booktalesy Chapter 74 Television Debates
Chapter 74 Television Debates
Chapter 74 Television Debate (Total 29100 words published)
Leo walked through the still-shaken crowd.
His steps were steady, and Frank wanted to follow to protect him, but Leo raised a hand to stop all the union brothers behind him.
This is a matter between him and Martin Cartwright.
On the marble steps of City Hall, Cartwright had just finished his public relations performance.
He drove off in the police car carrying Dave Miller, his expression maintaining the sorrow and determination that comes from sacrificing family for the greater good.
The reporters hadn't left yet; they were still gathered at the bottom of the steps, waiting for more juicy gossip.
Leo walked into the group of reporters, and the crowd automatically made way for him.
Leo stood at the bottom of the steps, looked up, and gazed at Cartwright, who stood on the higher ground.
Their gazes met in mid-air.
Cartwright looked at Leo.
The young man destroyed one of his legs, forcing him to deal with his own henchmen.
Cartwright knew exactly what Leo was going to do.
Leo wanted to keep the fire burning in front of all the media, to burn him directly, and to question him about his role in this atrocity.
Cartwright lost once he got caught up in that endless cycle of moral self-justification.
He couldn't let Leo ask a question.
He must regain control of the narrative and rewrite the rules of the battlefield.
Cartwright was quick to grab the microphone that hadn't been put down yet.
"Mr. Wallace."
His voice, transmitted through the sound system, drowned out all the noise in the room.
"You've come at the perfect time."
Leo stopped in his tracks.
"Mr. Mayor, I'm here to ask—"
"I know what you want to ask," Cartwright interrupted him. "You want to ask about responsibility, you want to ask about justice, you want to continue your emotionally charged performance on this lawn where the conflict just took place."
Cartwright walked down two steps, closing the distance between himself and Leo, and also allowing the camera to frame the two of them together.
"You're very good at this, Leo. Really, I have to admit."
The mayor pointed to the crowd that had not yet dispersed and to the cameras set up on the lawn.
"You're good at camping on lawns, good at crying into your phone camera, and good at simplifying complex municipal management issues into emotional slogans. You're a natural actor; if this were Hollywood, I'd vote for you."
"but."
Cartwright abruptly changed the subject.
"This is Pittsburgh, an industrial city of 300,000 people facing serious economic challenges."
"Managing this city is not a 24-hour live reality show."
"It requires more than just passion and slogans; it requires rational thinking, complex decision-making, and a deep understanding of budgets, laws, and public policy."
Cartwright looked at Leo.
He's gambling.
He bet that Leo was just a grassroots figure who rose to power through populism and didn't have much real substance.
He bet that Leo didn't understand the details of the tax structure, the regulations of urban planning, or the tedious but deadly administrative logic.
He bet that what drove him to this point was his top-notch team of advisors from Washington.
He wanted to drag Leo from this emotionally charged street into his own arena, a place filled with logical traps and professional knowledge.
"Since you are so confident in yourself, and since you believe you know better than me how to govern this city."
Cartwright shouted into all the cameras.
"Then, I invite you."
"We will have a one-on-one televised debate this Sunday night, which is five days from now."
The reporters at the scene stirred up a commotion.
It is rare in Pittsburgh's election history for the incumbent mayor to challenge his opponent to a televised debate.
Typically, incumbents with an advantage will try their best to avoid giving challengers this opportunity to compete on the same stage.
This shows that Cartwright was a little anxious, but it also shows that he had absolute confidence in himself.
"There was no teleprompter, and no prepared scripts from a PR team."
Cartwright pressed closer, staring intently into Leo's eyes.
"Just the two of us, standing before all the citizens of Pittsburgh, having a real conversation about the city's budget, safety, jobs, and future plans."
"Let's see who truly knows how to govern Pittsburgh after stripping away all the sentimental performances."
"Mr. Wallace, do you dare accept this?"
This is a declaration of war.
It's also a calculated move.
If Leo refuses or shows any hesitation, he will be labeled as "cowardly" and "incompetent," and all the image he has built up will instantly collapse.
If he accepts, he will have to enter Cartwright's area of expertise—Cartwright is a former prosecutor who has honed his skills in court and parliament for many years. His debating skills are extremely sophisticated, and he is best at using logical traps to confuse his opponents.
