Word: morgenthau
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...Morgenthau had been hand-picked for the nomination by the high priest of Democratic pollsters, Lou Harris, who conducted a survey purporting to prove that Morgenthau stood a better chance against Rockefeller than any other available Democrat (TIME, Sept. 7). President Kennedy approved of Morgenthau's candidacy. So did New York City's Mayor Robert Wagner...
...Embarrassment. But as the Democrats convened in Syracuse, it became painfully evident that Morgenthau still needed a large vote bloc to win the nomination on an early ballot. And the most swingable bloc belonged to U.S. Representative Charles Buckley, the boss of The Bronx. This was downright embarrassing : after all, Bob Wagner had won reelection in 1961 on his promise to oust all of New York City's borough bosses, and of these Buckley was the sole survivor...
...first things first. Now, Wagner badly needed Buckley-and Buckley was happy to satisfy that need. Just a few hours before the convention balloting began, Buckley announced that he was throwing all but a few of The Bronx's no delegate votes to Morgenthau...
That should have been that. But it wasn't. Inevitably, Buckley's move gave Morgenthau's three active opponents a chance to raise a cry of "bossism." At the same time, it enraged some delegates who had supposed that Wagner really meant it when he vowed to fight to the death against Buckley's brand of political feudalism...
Anger & Apathy. On the convention floor, things got out of control. Heedless of the pro-Morgenthau chairman's efforts to gavel them into silence, bands thumped away, and a milling crowd of angry delegates shouted up at the platform: "We want a free vote!" "Down with the bosses!" "Morgenthau withdraw!" The lights were dimmed repeatedly as the chairman tried to restore order. Finally the voting began, and after two ballots and another near-riot, Bob Morgenthau was the convention's choice. Through all the hubbub, Buckley sat impassively under The Bronx's placard. Said he later...