More Stevenson

Trying to explore Stevenson a bit more. I felt that I was probably unfair since I know very little about him. I was running with a vague impression from hearing adults talk about him when I was young.

Found a debate before the Florida Dem primary in ’56. This isn’t free; it’s in a ’56 election package at Otrcat.com. Needless to say I couldn’t find it at archive.org, the perfectly unsearchable anti-archive.

First, I was surprised to find a debate in ’56. We believe Kennedy/Nixon in ’60 was first. Wrong. The format was obviously familiar to the participants, not brand new.

Second, the moderator was Quincy Howe of ABC, who was lively, casual and witty. The exact opposite of pompous arrogant overbearing vicious nasty Deepstater Murrow, and the exact opposite of EVERY modern reporter.

I was equally unfamiliar with Estes Kefauver, only remembering his TV appearances in Senate ‘investigations’ of the Mafia. I didn’t know anything about his views or experience on matters of real importance. Kefauver’s opening statement dealt with the day’s news that we had dropped the first H-bomb.

We are being dominated by the very instrumentalities which we ourselves have created. Unless we can readjust the organization and management of our political affairs, we shall never again live unafraid and undominated by these fearful prospects.

Damn. Can you imagine any modern politician speaking so clearly and articulately?

Stevenson followed with a repetition of Kefauver’s statement, in slightly jumbled form and a dull voice tone.

The same difference of discourse continued through the debate.

On domestic issues Kefauver was impressive. He carried the New Deal spirit of empathy for small farmers and small businesses, diagnosed the immediate problems correctly, AND told us what HE was doing to solve the problems. He had already proposed a bill in the Senate for each problem, following the New Deal principle of supporting the poor first.

Again Stevenson echoed in a more hesitant dull style, without any solutions.

If I had to characterize the two men based solely on this debate, I’d say both were intellectuals. Kefauver was an EFFECTUAL intellectual and Stevenson was an INEFFECTUAL intellectual.

They ended up on the same ticket, with Stevenson on top. They would have done better the other way around, with the FDR-style problem solver on top and the elite echo as auxiliary.