With the mammoth senator looming over him, whose arm still hugged him close, King appeared somewhat uneasy. The speaker shook King’s shoulder back and forth in a comradely manner, apparently enraptured with King. King pretended to enjoy being roughly jostled, playing along like a good sport, even though his already creaky shoulder ached even more.

Stooping over, Senator Ziller spoke into the double microphones.

“Where is the bipartisanship in this country when we need it most? I remember when the other party believed it was the duty of Americans to fight for freedom over tyranny — but not today!”

The crowd frantically waved their signs up and down and back and forth.

“The world cannot afford an indecisive America. Fainthearted self-indulgence will put at risk all we care about in this world. In this hour of danger, Joseph King seems to have the courage to stand up, and I’m proud to stand up with him.”

Mel Ziller released his painful grip from King’s shoulder and stood up straight to his full, towering height.

“So may I introduce to you!” he shouted over the rising noise. “The man you’ve known for all these years! Joseph F. King—”

The audience spontaneously rose to their feet, exuberant with their applause, their shouts of joy thundering through the great hall and overwhelming the rest of his introduction. With a shrug, Senator Ziller walked off the podium, holding his giant hat with one hand to keep it from tipping over.

King saluted the audience in the formal military style, although he had never done any real service outside of a desk job, nor had any of his family going back several generations.

“Reporting for duty!” he said to tumultuous applause, snapping his hand back smartly to his side. “Hope is on the way!”

He wore his serious warrior’s face until the applause and cheers died down.

“It’s wonderful to be here, it’s certainly a thrill. You’re such a lovely audience, we’d like to take you home with us, we’d love—”

He was interrupted by applause and laughter, and he laughed good-naturedly himself.

“In all seriousness, our campaign is about more than replacing a president, it’s about saving the soul of America.”

He waved to the congregation, receiving their hoots and whistles.

“What brings us here tonight is love of country. We’ll find out just how great a nation we can be. My administration will create tremendous new opportunities for national service. We’ll fight growing challenges on all the issues, like jobs and education. I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I’m president — and don’t tell me America is out of service. We’ve gotta rise about that. People of all ages, stations, and skills must serve a cause greater than just themselves and their families. The social welfare requires individuals to put away their narrow, selfish interests for the good of society. We’re all in this together. A world in which we’re only thinking about ourselves and not thinking about everybody else, in which we’re considering the entire project of developing ourselves as more important than our relationships to other people — that’s a pretty narrow vision. So everybody’s gotta sacrifice for the greater good. Everybody’s gotta give. Everybody’s gotta—”

He was interrupted by a standing ovation; a tumultuous clapping of hands and waving of flags ensued.

“Everybody’s gotta have some skin in the game.”

King became pensive.

“We can’t just drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes at 72 degrees and then just expect that other countries are gonna go, ‘Okay, whatever.’ That’s not leadership. That’s not influence. That’s not gonna happen.”

The applause rose and fell in a great wave.

“As citizens of the freest country on Earth, you should have the right to a good job, the right to a decent home, the right to adequate medical care, the opportunity to enjoy good health. You should have the right to a secure retirement, the right to a good education. You deserve it. We deserve it. So let’s give this to ourselves.”

The audience clapped away in delight, nodding in complete agreement.

“So what does it mean to be an American today? It means workin’ hard, prayin’ hard, and pledging allegiance. Sacrifice, duty, and loyalty. Paying your fair share, and service to country.