Popular Culture Review 29.2
Cross said , “ the public went wild . They loved the speech and were thrilled that the ‘ old ’ master appeared to be himself again ” ( Cross 2003 183 ). Smith goes into more detail , and presents it�as FDR himself did�more dramatically . “ The audience loved it ,” he says . “ As they warmed to the president , Roosevelt proceeded with a voice that purred softly and then struck hard .” When FDR said that “ depression ” should be the last word in the dictionary that a Republican should use , “ waves of thunderous applause cascaded through the Statler ’ s giant ballroom . The outpouring of affection from the audience startled even those who had seen Roosevelt on the campaign trail in many past elections . ‘ The Old Master still had it ,’ a reporter from Time observed .” But the best had not yet arrived . “ The Climax came when Roosevelt delivered his facetious rebuttal to Republican charges about Fala .” FDR ’ s mock seriousness caused the audience to howl its delight . “ The Dewey campaign suffered a body blow from which it never recovered ” ( Smith 2008 625-626 ).
FDR won re-election , and went on to Yalta , where an eightday conference planned for the postwar world . “ Despite criticism by some that Roosevelt was too ill and frail to lead the conference , and that Stalin took advantage of that frailty , most top advisers accompanying the president disagreed . Adm . William D . Leahy , Roosevelt ’ s chief of staff remembered : ‘ It was my feeling that Roosevelt had conducted the Crimean Conference with great skill and that his personality had dominated the discussions ’” ( Cross 2003 187 ). Many other authorities on FDR agree ( See Smith 2008 629ff ). Cross cites Robert Dallek perceptively , and agrees that Roosevelt ’ s policies were carefully crafted . FDR , says Cross , was continuing “ his lifelong consistent technique of not revealing everything during discussions and negotiations , thus giving himself greater flexibility to arrive at a settlement . Although
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