Speaking of poltical campaigns was Harry Truman's '48 campaign the Greatest of them all?

[book_worm]

All the polls didn't give Truman a chance in hell. But Truman took to the rails with a whistle stop tour unsurpassed by any president up to that time. They dubbed it the "Give 'em, hell, Harry" campaign. Truman said, "I tell the truth and the Republicans think it's hell." Here are some Trumanisms from that campaign:

"I wonder how many times you have to be hit on the head before you find out who's hitting you."

"The do-nothing republican congress stuck a pitchfork in the farmers back."

"The republicans are bloodsuckers controlled by Wall Street."

His opponent Tom Dewey campaigned at a leisurely pace on a train called "The Victory Special". On the Eve of the election LIFE magazine had a cover picture of Dewey and dubbed him "the next president."

The week before the election Newsweek polled 50 political experts and every one of them said that Dewey would win the election. Truman, when he saw the article, said, "I know each and every one of them and none of them have enough sense to pound sand in a rat hole."

[liberalpragmatist]

1. To be fair, polling wasn't as good then either

Not only was it not as good, all the major pollsters STOPPED polling with weeks left to go in the election.

Had polling been as good then as it is now, Truman's late surge would have been picked up. That might actually have ensured a Dewey victory, because the Republicans would likely have shifted into overdrive to prevent a Truman win.

[book_worm]

2. true, but had Truman not conducted a strenous campaign he would not have had a late surge.

[liberalpragmatist]

5. I'm not disagreeing

I'm just pointing out that he certainly was helped by Republican overconfidence. Had the polls been more frequent and more accurate, he may not have quite so lucky.

[ShadowLiberal]

4. And everyone stopped polling like a month before election day that year

[Bucky]

7. Heh, in 1948 Gallup drew its polling samples from new car purchases!

There was a post war recession going on that year--so not surprisingly, people who'd just bought new cars were might have be a tad slanted toward the Republicans. Anyway, there were other polls out there besides Gallup in 1948, including a couple that showed a dead heat.

Gallup really had to clean up its methodology that year--but the story about Truman beating the pollsters is way oversimplified.

[progressiveforever]

3. We are witnessing the greatest

:-)

[Jackpine Radical]

6. Hard for me to answer. I turned 4 during the campaign. Mostly what I remember

involves my tricycle.