An Imagined Conversation as Abraham Looks On

Doug Mills/The New York Times

"Listen, while you're in town, you gotta meet my son Hunter. God luv 'em, he's a good boy. Now don't you worry about this coming storm here at home." *Abe Lincoln watches over the whispers* "We got the good people on our side. Well protected, in need of real workers -- those w/no voice at all, passive and just glad to be here..."  "You leave Congress to me. It's a creaky old boat, run on tradition and seniority, and God knows, I did my time. Oh, I still had a life -- like you, love how you get around in wartime man and come out without a scratch. My old friend John could have learned a trick or two about war service like that... heh heh.  I had the family back home, all the luxuries Nancy enjoyed on the West Coast -- the fine meals, homes, cars, best of everything... and the people loved me because anytime I got in trouble, well... I have a long-dead wife and baby girl in my pocket here, see? You'd be amazed how many of us in the Congress Club have a sad back story like that, a dead father in WWII, an immigrant sponsored-mentorship in, for the good-looking ones anyway.... heh."   "But anyway, we gotta hook you up with my boy Hunter. He's hurting, in a DC-kinda way, they'll never really touch him and we both know it but we can't say it in the press... looks like we're on a different tier of justice while the colored boys serve out years for drug and gun crimes they didn't even commit some of em!  A cousin, looked like somebody's cousin... you know how it goes?... No, no you don't, and I'm rambling again... just stop by.  Jill and Ashley want to meet you, and ... have I told you about my boy?  They like him in Ukraine, all his business friends..."