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Clinton and Truman
ByA reader writes:
Your reader asked, "Can anyone imagine, say, Harry Truman in 1960 traveling to West Virginia to deliver such a blast against John Kennedy?" No, but Truman delivered a strong blast against Kennedy, just before the 1960 Democratic Convention, in support of his favored candidate, Senator Stuart Symington:
In a effort to boost his fellow Missourian, just before the convention Truman called a news conference, during which he spoke out against Kennedy's youth and inexperience and asked him to withdraw from the race. When he concluded that the convention was "rigged" for Kennedy, Truman resigned as a delegate. Unfortunately, Truman's support was not sufficient to garner widespread enthusiasm for Symington. His speech attacking Kennedy, coupled with his failure to attend the convention, may even have alienated potential support for Symington. (Linda McFarland, Cold War Strategist: Stuart Symington and the Search for National Security, Greenwood Press, 2001, p. 106)
Bill Clinton's behavior isn't some sort of unique aberration from past norms of American politics. It's probably typical. Whether it's any more successful than Truman's was remains to be seen.
