Chapter 311 — Different Sides of the Same Game
"There's a Jewish guy on the president's advisory team named Rahm Emanuel. I don't like him very much."
"I don't think he should remain in the White House."
Aaron stared at Leon Panetta as he spoke.
Rahm Emanuel had a younger brother—Ari Emanuel, the former CAA agent who had once clashed with Aaron over business interests.
Not long afterward, Jack Wells had arranged for someone to break Ari Emanuel's leg.
Whether Ari suspected anything or not, Aaron didn't know.
But one thing was certain—
The Emanuel family gaining influence inside the White House was not something he wanted to see.
"Rahm Emanuel?" Panetta looked puzzled.
"He's only the president's deputy assistant and political liaison. Practically a nobody."
"How could someone like that affect you?"
Aaron simply remained silent.
Panetta waved a hand casually.
"Fine. He's just an adviser."
"I'll find a way to handle it."
As White House Chief of Staff, removing a young adviser from Clinton's circle was hardly difficult for Leon Panetta.
Aaron nodded slightly before changing the subject.
"You'd better start distancing yourselves from Willie Brown too."
"That politician has far too many scandals surrounding him—prostitution, bribery, judicial interference…"
"The California gubernatorial election is only days away now."
"Pete Wilson is almost guaranteed to win reelection."
"And investigations into Willie Brown have already begun."
As for Brown's ambitions to run for mayor of San Francisco—
Aaron could only say the man was dreaming.
Panetta glanced at him.
"We were never that close to him anyway."
In California politics, Aaron had developed strong ties with Governor Pete Wilson.
Meanwhile, Willie Brown—a Democrat opportunist in Aaron's eyes—was constantly leveraging LGBT issues and racial politics for influence.
"Don't worry, Aaron," Panetta said with a helpless sigh.
"You contributed a great deal during the last presidential election."
"You won't leave empty-handed."
He understood the situation clearly.
Bill Clinton had grown increasingly close to Jewish political and financial circles.
At the same time, Aaron's primary rivals in Hollywood were heavily backed by Jewish capital.
As a result, Washington's support for Aaron Anderson had become noticeably restrained.
And naturally, Aaron had begun aligning himself more closely with Republican figures like Pete Wilson.
Aaron merely smiled.
"I'm not greedy."
"And I'm not afraid of competition either."
"As long as they don't break the rules of the game."
The two sides belonged to different political camps.
There was cooperation, certainly—
But even more competition.
Panetta sighed again.
"I'll keep an eye on the recent negative press targeting you and Dawnlight."
"The coverage from The Washington Post has definitely crossed a line."
The Washington Post remained one of America's most influential mainstream newspapers.
It was controlled by publishing queen Katharine Graham—
One of the most prominent Jewish political families in the country.
Now Jewish capital was rapidly expanding across Hollywood.
The Bronfman family wanted to acquire MCA Universal—
And Aaron had stepped directly into their path.
Some people were clearly growing restless.
But Aaron himself wasn't overly worried.
After all, Anglo-American capital still dominated the United States politically and economically.
And as a descendant of British immigrants, Aaron enjoyed considerable support himself.
"That kind of ruthlessness is simply their style," Aaron said coldly.
"Clinton has appointed so many Jewish officials already."
"At this rate, is he planning to build a Jewish cabinet?"
Panetta spread his hands helplessly.
"It's not that serious."
Aaron waved dismissively.
"Maybe not now."
"But what about his next term?"
"Who can guarantee anything?"
The influence of Jewish power in Hollywood was already enormous.
Now, with the passage of the new telecommunications and financial legislation allowing film studios and television networks to merge, it essentially created even greater opportunities for Jewish capital to gain control of major TV networks.
The Walt Disney Company had wanted to acquire NBC, but General Electric refused to sell more than 49% of the network.
That was why Disney had shifted its focus toward CBS instead of ABC.
And it wasn't simply because of pricing.
At the moment, CBS was the only major broadcast television network fully controlled by Jewish interests.
The others—including Fox Broadcasting Company and CNN—were not.
---
As Election Day arrived, Aaron returned to Los Angeles.
Just as expected, Pete Wilson successfully won reelection as Governor of California.
Meanwhile, George W. Bush unexpectedly won the Texas gubernatorial race as well.
In Aaron's eyes, George W. Bush was hardly impressive—
Stubborn, simplistic, rough around the edges, and lacking any real strengths.
Even his public speaking skills were a disaster.
But he had one overwhelming advantage:
His background.
The Bush family was wealthy, powerful, and deeply connected politically.
And with his father being former President George H. W. Bush, their enormous political and business network had forcefully pushed him into the governor's mansion in Texas.
---
Aaron remained in Los Angeles for only a few days before flying back to Japan once again to meet with Yoichi Morishita, president of Panasonic.
Inside Panasonic's headquarters in Osaka—
"Aaron," Morishita said carefully, "Panasonic does intend to sell MCA Inc.."
"But our asset evaluation process still isn't complete."
"And within the board, opinions remain divided."
"Panasonic is fundamentally an electronics manufacturer."
"MCA's business still provides value to our hardware operations."
Aaron calmly took a sip of coffee.
"I know Seagram wants MCA too."
"But Edgar Bronfman Jr. still has to convince the rest of his family."
"And before Seagram can move, they'll first need to liquidate their holdings in DuPont to free up cash."
Aaron then looked directly at Morishita.
"So Panasonic still intends to wait?"
He continued calmly:
"This year, Universal only had one real hit—The Flintstones."
"Outside of that, none of their releases left much impression."
"And Waterworld, with its $175 million production budget, has already become the biggest joke in Hollywood."
"MCA's music division is mediocre."
"And aside from last year, Universal has been losing money almost every year."
"Does Panasonic intend to follow Sony's example and continue funneling money from the parent company into Hollywood?"
Morishita unconsciously clenched his hands tighter on his knees.
"Mr. Anderson…"
"In January next year, Panasonic will officially begin accepting offers."
Aaron nodded.
"I understand that Panasonic doesn't want to leave Hollywood in disgrace."
"Perhaps after Dawnlight merges with MCA, Panasonic could exchange part of the deal for shares in the new Dawnlight entity."
"The remaining balance can be paid in cash."
Morishita's eyes immediately lit up.
"To be honest, Panasonic truly doesn't want to leave Hollywood completely."
"We're extremely interested in Dawnlight Group."
Aaron's expression remained calm.
"Dawnlight shares aren't easy to obtain."
"In January, Dawnlight will formally submit its offer."
"But if Panasonic's board continues wasting time…"
"I'll walk away from the acquisition entirely."
Aaron had no intention of endlessly waiting for Panasonic's indecision.
Even if Panasonic eventually sold MCA to Seagram, Aaron didn't believe they had the ability to properly develop it anyway.
At worst, Universal would continue losing money—
And Dawnlight could simply acquire it a few years later instead.
For now, Aaron was even willing to let Panasonic become one of Dawnlight's shareholders.
In a sense, he was offering them a respectable exit.
"I understand," Morishita replied immediately.
"I'll persuade the board as quickly as possible."
While Morishita didn't fully understand the American entertainment industry, one thing was obvious—
In Hollywood, Dawnlight Group had become one of the hottest names in the business.
"Mr. Anderson," he continued, "I'll assign Panasonic Senior Executive Vice President Murase Michizo to coordinate directly with Dawnlight."
"He's currently serving as my assistant."
"And he'll oversee all matters related to the MCA sale."