He was also concerned with how dated the story seemed, with anachronisms such as an office filled with clattering typewriters and an almost non-existent Republican presence in New York City mayoral politics. Because he had updated and expanded the story when writing a screenplay version of it during one of the numerous times it was optioned to be adapted into a film, he decided to rewrite the novel, incorporating aspects from the screenplay version, and bringing it more into line with how his writing style developed over the years.
He was concerned about the story's outdated nature, including anachronisms like an office filled with noisy typewriters and a lack of Republican representation in New York City mayoral politics. He decided to rewrite the novel, incorporating elements from his screenplay adaptation and aligning it with his evolving writing style.