Chapter 822: The Election Situation

In today's time, the President of the United States can be said to be one of the two most powerful people in the world, the other being the head of the huge country on the other side of the Bering Strait.

However, in the eyes of the real bigwigs, the President of the United States is actually a representative of the capital consortium pushed to the forefront.

This may not have been the case before the seventh president of the United States, but after the seventh president in American history, the presidential election has become a battle between the two parties behind the consortium.

Although the major political families in the United States also have a lot of influence, it has been proven that the consortium is the master in the United States.

Don't you see that in the future, the consortium, disappointed with the traditional political families, will directly break its cooperation with the political families, roll up its sleeves and take the field itself, launching its own spokespeople, leading to the division of internal politics in the United States.

Of course, the future belongs to the future, and at the present time, the consortium still abides by the rules.

The preliminary phase of the US presidential election began on the third Tuesday of February and has now lasted for more than four months, during which time there have naturally been many exciting moments.

However, with just a few days until the preliminary phase ends, only one state remains to be decided.

The situation for the candidates from both parties is already relatively clear.

Some people are happy, while others are sad.

In a suburban house in Washington, D.C.,

Ronald Wilson Reagan is surrounded by a group of people, discussing the prospects of the campaign once again.

From the atmosphere of the discussion, it can be seen that everyone is in a relaxed mood and the prospects of the campaign are obviously very good.

Not only is there Bill Casey, Reagan's campaign manager, but also the campaign's pollsters, media consultants, political advertisers, and so on, as well as political advisors from all over the country.

Bill Casey handed out the latest statistical tables to everyone.

'Mr Reagan, we are currently in the first echelon of the campaign, and we are still at the forefront. Within the party, the only people who pose a threat to you are George Herbert Walker Bush, John B. Anderson, Jesse Costa and others, and they pose no threat to you.'

Reagan looked at the various percentage figures on the data, and although he was pleased, he said with a slightly solemn expression, 'We can't let our guard down yet. George Bush has a deeper political background than I do, and the Bush family's strength is not limited to the political arena. No one is sure what kind of tactics they will use.'

This was indeed the case. The Bush family was one of the core families of the Texas consortium. George Bush's grandfather Samuel Bush was a steel and oil tycoon, while his maternal grandfather was Wall Street financial tycoon Walker.

Outsiders see the Bush family as an emerging political family, thanks mainly to George Bush's father, Prescott, who established a personal relationship with President Eisenhower and entered the Senate in 1950.

Then there was George Bush, who first joined the military, then went into business, was elected to Congress, served as chairman of the Republican National Committee, worked as a diplomat, and even served as director of the CIA. This series of experiences has allowed the Bush family to gain a firm foothold in politics.

But the Bush family's greatest strength is still its business prowess, with family businesses spanning the fields of oil, banking, the military and sports.

The Bush family also has a good relationship with the Rockefeller family.

Although George Bush is in a weak position today, if the Bush family really puts in their all and promises enough benefits, it is likely that those who originally supported Reagan will change their position.

For this reason, at any moment before the Republican Party's convention and the nomination results are announced, Reagan will not dare to relax.

Seeing Reagan being so cautious when he had an advantage, Bill Casey had even more confidence in him. This was the kind of person who could accomplish great things, someone who was cautious when he needed to be.

However, there were still some things that Reagan needed to be aware of, such as campaign funding.

'By the way, Mr Reagan, we currently have 65.2 million dollars left in campaign funding.'

On hearing this figure, not only Reagan, but also the other political advisors, broke into smiles. With such a large amount of funding, it was definitely enough for the rest of the campaign.

As for how it would be spent, it would depend on the situation in the next fortnight. If George Bush was still struggling, the money would have to be spent on the intraparty competition, doing everything possible to secure the presidential nomination.

If he managed to become the presidential candidate, then the money would be spent on competing with the Democratic presidential candidate.

In any case, the money would always be spent, and converted into votes.

'Mr Reagan, our campaign funds should be among the highest of all candidates. If there is not enough money later, I will do my best to solve it for you.'

At this time, financial advisor Rhodes Saxon smiled and said.

Reagan glanced at him and then smiled and said, 'Mr Rhodes, I will trouble you next.'

'This is my duty!'

Rhodes Saxon said calmly.

This person was an extremely important member of Reagan's campaign team, and was actually the person recommended by Xia Yu, who was mainly in contact with Xia Yu.

