Ah, "Fireball XL5" was a Gerry Anderson-produced children's show in the 1960's, shown both in the UK and the US. I thought that was a cute touch on the part of that author.
Hope, AR is, sadly, the birthplace of William Jefferson Clinton, the only president to eclipse, IMHO, Warren Gamaliel Harding for the title of "Worst US President of the 20th Century" (considering his administration pulled off, without major public notice, the same stunt whose attempt by Harding's administration (i.e. selling the Teapot Dome oil reserves to a private company - in this case, a company the VP had a strong stake in, Occidental Petroleum) led to all sorts of scandal, I stand by my assessment).
Author's response
Haliburton. That is all.
Clinton was a damn sight better than Dubya. If you Dubya squandered the first surplus in over ten years, and cut taxes despite a budget deficit. If you honestly makes for a good president...