Slaughter Blog Post #2

All the King's Men chronicles Willie Talos's rise from a small-town lawyer to the Governor of Louisiana. Willie's impressive rise to power and actions once he's in power make it easy to characterize him as Machiavellian. When the news becomes public that the State Auditor, Byram B. White, made an illegal deal with a realty company that saw him make a lot of money, the MacMurfee outfit has plans of impeaching White. Despite the fact that White is clearly guilty, and that Willie doesn't even like him, Willie does everything in his power to keep White in office. ""White's hide be damned,' the Boss said, 'I'm saving something else. You let that gang of MacMurfee's boys in the Legislature get the notion they can pull something like this and there's no telling where they'd stop'" (p 194).  In this particular instance, Willie is so concerned with maintaining power that he goes against his morals to keep someone in office who he's not even fond of, just to make make sure his enemies don't gain any political victories and build confidence that could make staying in power more difficult for him in the future. Also strengthening the claim that Willie is Machiavellian is the fact that many of his actions are aimed at pleasing the common citizen, and as a result he is loved by many of the people of Louisiana. As Machiavelli explains in his book, The Prince, the main quality of a Machiavellian ruler is doing whatever it takes to maintain his power, not achieving success through dishonesty as is commonly believed today. It is easier to maintain power if one's "subjects" support them, and Willie certainly understood this principle. Willie's reception at a drug-store in Mason City showcases this perfectly. "...the fellow with the white coat grabbed Willie's hand as though he were drowning. He didn't shake hands, not by ordinary standards. He just hung on to it and twitched all over and gargled the sacred syllables of Willie. Then, when the attack had passed, he turned to the crowd, which was ringing around at a polite distance and staring, and announced, 'My God, folks, it's Willie!'"(p 8). Through his passage of laws, taxes, and regulations that aided lower-class citizens, Willie became an idol to the people of Louisiana (his subjects). With their affections claimed so strongly, it is almost inconceivable that Willie would ever be overthrown by his loyal followers. This is the embodiment of Machiavellianism; Willie has achieved a place of power and is well poised to maintain it as a result of being willing to do whatever it takes.