Memorial Day
Two days before the political party primary runoffs in Texas, this ran in the Chron:
As he approaches perhaps the most anxious election night of his long political career, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn might be hoping for a little magic from the ghost of Harry Truman.
Cornyn, a four-term incumbent who previously served as Texas attorney general and on the state Supreme Court, has trailed narrowly in most polls leading up to Tuesday’s Republican Senate primary runoff. But since President Donald Trump’s eleventh-hour endorsement of rival Ken Paxton last week, many pundits have all but written off Cornyn’s chances of advancing to the general election.
And that’s where the Truman comparison comes in.
Students of political history will recall that in the 1948 election, the plainspoken man from Missouri who ascended to the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt three and a half years earlier was seen as heading for certain defeat against Thomas E. Dewey, the Republican governor of New York.
Truman had limped into the fall campaign that year leading a fractured Democratic Party. The progressive wing, believing Truman was an unworthy heir to FDR’s New Deal, rallied behind the independent candidacy of former Vice President Henry Wallace, who had been dumped from Roosevelt’s ticket in 1944. The segregationists who dominated the Southern Democrats at the time formed what became known as the Dixiecrats and nominated U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.
So consistent was the polling that Truman could not win with his party so badly split that pollsters shut down their operations in the campaign’s closing weeks. And so confident was at least one big-city newspaper, the Chicago Daily Tribune, that the Republican candidate would romp to victory, it published a front-page, all-caps banner headline reading “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN” for its next-day edition before nearly enough of the votes had been tallied.
That headline — just like the pollsters, pundits and all the rest — was dead wrong. And the iconic photo of the beaming Truman holding aloft perhaps the most famous newspaper blunder in American journalism endures nearly 78 years later as a reminder of the last glimmer of hope for every struggling politician who has ever prayed for an election-night miracle.
None of this should be interpreted as a prediction that Cornyn will replicate Truman’s comeback, which occurred just over three years before Texas’ senior senator was born. But it might serve to remind the 21st century pundits to resist the urge to report as fact any event that has yet to unfold.
Here is the entire read: Can John Cornyn overcome Trump’s endorsement of Ken Paxton?
Commentary will not make a prediction on tomorrow’s outcome in this race. There are some that are still hoping for a win for Cornyn. Some folks, on the other hand, think the Trump endorsement will move folks who were going to vote for Cornyn to now vote for Paxton.
Here is what I am hearing from the Cornyn camp:
Hail, Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Just saying, err praying.
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I go out every morning to pick up my Chron hard copy, and I still have not run into Sharia Law at my doorstep. Of course, I would not even know what that looks like.
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I never got my mail ballot. There is no mail delivery today. I plan to vote in person tomorrow. Drats.
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Hard copy subscribers to the Chron got a special treat in yesterday’s Sunday edition, a Chronicling Houston section. See the featured photo and see the following from the special section:
The 125th anniversary series
To celebrate this 125 year milestone, we aren’t just looking backward, we are digging deep. Over the coming months, we will be unveiling eight special sections drawn from our archives and bolstered by new reporting. Rather than a chronological timeline, we are exploring the heartbeat of Houston through its themes:
- Today: Major Events — A look at Houston’s pivotal moments and the people behind them
- June 14: Sports — The triumphs, icons and agonizing heartbreaks of our hometown franchises.
- July 26: Innovations in Medicine, Science and Space — Houston’s pioneering role on these frontiers
- Aug. 23: The Business of Boom and Bust — The economic engines that drive the energy capital of the world
- Sept. 27: Arts, Culture & Food — The diverse organizers, artists and chefs who transformed Houston into a world-class cultural hub
- Oct. 25: Suburbs and Neighborhoods — How Houston grew in every direction
- Nov. 22: Innovators and Legends — The visionaries, movers and shakers who shaped this city
- Dec. 27: Houston’s Future — A look at what’s in store
A nice educational treat from the Chron.
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I watched the entire Indy 500 yesterday. It was a thrilling finish.
There was only one female driver running, Katherine Legge, and she went out early when a fellow driver spun out in front of her and she nipped him and crashed out. Legge, a Brit, then hopped on a jet to Charlotte to race in NASCAR’s Coca Cola 600. Her NASCAR ride experienced mechanical issues and she finished 31st. She is only the sixth driver to attempt the Indy 500 and Coca Cola 600 on the same day. Way to go.
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We won yesterday at Wrigley and swept the Cubbies. That is our second sweep of the season. We swept the Red Sox at Daikin Park in the second series of the season. We are in Arlington for a four-game series.
I hope you have had a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend.