LET’S TALK SENSE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

The year 1952 marked the only time in my life that I considered voting for a Republican for president. The Republican candidate was Dwight D. Eisenhower, a five-star general who had been the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces that had defeated Nazi Germany and Japan in WW II. Voters knew who he was and they lauded him for his military prowess.

The Democratic candidate was Adlai Stevenson, the governor of Illinois. He sought the presidential nomination mainly because he was pressured by President Harry S.Truman and the Democratic party to enter the race. Stevenson was highly intelligent, competent, had a sense of humor, and was a great public speaker. But he was an unknown quantity to most of the electorate, including me.

So I watched Stevenson give the welcoming speech at the 1952 Democratic convention in Chicago. He so electrified the convention that the delegates drafted him to be their nominee despite his protestations. He also electrified me and won my vote.

I hope whoever wins the 2008 election will remember Stevenson’s words in accepting the nomination:

"When the tumult and the shouting die, when the bands are gone and the lights are dimmed, there is the stark reality of responsibility in an hour of history haunted with those gaunt, grim specters of strife, dissension, and materialism at home, and ruthless, inscrutable, and hostile power abroad. The ordeal of the twentieth century —the bloodiest, most turbulent age of the Christian era—is far from over. Sacrifice, patience, understanding, and implacable purpose may be our lot for years to come. . . . Let’s talk sense to the American people! Let’s tell them the truth, that there are no gains without pains, that we are now on the eve of great decisions."

And I hope whoever loses will remember the story the defeated Stevenson told about Abraham Lincoln when he was asked how he felt about losing an election. Lincoln said he felt like the little boy who stubbed his toe in the dark. When he was asked how he felt, the boy said that he was too old to cry and it hurt too much to laugh.

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