A Slip of the Cane
“This is it,” Franklin thought to himself, “This is the day you step out from the shadows.” He stood backstage behind a curtain, reading over his speech one last time before he would go out and introduce the Presidential Candidate for the Democratic Party of 1928. He had been out of politics for some time due to infantile paralysis, and had been spending over half a decade trying to overcome this weakness. The best he could do now was create the image of a casual stroll. He had his two eldest sons, who were large strapping lads, stand by his sides. Franklin would then use their arms to hoist himself up and Eleanor handed him his cane. He would then use the cane to balance himself and would walk by shifting his weight from one leg to another. The pain was excruciating, but it would be all worth it if he could make it out to the podium and symbolically re-enter politics. Slowly, step by step he made his way to the podium. He was only 10 feet away. “I’m almost there,” he thought to himself, “I’m going to make it.” Just then his cane slipped out from under him, causing him to lose his balance. He fell forward to the ground in an embarrassing display. It was then that his long kept secret had been revealed. His two sons from backstage ran out to help their father up. They got him to the podium and Franklin said to himself “That’s it… it’s over.” He gave a shortened version of his speech and quickly introduced Alfred E. Smith to the convention and quickly left the stage. As he left the convention he made the mental decision to quit politics and spend the rest of his days living at his home at Hyde Park.Despite a personal foible the rest of the convention went off without a hitch. New York Governor Al Smith and Senator Joseph T. Robinson would accept the nominations as President and Vice President respectively. The Texas delegation were deathly unhappy with Smith as the nominee. Smith was anti-prohibition, against the Ku Klux Klan, and a Roman Catholic; three things many southerners despised. They would be satiated by the convention agreeing that Smith uphold the constitution, which included the prohibition of alcohol. Despite this the Democratic Party would lose by a landslide in November against the Republican ticket of Herbert Hoover and Charles Curtis. Hoover would win 444 Electoral votes to Smith’s 87. Hoover would also win over 58% of the popular vote to Smith’s 40%.
The Republicans would win the congressional election, gaining an additional 32 seats, bringing their total to 270 to the Democrats 164. Nicholas Longworth would remain the Speaker of the House while John Nance Garner would remain House Minority Leader.
Until the convention Al Smith had been contemplating convincing Franklin Roosevelt to run for Governor of New York, however with his embarrassing fall at Sam Houston Hall, he decided against it. He instead would endorse his former Lieutenant Governor George R. Lunn who had lost his position to a republican in 1924. Smith was popular in New York, popular enough to beat Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of former President Theodore Roosevelt. It would be a close race against Albert Ottinger, but the Democrats would win almost the entire executive branch of the New York State government.
--------------------------------------------------
Tell me what you think.