M. E. Gilverstein

Addy and Mel: a Story of the American Presidency M. E. Gilverstein

in the mad dash to Rushmore, something disturbing lurked beneath the surface, unbeknownst to all but her closest advisers at the time, in the form of an ambitious politician - a recipe for many a debacle and the now infamous series of meetings. To have been a fly on the wall, at the same time pondering if this truly was the first occasion; one might give considerably, no? Blame can be dispersed in numerous directions and laid at the feet of more than one unscrupulous public servant, but we must pause and consider the following: the President had to give approval. Our once-heralded leader had two stark choices; if we close our eyes we can almost imagine her taking to the airwaves and publicly displaying the courage of her youth, when she famously stood up for the right in America. An intellectual of her honesty surely must argue that executive power has its limitations. Fantasy, however, as most comprehend, takes us only so far before the fog clears and then we watch, disheartened and with much consternation, as our Melissa fatefully departs from the room and closes the door to her office, practically mere moments after nervously but unmistakably assenting to the proposed murder of an American citizen.