~ NOVEMBER 5 2008 ~

Your name is Aspen Foster. For a good portion of your adult life, you have been working within the political scene of the most beautiful state in the union, Colorado. Nobody outside of the state knew you very well, but you had become a familiar face for those who pay attention to your state’s politics.

You are as moderate as they come. Your policies are nothing revolutionary. Nobody is your die-hard supporter and nobody has a seething anger towards you. You are a milquetoast, inoffensive liberal who is perfectly content with staying out of the spotlight and passing completely average and expected laws.

You successfully ran for the Denver city council in 1995. You were elected mayor of that same city in 1999. After losing re-election in 2003, you decided to run for the Colorado House of Representatives the very next year, where you’ve been ever since.

You have been satisfied with the direction of your career. After narrowly winning re-election in Colorado’s lower chamber, you were prepared for two more years of middling legislation. That was, at least, until you received a call from the last person you expected.

“Mr. President.”

Well, not officially president yet. He had just yesterday been elected, but has yet to be inaugurated. Those few months between Election Day and January 20th are mostly focused on one thing. His cabinet. Even though it’s one of the few topics you could’ve expected from him during this time, it still came as such a shock when you hear his voice on the other end of the phone tell you that he is considering you for a position. For a progressive, national figure such as him to want you in his cabinet is nothing short of a product of divine intervention.

“I-…I would be honored, sir.”

He gives you a list of positions that are open, whether that is because the others are taken or he wants somebody else appointed to it. After a few more minutes of brief conversation and letting the president-elect know that you will consider your options, you say your goodbyes and hang up the phone.

“Lord have mercy…”

You decide that you need to go for a walk, even if it is the middle of the afternoon with the sun quickly setting. You just need to breathe in some fresh air. You tell your wife, Meredith, that you are going out and grab the essentials. Phone. Wallet. Keys. Then you’re out.

“I mean, this is so sudden…”

You are satisfied with your station in life. You’ve always believed in modesty as a virtue and too much ambition can kill. However, being a member of the president’s cabinet gives you more opportunities. Not for yourself, but for others. To better people’s lives one policy at a time. That was the main reason you decided to become a politician in the first place. By the time you walk through the front door to your townhouse again, you’ve made up your mind. You will join the president’s cabinet. Now it’s just a matter of which position you will take.

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