Standing in front of dozens of reporters on the 17th of June, President Eisenhower was going to announce the news, which gathered all of them together in the first place. The pair of spies, the husband and the wife, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were accused of passaging the secrets of the atomic bomb to the Soviets, were going to be executed in a few days. The message that the Justice William Douglas called the sentence off shocked all of them. As soon as Richard Nixon managed to overcome his bewilderment, he wrote a note to Ike, informing him of that unpredictable turn of events to save his from embarrassment. It would be true to say that the Justice had a lot of reasons to do so. There was no evidence to prove that the accused did commit the crime.
Not to mention that the whole world was protesting against the barbaric plan of executing the condemned on the stage in the center of Times Square. The Phantom, an embodiment of the Red threat and a sworn enemy of democracy and Uncle Sam, the American super-hero, the folklore kind of figure, was trying to do everything possible in order to spread Red disease over the whole world. According to Uncle Sam, the Phantom was the son of Darkness, the evil, which should be destroyed. Furious Uncle Sam entrusted Nixon to find proof of the Rosenbergs’ crime. The longer Dick worked on the case, the deeper he immersed himself into the hysteria which reigned in the country. The fear of the Phantom made him see the threat in everything. In spite of the fact that William Douglas called the execution off, the Rosenbergs were doomed, for the whole government, the court, the President and many others couldn’t make qualified fools of themselves.
Dick Nixon was working day and night, spending all his time in his office, in front of piles of documents, trying to find at least something. That was the moment when readers had a chance to learn more about him. He was the lonely man, who had no friends and was known as a cruel politician and a dangerous opponent. He often felt that he was misunderstood, not to mention the fact that the man liked comparing himself to Lincoln. Although he was married and had two daughters, the family life brought him little joy. The Vice President came to the conclusion that he and Ethel Rosenberg had a lot in common. Both were fond of art and theater, both were lonely in their family lives, both of them had to forget about their dreams. Uncle Sam caught him once with his hand in his pants, masturbating and deep in fantasied about Ethel. The day when the execution was supposed to take place, he visited Sing Sing in order to meet Ethel personally.
After several awkward moments, they managed to understand each other and – to Dick’s bewilderment – she turned out to be the woman he created in his fantasied. Of course, she looked older and not that good, but it didn’t matter. They started kissing and almost started making love when they heard the guards coming. The time of the execution came. When Nixon arrived to Time Square and climbed the stage, he heard laughter and callings. Only then did he realize that his zipper on trousers was open and his pants were almost pooling around his ankles. However, he managed to use this situation for his benefit, delivering a speech about the insecurity of their position and importance of protecting of the American style of life. After the execution, which was the climax of the story, Nixon was emotionally devastated and physically tired. The novel ended with the scene of Uncle Sam raping Nixon.
