Few events of the 1952 campaign had aroused more advance excitement than Joe McCarthy's long-heralded blast at Adlai Stevenson's record on Communism. Stevenson himself warned the nation that it was about to hear "the most magnificent smears of all times." Other Democrats said that McCarthy was planning to make vicious personal accusations, and thereby gave him invaluable publicity along with a fascinating aura of evil. But when the day finally came this week, the Wisconsin Senator failed to live up to the Democratic billing. His nationwide TV broadcast was a standard McCarthy effort, no more and no less.
"Tonight," announced Joe, "I...