Nathan shook his head as he smiled at the SAW gunner. “As much as he’d like to, the President does not have the power to. In fact, that’s one of the big debates that’s been going on ever since the movement to rewrite the Constitution began to gain serious media attention. No one seems to know for sure who has the authority to rewrite the Constitution. Congress can amend it, as they have many times in the past. But to simply pull out a clean sheet of paper and start from the beginning,” Nathan stated as he shook his head, “no one knows.”

Hyde thought about that for a moment. “Don’t you think it’s about time that someone figured that out and wrote a new one? I mean, the one we have now doesn’t seem to be working all that well. And it is kind of old.”

Somewhat surprised by this comment, Nathan looked at Hyde. “While I admit the people who run the country could do better, why do you think we need to change the entire Constitution?”

With a shrug and a shake of his head, Hyde considered his statement. “I don’t know, sir. I guess sometimes I get the feeling that no one who’s connected to the government much cares about us little people until it’s election time. Even then the only people they seem to chase after for their vote are minorities, old folks, gays, and tree hugging hippie freaks. People like Ortiz and me are ignored until it comes time to pay taxes or they need someone to send to Bosnia.”

With his elbow Ortiz gave Hyde a jab. “Hey, amigo. Flash traffic. I’m a minority and there ain’t been no politicians hangin’ around my house looking for my vote.”

While Hyde returned Ortiz’s smirk with an expression that would have made a Doberman cringe, Nathan seized his chance to end this discussion and move on. Yet he couldn’t do so without answering, at least in part, Hyde’s original question.

“Like you, Hyde, there’s a lot of people who are tired of how this country is being run. They feel disenfranchised and forgotten. They have come to think that the time has come to change how our leaders are selected and how the government goes about its business. Some believe that the only viable solution is to start all over again. Others want to go back to the way they think things used to be. A few are happy with the way things are or are simply afraid of change. I can’t say for sure which is the best way to go about making things better. Solutions to those problems, as they say, are way above our pay grades.”

Hyde smiled as Nathan turned away. “I hear ya, sir. Airborne.”