America's Road to Wealth

Chapter 400 Abel Smith's Status
The meeting with Joan Irvine Smith, John Smith, was not accidental.

According to Abel's plan, he will see the couple in a few days.

But his plan was broken by someone.

From the perspective of Little Laura.

This man is his elder, the 43rd President of the United States, who lives in the White House, dear Mr. George Bush.

This "blessing in disguise", because of the September [-]th incident last year, the commander-in-chief who quickly grasped most of the power in the United States has been in office for a full year.

In the first half of the year, it can be said that he did nothing.Just getting familiar with the work of the White House while doing some irrelevant things that the Grand Commander can do.

For example, visit middle schools and elementary schools in some states, and make his personal image of being close to the people...

At that time, many media outlets in the United States had selected George as the most ineffective general in history, or the most powerless general in history.

It wasn't until that event happened that with the support of public opinion, he quickly became one of the most powerful leaders in American history.

He even launched a war against the outside world last year.

This can be regarded as the traditional art skill of the shrub family in the position of the Grand Commander.

When Herbert was in office, he launched a war without hesitation when the time came.

The father and son are quite similar in this respect.

In recent days, George left the White House and toured California for the first time in the name of Grand Commander.

This is also one of the jobs of the President of the United States.

Although the states in the United States enjoy great autonomy.

In most cases, the Grand Commander has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of the states.

However, after the Civil War, the federal government to a certain extent tightened the local power significantly and strengthened the federal government's control over the states.

After more than 200 years of development, the United States currently has two red lines for state power.

First, the sovereignty of the states cannot override the federal government and the U.S. Constitution.

Second, the legal authority of each state cannot exceed the overall sovereignty of the country.

As long as the states do not touch the above two red lines, the federal government has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of the states.

In such a special situation, the laws of each state in the United States are different today.

For example, some states have the death penalty, while others do not.

Gambling and sex services are legal in some states, and prohibited in most states.

Even the taxation of each state is different, such as real estate tax, the collection amount of each state is different.

As the commander-in-chief of the United States, George can manage only the dozen or so ministries under the Federal Government in name.

And the most powerful force in the world right now.

But in fact, as the commander-in-chief, George still has some influence over the states.

This is mainly because the federal government has money.

A large part of its annual budget can be used for the construction of the states and support for them.

Like the future of California in parallel time and space, it is said that a high-speed rail between San Francisco and Los Angeles will be built.

According to the budget in the plan, the state government only needs to pay 30%, and the remaining 70% will be paid by the federal government.

At the beginning, the federal government agreed, but later it got stuck in various ways.

The expenses here are part of the federal government's annual budget as expenditures.

Great righteousness plus stick, there is still money to send money.

Therefore, when the vital interests of the state are not involved, the states still listen to the words of the federal government.

This is also the reason why the fifty states, which seem to have their own masters, can appear in front of the world in a relatively united manner.

In other words, when the federal government has no money to send, or the money sent is useless.

Or maybe the stick loses its damage.

All that is left of the Federal Government is righteous words.

As for the United States of America, the only thing left is to split.

Now George is in full swing at the White House.He can decide which part of the federal government should have budgeted for the states, which state should be given more, or which state should be given less.

However, his reputation is growing day by day, he made a bad decision, and no one dares to criticize him for the time being.

It's not like before, you can still scold me if you don't have enough money.

So in the face of George's arrival and inspection.

This place in California also showed a great welcoming attitude this time.

Davis, the current governor of California, is a professional official with a certain reputation in the Donkey Party. He was elected governor of California in November 1998 and is seeking re-election this year.

Logically speaking, as the governor of the donkey party, Davis should not show too much enthusiasm for George's arrival.

But this time, Davis showed an enthusiastic attitude towards George's arrival that a donkey party target party leader should not have.

This move is said to have caused Davis a lot of criticism within the donkey party.

But many people also know that Davis greeted George so enthusiastically, which was a last resort.

Because Davis is in a bad place right now.

He took office at the time when California's economy was at its best, when the dot-com bubble was at its worst, but at the same time it was at its best looking.

At the time, California's GDP looked frighteningly strong.

Likewise, the dot-com bubble burst during his tenure.

