Advise & Consent

ADVISE & CONSENT

by Allen Drury

 

Award: Pulitzer Winner 1960

 

Date Read: January 8, 2021

 

Bob Munson’s Book

“… it would always come, renewed again and again to infinity, the same conviction that he was somehow personally responsible for the well-being of it all, that some overriding trust and obligation had been placed upon him to see that it was kept safe and its people protected.” 

 

I find it terribly interesting that for all the maneuvering and deals being made, the distinction of party affiliation is completely missing. In present politics, it seems your party identity is the end-all be-all of politics. Party affiliation can almost immediately allow someone to be sized up in their beliefs and intellect. 

 

I also find it fascinating that not much has changed in politics in the last 60 years since this book was written. The same posturing and maneuvering still occurs, although it has become much more brutal.

 

Seab Cooley’s Book

Seab is a terse man, having eschewed love and family to fulfill his political ambitions. In an attempt to satisfy a long-held grudge against Leffingwell, during the Leffingwell confirmation hearings, Seab embarks on a line of questioning so absurd, it’s jaw dropping. He essentially requests Leffingwell describe the concessions he’s willing to concede to the Russians – a question so broad and divorced from context that it’s impossible to answer. Yet, other Senators embrace this line of questioning, believing Leffingwell is trying to hide his true motives.

 

Seab, looking to further tarnish the reputation of Leffingwell, brings a witness that claims to have attended Communist meetings with him while Leffingwell was teaching at a university. Upon cross-examination, it is revealed that this gentleman had enough holes in his accusations along with a history of mental instability that the Senators were forced to reject his testimony.

 

In a preliminary roll-call vote for confirmation, the ayes and the nays are in a dead-heat. I was apprehensive about this novel because I didn’t believe a political struggle about a Cabinet position would hold my interest for 745 pages but I find it riveting. 

 

Brigham Anderson’s Book

Brig is the Senator from Utah who inserts himself rather prominently in the confirmation hearings. An Air Force veteran, it is revealed that during a furlough in Hawaii he had an affair with a man, the happiest time of his life. You can see it coming a mile away that this factoid will be discovered and used against him for his antics in the hearings. 

 

Although Gelman was discredited, he had claimed that there were four members of their “cell,” including a man named James Morton, who reveals himself to Brig and Brig can’t help but exploit. He is obviously playing with fire.

 

This is the book where we get into the nitty-gritty of politics. Where the posturing really begins, deals begin being made and pressure bought to bear. The real underbelly of politics is starting to ooze. I am surprised at the unscrupulousness of the president in requesting blackmail and that Bob Munson is so disdainful in the president’s presence. It’s somewhat shocking.

 

And as Brig’s book comes to a tragic end, I can’t help but wonder what accountability, if any, the malicious actors in this debacle will claim. I doubt any.

 

Orrin Knox’s Book

Now we get to see these events through the eyes of the Senator from Illinois. Orrin, having presidential designs himself, has long sought the highest office and twice before been denied. The entire Senate slowly comes to a moral reckoning as to how they conducted themselves in regards to this nomination.

 

Munson as Senate Majority Leader realizes that the power he once had to sway votes has evaporated and in protest to Brig’s death, quits as leader. And as the price of politics is contemplated and rejected, the nomination for Leffingwell goes by the wayside, putting the President in a precarious position.

 

In a final bid to push the nomination through, the President taps into Orrin’s political ambitions to be President and says he will help put him in the White House if he can rally the votes in the Senate needed to get Leffingwell through the hearings.

 

 

Overall, this is an incredible novel, so well imagined and so well-written. The shenanigans deployed throughout could be the same as are playing out now, although all of these characters have a more level head than Trump. I am simply in awe of Drury’s talent and fortitude.