Humphrey: Dust-Bowl Economist

Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota has a secret weapon: his opposition seldom takes him seriously until it is too late.

At the risk of being invidious, let us begin with his looks. His brow is broad, one might say Roman, his chin is strong, but there is something about the curve from nose to chin that is soft, a concave interval between the convexities that suggests an almost baby-food blandness. It is not until the Senator swings into real oral combat that the whole face becomes assertive. The blandness conceals something stronger—and, to conservatives and old-fashioned Liberals, something decidedly dangerous.

JC

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John Chamberlain

John Chamberlain (1903–1995) was an American writer.

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Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota has a secret weapon: his opposition seldom takes him seriously until it is too late.

At the risk of being invidious, let us begin with his looks. His brow is broad, one might say Roman, his chin is strong, but there is something about the curve from nose to chin that is soft, a concave interval between the convexities that suggests an almost baby-food blandness. It is not until the Senator swings into real oral combat that the whole face becomes assertive. The blandness conceals something stronger—and, to conservatives and old-fashioned Liberals, something decidedly dangerous.