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Article: Truman's reputation has grown in the 50 years since he left office.
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- January 20, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Brian Burnes
KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ When he left the White House nearly 50 years ago, Harry Truman was close to being a national joke.
His approval rating had bottomed out at 23 percent a year earlier. Adlai Stevenson, his party's 1952 presidential nominee, avoided Truman during the campaign.
And when President-elect Dwight Eisenhower's limousine picked up Truman for the 1953 inauguration, Eisenhower didn't even get out of the car.
But Truman's triumphant train ride home to Independence, Mo., where he was welcomed by several thousand well-wishers 50 years ago this month, was a truer signal of how he would be regarded in the history ...