Chapter 479 1+1>2: Even those who start a storm cannot determine its course.
In fact, if the scandals involving President Klopp and his wife were separated and exposed separately over a period of more than ten years according to the true course of history, they would not have had a significant impact on Klopp himself.
After all, it was 1998, less than seven years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
Simply put, the American people haven't been completely swayed by political correctness yet. They are very pragmatic; they don't care so much about the president's integrity, they care more about the economic growth rate.
Coincidentally, since Krishnamurti won the presidential election in 1992, the economy has continued to grow, the fiscal deficit has continued to decline, and the inflation rate and unemployment rate have remained at a low level.
In other words, the economy is booming and people are living in peace and contentment.
Even if such a president has a minor problem and lies about it, and even lies in court, most people would still not consider it a big problem.
After all, people always like to pretend they don't possess noble qualities and lie about them. And one lie always requires a hundred more to cover it up, and often one has no choice but to grit their teeth and lie until the very end.
Unfortunately, the problem is that in a political crisis, the most dangerous thing is often not the outbreak of a single event, but the interconnectedness and amplification of multiple events, forming a wildfire that is difficult to extinguish.
President Clinton had just been forced to admit to lying in court, and public anger over his deception was reaching its peak when a recording of his wife laughing and blatantly mocking the victim of the child rape case and the US justice system was released. This perfectly channeled this negative emotion onto his wife, maximizing the effect of a precise strike.
If both the male and female heads of a household have problems, then they are in cahoots and a den of snakes!
The president and his wife, both lawyers by profession, have demonstrated through their actions that obstruction of justice and contempt for the law are inherent to the political nature of the entire Kremlin family.
Using their expertise to manipulate the law and trample on and humiliate the weak is what they are best at.
The former president's supporters, who have turned against him and abandoned him, are furious.
Yang Tao watched the TV screen where a city girl was giving the middle finger and cursing "fuck".
That shameless bitch, the First Lady, has the nerve to say that a normal judicial investigation is political persecution of her husband? Her behavior of slandering, insulting, and attacking the victim's reputation is truly disgusting, hypocritical, and extremely vicious!
Good heavens! She was just a 12-year-old girl.
Street surveys conducted by reporters revealed that some people who initially believed that sex scandals were a private matter and that the president should not be relentlessly pursued now feel angry at being deceived, humiliated, and mocked, and have decided to withdraw their support for the president.
Political analysts, in a television interview, argued that the biggest blow to President Klopp was the loss of women and independent voters.
And this group of people is an important part of his political base.
A crisis can come crashing down like a landslide or a tsunami.
Faced with this massive attack, the Democratic Party and the president's team naturally have to fight back; otherwise, wouldn't they be completely branded as utterly terrible?
The problem is that they are also aware that the image of the president and his wife's private morality has plummeted to rock bottom, and no matter how they try to defend themselves, it will be utterly futile.
Therefore, they did not hesitate to focus their efforts on the economy.
Hey! Hey! Hey! My dear fellow Americans, this is a president of exceptional ability. Since he took office, the United States has achieved great success in the economy, infrastructure and diplomacy.
He may not be a perfect man, but he is definitely a president who can bring you jobs and prosperity.
Look, my dear compatriots, our fiscal deficit is being reduced significantly, and we are expected to achieve our first fiscal surplus since 1969 this fiscal year.
But the Republicans weren't going to take it lying down, and they immediately retorted.
We American farmers all understand one thing: it takes three years for an apple tree to bear fruit.
Someone took over the apple tree in the fourth year, just in time for a bumper apple harvest. Then this person boasted smugly that he had grown apples and created a bumper harvest.
Little did they know that this was the most ridiculous thing in the world.
What has been the biggest factor behind the US economic boom from 1992 to the present? Everyone on Earth knows it: the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the US's victory in the Cold War.
