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Congress. At any rate, the President was appreciative of what Bankhead had done, and I think he felt that as Speaker he had acted as well as he could, according to his lights and according to his abilities. I think he thought he didn't have that great ability that Sam Rayburn has. He's an awfully shrewd Speaker and politician, with enormous abilities. I think that the President thought that Bankhead didn't have really such tremendous abilities, and that perhaps he had done as well as he could. He had certainly done well by is withdrawal and it and eased a great many tensions. It had made possible not only the President's nomination, but certain other things by creating an appearance of complete acceptance by everybody. Bankhead's withdrawal, and the way he did it, had made it possible not only for the President to be nominated, but for him to indicate who he wanted for Vice President, and keep the prestige of party unity up, and party unity is something very important at the time of a campaign. He believed that Bankhead would loyally rally the southerners, not that anybody thought that the Southern states would go Republican, but there could be a sourness and a reluctance to vote which would weaken us in the Congress and weaken us in the eyes of the community. The President was very anxious to have a complete sense of unity and
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