U.S. Election Gets Hotter
The United States presidential election is at last entering the stage of heavy fighting, and the chances of a genuine intellectual debate between now and November are getting smaller. The Nixon case has been succeeded by an orgy of financial exhibitionism on the part of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates. President Truman, who is cer- tainly not handicapped by an air of undue culture or sophisti- cation, has replied to the Republican campaign of emotional crudity by appealing to the American voter's " better instincts." But even if this appeal is well received the fact will still remain that Mr. Stevenson, and not Mr. Truman, is the Democratic candidate; and Mr. Stevenson's main appeal is an appeal to neither the emotions nor the instincts but to the intellect. It still remains to be seen whether he can continue to rely on that now that the punches are acquiring more sting and the foul blows are becoming more frequent. Mr. Stevenson, it is true, did not associate himself in any way with the charges of corruption levelled at Mr. Nixon. But he can hardly dis- sociate himself from the charges of undue indulgence to the Russians in 1945 which Mr. Truman has now brought against General Eisenhower. And it is only from this side of the Atlantic that it is possible to see clearly the large element of sheer nonsense in all these arguments. For after all how many public men in 1945, except possibly Mr. Churchill, avoided the error of giving Russia the benefit of the doubt ? If the election really is to be decided in terms of unhelpful personalities, it will be a bad blow to those outside observers who have hitherto been buoyed up by their belief, that, how- ever much nonsense Americans may talk, they usually come to a sensible dedision in the end.
Previous page