Because there was no longer a full-scale arms race with the Soviet Union, the federal government could cut defense spending, which directly reduced fiscal pressure. Moreover, the government could invest more human resources and funds in the civilian economy, thus making it possible to achieve a fiscal surplus.
Because of the collapse of the Soviet bloc, the United States was able to promote its economic model, rules, and capital globally.
That's why in 1992, the United States, Canada, and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), establishing the world's largest regional economic organization, surpassing even the European Community in size.
That's why the World Trade Organization was established in 1995.
These two factors have opened up huge new markets for American companies.
The United States has become the world's only superpower, the international status of the dollar has become more stable, and global capital is willing to flow into the United States, supporting the prosperity of the US financial market.
The United States' victory in the Cold War brought immense optimism and confidence to American society. This sentiment spread to the business and investment sectors, further boosting venture capital and innovation.
It can be said that without these foundations, even if the Clinton administration increased taxes and controlled government spending, it would not have been possible to achieve the sustained development of the US economy.
Who was the person who brought about the end of the Cold War, witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union, and personally led the United States to truly win the Cold War?
It's President Bush, the Republican!
Don't bite the hand that feeds you!
Otherwise, that would be ungrateful.
As the argument between the two sides intensifies, it seems they are about to initiate the impeachment process for the president.
Across the Bering Strait and a seven-hour time difference, Punonin watched in disbelief as the scandal escalated from a sex scandal into a political crisis in the United States.
No, such a small matter has gone to such an extreme.
It's truly a case of a butterfly flapping its wings in South America causing a storm on the Mississippi River.
He looked left and right, but something just didn't seem right.
As someone who acted as an intermediary and witnessed Wang Xiao's short selling of US stocks and orchestrated the US financial crisis, Punoning felt increasingly familiar with the trajectory of this political crisis.
It was just another minor, isolated incident; nobody really took it seriously, and it would pass quickly.
Suddenly, a scandal that had existed for years but had been buried resurfaced, fueling public sentiment. Then, amidst the uproar, things spiraled out of control, heading towards a cataclysmic collapse.
He only knew one person who had the ability and the audacity to implement this resource integration method.
Punonin became increasingly terrified as he thought about it, and finally couldn't resist going to the White House.
Of course, it's the White House in Moscow.
Ivanov is busy drilling irrigation wells for the New Year because an elderly Chinese farmer who stayed in Russia told him that he suspects there will be a drought this year.
As for why? The person went on and on about this and that, about this and that solar term, about watching the clouds and the sunset, but he didn't understand a single word, even with a translator.
However, given that water conservancy projects are crucial to agricultural production, and the financial reforms launched last November could proceed smoothly, food security is also a critical factor.
Ivanov couldn't find a reason not to accelerate water conservancy construction, so he quickly continued drilling wells, building canals, and digging artificial rivers.
Besides agriculture, he also had to pay attention to industrial production.
In addition to South Korean technology, Wang also introduced industrial management and quality control systems to Russia.
It is well known that the Soviet Union's production management model was extensive, inefficient, and inconsistent in quality. Russia, as the eldest son of the Soviet Union, inherited this approach without question.
South Korea is a typical export-oriented country, and its industrial production standards are international standards.
Furthermore, South Korean SMEs, under the stringent requirements of large corporations, have developed a highly efficient and high-quality production management system. Introducing these "soft technologies" to Russia could fundamentally improve the operational efficiency and product quality of its existing factories.
In some ways, if it is properly introduced and absorbed, the effect can be far better than those "hard technologies".
However, it is well known that Russians are quite troublesome when it comes to industrial management.
Ivanov couldn't find anyone else to oversee the matter for the time being, so he had to bite the bullet and take on multiple roles himself.
So when he saw Punonin, he had no energy to waste on idle chatter and directly warned, "Vlamikil, you'd better have something serious to say. I'm going crazy."
Punonin said with a serious expression, "I need to talk to you, just the two of us."
