> Hmmm....interesting, Pat. I consider Wellingham much saner and
> more reasonable than Neil, far less manipulative, generally more open and
> direct.
I agree with this. Wellingham has himself under control 99% of the time,
with apparently little effort; Neil always came across as consciously
keeping himself from exploding. His tension was always more obvious.
I think he's even smarter, and can play the game better than
> Neil when it's necessary. He's a politician out for his own ends and
> advancement in a way that is somewhat slimier than Neil's finaglings,
> which is about the only thing I dislike in him more - no, he's more of an
> old school snob than Neil. His attitude about Willie is bigoted and
> stupid.
Definitely. And it's probably because of that "old school tie" attitude
and upbringing that Wellingham is more sure of himself and more at peace
with himself. I don't remember Neil's socio/economic or educational
background ever being brought out, but he very obviously doesn't have the
self-assurance of a member of the upper middle class.
I do presume, without much series support, that if Wellingham
> had Neil's job, he'd also be concerned about his Sandbaggers. He
> certainly has more people in his life that he cares about than Neil.
> Wellingham can be naive too, slightly. He doesn't want to believe the
> upper crust fellows are selling out to the Russians, but he bemoans it
> only briefly before trying to deal with things realistically. I'd never
> argue that Wellingham isn't often a cold son of a bitch, but I think Neil
> is far colder, and far more of a conniver by nature.
Funny, wwhile I agree that Wellingham is capable of cold-blooded
calculation, and so is Neil, I also think Neil, while a definite and
De-FIN-i-tive conniver, has more capacity of real emotions than
Wellingham. Not necessary "normal" emotions, but very deep ones.
Hilde Horvath