At Harry Truman's public declaration of war last week, the Congress scarcely batted an eye. Senators and Representatives, home for the holidays, listened to their radios without visible fear or anger, felt little impulse either to rush into battle or go hide in the hills.
Their first reaction was confidence that the President's attack had hardly hurt them a bit. Events seemed to bear them out.
Day after the speech, Presidential Press Secretary Charles Ross told newsmen that the President had received 100 telegrams, mostly favorable. (Franklin Roosevelt used to get 1,000 after every fireside chat.) Congressional mail showed no evidence...
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