Ignoring the “we’re” at 80 and “you’re” below 50 crack, Sprague offered, “We shouldn’t speculate about hypothetical situations, Don, I’m confident that we’ll get things straightened out.” “Hypothetical my balls!” Bergamo shouted back at Sprague. “I just came from a fund-raising luncheon in Malibu. I had some people with some very deep pockets ready to write some substantial checks. I had just gotten through telling them how the Administration’s got that health thing under control, when that fucking fiasco came on the screen. I came away from there about two million dollars light, Johnny, and when more people see that fucking mess, it’ll only get worse.”

“I understand that, Don,” Sprague told Bergamo, “but the President has time to turn this around, we haven’t even been here a year.” “See, now I’m glad I called,” Bergamo shot back, “you just don’t get the picture, do you, Johnny? I’m not talking about 2016. The mid-term elections are less than ten months away. If you can’t get universal healthcare off the ground, and that means coming up with a program that our Party members can get behind and sell to their constituents, then we’ll take a big hit this November. The clock is ticking right now. If you can’t get it done, you’ll pull the whole fucking Party down, not just the President.”

Sprague reflected once again that promising universal healthcare hadn’t been his idea, and he was tempted to remind Bergamo of that fact, but he knew it wouldn’t matter, Bergamo was on a roll. “Johnny, I’m sorry to say that I am sorely disappointed in you. Our own supporters have their balls in an uproar over that health thing; I get calls every day. You know I put you in that job. If you can’t hack it, I’ll have to tell the President I made a mistake and find somebody else who can get the job done.”

Fighting an urgent desire to tell Bergamo exactly where he should stick “that health thing,” Sprague limited his response to, “I’m sorry you feel that way, Don.” Adopting what he considered to be a conciliatory tone, Bergamo pompously added, “Don’t take this the wrong way now, Johnny. I’m sure you’ll do whatever it takes to straighten out that health thing, and you’d better do whatever it takes. The stakes are just too goddamn high. If you ruin the Party, nobody, me included, will be able to help you. Just consider this as fatherly advice; tough love, you might call it. I gotta go, Johnny, take care.” And with that, Bergamo was gone.