“Between the Lees, I’m a bigger fan of her husband’s presidency. I think the current President Lee is too caught up in intelligence matters, having spent her working life at the CIA, and she’s not nearly as good on domestic matters. Her husband helps out with that, of course, but he’s very rightly enjoying his new son and his retirement.”

“And you think you could do a better job than Katharine Lee as President?”

Knott laughed. “If I didn’t think that, I wouldn’t even be considering a run.”

“And why are you forming a new party, instead of running as either a Republican or a Democrat?”

“I’ve never been strongly attracted to either party. I’m fairly liberal on social issues and conservative on fiscal policy. I’m not an ideologue, I’m a pragmatist, and I believe in what works. Also, Katharine Lee is assured of her party’s nomination, so there’s no room for me in the Democratic Party, and the Republican Party is so exhausted from the last election and are such hidebound ideologues that I wouldn’t fit in there. There isn’t an existing party that has any real standing, so starting from scratch seems the best way to the general election.”

“That route has never worked before,” Shawn pointed out.

“We’ve never had quite the same conditions before,” Knott replied evenly. “Also, there’s never been a candidate with roots in broadcasting. If I run I’ll produce a number of hour-long films that will explain exactly what my policy goals are across the policy spectrum. They’ll be available online, and people can watch them at their own pace and as many times as they wish.”

“It sounds like a tutorial,” Shawn said.

“A tutorial on what I believe, what I know, and what I plan to do.”

The program ended, and Stone was surprised to find that he had been impressed. His meeting with Knott on St. Clair’s yacht had been brief, but now he knew a great deal more.

His phone rang. “Hello?”

It was Will Lee. “What did you think of Mr. Knott?”

“Well, he was very nice to you, wasn’t he?”

Will laughed. “Come on, what did you think?”

“I was impressed, when I hadn’t expected to be. I think he did a very good job of presenting himself as somebody who might make a good President.”

“I’m really sorry to hear that, because it confirms my own judgment,” Will said. “I think Mr. Knott is going to be a formidable candidate.”

“Do you think Kate can beat him?”

“Yes, but she’s going to have to take a fresh look at the campaign and how it’s going to work, and she’s going to have to anticipate his every move and counter it.”

“She’ll be on the defensive, then?”