Minnesota's Senator Hubert HoratioHumphrey looked around proudly at his fellow Democrats. By a heavilypartisan 49-46 vote, the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate had justrejected the President's nomination of Lewis Lichtenstein Strauss to beSecretary of Commerce. "This," said Humphrey jauntily, "is the firsttime we have not blurred the image."
The Democratic image was sharp and clear. Amid the catcalls of liberals,the moderate Democratic congressional leadership had just abandoned itsown legislative program to follow Dwight Eisenhower's lead inlegislation, because of the popularity of the President'sbudget-balancing program (see Democrats). Then, in a vote that wrappedup liberals and moderates, Southerners and Northerners —along with astrange bundle of personal animosity, private feuding and partisanfrustration—Senate Democrats (aided by two Republicans) delivered thesame President a stinging personal slap by turning down Strauss.
The President lost, but there was reason to doubt that the Democrats hadreally won. Included in the sharp partisan image that pleased HubertHumphrey were all the leading Senate hopefuls for the 1960 presidentialnomination: Massachusetts' Jack Kennedy, Missouri's Stuart Symington,Humphrey himself, and Texas' Lyndon Johnson. The chances were good thatbefore the 1960 campaign was over, each of them would expendconsiderable effort trying to blur the image of the anti-Strauss,anti-Eisenhower vote.