"My God!" Ivanov groaned in anguish. "What is there to talk about? I'm so busy!"
But everyone else in the office had stopped what they were doing and were waiting for their boss to give further instructions.
Ivanov glanced at his watch and began to gather the time: "Let's eat. I'll share half with you, so we can have lunch together."
The insulated lunchbox was brought in, filled with oatmeal porridge and steamed buns, accompanied by cold dried lettuce salad, stir-fried Chinese cabbage, braised beef brisket with potatoes, and crispy fried small fish.
Ivanov gave him half a serving of oatmeal porridge and a steamed bun, which made Punonin feel a rare sense of shame: "No need, you won't have enough to eat."
"It's alright. We prepared extra steamed buns; they were originally meant for afternoon tea."
He dared not eat dessert during afternoon tea; he couldn't afford to gain weight.
"I still have some bread crisps for afternoon tea, have some."
Punonin, however, couldn't eat. He took the oatmeal porridge, drank only one sip, and then asked with a deep look in his eyes, "Ivan, please tell me honestly, did the king do it?"
Ivanov was stuffing a steamed bun into his mouth; eating a steamed bun with dried fish was a kind of enjoyment.
He mumbled, "What did I do? The King is very busy, he definitely doesn't have time to go to your house. If Lydia has any complaints about you, it has nothing to do with the King."
It's already April. After finishing his work in Moscow, Wang is heading to South Africa.
Thanks to the widespread publicity surrounding the US president's sex scandal, "WoBuy.com" gained significant momentum. She needed to personally oversee the construction of this multinational shopping network.
“That’s not what I meant,” Punonin said seriously. “I meant the political crisis in the US presidency.”
Good heavens! Although it sounds absurd, the only person he could think of with the ability to pull this off was Wang Xiao.
Moreover, he strongly suspected that Wang Xiao's facilitation of this matter at this time was also a warning to him.
He used Ivan during the development of the European high-tech acquisition plan in order to gain the political support of Prime Minister Chernomyrdin.
Given Wang Xiao's vindictive and fiercely protective nature, and her inability to tolerate anyone causing Ivan any harm, she could very well use this to warn him: Behave yourself, I can bring down anyone when I want to.
When this speculation emerged, Punonin could no longer sit still.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that this was the truth. Otherwise, why didn't Wang Xiao contact him through Ivan to continue acting as an intermediary and contacting the KGB when he was making the operation?
He even suspected that the KGB was also betting on her success, and was therefore willing to directly help her achieve her goal.
Ivanov blinked repeatedly, seemingly trying to activate his not-so-bright intelligence, so after a long pause, he widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief: "My God! Vladimir, what do you mean? Although we are all based at the White House, the White House in Washington and the White House in Moscow are not the same White House. Don't lump me in with the President of the United States. I have absolutely not had any improper relationship with any man or woman here."
Punonin nearly fainted from anger. He suddenly pulled a long face and said, "Ivan, stop rambling. I'm talking about serious matters. The US president's experience is just too coincidental. It's really hard for me not to overthink it."
The braised beef brisket with potatoes was steaming hot, the oily aroma of the cold dried lettuce salad was quite tempting, and even the Chinese cabbage had a natural sweetness to it.
Ivanov frowned: "What exactly do you mean?"
Punonin's face was as hard as marble: "What I mean is that someone orchestrated all of this, leading President Klopp to this desperate situation."
Such alarmist talk elicited a wide-eyed retort from Ivanov: "Aren't you being ridiculous? Have you ever seen a leech? The moment a wound appears, it will immediately swarm and frantically suck blood. The Republican Party is that leech right now!"
"Mr. Bush led the United States to victory in the Cold War, but he lost the election. Only ten presidents in American history have failed to win re-election so far, and his defeat is a huge disgrace to the Republican Party."
"Krishnamurti, who cost him the presidency, was naturally a thorn in their side. Unfortunately, Krishnamurti had a good reputation for governing, which also helped solidify the Democratic Party's position."
