The Time-Honored Game

Even during the Civil War, the politicians played their games. Today in 1863, Salmon Chase offered his resignation from the Treasury Department and President Lincoln rejected it. Hoping to keep his rival in the Cabinet where he could watch him, Lincoln kept Chase in his post.

Politicians have been playing this game for centuries. Otto von Bismarck often tendered his resignation during his reign as Chancellor of Germany. In 1996, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (nicknamed "Bibi") allowed his chief rival Ariel Sharon to serve in his cabinet as National Infrastructures Minister. He figured Sharon would be less dangerous on the inside. When Sharon became Prime Minister in 2001, he returned the favor by making Bibi his Finance Minister. What did they say in the second Godfather movie about your friends and your enemies? Well, you know.

The names and the accents change, but the games remain the same.
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