Forging America: My Campaign Manager is Roosevelt

"So-called intricate plots and brilliant strategies are just rationalizations that highly educated people like you come up with after the fact to make your savage impulses seem more reasonable."

"Real politics isn’t that convoluted."

"Real conflicts are often structural and very direct."

"Take the situation now. What is the conflict in Pennsylvania? It’s simply the old order obstructing new progress. Campbell represents the old order; you represent the new. One of you has to go down."

"The solution to this kind of conflict is also simple."

"A straight punch."

"Find the most critical point and hit it with everything you’ve got."

"Once you break through, every equilibrium will be shattered, and every scheme will fall apart."

"Right now, Monroe is your fist."

"Don’t overthink it. Just let him swing."

"You just need to focus on the enemy in front of you and keep swinging until he goes down. Then, turn and face the next one."

"You’ll never be one hundred percent sure, and you’ll never be one hundred percent prepared."

"Politicians are always just solving the problem at hand."

"Look at me back when I was pushing the New Deal. Did I have everything figured out from the beginning? Of course not."

"I didn’t even know if those bills would pass the Supreme Court’s scrutiny, or if the money would even get out to the people."

"I just saw people were hungry, so I found a way to give out bread. I saw banks collapsing, so I found a way to print money."

"Take it one step at a time."

"If you meet a wall, tear it down. If you meet a river, build a bridge. If you can’t build a bridge, swim across."

Roosevelt’s tone was infused with a powerful philosophy of pragmatism.

"You’ve gotten Monroe to agree. That’s the reality of the situation. What he’s truly thinking, whether he has other plans—those are tomorrow’s problems."

"As long as he holds that press conference, as long as he shoves the knife into Campbell’s chest."

"There’s no turning back for him."

"That is a fact."

"As for any other variables, deal with them as they arise. You can rack your brain all you want, but you can’t predict a future that doesn’t exist yet."

"In politics, suspicion is a virtue. It helps you survive. But in a decisive moment like this, too much suspicion will make you hesitate."

Roosevelt’s voice grew serious.

"You’re at a very delicate stage right now, my boy."

"You’ve made incredible progress recently. Operationally, you’re already a seasoned politician, even more ruthless than those old-timers in Washington."

"But your mindset hasn’t caught up with your tactics."

"You’re uneasy because you think Monroe agreed too quickly. It feels unnatural, and that scares you. You’re trying to find faint traces of a conspiracy in his every expression, his every word."

"But it’s all meaningless."

Roosevelt paused, his tone becoming extremely pragmatic.

"In this world, no one is trustworthy."

"Monroe can’t be trusted, Campbell can’t be trusted, Taylor can’t be trusted, and even Ethan might not be completely trustworthy under extreme pressure."

"That’s the true nature of politics. Betrayal is the universal language, and lies are the very air you breathe."

"Since no one can be trusted, what’s the point of obsessing over how sincere he truly is?"

"You’re just borrowing trouble."

"Right now you’re like a gambler with a good hand, but you’re too afraid to push your chips in because you’re worried the dealer might be cheating."

"Monroe’s cooperation is real, right now. That’s enough. Whether he’ll stab you in the back later is a battle for another day. If you forfeit today’s victory to guard against a betrayal tomorrow, that would be truly foolish."

Listening to Roosevelt’s counsel, the tension in Leo’s shoulders slowly melted away.

He leaned his head against the car window, watching the darkness rush past outside.

"I just..."

Leo whispered in his heart.

’I just feel so cold.’

’I’m surrounded by wolves that want to devour me, by allies ready to betray me at any moment.’

’I have to keep my eyes wide open at all times, constantly on guard against the dagger behind every smile.’

’This feeling... it’s so lonely.’

Leo closed his eyes.

’In this position, I don’t have a single person I can trust to watch my back.’

’I can only carry it all alone.’

Roosevelt was silent for a moment.

Then, the voice became gentler than ever before.

"That is the curse of power, Leo."

"The moment you chose this path, you were destined to walk with loneliness."

"The happiness of an ordinary person, that kind of unconditional trust, that warmth of friendship—the moment you took hold of the scepter, those things became lost to you."

"You must get used to this cold."

"But you are not as lonely as you think."

"Think about your rivals."

"Bob Campbell. Right now, he’s sitting in that huge official residence, surrounded by secretaries and advisors, but who can he trust?"

"He trusts no one. He knows Monroe is eyeing his position, knows Washington is calculating how much use he has left. When he wakes in the middle of the night, the only person he can talk to is his own reflection."

"Aston Monroe. Although he is about to ascend to the throne, his heart is filled with fear."

"He’s afraid of you, afraid of Washington, afraid the people he betrayed will come back for revenge. When he celebrates in that office, he doesn’t even dare to clink his glass."

"They are the ones who are truly alone."

"They don’t have a single person in this world to whom they can speak honestly."

"But you are different."

Roosevelt’s voice sounded.

"You have me."

"Although I’m just a ghost living in your head, although I can’t block bullets for you or sign documents for you."

"But I will always be here."

"When you are lost, I will show you the way; when you are weak, I will give you strength; when you feel the whole world is against you, I will tell you that I too have faced the same malice, and I defeated it."

"We share the same brain, the same ambition."

"In this world, there is no alliance closer or more loyal than ours."

"So, don’t be afraid."

"You are not fighting alone."

Leo’s eyes snapped open.

He looked at the young face reflected in the car window.

In the depths of those eyes, he seemed to see the old man in a wheelchair, holding a cigarette holder, smiling at him.

He still had Roosevelt.

He had the greatest mentor in the political history of the United States.

That in itself was an incredible luxury.

"Thank you, Mr. President."

Leo leaned back against the seat, looking out at the pitch-black night.

’Then I’ll just take it one step at a time.’

The car sped along the highway, the sound of the tires on the pavement monotonous and hypnotic.

Leo closed his eyes.

Even if there were ten thousand possibilities now, Leo could only choose to believe that this move was the right one.

Because the wheels were already rolling forward, and they could no longer be stopped.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!