Lindsey is back in the Oval Office after his victory in the primary.
T: Linseed! What are you doing here? Why aren’t you out campaigning?
G: Haven’t you heard? I escaped the runoff. With your help, of course. I couldn’t have done it without you.
T: Of course. I’m a winner. Everything I touch always turns out OK.
G: Which brings us to the war. You aren’t thinking about making an Obama deal, are you? That would make the war a disaster. It wouldn’t have accomplished anything.
T: Of course not! Obama made a terrible deal. Mine will be much, much better. Obama didn’t know how to negotiate. I do.
G: You understand leverage better than anyone.
T: Absolutely. That’s the key. The damage I can do with tariffs and the military is my leverage. No one else has that.
G: But the Iranians don’t seem to understand that. They aren’t giving up. In fact, lots of people are arguing they’re winning.
T: It’s just because the price of oil has spiked. That will end soon. Trust me. Didn’t I say everything I touch turns out right?
G: But there is speculation that world reserves are running low, and the price of oil is about to skyrocket again. What if the Iranians try to wait you out? Can you really ignore what that will mean to American voters? Won’t that force you into an Obama deal?
T: The voters love me. They know how great I am. They’re willing to live through a little turbulence. Anything to the contrary is fake news.
G: But the polls say otherwise, and Republican candidates are starting to get nervous.
T: The polls are fake news, and I control my party. Just ask Ken Paxton.
G: You may need to start bombing civilian infrastructure in Iran to gain more leverage if the Iranians don’t capitulate soon.
T: I hope I don’t have to do that, but if I do, I do. Putin would understand. The strong do what they have to do, and everyone else has to live with it. That’s the way the world works.
G: So I hear. I hope you’re right about the polls. Things are going to get really ugly around here if you’re wrong. You could even get impeached again.
T: I’m always right. You should know that better than anyone. (Graham leaves)