'Tis But a Dainty Flower

If you think it was unusual to see Hillary Clinton cry...

I realized there is not nearly enough footage of McCarthy on YouTube, so I took the liberty of uploading a famous scene from the March 9 See It Now broadcast. At a banquet in Milwaukee, former Congressman Frank Keefe recites a love poem to Joe, who wells up with tears and is unable to speak. It's actually one of the more controversial moments in the broadcast; McCarthy's defenders rightfully point out that Murrow used a jump cut (between "this is the answer" and the poem) to make the speech fit the narrative, as if Keefe's response to attacks on McCarthy was to recite love poetry. And, of course, it's a classic example of how the Murrow broadcast traded in innuendo to imply that there was something unseemly about McCarthy. He doesn't come out and call Joe a queer, but...well, the clip doesn't have a whole lot to do with the rest of the broadcast.

Still, it's a pretty weird moment. One question for the internets: anyone know what poem Keefe is reciting? I hope I am not embarrassing myself by not knowing what might be some famous verse, but Google was no help to me.



P.S. Don't tell Ann Coulter.