Where most people spent hours agonizing about their date before its occurrence, Marcus occupied himself by worrying about the latest public opinion polling results given to him by his pollster at exactly 5:01 pm. Things weren't looking good for the Republicans -- again. There would be more talk about modernizing their platform, embracing center-left social causes, and going after new demographics, but in the end nothing would happen. Everyone was too afraid of alienating the evangelical vote, even though they didn't have anywhere to go other than the Republican Party.<br/><br/><em>Gay hate is a losing long-term strategy. When are we going to abandon ship on this one...?</em><br/><br/>He heard the doorbell ring and made his way to it, leaving his suit coat behind. Normally the help would've answered, but he sent them all away save the cook -- a woman he knew he could trust. His fist wrapped around the knob and he pulled open the unlocked mahogany door, "Come on in."