To put it bluntly, when Reagan ran out of money, as long as Reagan asked, Rhodes Saxon would promptly report to Xia Yu, and within a few days, legal political donations from various channels would be delivered, providing ammunition for Reagan's campaign.

Throughout the campaign, Reagan found many sponsors, but no matter which tycoon, none could surpass Xia Yu's contribution.

Next, the discussion in the hall once again resounded, and everyone chimed in with their opinions, hoping to once again identify any gaps in Reagan's campaign.

...

Two flowers blooming together, each expressing a different view.

A similar scene was also taking place in Houston, the largest city in Texas and the Bush family's residence.

However, the atmosphere here is far from the relaxed and carefree one at Reagan's side.

George Bush looks at the data in his hands with a grave expression, while his campaign agent Jim Baker and political advisors from all over the country quietly watch him.

These data were campaign statistics compiled by Jim Baker and others, and although they were unofficial representative statistics, they were not official but highly representative, not far from the mark.

George Bush was a little irritated, and threw the data onto the coffee table. His gaze swept over the faces of the crowd, finally resting on the face of campaign agent Jim Baker, who frowned and said, 'Jim, the data doesn't mean everything. If we play with percentages, then I won't run for office!'

Although Jim Baker didn't want to admit defeat, he was a pretty good campaign manager with many strengths. He was not only an efficient manager, but also good at analysis and thinking, such as understanding the campaign opponents and knowing yourself and your opponent. He also remained calm during the fierce campaign.

Of course, if he were to evaluate his own strengths, he would say that he was good at giving advice.

For example, right now, he had to tell George Bush what the latter didn't want to hear.

'George, we have all had a rigorous discussion and we all agree that, based on current trends, Ronald Reagan will be nominated for the first round of voting and we don't stand a chance.'

George Bush shook his head and said, 'Jim, I never give up before anything is over. This is not the time to start giving up. We have already won the primaries in California, New Jersey and Ohio!'

Jim Baker shook his head and sighed, pointing to the document on the coffee table that they had collected and collated day and night, and said to George Bush, 'But George, the campaign is over. Take a good look at those figures. You seem to be the only one who doesn't know this.'

'Although we won the primaries in California, New Jersey and Ohio, but!'

At this, Jim Baker paused before saying with a heavy heart, 'our money is almost gone!'

'At this time, it is too late to catch up. It would require a huge price to catch up, and even if we become the presidential candidate, we will have no money left for the next competition with the Democratic Party!'

George Bush's face stiffened and his brows furrowed.

Seeing George Bush silent for a long time, Jim Baker said with deep concern, 'George, I am also responsible for the situation we are in. The campaign strategy we set out at the beginning was wrong. We did not expect Reagan to have such strong financial and media support. If we had adjusted the strategy from the beginning, we would still have had time.'

'But it's too late now. Reagan has already gained the favour of most of the people, and that is his advantage.'

'The Republican Party desperately needs a victory to reverse its decline. If the Democratic Party is re-elected this time, it will be a big blow to us Republicans. The top echelons need someone who can defeat Jimmy Carter. Compared to Ronald Reagan, you have deeper political experience, but you are still not as good as Jimmy Carter. On the contrary, Reagan, an outsider with a lighter colour, can differentiate himself from Jimmy Carter and compete with him.

If he could, Jim Baker would not want to persuade George Bush to give up, because that would mean he had also failed and all his hard work would have been for nothing.

But he did not let George Bush get into trouble for his own sake. He was George Bush's friend and did not want to hurt his friend.

If the Bush family threw their full weight behind him, it was indeed possible for him to become the Republican presidential candidate, but it would require the Bush family to pay a high price.

If in the end he did not succeed in running for the presidency, all the previous investment would have been in vain.

So he dares not take the risk. After all, George Bush's political advantages are useless to Jimmy Carter, the incumbent president, who has no experience as vice president or as a governor. It would be too difficult for him to leap to the top!

If there were no dark horse like Ronald Reagan in this election, George Bush would have the best chance. As long as he has the support of the Republican Party's resources, he can still give it a shot.

It's just a pity that Ronald Reagan, who is rising rapidly, has emerged.

At this moment, George Bush felt a similar feeling of 'if you can't beat them, join them'.

'Jim, I'm going out to cool off for a while,'

said George Bush, getting up and walking straight towards the door, leaving the group of people looking at each other in shock.

George Bush's wife Barbara immediately got up and followed George Bush.

Jim Baker shrugged his shoulders, looked at the others and said lightly, 'Guys, let's wait for now.'