Page 12 of The First Gentleman

One of Maddy’s predecessors said it best: “I don’t know whether it’s the finest public housing in America or the crown jewel of the prison system.”

One of Cole’s predecessors, Jackie Kennedy, said of her first night in the White House, “I felt like a moth hanging on the windowpane.”

Cole nods to the two agents. He has seen them before, many times, but unlike his wife and her chief of staff, he has no talent for remembering names.

But he brings other strengths to the administration—and to the marriage.

“Is she alone?”

“Yes, Mr. Wright,” the female agent says. “For the past half hour.” She opens the heavy curved door and Cole steps into the most important room in the country.

And he blinks every time he sees Maddy sitting behind that big oak desk. He can hardly believe this is real life.

His wife. The leader of the free world.

It seems like just yesterday that she was Maddy Parson, a poised and pretty student in his poli-sci class at Dartmouth. From her seat in the row ahead of him, she articulated point after point in class discussions, and Cole knew that she wouldn’t have any interest in a tight end on the football team.

But to his surprise, she did.

That was junior year. They dated through the rest of college. Then, like many college couples, they broke up after graduation; she enrolled in a master’s program at Stanford and he remained in New England for Patriots training camp.

Three years later, a bum knee ended his career just as Maddy’s was taking off. They reconnected back home in California. Maddywas running for assemblywoman with their college pal Burton Pearce as her campaign manager.Parson for Progress!

From there, she leaped from success to success, and the two of them married just before her first term as governor of California. And now…

Maddy looks up from her papers and finally notices him.

“Getting close to dinnertime,” Cole says. “Ready?”

“Sorry,” says Maddy, leaning back in her chair. “Burton should have let you know. I’m meeting Senator Lewis and Senator Lopez tonight. They’ve both been solid noes for the Grand Bargain, but now they’re softening. I called a late meeting so I can wrestle them over the line.”

“You want me there, Maddy? I can lighten the mood, tell some football stories. Lopez played semipro ball in Houston, you know. Or I can talk about my fitness council.”

Maddy sits up and folds her arms across her chest. Cole knows that posture. It means trouble is on the way. It means she’s protecting herself. “Thanks, Cole, but that could backfire. You know Lewis opposed the expense of your fitness council from the beginning.”

There’s something going on, Cole can feel it. Something besides a negotiation with two low-ranking senators.

“What is it, Maddy?” he asks. “What are you worried about?”

Maddy exhales slowly. “Burton got a phone call today,” she says. “Investigative reporters are digging around. Our Grand Bargain might get exposed before we’re ready to reveal it. And that will be the end of it. The end of my presidency. We can’t let that happen.”

CHAPTER

9

After Cole leaves, Maddy rests her elbows on top of the Resolute desk in the Oval Office.

She’s thinking.

About the Grand Bargain.

The plan, she hoped, would ensure that the US government could meet its ongoing obligations to the people, seize future opportunities, and maintain the capacity to address any threats.

Right after the midterm elections, Maddy had called a fifteen-minute meeting with the director of the Office of Management and Budget. It turned into what was essentially a two-hour TED Talk. The director’s message became Maddy’s obsession:

“Madam President, a character in a Hemingway novel said that you go bankrupt two ways—gradually, then suddenly.

“Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid—America’s entitlement programs—have grown to consume half the federal budget as people live longer and health costs rise. Those programs, along with Social Security’s disability benefits, make life bearable for millions of people. But they aren’t sustainable in a country thatstrongly opposes both cutting benefits and raising taxes enough to pay for them.

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