America: From a Fallen Child Star to the Head of the University of the West

What exactly is a campaign platform?

Sean was also clueless about it. He only knew that it had to be loud enough to cause a tsunami at the rally; it also had to be vague enough to allow for enough interpretation; and it would be best if it were complex enough to require an entire team to interpret it, so that you could support a large number of consultants, writers and TV commentators.

But do you think the people really need it?

This is like asking a starving person if they need a 30-page menu, when they might just want a filling hamburger.

But nobody cared what the hungry man really wanted; his voice had long been drowned out by the other side's unique war of words and labeling.

However, voters are not as easily bullied as customers at a regular fast food restaurant. No matter how candidates try to distort the needs of the general public with their sweet talk, they all have their own ideas to some extent.

If they don't want something on the menu, they'd rather not order it!

Worst of all, if your menu offends them, they might even slam the door and leave to join your competitor.

As a result, all the candidates started fighting for their customers.

In the 21st century, political ideologies have long since moved beyond their grandiose origins, especially in the United States. Political ideologies are now simply about a person's basic needs: food, clothing, shelter, and transportation—ultimately, the right to control one's own body.

Therefore, one can determine whether a person is a vegetarian, homosexual, transgender, or supports abortion or vaccines based on their attitudes toward the above.

These are all very important social issues for Americans right now.

But these ideas have become increasingly sophisticated, increasingly correct, and increasingly distant from the understanding and experience of ordinary people. It has become a banner, but increasingly unlike a tool for solving problems.

This is where the despicable aspects of people like Sean Penn become apparent.

Sean wasn't the kind of person whose thoughts were dictated by the last person he spoke to; in fact, he was far more despicable and lacked any sense of principle.

He was a pragmatist, and the most selfish kind at that.

However, pragmatism does not entirely mean "anything is good as long as it can be used by me".

Pragmatism is a stance; one cannot be too close to the voters, or one will be overwhelmed by the wave of populism. Nor can one be too far removed from the voters, or one will appear as an aloof scholar.

Similarly, the relationship with those two parties is also like that.

According to Duwager's Law, in the US's simple relative majority system, a two-party system is more likely to emerge. In most cases, if you win by one vote, you can win the entire election. So why would voters waste their votes on a third or fourth party?

Or even a commander without a political party?

Besides, all you, Sean Penn, are is a decent-looking face and a slightly destructive list. Why should anyone believe you?

You've only been running for office for a few years. What governing experience do you have, and what are your campaign promises?

Everyone would be better off voting for the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, or even the Communist Party USA than for you!

Even if you were to rise to the top, what could you possibly change in the face of the two parties' control of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference?

From this perspective, even divided sides can unite when facing the same enemy.

However, this is not always the case. No group is without conflict, from the entire United States to a single family. Similar situations abound.

These conflicts are already too intense, and will likely only intensify further. This is all thanks to generations of elites, some brilliant, some foolish, coupled with a surge of populism.

This country, this era, is calling for a mediator, whether he is hypocritical or sincere. Only those with sufficient resilience and an understanding of the people's needs can reach the highest position.

Coincidentally, his favorability-boosting cheat code can help him in a way.

Moreover! Life isn't just about this one election. He's only twenty-five. As long as he doesn't die from being shot seven times, he still has a chance to rise from junior to senior.

Even if he loses the presidential election, he can still run for councilor or mayor. He has to win over the voters no matter what, so that he can escape those clutches and even achieve his goals.

Looking at this divided and contradictory world, dreamers can only unite them through diligence.

The problem is that diligence and that golden touch alone aren't enough. Thinking about this, Sean actually found himself becoming unsure of himself.

Matthew grew impatient: "Just tell me already!"

"It's actually very simple," Sean cleared his throat. "My campaign platform is very simple, and it's certainly not 'making the bastards pay the price,' that's not the highest priority."

He raised his head, looked at the people in front of him, and slowly uttered a single word:

"Unity".

"Unity is strength!"