"There are still two years until the US presidential election, and this year is the midterm election. If the Democrats win another landslide victory, and their candidate wins the general election again two years later, the Republicans could very well go four consecutive terms without a presidential nomination. How will they cope?"
"Now that there's a chance to defeat the Democrats, or at the very least weaken our old rivals, how could the Republicans not go all out? What's a little scheme? Not framing them would be enough to earn them the title of moral exemplars."
Ivanov grew increasingly animated, “This is nothing! I bet they have a backup plan. Don’t forget, besides perjury, Ms. Jones has consistently accused the President of sexual harassment—a crime. God, when the trial begins, it will become an uncontrollable media frenzy and political slaughter. The couple has lost the public’s trust. The jury will be overwhelmingly inclined to believe Jones’s accusations due to public opinion. At that point, the President in Washington will no longer face a simple legal trouble, but a public execution that will hasten the end of his political career.”
Punonin felt a chill run down his spine: "But don't you think all of this is too coincidental? Why did that recording have to be released at this particular time? It was recorded more than a decade ago, and the journalist who recorded it only intended to be a recorder of history, never planning to make it public. The prosecutors were initially targeting the president, so why did it suddenly turn into the first lady?"
This unexpected move directly destroyed the unprepared US president and his team.
Who would have thought of using a feint to the east while attacking in the west?
Ivanov looked completely bewildered: "What's the coincidence? Have you forgotten? That independent prosecutor was initially investigating the Whitewater case. He wanted to figure out the roles the president and his wife played in the Whitewater case—they were a couple, not just the president himself. He's been watching for years, so he'll definitely conduct a full investigation into the couple. He'll bring the president's affairs, which are more attention-grabbing, into the open, while keeping the First Lady's incriminating evidence hidden, and then strike a decisive blow at the most opportune moment. The effect will definitely be greater than the sum of its parts."
He looked bewildered. "Was there anything wrong with what this prosecutor did? I don't think there was anything wrong with it. Without this kind of thinking, how could he have the audacity to investigate the president for so long?"
Because he was so intelligent, Punonin decided to go all out: "I think I only know one person as smart as Wang."
Ivanov was stunned, and after a long while, he finally showed a look that said, "Are you crazy?"
He rubbed his forehead vigorously, trying to speak several times, but seemed unable to organize his thoughts and had to give up.
Finally, he couldn't take it anymore: "Alright, Vlamikil, for the sake of our friendship, and considering how much work you're under, I won't call you crazy. I just want to ask you one question: why did you do this?"
As he spoke, he exclaimed, "Oh my God!" with obvious disbelief. "Do you really think she would fabricate such a political crisis just to promote 'Ibuy.com'? You're seriously underestimating her advertising abilities. Besides, 'Ibuy.com' received attention and coverage from major media outlets in the US and around the world before the First Lady's recording scandal broke. She had absolutely no need to go to such lengths."
Punonin couldn't find any rebuttal.
As someone who experienced it firsthand, he knew all too well that Wang's previous shorting of US stocks and fabrication of the financial crisis was to drag the US into a quagmire, so as to ensure that OPEC would not choose to increase oil production in December of last year in order to strike Venezuela.
Now, what is her purpose in orchestrating this political crisis in the United States?
He couldn't be so shameless as to think she was warning him, so he went through all that trouble to give her a hard slap.
Ivanov frowned, his face serious: "Vlamikil, you need to be careful. There are too many smart people. The British are best at playing partisan games and political infighting, and the Americans are no less adept. For them, this is probably commonplace."
Punonin remained suspicious, but he couldn't find any new evidence.
He couldn't very well say that his intuition told him it was the king who did it.
God! Only women and idiots who lack the ability to think and analyze problems rely on intuition; he is definitely not that kind of person.
He could only press Ivanov: "Are you sure this has nothing to do with the King?"
