Part 2 Chapter 8 Summary

In 1943 President Franklin Roosevelt was under the care of a cardiologist who predicted he had less than a year to live. Everyone close to the President and even certain members of the press questioned the soundness of his health as he was posed to run for an unprecedented fourth term.

His vice president, Henry Wallace, was an unusual politician. Mystical and intellectual, Wallace spoke Russian and consulted with the spirit of a dead Sioux. He was not particularly interested in politics and would shut himself in a room to study Spanish rather than participate in Senate debate. Roosevelt and his political operatives wanted Wallace off the ticket. They knew that this presidential run would be harder than the other three, not only because of Roosevelt's health but also because of the strength of his opposition.

Jimmy Brynes and Senator Alben Barkley...