It is now the day before the election, 6 p.m., and the polls are a dead heat.

Tina Descovich.

You are sitting in your office when your son, the same senior who was at the protest observing with you, knocks on your door and you can tell he looks troubled.

Heavy heart.

He says, mom, you know the video of the Ten Commandments burning in Town Square?

It wasn't the protesters who burned it.

It was me and my friends.

I'm so sorry, mom.

It's just, you know, my friend Jimmy.

Jimmy, the... The protesters were being so obnoxious.

They were punching, they were pushing, they were yelling.

And Jimmy says these people are so unchristian.

What if we burn the Ten Commandments, put it on social media, blame the other side.

The whole world would see why.

Mom, we need the Ten Commandments in our schools.

Mom, I'm so sorry.

What should we do?

Oh my God, this is a parent's nightmare.

It is a parent's nightmare.

And you've got national politics involved, state politics involved, you've got your community divided over it.

And I've got, what, 12 hours to clean it up?

when it's the day before... its 6 p.m., the day before voters vote.

Yeah, I've got to clean it up by by the time the polls open in the morning.

So talk to your son.

What are you going to say to him in this moment, after he comes clean with this confession?

I'm going to tell him you've made a terrible mistake here.

But you have to be accountable for your actions.

And you know, as your mom that I. I believe in that.

And so as a family, we're going to stand I'm going to stand by you and we're going to do this.

But there's going to be consequences that I can't even help you with and control.

But I'm going to love you and care for you and protect you the best that I can.

Your sister also lives in Middlevania.

She's your son's favorite aunt.

Its Aunt Kristen.

Would you have a conversation with Aunt Kristen?

Yeah, she's the expert.

She's very well experienced and managing all kinds of crisis comms.

And I would say we are in a bad crisis communication situation.

I know my sister.

I'm not going to convince her to change her mind.

She's going to do the right thing and she's going to force her son to do this.

So I'm only going to try.

I'm not even going to try to.

Can I just ask, though, does it enter your mind, your own stakes in this?

How bad is it going to be for you, the campaign, if it comes out that the campaign manager's nephew is the one who burned the Ten Commandments, not protesters.

So I would probably think of how we could turn this into an opportunity.

There are ways we can do that.

So you would tell your candidate that the thing that is energizing his base, the reason voters are putting money in his war chest, the belief that the Ten Commandments were burned by protesters.

Now that's false No, that's not what I would say.

So with your permission, my two options to use.

Let me go.

Let me go to Roger.

Let's talk through.

Maybe we get that also outreach to the teacher and your son.

And let's do a joint press conference and say the agonizing choices that our students make, that they don't even feel comfortable enough to bring their beliefs in the classroom, that they need to go do a stunt like this.

Yes, it was wrong, but we're coming together now and we're going to be the unity candidate.

Does that sound like you and people together?

Does that sound like a good approach to you?

Candidate Severino, this is a mess.

I mean, I've denounced 99 false flags from the left, and now we get one.

The very first one that's associate on our side.

Right before the election.

So to be consistent, we have to denounce it.

Right.

If the facts are coming in that somebody who was, you know, associated with our side did this absurdly ridiculous thing, and burn the Ten Commandments on their own, which is, I mean, if they're Christian, that's sacrilege.

Why would they do such a thing?

But we do got to get back to the the central issue.

What started all of this?

A teacher took it upon himself to go above the law, which was duly passed by the school board to create the division.

Right.

Go back to that.

We wouldn't be in this mess at all if we actually united as one nation under God, which our children pledge allegiance to indivisible with liberty and justice for us.

And don't forget that part and the Ten Commandments are part of that history, part of our story.

Can I give Mr.

Glaude a chance t Because youve offered a press conference where you can stand together.

Mr.

Glaude might surprise us.

Not at a press conference.

No, because they haven't said a word about what I've experienced since I've since I put the Ten Commandments in the drawer.

They haven't said a word abou all of the digital brownshirts whove threatened me and my fami They haven't said a word about all the consequences that have followed.

Okay so that option's off the table.

What about this idea of a press conference with other students tomorrow?

Where your son would accept responsibility, explain his actions?

I feel like you're now using my son, sister, as a political pawn to get your clients to tell someone, even if he's my chosen candidate, it feels gross.

You know, I'm in a quandary here because... Have him talk to me!

But if he goes on primetime TV and has to, you know, confess just just him all alone, then he will be the kid that burned the Ten Commandments forever.

The thing for my son would be to repair the relationship with the teacher and go and do a press conference with him.

Not either of the political candidates.

Wow, what an idea!