Fearing Ivanov might turn hostile, he tried to salvage the situation, saying, "What I mean is, you know, the KGB is not someone to be trifled with. Once you make direct contact with them, you could be entangled with them for life. Do you understand what I mean? Don't underestimate this matter. Please tell me the truth, and I'll try to find a way to remedy the situation."
Ivanov was already impatient. He buried his head in his food and mumbled, "No, no! You really know how to overthink things."
He wasn't lying; he and Wang had indeed not contacted the KGB.
Why go through all this trouble? In this day and age, an anonymous email address, a public phone, and a research company are all it takes to collect and transmit a great deal of information.
Wang will certainly use the same tactics to create a crisis, because the tactics are always the same.
But Wang would never use the same team for two equally high-risk endeavors. Because even the smartest person will slip up if they do the same thing too often.
The independent prosecutors don't want to lose, and the Republicans are even less willing to give up this golden opportunity. Give them a little something at the right time, and they'll catch up on their own.
So why add another middleman that you can't afford to mess with?
Punonin stared at him for a long time, and finally couldn't help but say, "But the US president is like this now..."
"Aren't you annoying?" Ivanov threw down his spoon, furious. "I'm so busy! I have no interest in talking to you about the President of the United States!"
Punonin quickly changed his tone: "What I mean is, things have gotten to this point, it's just too terrible."
It made him truly realize that even as the President of the United States, he could be in grave danger, or even have his political life come to an end, because of such a small matter.
Ivanov remained unperturbed, continuing to eat his dried lettuce with porridge, his voice still muffled: "The United States is a country ruled by law. How can it be a trivial matter if the president commits perjury in court?"
Punonin twitched the corner of his mouth and made a self-deprecating remark: "That's true. The Soviet Union didn't respect the law, and Russia's law is still under construction. I forgot about that."
Ivanov raised his eyebrows and said meaningfully, "Without laws, there would be higher disciplinary requirements. If he lived in the Soviet Union, he would have been finished long ago. The disciplinary requirements for Communist Party members would not allow for such a chaotic private life."
Punonin didn't want to discuss the Soviet Union with him, and made a gesture that resembled a peace gesture: "Alright, what I really want to tell you is that I never expected that the First Lady would be so stupid. Isn't she a distinguished lawyer who graduated from Yale University? How could she say such a stupid thing?"
He was just trying to change the subject, but when he got to this point, he found it unbelievable that someone could be so stupid.
There are some things you can think in your heart—there are plenty of vicious and despicable people out there—but you absolutely cannot say them out loud, especially when facing reporters.
How stupid must one be to do something so absurd?
It's a disaster for the US president to have a wife like this!
Ivanov scoffed: "She's not stupid, she's arrogant! Elite arrogance, the 'smartest person in the room' syndrome!"
He casually picked up an English newspaper from his desk and tossed it to Punoning. “Americans see it very clearly themselves. These elites only benefit from their professional skills and have no empathy for ordinary people. Ordinary people are just tools for them to showcase their professional skills. In their self-perceived safe little circles, what wouldn’t they dare to say? She is the First Lady of Arkansas, in a small circle of political and intellectual elites. And she is very proud of herself; she climbed to this position through her professional skills.”
He added with a sarcastic remark, "Aren't all you smart people like this?"
"Hey!" Pronin said, displeased. "Isn't the Queen a smart person? Is she like that too?"
Ivanov countered, "Of course she's different. The king firmly believes in equality for all. Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?"
He shook his head, making no attempt to hide his disdain. "America is still too shallow, lacking history and depth, so even its so-called elites are so shallow and foolish in their arrogance."
He hastily reassured the tax police major general who was pointing his sword at the Kremlin, "Don't worry, Lydia isn't that kind of person."
He swallowed the rest of his words, because she wasn't some professional elite; at best, she was someone who didn't care about basic human needs.
Punonin always felt that he was indirectly criticizing someone else, and that he was being insulted in the process as well.
