Ah, for the good old days, when Harry Truman could summon Adlai E. Stevenson and tell him he was running for president. Adlai lost (twice), but he was running for a sixth consecutive presidential term for his party against the man who ran the invasion of Normandy, and emerged with his prestige enhanced as a national leader.

This can’t be said of the current Republican entries, who thus far have only diminished their standing, especially governors Jon Huntsman of Utah and Rick Perry of Texas, whose campaigns have been dreadful, though their records are good.