokes.

Douglas Morganfield.

"Everyone, we’ve just been discussing our own tactics, but we’ve ignored the biggest elephant in the room."

Leo’s expression became serious.

"I know I told you all before that Morganfield promised me he would remain benevolently neutral in this election."

"But we can’t pin our hopes on him actually keeping that promise."

"Verbal promises are the most unreliable things. If Carter Wright promises him enough in return, Morganfield will definitely jump right back to his side."

"After all, he’s been backing Carter Wright for years."

Frank snorted.

"If you can trust that old fox’s word, then pigs might fly!"

Karen added, "Leo’s right. This is a core issue we have to face."

"If Morganfield decides to throw his full support behind Carter Wright at the last minute, all the advantages we have now will be completely wiped out."

"His media empire could launch negative attack pieces on us around the clock. His money could fund a get-out-the-vote team for Carter Wright that’s several times the size of ours. And his immense influence in the Pittsburgh business community could make any of our fundraising efforts a nightmare."

Leo looked at the people in the conference room, then asked Roosevelt in his mind.

’Mr. President, we already have the support of so many people. Why is it that just one man, one capitalist pulling strings behind the scenes, can make us feel so suffocated?’

’In the face of so much money, is the will of tens of thousands really that fragile? Can we really not fight that monstrous beast of capital with public support alone?’

It wasn’t that Leo truly didn’t understand; he was just venting.

Roosevelt’s voice echoed in his mind.

"Son, you ask how great the power of money is."

"Well then, let me show you a war. A war waged against me with money, lies, and hatred, in an attempt to strangle the New Deal."

Leo’s consciousness was instantly pulled away. He found himself floating high above the United States in the year 1936, gazing down at the vast and divided continent.

"That autumn, my opponent, Governor Alf Landon of Kansas, was just a Republican. But behind him stood a collective of America’s wealth and power—the titans whose interests were threatened by my New Deal."

Leo’s perspective passed through solid walls, entering a luxurious private club on New York’s Park Avenue.

Cigar smoke curled in the air, the light from the crystal chandeliers illuminating the most illustrious surnames in American history.

The heir to the Dupont family, a partner from Morgan Bank, the Sect Leader of the Rockefeller Consortium, the founder of Ford Motor Company...

They were gathered around a massive round table, upon which a large map of the United States was spread.

With their fortunes worth hundreds of millions, they were weaving an inescapable net for Roosevelt.

"It was a lopsided war," Roosevelt’s voice rang out.

"Ninety percent of the nation’s newspapers, from the New York Herald Tribune on the East Coast to the Los Angeles Times on the West Coast, were all artillery batteries aimed at me."

"Their editorials portrayed me as a Demon trying to establish a dictatorship in the United States. Their cartoons depicted me as a monster."

The roar of countless printing presses starting up simultaneously thundered in Leo’s ears.

Thousands upon thousands of tons of paper were transformed into an army armed with lies and fear, shipped to every town and village in the nation.

"They bought up all the prime-time ad slots on the radio."

"Every evening, as ordinary American families gathered around their radios, they were fed carefully orchestrated, fear-mongering political attacks."

And now, Leo could hear those voices.

A man’s authoritative voice argued to his listeners how the New Deal’s social security program would destroy America’s spirit of individual enterprise and ultimately bankrupt the nation.

A woman’s concerned voice lamented how the New Deal’s public works projects would waste taxpayers’ hard-earned money and eventually leave their husbands unemployed.

"Their campaign rallies were like grand carnivals. They used free roast pork and unlimited beer to lure in the unemployed who were struggling with hunger."

"They built massive stages at their rallies, inviting the most famous Hollywood celebrities and sports stars of the day to endorse their candidate."

Leo saw the scene unfold.

In Ohio, in Pennsylvania, in the massive stadiums of the swing states, the crowds were enormous.

People held free hot dogs in one hand while waving signs attacking Roosevelt with the other.

They might not have truly cared about politics. They were just there to enjoy a rare, full meal and a free show.

"Using money, they successfully created the false illusion that ’everyone is against Roosevelt,’" Roosevelt’s voice grew somber.

"Their goal was to shatter the confidence and morale of my supporters. They wanted every ordinary person who supported the New Deal to feel isolated, to feel like they were on the wrong side of history."

"That was the most difficult period of my political career."

"Every day, I received letters from all over the country. The farmers and workers who had once supported me would write and ask, ’Mr. President, are we doing the right thing? Why does everyone say you’re wrong?’"

"But in the end, I won."

"And I won by the most lopsided margin in the history of American elections."

The final electoral vote map appeared before Leo’s eyes.

Except for Maine and Vermont, the entire map of the United States was covered in the blue that represents the Democratic Party.

"Do you know why, Leo?"

"Because money can create illusions, but it cannot change the pain of reality."

"Because the American people were in too much pain from the unprecedented Great Depression. They had lost their jobs, their farms, their life savings."

"My New Deal wasn’t perfect, and it was opposed by all the wealthy, but it brought real relief checks to those struggling in despair. It brought them tangible jobs. It gave them the hope they needed to go on living."

"With their votes, the people shattered the empire of lies built by money."

"But you must remember, that was a unique war, fought during a unique time in history."

"If it hadn’t been for that great crisis, if the people’s suffering hadn’t reached its absolute peak, I might not have won that war of public opinion, a war dominated by money."

Leo pulled his consciousness back from the epic, historical torrent.

The torrent of money can distort reality, create illusions, and drown out the voice of truth.

But ultimately, only a force rooted in the people’s real pain and hope could break through all those artificial dams.

Leo looked at the worried expressions on his team members’ faces.

He knew in his heart that before they could devise any concrete campaign strategy, they first had to solve this one, fatal problem.

He made a decision.

"All right, everyone," Leo said. "From now on, we have to plan for the worst-case scenario."

"We’re going to assume that in the coming campaign, Douglas Morganfield will use all of his resources to support Carter Wright’s re-election, no matter the cost."

"Working from that premise, let’s game out how we’re going to fight this war."