Madam President

Madam President (American Myth Series), Jerry Beller, 2013, Kindle e-book

This novel looks at the presidency of America's first black, female President.

In 2012, things are not going well for Kalinda Resbo. She can't get anything through Congress, mostly because Congressional Republicans have decided to say No to anything she advocates. Congressional Democrats are not much better, being too cowardly to stand with her. Her CIA and FBI Directors, along with her Vice President (they were forced on her by the Democratic leadership), are neo-cons who really want to start a war with Iran over their nuclear program. Because Resbo does not agree, they are actively hostile to her, undermining her whenever possible. In the eyes of some, as an unmarried black woman, she is automatically an America-hating lesbian socialist. With election season here, her poll numbers are not good, mostly due to her abrasive campaign manager.

There are some good people in her administration. Among them is J.B. Wellers, her Chief of Staff, who also ran her first presidential campaign. He is one of those who is not afraid to tell the unvarnished truth, even to her, which is why she values his advice so strongly. She asks him to take over her campaign again, and things start to improve. Resbo makes a bold move by announcing that she is running for re-election as an Independent, and with a new running mate. Unconstrained by party requirements, she makes a series of gutsy proposals for her second term. Among the things she advocates are: replacing the federal income tax with a national sales tax; geting rid of the two-party system; term limits for the Congress and President; campaign finance reform, filibuster reform and closing all foreign military bases. her two opponents, Mitt Romney and Leroy Skittles (her current VP) can't keep up with her and have to rely on the usual political nonsense. Resbo is ahead in the polls, but not enough to keep the election out of the House of Representatives. Meantime, a secret plan is brought forward to make sure that Resbo is a one-term President, using a method that was last used successfully in 1963 in Dallas.

This is not a liberal or conservative story, but it is a really good story. Both parties share the blame for America's current condition, and, if both parties can somehow put America ahead of Party, maybe some of it can get fixed. This is well worth the reader's time.