The Senator’s Political Fortune

This flow follows The Senator’s public standing and presidential ambitions as they collide with his private actions on the night of the accident.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Candidate in Reserve

The Senator’s Ambition A leading contender The Senator has been among the leading Democratic candidates for president but withdraws for political reasons, releasing delegates to an old friend. Future possibilities He declines a vice-presidential offer and remains young enough, in political terms, to imagine another presidential campaign. His public career is still open when Kelly Kelleher meets him.

The Public Reformer

An Appealing Political Presence Persuasive ideals The Senator speaks as a liberal committed to social reform and listens intently to Kelly Kelleher’s ideas. His warmth makes his public persona feel unusually personal. Celebrity’s burden He also admits fatigue with repeating principles that seem to change little. The scene presents ambition alongside frustration rather than as simple self-satisfaction.

The Impatient Driver

Confidence Becomes Risk Drink and urgency The Senator has been drinking and drives impatiently, eager to reach Brockden’s Landing. He treats Kelly Kelleher’s concern about the route as a problem to dismiss. Public stature, private conduct His status does not make him safer or more perceptive. The gap between the reform-minded public figure and the reckless driver begins to reshape the reader’s view of him.

A Call from the Booth

Fear of Exposure An account to Ray The Senator calls Ray Annick from a roadside telephone booth and reports that there has been an accident. He fears that the dead girl’s case could become a manslaughter charge. Reputation under pressure His first account emphasizes his political vulnerability and suggests that Kelly Kelleher caused the crash. The call displays a man more concerned with the consequences for himself than with certainty about her fate.

An Unknown Aftermath

A Future Unresolved No public reckoning shown The narrative does not establish what consequences The Senator ultimately faces or whether he returns to the accident scene. His account and fear remain suspended at the moment of the call. Ambition without resolution His imagined political future is now entangled with a death he cannot control through speeches or strategy. The book refuses to resolve his career into either triumph or certain punishment.

During the 1988 Democratic nomination contest

At the party on the Fourth of July

Around 8 p.m., on the drive to the ferry

Around 9:55 p.m.

After the call, as the story ends