Editorial: FD on ‘indispensable man’
We read Harry Truman’s speech accepting the vice-presidential nomination, hoping to find some new argument of the Democrats. But it was the same old refrain – that only Franklin Roosevelt has the experience, that only one man can handle the big job.
A very good answer to the indispensable-man argument is a statement made by Mr. Roosevelt himself before he entered the White House. Speaking at Madison Square Garden, Nov. 5, 1932, Mr. Roosevelt said:
The genius of America is stronger than any candidate or any party. This campaign, hard as it has been, has not shattered my sense of humor or my sense of proportion. I still know that the fate of America cannot depend on any one man. The greatness of America is grounded in principles and not on any single personality. I, for one, shall remember that even as President.