Unspun was trying to call an old friend in the wire services tonight and couldn't get him. When he returned the call the first thing he said was: "Suharto is dying."

All night tonight reporters have been staking out the hospital where Suharto is being treated as news of his faltering condition begans to spread.

This set Unspun thinking about power, the maintenance of power, its mystique and ultimate dissipation.

It has been a decade since Suharto was ousted from power, yet he and his family have remained powerful. No longer in the limelight they nonetheless were, excepting Tommy who was so prominent he had to be put away for a while, almost untouchable.

Seemingly out of power and ill the old man still commanded respect or fear. Some business deals had to have his blessings still or it was a no go.

Now that Suharto is virtually in his deathbed it is interesting to ponder what it was that retained his power even after he had been ousted. Was it the careful use of all those