Dominion: Chapter 7 – Setting the Board
Setting the Board John Collins, a popular, young (compared to his predecessors), and robust president, had lost much of his vitality after six years of service. The reconstruction movement was fifty years old, yet the country was still so fragile. The public had no clue how easy it would be for things to fall apart and return to the chaos following the war. But it was this situation in Maine, specifically, Augusta, that truly haunted him, graying his hair day by day. He and several members of his cabinet and the Joint Chiefs of Staff were gathered in the Situation Room of the White House. They were sitting at a long table, exchanging files and information. On the wall facing the president were several monitors, each linked to a helmet-mounted camera. They showed military vehicles, …