The Politics of Normalcy

Robert Murray has written a 146 page, thin appraisal of what he calls Warren Harding's politics of "Normalcy." Harding, master and golden-voiced-orator of the Chautauqua circuit of the late 1900s, (who was so illiterate in writing substantive speeches, used only one speech throughout several summers on this Circuit) used an alterative speaking style. And it was from this, that he brought back the word "normalcy;" i.e., "America's present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy..." There was no such thing as "Normalcy politics." It was a catch-phrase that his political handlers used to great effect in swaying the masses thusly: Harding's campaign promised a return to "normalcy," rejecting the activism of Theodore Roosevelt and the idealism of Woodrow Wilson. Voters responded to his genial nature, impressive stature, and bland message; he won by a landslide. It's like then-Senator Obama using the catch-phrase, "Time for Change" to win votes for those weary of the Bush-war years. Harding, once in the job, didn't even think he should have been there....but Murray, an early devotee of Harding; trying to salvage the Harding reputation (which is altogether impossible)