Minimizing current excitement over the results of Tuesday's elections, four of the University's experts on national affairs yesterday said that the sweep toward the Republican Party was "a normal reaction to a long Administration" and that the election did not signify the beginning of a long trend away from the New Deal.
Most concerned over the outcome of the balloting was Carl Joachim Friedrich, professor of Government, who declared that "disappointment with the way the war was going was reflected in the election returns." He pointed out, on the other hand, that the defeat of the Democrats was due principally to their lack of political leadership and their pre-occupation with other things.
Election Conclusion
Commenting that the most significant thing about the election was that its conclusion has freed Congress for its regular work, Arthur M. Schlesinger of the History Department said that the Republicans elected were 100 per cent behind the war.
Government Professor Morris B. Lambie declared that after so long a Congressional eclipse the Republicans naturally devoted special efforts to regaining at least a strong minority position.
Individuals Important
Opposing him, however, Benjamin F. Wright, associate professor of Government, stated that the election was not decided on a party basis but rather on the merits of the individual men concerned.
Wright, however, felt that there were cases in which great mistakes were made, and mentioned as examples the defeat of Norris and Prentice Brown, and the election of Brooks and Lodge.
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