Ethan Hawke and Karen Miller stood in front of the monitor, listening to the conversation taking place.
Both of their faces turned deathly pale at the same time.
"This is a trap." Karen's voice was a little tense. "Cartwright is a top student from law school. He was a prosecutor. He can talk the dead back to life on the debate stage. Although Leo is eloquent and has a good understanding of the campaign process, he lacks a systematic reserve of policy knowledge. In that kind of high-intensity unscripted debate, his blind spots in knowledge are easily exposed."
“That’s right.” Ethan quickly added, “Cartwright will bombard Leo with countless specific administrative data. If Leo answers even one wrong or can’t answer one, he will be relentlessly attacked and portrayed as an ignorant layman.”
"We need to find a way to cancel or postpone it." Karen grabbed her phone, ready to signal Leo. "We need at least two weeks to prepare; five days is too short!"
on the square.
All the cameras were pointed at Leo.
The microphone was held up to his mouth.
Cartwright maintained his aggressive stance, waiting for Leo to back down.
"Mr. President, did you hear that? He wants to debate with me."
Leo stood there, expressionless.
But deep within his mind, the voice that had always been there for him now let out a joyful laugh.
"Hehehe————"
Roosevelt smiled broadly.
"finally."
"He finally chose my favorite place as the battlefield."
"debate?"
Roosevelt's voice was full of disdain.
"Who does he think he's debating with? A history student?"
"No."
"He was debating with someone who had once redrawn the world map at the round table in Yalda."
"With my voice, through the radio, I soothed a nation trembling in the Great Depression. With my speeches, I mobilized an isolationist America into an arsenal of democracy."
"Does Cartwright think he understands policy? Does he think he understands data?"
"He only knows how to use red tape to cover up problems, while I know how to use the simplest language to expose those complicated lies."
"He thought this was his home turf."
"No, child. Wherever there's a microphone, that's our home ground."
Roosevelt's voice became impassioned, as if he were back on that cold inauguration day in 1933.
"Tell him, Leo."
"Tell this arrogant bureaucrat."
"We accept."
"This is not only our chance to win the election, but also the execution ground for us to completely destroy his political life."
In the real world, Leo's lips curled into a slight smile.
That smile held only a composure that made Cartwright feel inexplicably uneasy.
Leo took a step forward, his voice loud enough to pierce the cold night wind.
"Mr. Mayor."
Leo looked at Cartwright's face.
"You just sacrificed your police chief to save your own position; that was a very cold-blooded political severance."
Cartwright's eye twitched.
"Now, you're trying to distract everyone with debate, using your favorite word games and bureaucratic jargon to cover up the fact that this city is bleeding."
Leo nodded.
"no problem."
"Since you are so eager to demonstrate your professional skills to the entire public."
"Then, I will grant your wish."
Leo gave a solemn response to all the cameras.
"I'll be there Sunday night."
"I accept your challenge."
"One-on-one, no manuscript, no assistant."
Leo paused for a moment.
"However, Mr. Mayor, I have a small suggestion."
"I hope that when you're on the debate stage, facing those pointed questions and those truths you can't avoid,..."
"Can you get rid of all that meaningless bureaucratic nonsense, just like you cut off Director Miller's escape route?"
'
"Because this time, no one can take the blame for you anymore."
After saying this, Leo didn't look at Cartwright again.
He turned, walked through the crowd, and headed towards his team.
Behind him, Cartwright stood on the steps, his face terribly grim.
He issued a challenge, and the other party accepted.
But he did not feel as relaxed as he had expected.
On the contrary, watching Leo's departing figure, a strange chill rose in my heart.
There was something in the young man's eyes that he couldn't understand.
That's more than just confidence.
It's more like a certainty that one already knows the ending.
That night, Pittsburgh was in an uproar.
It's all over social media, in all bars, and on all the tables.
The incumbent mayor faces off against a young challenger.
The guardians of the old system versus the reformers of the new era.
This is a duel about the soul of Pittsburgh.
All eyes in the city were on the upcoming Sunday night.
This will be the final battle that will determine the future fate of this steel city.
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