THE WEEK

Asked if CIA had yet moved into its multi-million-dollar new building in Langley, Virginia, one important agency official commented: “No. I understand there’s a ‘for rent’ sign out front, though.”

It is already a truism that John G. Tower is the political phenomenon of 1961. He’s the youngest man in the United States Senate, yes, even younger than Frank Church (the Democratic boy orator who weren’t). He’s the first Republican Senator to be elected from Texas since Reconstruction days. He’s a genuine conservative. He’s a man of learning, a former college professor, but he’s more than that: intelligent, articulate and—praise the Lord—witty, as anyone who witnessed his performance on “Meet the Press” a week ago can testify. There was, as the saying goes, blood all over the floor when that half hour was finished, and none of it was John G. Tower’s.

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Asked if CIA had yet moved into its multi-million-dollar new building in Langley, Virginia, one important agency official commented: “No. I understand there’s a ‘for rent’ sign out front, though.”

It is already a truism that John G. Tower is the political phenomenon of 1961. He’s the youngest man in the United States Senate, yes, even younger than Frank Church (the Democratic boy orator who weren’t). He’s the first Republican Senator to be elected from Texas since Reconstruction days. He’s a genuine conservative. He’s a man of learning, a former college professor, but he’s more than that: intelligent, articulate and—praise the Lord—witty, as anyone who witnessed his performance on “Meet the Press” a week ago can testify. There was, as the saying goes, blood all over the floor when that half hour was finished, and none of it was John G. Tower’s.