But he had to bite the bullet and continue: "Alright, alright, Ivan, I really am here to talk to you about something serious. The impeachment of the US president will be a major event that will cause a global storm; it will affect the entire world order. We must prepare in advance."
Ivanov finished his last mouthful of porridge, wiped his mouth, and said nonchalantly, "What's the rush? They might not even change presidents. This president is best at handling adversity. Don't let his current predicament fool you; the outcome of the impeachment is hard to predict. After all—"
He said meaningfully, "The Nasdaq index is soaring right now."
Punoning wasn't an economist, so he hadn't really paid attention to the Nasdaq index; he only remembered that the Dow Jones Industrial Average had been hovering around 6,000 points.
Now, upon hearing this, his first reaction was one of surprise: "Really? Why did it rise? Did it suddenly rise?"
My God, this is absolutely incredible.
It is clear to the naked eye that the United States is about to fall into a serious political crisis. The impeachment of the president is no small matter; it is likely to cause a government shutdown, which should severely damage investor confidence.
Ivanov laughed, then sighed: "The Nasdaq's surge is thanks to this political crisis, which came so quickly and so violently."
Seeing that Punoning clearly didn't understand, he explained, "The reason this crisis came so quickly and violently, with such a wide impact and unabated popularity, is thanks to the internet. Because netizens are relentlessly pursuing it, its popularity never wanes. The scandal involving the US president sparked a frenzy online, making investors even more aware of the internet's impact on people's lives and society as a whole. Hot money always flows to where it's being watched, regardless of the purpose of that attention."
He smiled enigmatically, "That's the mindset of capital; they'll only ever chase after trends."
He understands, he completely understands.
What else can we do? The global financial market from the second half of last year to now is like a huge competition to see who is the worst.
Southeast Asia has yet to recover from the financial crisis, South Korean companies are on their last legs, and Russia is also struggling to keep its debt from collapsing.
All emerging markets seem so suspicious.
In comparison, the US financial market seems more reliable.
Therefore, even if the United States experiences political uncertainty due to the impeachment case, funds will choose the lesser of two evils.
It's undeniably ironic.
The rapid development of the Internet is thanks to the strong support of the US president for the construction of computer networks.
He repeatedly emphasized that this information superhighway can shrink the century into a borderless "global village".
That is why the concept of the "global village" has become so widespread.
But the president probably never imagined that the internet would become a tool to continuously spread and amplify their marital scandal, causing them both to suffer a major setback.
However, at the same time, it is precisely because of the construction of the information superhighway that the foundation for the vigorous development of the Internet has been laid, which has driven the value of Internet companies to soar and made the Nasdaq index rise all the way.
Now, the booming popularity of emerging internet companies and the inspiring Nasdaq have become a powerful card in the hands of that President in Washington.
If he plays well, he might be able to turn the tide and survive.
Ivanov sighed inwardly; that was the wonder of the world.
Once a storm begins, even the person who started it cannot control its course.
He sighed; he simply couldn't be happy.
Obviously, Wang would not be happy to see this outcome.
Uh, isn't that a bit domineering?
You've driven a high-ranking person to the edge of a cliff, leaving them desperately clinging to trees growing on the cliff face, struggling to survive. And you're still not happy? That's so unreasonable!
Yeah, so what?
There are plenty of people in this world who are domineering and unreasonable yet still live a carefree and unrestrained life, so why can't we add a "king" to that list?
On what grounds?
————————!!————————
Note: The 1998 White House sex scandal involving the US president did indeed spark a frenzy online. He himself remained a focus of online attention. An article in the 1998 Z1 issue of *International News*, titled "The Destructive Power of Online Communication—The Role of the Internet in the 'Clinton Sex Scandal'" (authored by Min Dahong, Institute of Journalism and Communication, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), discussed the public's attention to this matter. It caused internet paralysis. [Let me see...]
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