He neither compelled attention by what he said nor by his
personality. Why, then, without fireworks, without distinction of
any sort, without catching the public eye, or especially deserving
to catch it, was Warren Harding elected President of the United
States?

One plausible reason why he was nominated was that given by Senator
Brandegee at Chicago, where he had a great deal to do with the
nomination. "There ain't any first raters this year. This ain't any
1880 or any 1904. We haven't any John Shermans or Theodore
Roosevelts. We've got a lot of second raters and Warren Harding is
the best of the second raters."

Once nominated as a Republican his election of course inevitably
followed. But to accept Mr. Brandegee's plea in avoidance is to
agree to the eternal poverty of American political life, for most
of our presidents have been precisely like Warren G. Harding,
first-class second raters.

Mrs. Harding, a woman of sound sense and much energy, had an
excellent instructive answer to the "why." The pictures of the
house in Marion, the celebrated front porch, herself and her
husband were taken to be exhibited by cinema all over the land. She
said, "I want the people to see these pictures so that they will
know we are just folks like themselves."

Warren Harding is "just folks." A witty woman said of him, alluding
to the small town novel which was popular at the time of his
inauguration, "Main Street has arrived in the White House."