Sprague had convinced the President that the speaking tour would bolster public opinion. That judgment had been dead wrong. Pundits now were predicting that President Hart’s approval rating soon would dip below 50%. The President laid the prospect of that eventuality directly at the feet of Jonathan Sprague.

“Talking about universal healthcare is getting us nowhere,” she told Sprague flatly. “I’m going to spend a few days in Palm Beach trying to forget the past ten days that I’ve wasted running all over the country. When I return, I want to hear a concrete proposal for the implementation of UHC, otherwise changes will have to be made, understood?” Sprague understood, and started to respond, “Yes, Madam President,” but got no further than the “Yes” before the connection was broken.

Sprague barely had time to loudly proclaim, “Shit,” before the phone rang once more. “I don’t want any calls now,” Sprague growled into the phone. The operator answered, “Mr. Sprague, Mr. Bergamo says he has to speak with you.” Surrendering to the inevitable, Sprague said, “All right. Put him through, please.”

Perfect timing, Sprague thought, just when you think things can’t get any worse. If I made a list of the people I least want to deal with right now, Don Bergamo’s name would be on top.
Donatello Bergamo was the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. A native of California, Bergamo had amassed a fortune in the dairy business, starting out by supplying mozzarella to West-coast pizzerias. The dramatic increase in the percentage of Spanish-speaking residents in California hadn’t hurt Bergamo one bit. He had given over some of his production facilities to the manufacture of queso fresco and other Mexican cheeses, and had captured the lion’s share of those markets as well.

Delving into politics in the late 1980’s, Don Bergamo had developed an uncanny ability to convince business owners to whom he supplied his products to contribute to Democratic candidates. Raising millions of dollars for Democrats had made Bergamo a force in the Party. After her nomination in 2012, Helen Hart had made him Chairman.