Adlai'd Brains

Honorable people can differ on which points of Secretary of State Powell's U.N. address were persuasive, and how persuasive they were. But Adlai E. Stevenson III's invidious comparison between Powell's speech and his father's famous Cuban Missile Crisis showdown at the U.N. is one of the most opportunistic complaints I've seen in a long time. I had thought the main difference between the two speeches is that people are (rightfully) a little more skeptical of high-tech gee-whizzery now than they were back in old '62, but here's another interesting perspective, courtesy of a New Republic article from November 17, 1962: "Not only the nonaligned but many Westerners doubted (in private) whether any Soviet rockets really were in Cuba," Philip Ben wrote. "Mr. Stevenson's photos did nothing to convince them. They were convinced only by Khrushchev's admission."