Press Corps Applause

At the close of “The Business of America: An Empire of Wealth” in your October 2004 issue, in reference to FDR’s first press conference and the desperate status of the economy, John Steele Gordon states: “At the end of the President’s remarks, for what is surely the only time in history, the hard-boiled, cynical, professionally skeptical Washington press corps broke into applause. Even they were desperate for the new President to succeed.” While such applause may have been unprecedented, it was not unique. The press corps applauded Harry Truman at his first press conference after taking office, for largely the same reason, and I also believe they did the same after his surprise win in 1948. I seem to recall the press corps did the same after Reagan recovered from his assassination attempt.