Neal Stephenson - Interface

"Tonight, from Decatur, Illinois, the presidential town forum. Joining our moderator, Dr. Hunter P. Lawrence, will be Representative Nimrod T. ("Tip") McLane of California and Governor William A. Cozzano of Illinois."

Dr. Lawrence was enough of a self-consciously stodgy eccentric that he had actually armed himself with a gavel. As the voice-over began, he started to whack it. Audience members moved toward their seats and the buzzing clouds of aides and well-wishers that had surrounded the two debaters began to disperse. The noise level dropped and the house lights came down, leaving the three men down below in pools of halogen light, TV-bright. As backdrops, they had tall floor-to-ceiling banners - colorized images of turn-of-the-century politicians: Teddy Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan, and William McKinley.

Dr. Lawrence loved this moment, loved the notion that millions of people were watching, loved the fact that, unlike so many other people, he performed without notes or a teleprompter, in short, he loved his own glibness - what open field running was for Barry Sanders of the Lions, extemporaneous and clever speech was for the professor. It was his chance to go and say "in your face" to the tongue-tied masses. It was as good as the first fuck with a new graduate student.

"I will be blunt: this country is on the verge of disaster."

That was good; that shut them up. Dr. Lawrence cleared his throat unnecessarily and took another sip of water.

"This may be our last free presidential election. I make this alarming statement for the following reasons.

"Our national debt has now reached the level of ten trillion dollars, the surest sign of a society in disequilibrium, even free-fall.

"Our political leaders in the past few decades have shown no ability to address the problems facing our aging, failing democracy.

"Our federal leadership works only in response to pollsters and spin doctors; the sheer mediocrity at the executive, legislative, and judicial levels has driven away the most talented civil servants.

"The only sign of life is at the level of state government, and these officials are burdened to the point of paralysis by the albatross of Washington.

"The values that made this country what it once was - hard work and honesty, or as Emerson put it, 'self-reliance' - have, like our finances, gone to hell."

Dr. Lawrence paused to allow his words to sink in. "Are any of you in this audience convinced that the picture is anything but bleak for the future? I am sorry to be so blunt, but a lifetime of study of and love for this country compels me to set the stage for this debate with these thoughts.

"One century ago, a candidate looking back on events of the last decade would have seen feverish activity in the realms of tech­nology, art, and politics. During that period, men with names such as Diesel, Benz, and Ford had been hard at work perfecting a new device called the automobile. The first telephone switchboard had been installed, the first subway system was under construction in Boston, and Thomas Edison had opened something called a kineto­scope parlor - the first movie theater. The gramophone, the rocket engine, the radio, and X rays had all just been invented. And, as if these innovations were not important enough, the first professional football game had been played in Latrobe, Pennsylvania."

A murmur ran through the crowd and gradually bloomed into laughter. Cozzano and Dr. Lawrence exchange smiles. This was typical for Dr. Lawrence: a subtle jibe that could have been inter­preted as either a dig or a compliment. Cozzano chose to treat it as the latter.

"But despite this rapid technological progress, the political picture a hundred years ago was far from rosy. Foreign interests controlled our economy; an unfeeling business class brutally exploited the people of the United States; the political structure of this country was shot through with the most shocking corruption from top to bottom; divisiveness characterized the relationship between sections of this country, and between races; foreigners newly arriving to work in our country suffered attack simply for wanting to come to this blessed land to improve themselves. Beginning in the late 1880s the poorest farmers and workers in the West and South united to form the Populist movement. They failed to reach the middle classes and the cities; their message became shrill. But out of that movement came the Progressive movement, one of whose most eloquent spokesmen was William Jennings Bryan, who spoke in this town a century or so ago. His message was simple: government is for the people. The effect was profound. The Progressive movement spread across this part of the country with the speed and fury of a prairie fire. Progressivism blended the skills of the best of this country with the ambitions of the middle 70 percent - the middle classes - to remake the system and allow this country to endure through the twentieth century.

"We need a new populism and a new progressivism and a new way to remake the system so that the values of honesty and hard work can once again have a nurturing environment in which to grow, and self-reliance can once again take its place.

"Tonight we will discuss these problems from many different directions. But I would like to begin by discussing a concrete issue: the trade imbalance.

"It is January of next year and you have just taken the oath of office. The economy remains uncertain. It seems as though the Japanese lead in the automotive sector has become insurmountable. How do you, as President, tackle that problem? Representative McLane?"

Tip McLane had already adopted his characteristic pose, leaning forward toward the camera, head down, staring intently into the lens. As soon as the red light came on, he unloaded: "First of all, Dr. Lawrence, let me say that I would like to thank you, and the people of Decatur, for the opportunity to come here and participate in this forum."

A few hundred yards away, Cy Ogle was crowing. He had thrown his head back and broken into triumphant, falsetto laughter. All around him the Eye of Cy had gone into various shades of blue. It had happened the moment the phrase "first of all" escaped from Tip McLane's lips.

"Lemme just jot that one down," Ogle said, making a note. "Never begin with 'first of all.'"

Ogle was also happy because only three of the screens were blank. They were getting 97 percent compliance. Back in Falls Church, Virginia, three ropers were on the phones, trying to get through to the three delinquent members of the PIPER 100. Over the next few minutes, two more screens came to life.

Almost thirty seconds had gone by, and Tip McLane still hadn't begun to answer the question: "... people who say that presidential campaigns are all style over substance obviously haven't been paying attention to fine, substantial programs like the one that we are participating in tonight."

"Thank you, Tip," Ogle said, "I did my very best."

"Now, as far as the auto industry. There are a lot of so-called conservatives who would disagree with me on this and say that we should just let the Japanese come in and walk all over us. That somehow, this constitutes free trade. Well, it's not free trade. It's an economic Pearl Harbor, is what it is. And I'll be damned if I'm going to stand by and let it happen to American on my watch. And that is why, when I am President-"

"-thank you, Congressman McLane, your time has expired," Dr. Lawrence said, amused but firm.

"-we should deal with this in a tough, but not protectionist way-"

"-thank you, Congressman McLane."

"-and even out this trade balance-"

"-your time has expired and we must now move on to Governor Cozzano."

The verbal duel between Representative McLane and Dr. Lawrence petered out gradually. By that point, the screens were largely bluish and reddish. "Well, that just makes them all look like assholes," Ogle said. "I can't tell if they're reacting to McLane or Lawrence." He turned and caught Aaron's eye. "Can you give me a breakdown by economic bracket?"