Jack Anderson became close friends and even double-dated with Joseph McCarthy, the senator who terrified the nation with his Communist witch-hunt in the 1950s. McCarthy was such a trusted source that he would let Anderson listen in on the senator's private phone calls with Senate Majority Leader Robert Taft. Anderson in turn shared his own files to help McCarthy try to back up his reckless and unsubstantiated charge of communist infiltration of the State Department.

Nevertheless, when the young reporter's boss, columnist Drew Pearson, decided to go after McCarthy, Anderson followed suit---at first reluctantly, then enthusiastically digging up dirt on his one-time friend, an act of courage few in the media would emulate until years later.

McCarthy did not appreciate this betrayal. "You wait for the next elevator, Jack," he told Anderson one day. "I don't want you stinking up this one." But Anderson took the rejection in stride.

"Contrary to popular theology," he writes, "there is nothing that produces as much exhilaration and zest for living as an ugly, protracted, bitter-end vendetta that rages for years and comes close to ruining both sides." In the end, it was Pearson and Anderson left standing---although McCarthy's efforts to brand them as Communist lackeys led to the loss of their radio sponsor, and to a public fistfight between McCarthy and Pearson---with then Vice President Richard Nixon breaking it up.

"I miss the old slam-bang attacks," Anderson later wrote. "In those days, a critic might step up to Drew Pearson or myself and deliver a punch in the nose. Today, they spin and they sue."

 

 

Soundbytes


Click here to listen to Jack Anderson discussing his experiences with Senator Joseph McCarthy.

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Jack Anderson Bio

The Early Years

The Young Reporter

1960s

President Nixon