As the location of Silicon Valley, the region most affected by Internet fragmentation is undoubtedly California.

Last year, California's economic GDP even went backwards.

As governor, Davis cannot absolve himself of the blame.

For four years, Davis had done nothing economically in California except to take advantage of the dot-com bubble.

Now that he encountered such a crisis, he had no countermeasures.

Many people in the state are already seriously dissatisfied with this.

Actually it has nothing to do with Davis.Because this is the general trend of the economy, even the U.S. government cannot rescue the market.

What can Davis do for the government of California? ,

But the public doesn't care about this, they know that it was Davis who took office, and this kind of thing happened.

This makes Davis, who is now suffering from a crisis of confidence.

If it is not resolved, Davis' re-election this year will definitely fail.

At this time, Davis could only go to the doctor in a hurry, and chose to show his favor to George, the leader of the Elephant Party.

It is hoped that by doing so, California will receive more financial aid from the federal government.

This also led to him being the governor of the donkey party, and the leader of the target party came and showed extreme enthusiasm.

So much so that George came for several days and was pestered by Davis.

To the day before the Grammys are due to start.

When George was about to leave California, he finally stopped being pestered by Davis.

George knew that Abel was also in California, even though the two had only met in the days after Christmas.

But maybe George wanted to see him, or maybe he wanted to do something.

Mr. Grand Commander summoned Abel to San Francisco, which is the city of San Francisco.

As the core of Northern California, San Francisco is also the state capital of California.

2002 1 Month 19 Day.

It was a sunny day in San Francisco and the weather was quite good.

But today the temperature is a little bit low, about 18 degrees Celsius.

This is the coldest day possible in San Francisco's mild winter this year.

Around 10 a.m., Abel looked out the car window at the brilliant weather.

Along the way, he saw parked military Hummers and military police on duty at various intersections on his way to his destination.

"It's really in full swing..."

Abel lay lazily back on the car seat, complaining with emotion.

After [-]/[-], in order to prevent KB attacks.

As the commander who has shown the toughest attitude towards KBFZ, George's security has been raised several levels.

It can even be said that he is one of the great commanders who value security the most in history.

And he was not afraid of being known by the public, but took the initiative to let the public know that their commander-in-chief is "like an enemy" to KBFZ.

It is understandable for Abel to do what the white house does.

This is George's White House, exaggerating the threat of KBFZ to the country to the people.

Look, even the commander-in-chief is on guard against this.So what should KBFZ be like?

[-]/[-] was not long ago!

Should we unite under George's command and launch a strike against KBZY around the world?

The extra security funds are not so much security funds.

It might as well be that the White House spent a little more on publicity...

It can not only improve your own personal safety, but also play a role in this regard.

George and the White House, of course, will not be polite.

It's taxpayers' money anyway.

David, who was sitting in the co-pilot, turned to Abel with a smile and said:

"This is also something that can't be helped. Mr. President announced that he would start to tour California on January 1. On the Internet and internationally, some KBFZ said they would attack him."

"Mr. Datong showed a fearless attitude and came to California despite the risk of an attack. Naturally, the locals in California, the FBl, and the Secret Service were very nervous, and they were always in a state of emergency. Where Mr. Datong is located, the nearby All commanding heights are occupied by agents and agents, two people in each group, monitoring the surrounding area."

Abel pouted slightly.

The family knows their own affairs.

He knew that George's White House did this mainly to exaggerate the degree of danger and continue to gather American public opinion.

Seriously, America in its current state.

Those so-called KBFZs are really capable of launching attacks.

Either that is the country, which has reached the brink of doom.

Or you have to think about whether these guys who attacked are really KBFZ!
David looked at the disdain on his boss' handsome young face through the rearview mirror.

As one of Abel's most trusted people, David also knew something about the White House's practices.

But the boss can make such an expression, but he can't.

Just as the person who was the first to talk to Abel, but also the person who knows Abel best.

Looking in the rearview mirror, the boss looked calm.

In David's eyes, there was still admiration and admiration.

David felt that there might be no young man as awesome as his boss in the whole world.

beep beep-

With the sound of horns, Abel's convoy stopped, and two special service members came quickly with a team of military police and police dogs to check the vehicle.

