The Decline of Joe McCarthy

It was around this time, 55 years ago, that Sen. Joe McCarthy began his permanent slide to irrelevance during the Army–McCarthy hearings.

In January 1954, McCarthy received favorable marks from 50% of respondents to a Gallup poll. By June, his favorable rating was down to 34%. In the meantime, his negative rating went from 29% to 45% — a clear swing of 16% from positive to negative.

June 9, 1954, may have been the most memorable day of the hearings. That was the day that lawyer Joseph Welch, in defense of a protégé, asked McCarthy, "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?"

For the last couple of years, I've found it amusing that modern viewers didn't care for the actor who played McCarthy in "Good Night and Good Luck," the movie about how Edward R. Murrow and CBS stood up to McCarthy's tactics.

Modern viewers thought McCarthy was too "in your face" in that movie.

Well, if you haven't seen the movie, let me say two things:

1. It's a great movie, one of the best I've ever seen. You should rent the DVD and watch it.


2. That was no actor playing McCarthy. That was the real McCoy.
   
   Or should I say the real McCarthy?

That's right.

Apparently, no one could do McCarthy like McCarthy. So the filmmakers used archival footage.

Maybe modern viewers thought someone like Rush Limbaugh should have played the part.