National Affairs: Popularity in Reverse

In his two terms as Iowa's governor, wavy-haired Robert D. Blue seemed to do his utmost to be unpopular. Aloof and often autocratic, he browbeat his legislature, gave little heed to rising growls from the voters. In Iowa such unpolitic conduct sometimes does not matter. A Republican could always count on enough organization votes in the primary.

But in last week's GOPrimary a surprisingly large number of voters turned up— 42% more than in 1944. The American Farm Bureau Federation (which did not like Governor Blue's tax programs) had drummed up a big...