Dangdang-

brush……

Hearing the knock on the car window, Abel lowered the car window and looked at the secret service personnel outside the car window indifferently.

Seeing that it was Abel Smith, the other party immediately smiled and said, "Sorry, Mr. Smith, routine inspection."

Abel just nodded indifferently, ignored him, and raised the window.

The inspection is easily over.

Whether it is the Secret Service or the FBl, who would not know the relationship between the Smith family and the Bush family?

Who would not know the relationship between Abel and Commander George?
Group photos of these two people on different occasions and from different angles can be seen everywhere in the Internet world.

Anyone can attack the people of the bush family.

But definitely not Smith.

This time George was in San Francisco, where he stayed in a hotel.

The name of the hotel is Pansy Hotel. It was originally a luxury residence, which was bought by Herbert Shrub in 1966, invested in the construction and modified into a B&B hotel.

Simply put, it is the shrub family, one of the few industries in California.

This is like what Ikana's father did after he became the Grand Commander in the parallel time and space.

Every time the commander-in-chief travels, every time he travels, he will definitely live in his own hotel or golf course.

Anyway, as the commander in chief, all the travel expenses can be paid directly by the white house.

Since the money is going to be earned by others, it's better to earn it for your own family...

Ordinary people live for $100 a night, and the commander-in-chief has a noble status, so $130 a night is not expensive, right?
At least compared to Ikana's father, the Pansy Hotel where George stayed was much cheaper.

Hotel entrance.

click -

The car door opened, and Abel lifted his foot to get out of the car, and the cool morning breeze refreshed him physically and mentally.

He stretched out his hand and lightly tightened himself, the red tie in the black suit, looked around at the secret service personnel and military police, and said to Edward and David beside him, "You don't have to follow."

David was smiling, Edward was grim, but both nodded.

However, they and a group of bodyguards followed Abel into the lobby of the hotel.

Watch Abel walk into the elevator until the golden elevator door closes.

Only then did Edward lead the people, and followed a secret service officer to the rest area to wait.

Ding--

The elevator door opened, and Abel saw George's current chief of staff, Freddie Ford, waiting in front of the door with a smile on his face.

The Chief of Staff of the White House, also known as the Chief of Staff of the White House, is the highest-ranking official of the U.S. Presidential Office.

It's a position of great power, dubbed "the second most powerful man in Washington," often referred to as "the gatekeeper," and "the real vice-chancellor."

This is also the position of the Grand Commander, which can be easily changed at will.

Only true cronies will hold this position.

Freddie Ford's predecessor was Andy Card, who was no longer trusted by George and was resigned two months ago.

Not long after he took office, Freddie Ford had been a close friend of the Bush family before.

As George's confidant, he certainly knew Abel's position in George's heart and in the bush family.

For this reason, he ran to the elevator to meet Abel before everyone else.

Abel smiled, and shook hands with Freddie Ford who was also smiling, "Good morning, Mr. Ford. You look much better than you did at Christmas."

"Good morning, Mr. Smith. Haha, this way please, Mr. Grand Commander already knows you are here."

Abel nodded with a smile, and followed him through the busy corridor of the hotel. Everyone smiled at Abel.

dong dong——

"Mr. President, Mr. Smith has arrived."

"Please come in"

Abel's tall and tall figure stood at the door with a slight smile on his face. Hearing the voices from the room, the corners of his mouth involuntarily raised slightly.

"Mr. Smith, the commander-in-chief welcomes you."

"Thank you."

Abel smiled and nodded at Freddie Ford and said.

Then he stepped into the room and saw George who was already standing in front of the desk in high spirits, with a smile on his face and big white teeth.

Having said that, in America you want to see a person's class, sometimes not at all by appearance and clothing.

All you need to do is look at the teeth that show when he laughs.

The better the teeth, the richer the person is in the United States.

In the United States, the cost of good dentists and dental hospitals is sometimes unaffordable even for the middle class!
Abel's gaze skipped over George.

He saw Secretary of State Colin Powell standing beside George, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, several other younger-looking staffers, and an older "staffer."

"Haha... good morning, Abel." George said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Mr. President. And Mr. Powell, Mr. Rumsfeld, and other gentlemen."

