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On Aug. 12, Stevenson made his visit to the White House for an intelligence briefing; that same week he admitted in a letter to an Oregon editor that there is "a mess" in Washington. "It's been proved, hasn't it?" he said to questioning reporters. That might be "talking sense" to people at large, but politically it was a bad slip of the tongue.
Harry Truman lost no time in showing what he thought of it. Unblinking, he told his press conference that he knew of no mess, and added that he was the key figure of the campaign. The Democratic Party, he said, has to run on the record of the Roosevelt-Truman Administrations and that is all it can run on. As the campaign progressed, it became more & more clear that Truman was right.
The Aphorist. As he began to make speeches, the quality of mind Stevenson revealed was that of a man who feels that there are two sides to most questions, who is willing to give credit where credit is due, who believes that patience, hard work and understanding can solve most problems. But it was his sharp wit, directed at Republicans, which captured the imagination of his friendly audiences.
His ability as a wit, phrasemaker and aphorist gave him a reputation in the first month of the campaign. The Republican Party's slogan, he said, was to "throw the rascals in," and "as to their platform, well, nobody can stand on a bushel of eels." Discussing social security at Flint, Mich., he remarked: "Now as far as Republican leaders are concerned, this desire for a change is understandable. I suppose if I had been sewn up in the same underwear for 20 years I'd want a change too."
He not only had his own jokes and aphorisms, he quoted aptly from Shaw, Disraeli, Oliver Wendell Holmes, William James, Robert Browning and the London Times Literary Supplement. He also sprinkled his speeches with stories. Sample: about the couple who went to a justice of the peace to be married but were told they would have to wait three days. "Can't you just say a few words," asked the man, "to tide us over the weekend?"
Republicans were quick to say that he was just a funny man. But he also discussed the dry issues of the party platforms, sometimes dryly; and he also frequently spoke with eloquence rarely heard in a political campaign: "We have become guardians of a civilization built in pain, in anguish and in heroic hope ... If we creak, the world will groan. If we slip, the world will fall. But if we use our right of initiative and of decision without bombast or bluster, if we use it with clear heads and steady nerves, we shall rise in strength and grow in majesty and the world will rise and grow with us."
The Egghead Vote. At first, crowds were small, far smaller than Eisenhower's, far smaller than Harry Truman drew in 1948. In his first attempt as a whistle-stopper he was a flop. He got better, by dint of practice, but his best performances were in set speeches, to big audiences.