Editorial: ‘Very perfect, gentle knight’
George Norris of Nebraska, a sad-eyed, moody, often pessimistic man, was and will remain, paradoxically, a pillar of inspiration to those who would be optimistic about the future of democracy.
He was a great man, if that abused word retains its meaning. His greatness is writ large not only in America’s politics but in its very geography, Norris Dam is an enduring tribute to the father of TVA, just as the lame duck amendment to the Constitution, and Nebraska’s one-house legislature, and innumerably major acts of Congress, are monuments to his political vision and his parliamentary skill.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, in a speech at Senator Norris’ hometown, said of him:
History asks, “Did the man have integrity?”
“Did the man have unselfishness?”
“Did the man have courage?”
“Did the man have consistency?”
And if the individual under a scrutiny of the historic microscope measured up to an affirmative answer to these questions then history has set him down as great indeed in the pages of all the years to come.
And your Senator stands forth whether we agree with him on all the little details or not – he stands forth as the very perfect, gentle knight of American progressive ideals.