Abel responded with a smile, but he only responded to Mr., not Ms.

Because there are no women, in this period, the Xiangdang, the high-level elite still have no place for women.

Abel stepped forward, very calmly and proactively embraced George.

Then I smiled and shook hands with the others one by one.

After greetings, everyone sat down on the sofa.

George didn't wander around, and he didn't have the image of a great commander at all.

The owner of the white house, sitting on the desk, said with a smile:

"Sorry, Abel, I have to catch a plane in the afternoon and go to Wisconsin. I can only let you come here by yourself. Originally, I wanted to go to your mansion in Beverly to see the prosperity of Hollywood!"

"It's nothing. You are the commander in chief, you are the biggest." Abel joked solemnly with a slight smile on his face.

Everyone in the office burst into laughter. George's eyes were shining brightly, the smile on his face became brighter and brighter, and he shook his head with an expression that he couldn't help you.

Between the two of them, this kind of easy-going family-like appearance.

Let the surrounding staff and high-level Americans envy them all.

George this person, although very easy-going.But to others, he is at best just an easygoing friend.

I met Abel, but he was no different from his family... Well, Abel Smith, who has already announced the marriage news in the high-level, is indeed one of George's real close family members now.

After everyone finished laughing, George looked at Abel who took the coffee cup from his secretary. He casually pointed at the oldest member of his staff, and introduced him:

"I haven't introduced you yet. John Snow, my new Treasurer!"

"Oh?" Abel raised his eyebrows. He smiled and said, "You finally fired that old bastard? That's really congratulations!"

Everyone in the office, including John Snow, laughed again.

Because everyone knows who the old bastard Abel is talking about.

It was Paul Henry O'Neill.

This excellent technocrat once served as Herbert's Minister of Defense.

After George took office, there is a high probability that it was due to his father.

Invite Paul Henry O'Neill out of the mountain and let Paul be his treasurer.

But I don't know why George couldn't control Paul Henry O'Neill.

Or Paul Henry O'Neill himself.

George's finance minister, after taking office, has done the most things, often in front of the media, picking on George and the White House!
In the parallel time and space, Paul Henry O'Neill has always been against George and the White House.

George endured for two years before replacing him.

In this time and space, with Abel, the situation is different.

After [-]/[-] happened.

On behalf of the White House, Paul Henry O'Neill assembled a group of Wall Street giants and American financiers.

In that meeting, Abe felt that he was clearly targeted by Paul Henry O'Neill.

Who is Abel?He is a man who has a vengeance.

It didn't show much at the time, but in front of George afterwards, Abel had been putting eye drops on Paul Henry O'Neill.

George had always been dissatisfied with the old fellow.

But the old guy was an old subordinate of George's father. Without his father's permission, this "baby boy" would not dare to fire Paul Henry O'Neill directly.

It was very simple, Abel went to Herbert and applied Paul's eye drops.

Maybe it's to get closer to the grandson-in-law.

Or perhaps he could see Paul Henry O'Neill's dissatisfaction with George and the White House.

George was able to fire Paul Henry O'Neill a year earlier than the parallel time and space.

Put John Snow in charge a year early.

From this perspective, John Snow must thank Abel.

If it weren't for Abel's displeasure with Paul Henry O'Neill.

John Snow has at least one more year to wait, and he may not even be there.

It's the butterfly effect after all.

"Okay." George said with a relaxed tone: "The rest are real people. At Christmas, you can tell me and my staff if you have something to say. Dear Abel."

George spread his hands: "I am much busier now than last year. So are my friends. So there are not many opportunities for everyone to gather together like this now. Dear Abel, just say something here Say it!"

Hearing what George said, everyone looked at Abel and George in surprise.

They didn't expect that George would call them together who are currently among the best figures in the world.

He actually said something to George just to listen to Abel.

This made everyone realize again Abel's status in the hearts of George and the bush family.

It also made them curious about what Abel might have to say next.

Call the leader of the United States and his most trusted and powerful group of people together.

This famous Mr. richest man in the world, what exactly does he want to say, or what does he want to do?
All of a sudden, everyone in the office focused their attention on Abel.

(End of this chapter)