Hail to the Chief.

by Gordon Randall Garrett.

The tumult in Convention Hall was a hurricane of sound that lashed at a sea of human beings that surged and eddied around the broad floor. Men and women, delegates and spectators, aged party wheelhorses and youngsters who would vote for the first time that November, all lost their ident.i.ties to merge with that swirling tide. Over their heads, like agitated bits of flotsam, pennants fluttered and placards rose and dipped. Beneath their feet, discarded metal b.u.t.tons that bore the names of two or three "favorite sons" and those that had touted the only serious contender against the party"s new candidate were trodden flat.

None of them had ever really had a chance.

The b.u.t.tons that were now pinned on every lapel said: "Blast "em With Cannon!" or "Cannon Can Do!" The placards and the box-shaped signs, with a trifle more dignity, said: WIN WITH CANNON and CANNON FOR PRESIDENT and simply JAMES H. CANNON.

Occasionally, in the roar of noise, there were shouts of "Cannon!

Cannon! Rah! Rah! Rah! Cannon! Cannon! Sis-boom-bah!" and s.n.a.t.c.hes of old popular tunes hurriedly set with new words:

_On with Cannon, on with Cannon!

White House, here we come!

He"s a winner, no beginner; He can get things done!

(Rah! Rah! Rah!)_

And, over in one corner, a group of college girls were enthusiastically chanting:

_He is handsome! He is s.e.xy!

We want J. H. C. for Prexy!_

It was a demonstration that lasted nearly three times as long as the eighty-five-minute demonstration that had occurred when Representative Matson had first proposed his name for the party"s nomination.

Spatially, Senator James Harrington Cannon was four blocks away from Convention Hall, in a suite at the Statler-Hilton, but electronically, he was no farther away than the television camera that watched the cheering mult.i.tude from above the floor of the hall.

The hotel room was tastefully and expensively decorated, but neither the senator nor any of the other men in the room were looking at anything else except the big thirty-six-inch screen that glowed and danced with color. The network announcer"s words were almost inaudible, since the volume had been turned way down, but his voice sounded almost as excited as those from the convention floor.

Senator Cannon"s broad, handsome face showed a smile that indicated pleasure, happiness, and a touch of triumph. His dark, slightly wavy hair, with the broad swathes of silver at the temples, was a little disarrayed, and there was a splash of cigarette ash on one trouser leg, but otherwise, even sitting there in his shirt sleeves, he looked well-dressed. His wide shoulders tapered down to a narrow waist and lean hips, and he looked a good ten years younger than his actual fifty-two.

He lit another cigarette, but a careful scrutiny of his face would have revealed that, though his eyes were on the screen, his thoughts were not in Convention Hall.

Representative Matson, looking like an amazed bulldog, managed to chew and puff on his cigar simultaneously and still speak understandable English. "Never saw anything like it. Never. First ballot and you had it, Jim. I know Texas was going to put up Perez as a favorite son on the first ballot, but they couldn"t do anything except jump on the bandwagon by the time the vote reached them. Unanimous on the first ballot."

Governor Spanding, a lantern-jawed, lean man sitting on the other side of Senator Cannon, gave a short chuckle and said, "Came close not t"

being unanimous. The delegate from Alabama looked as though he was going to stick to his "One vote for Byron Beauregarde Cadwallader" until Cadwallader himself went over to make him change his vote before the first ballot was complete."

The door opened, and a man came in from the other room. He bounced in on the b.a.l.l.s of his feet, clapped his hands together, and dry-washed them briskly. "We"re in!" he said, with businesslike glee. "Image, gentlemen!

That"s what does it: Image!" He was a tall, rather bony-faced man in his early forties, and his manner was that of the self-satisfied businessman who is quite certain that he knows all of the answers and all of the questions. "Create an image that the public goes for, and you"re in!"

Senator Cannon turned his head around and grinned. "Thanks, Horvin, but let"s remember that we still have an election to win."

"We"ll win it," Horvin said confidently. "A properly projected image attracts the public--"

"Oh, crud," said Representative Matson in a growly voice. "The opposition has just as good a staff of PR men as we do. If we beat "em, it"ll be because we"ve got a better man, not because we"ve got better public relations."

"Of course," said Horvin, unabashed. "We can project a better image because we"ve got better material to work with. We--"

"Jim managed to get elected to the Senate without any of your help, and he went in with an avalanche. If there"s any "image projecting" done around here, Jim is the one who does it."

Horvin nodded his head as though he were in complete agreement with Matson. "Exactly. His natural ability plus the scientific application of ma.s.s psychology make an unbeatable team."

Matson started to say something, but Senator Cannon cut in first. "He"s right, Ed. We"ve got to use every weapon we have to win this election.

Another four years of the present policies, and the Sino-Russian Bloc will be able to start unilateral disarmament. They won"t have to start a war to bury us."

Horvin looked nervous. "Uh ... Senator--"

Cannon made a motion in the air. "I know, I know. Our policy during the campaign will be to run down the opposition, not the United States. We are still in a strong position, but _if this goes on_--Don"t worry, Horvin; the whole thing will be handled properly."

Before any of them could say anything, Senator Cannon turned to Representative Matson and said: "Ed, will you get Matthew Fisher on the phone? And the Governor of Pennsylvania and ... let"s see ... Senator Hidekai and Joe Vitelli."

"I didn"t even know Fisher was here," Matson said. "What do you want him for?"

"I just want to talk to him, Ed. Get him up here, with the others, will you?"

"Sure, Jim; sure." He got up and walked over to the phone.

Horvin, the PR man, said: "Well, Senator, now that you"re the party"s candidate for the Presidency of the United States, who are you going to pick for your running mate? Vollinger was the only one who came even close to giving you a run for your money, and it would be good public relations if you chose him. He"s got the kind of personality that would make a good image."

"Horvin," the senator said kindly, "I"ll pick the men; you build the image from the raw material I give you. You"re the only man I know who can convince the public that a sow"s ear is really a silk purse, and you may have to do just that.

"You can start right now. Go down and get hold of the news boys and tell them that the announcement of my running mate will be made as soon as this demonstration is over.

"Tell them you can"t give them any information other than that, but give them the impression that you already know. Since you _don"t_ know, don"t try to guess; that way you won"t let any cats out of the wrong bags. But you _do_ know that he"s a fine man, and you"re pleased as all h.e.l.l that I made such a good choice. Got that?"

Horvin grinned. "Got it. You pick the man; I"ll build the image." He went out the door.

When the door had closed, Governor Spanding said: "So it"s going to be Fisher, is it?"

"You know too much, Harry," said Senator Cannon, grinning. "Remind me to appoint you amba.s.sador to Patagonia after Inauguration Day."

"If I lose the election at home, I may take you up on it. But why Matthew Fisher?"

"He"s a good man, Harry."

"h.e.l.l yes, he is," the governor said. "Tops. I"ve seen his record as State Attorney General and as Lieutenant Governor. And when Governor Dinsmore died three years ago, Fisher did a fine job filling out his last year. But--"

"But he couldn"t get re-elected two years ago," Senator Cannon said. "He couldn"t keep the governor"s office, in spite of the great job he"d done."

"That"s right. He"s just not a politician, Jim. He doesn"t have the ...

the personality, the flash, whatever it is that it takes to get a man elected by the people. I"ve got it; you sure as h.e.l.l have it; Fisher doesn"t."

"That"s why I"ve got Horvin working for us," said Senator Cannon.

"Whether I need him or not may be a point of argument. Whether Matthew Fisher needs him or not is a rhetorical question."