The air was silent for two seconds.

Then, Matthew looked constipated, as if he had just swallowed a fly. Vincent, on the other hand, slammed the folder shut with a crisp sound.

"Do you want to sing...?"

Matthew's favorability rating changed from [75] to [70].

Vincent's score changed from [60] to [50].

"Unity?" Vincent shook his head. "Mr. Pan, I thought you were going to make some earth-shattering statement. And this is it? Bush used this, even Lincoln used this. You're plagiarizing."

"Exactly," Matthew couldn't help but chime in. "In this country right now, the left wants nothing more than to send the right to re-education camps, while the right wants nothing more than to expel the left from America. Abortion, gun rights, immigration, taxes… every issue is a chasm. How are you going to unite them? Through love?"

"Can't we?" Sarah suddenly asked. "I mean, through love."

"I think it's perfectly possible! Cough cough, this brings us to the second question," Sean raised his second finger, "coexistence, finding a consensus that both sides can share."

"Consensus? If there really is such a thing as a middle ground consensus, then why don't voters just vote for the moderates? Why do those politicians who try to take the middle road always end up in such dire straits?" Matthew frowned.

"Because they're too weak." Sean turned around, his gaze sharp. "They tried to please everyone, but ended up pleasing no one. Their so-called middle ground is just muddling through and not making any decisions."

"But I'm different."

Sean pointed to himself. "Look at me. I'm a Hollywood star, which naturally gives me a liberal label; but I'm also a Hollywood-cast-out jerk, a negative example of alcoholism, fighting, and a messy private life, which makes a lot of rednecks who hate political correctness feel that I'm real."

"I don't belong to either side. The left thinks I'm a product of the decadence of capitalism, and the right thinks I'm the scum of the Hollywood elite. That puts me in a perfect position."

"We're not trying to win over die-hard partisans," Sean said, drawing a circle with a small intersection in the middle. "We're trying to win over those who are forced to choose between two bad apples. We're trying to win over the silent majority who think the Democrats are too radical and the Republicans are too crazy. We're trying to win over those who, in previous years, simply didn't bother voting and thought it didn't matter which one they chose."

"Benjamin Franklin said, 'We must stand together, or we will be hanged one by one.'" Sean said in a deep voice. "The Americans today are actually being hanged one by one. Right here in California, right here in Los Angeles! I know the situation there very well."

Vincent looked at Sean, the mockery in his eyes slowly fading, replaced by a thoughtful expression.

"You make it sound so easy," Vincent said slowly. "But how exactly do you do it? How are you going to unite a college girl who supports abortion and a church lady who opposes it? Are you trying to be the next Jesus?"

"I don't want to be Jesus, and I can't turn water into wine," Sean smiled. "But I know how to do business. And in business, there's only one most important principle."

He held up one finger.

"Understand what your customers really want."

Matthew and Sarah exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

"Politicians sit in air-conditioned offices in Washington looking at data, polls, and those heavily filtered reports. But they have no idea that single mothers in North Philadelphia are worrying about next month's rent, and laid-off workers in Pittsburgh are worried about not being able to afford painkillers."

Sean walked up to Vincent, placed his hands on the table, and looked directly into the lawyer's eyes. He could see that the number above Vincent's head had changed to [55].

"I know what you're thinking. You think I'm bragging, that I'm just saying nice things."

“No, Sean,” Matthew interjected, “you’ve already created too many miracles. You’ve got Musk’s help, and the prosecutor’s help too. But we still feel… this is difficult.”

"Of course it's difficult. If it weren't difficult, someone would have done it already." Sean straightened up. "That's why we've been on the defensive all this time. We have to play our first card. We have to prove that we're not just playing games."

"What brand?" Sarah asked curiously.

Sean walked to the window and looked at the gray sky outside.

"We don't do those fancy polls. We do real surveys."

"Investigate what?" Matthew asked.

"Investigate the pain." Sean slammed his hand on the table, his excitement overshadowing his pain. "Thomas' death is our first card."