The Mourning After

As the last hurrahs of the 1960 Democratic and Republican Conventions faded into the subcellars of memory, not only the public but politicos of both parties were having some strong second thoughts about the Los Angeles and Chicago extravaganzas. Among the critics:

Paul Butler, outgoing Democratic national chairman, in charge of the Los Angeles show: "Some people were upset about the lack of decorum on the convention floors. We Americans are not very well behaved in large groups."

Republican Keynoter Walter Judd: "We ought to dispense with the idea of having people in the galleries. Instead, we should put everyone except the delegates outside and let them watch through television. I wouldn't even let the press and television men wander up the aisles to interview everybody right in the middle of the proceedings. With all these people in there, the whole thing has just gotten too cumbersome."

Florida's Governor Leroy Collins, who chaired the Democratic Convention: "Participation by the public in demonstrations should be eliminated entirely. Any candidate, whether he has any strength or not, can in a professional way make a demonstration that sounds as if the whole room is full of people who are for him. It has become just a spectacle and a show that degrades the process of choosing a candidate. The circus atmosphere should be eliminated."

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