National Affairs: PHILADELPHIA, 1948

From mid-June to mid-July the political solar plexus of the U.S. will be Philadelphia. There, in drafty, flag-draped Convention Hall, a thousand-odd sweating delegates from both major parties* will meet to choose their candidates for the presidency. Millions of U.S. citizens will follow every play in the press, over the radio and on their television screens. Few will understand exactly what is going on. What is the convention system and how does it operate?

The road to the White House has not always led through the convention hall. In the first days of...

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